Help me choose a cartridge

[Terry_M]

Hey all,

So I am in the deciding phase new rifle to build.

I have:
REM 700 SA
B&C 700 SA stock Style 3 and Style 5
Badger M5 DBM

I need: 5.5-22 X 50 or 3.5 - 15 X 50 NF / Trigger (probably going with Timney 510/517) and a barrel

Rifle will be for my wife to shoot. She enjoys varmint/bench type shooting and hunting. Probably not going to do much in the PRS world, but it's an outside possibility. She currently hunts with a 260 REM AI and 7mm-08. High possibility of competing in short range BR light class.

Absolutely NOT interested in 6.5 Creedmoor.

What do you suggest?

 

[22DASHER]

100% hands down any 6BR Improved, BRA, Dasher, etc

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

High possibility of competing in short range BR light class.

This requires a dedicated rifle with very different components than what you have now, and using anything other than a 6PPC is a handicap for group shooting as a beginner.

 

[Terry_M]

This requires a dedicated rifle with very different components than what you have now, and using anything other than a 6PPC is a handicap for group shooting as a beginner.

Tracking. That will be 9 - 21 months away. Cartridge selection is key right now. Seb-Neo and other stuff is in the distant future.

 

[Sniper338]

6BR. I did one for my wife. She loves it.. perfect round for most things too..

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

Cartridge selection is key right now.

Is magazine feeding important to you? The BR case often gives trouble with ejection when a standard plunger ejector (like a Remington 700) is used.

For a light-recoiling, accurate, 100-200 yard varmint/target rifle I'd recommend a .222 Remington.

If you're committed to a 0.473 boltface, a 22BR. If it also has to feed/eject reliably from a Remington 700, a .22-250.

 

[Falfan2017]

I would go with the 6br. Easy just buy brass powder and decent Bullet and outshoot 90% of people at the range with good ballistics no recoil and enough power for deer and varmints.

 

[DirtySteve]

6.5 Creedmoor.. You knew some one was going to say it... How about 6x47 Lapua?

 

[RampedRaptor]

6 dasher ?

 

[Falfan2017]

6 dasher ?

Why bother with the fire forming if you don't need the speed for 1k competition?

 

[Terry_M]

Is magazine feeding important to you? The BR case often gives trouble with ejection when a standard plunger ejector (like a Remington 700) is used.

For a light-recoiling, accurate, 100-200 yard varmint/target rifle I'd recommend a .222 Remington.

If you're committed to a 0.473 boltface, a 22BR. If it also has to feed/eject reliably from a Remington 700, a .22-250.

Single fed is okay. I want to avoid .277 and .257, but anything else is on the table.

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

6 Dasher. It will also work if she decides to compete at 600/1000 yards.

 

[Terry_M]

6.5 Creedmoor.. You knew some one was going to say it... How about 6x47 Lapua?

6 X 47 Definitely on the table.... and yeah I knew someone would. I'm that guy that would have so yeah.

 

[Knotwild]

Holy cow; it's obvious - 6mm Creedmoor or maybe a .25 Creedmoor, or a .250 Savage Ackley Improved necked to .264.

 

[#40Fan]

Get the BR and then try and explain to her why you spend so much time shooting it. I finally, after years of reading the hype and thinking BS, broke down and picked one up. I started a thread "Is the 6BR boring?" because I didn't do anything but drop in powder, seat a bullet and shot three into a tiny group on shots 5, 6 and 7.

 

[RampedRaptor]

Why bother with the fire forming if you don't need the speed for 1k competition?

Fireforming = barrel break in. They’ll have a cartridge that won’t limit them to short range BR and is very capable in the PRS arena. Keeps the door open for all future interests.

 

[Terry_M]

Holy cow; it's obvious - 6mm Creedmoor or maybe a .25 Creedmoor, or a .250 Savage Ackley Improved necked to .264.

LOL

.264, .243, .224,

My preference would lean to .243/6mm, but I am willing to bend to find the cartridge that is easier to tune and make it so my wife enjoys shooting it. She gets a gun she likes and I get three that I like. We've been married for a couple decades for a reason.

 

[Terry_M]

Get the BR and then try and explain to her why you spend so much time shooting it. I finally, after years of reading the hype and thinking BS, broke down and picked one up. I started a thread "Is the 6BR boring?" because I didn't do anything but drop in powder, seat a bullet and shot three into a tiny group on shots 5, 6 and 7.

Now that's what I like to hear...

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

What makes a cartridge fun to shoot is extreme accuracy (at the chosen distance) and light recoil. Low cost of shooting (components, barrel life) is a plus. For distances shot in SR BR (100-200yd), a .222 is a great trainer. Not competitive against the 6PPC, but lots of fun for less than half the recoil of 6BR shooting 105-class bullets, and very long barrel life.

For example, even factory .222s shoot very well: http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/222-6x5-groups-today.3959249/

A 22BR or .22-250 shooting 52gr custom bullets has about 2/3 the recoil of 6BR shooting 105gr bullets, but barrel life is a lot shorter than with a .222.

If you have an action with a PPC boltface handy, a 220 Beggs would be perfect.

There's no need to shoot a 6mm bullet or a case bigger than a BR for short-range varmint/target work. Even a BR case is really too big for a short-range varmint/target rifle unless the varmints are coyotes. I've killed a pile of coyotes with my 22BR. Here's one from a couple of days ago:

 

[Dusty Stevens]

You wont be able to compete in short range br with a magazine. You can buy a dedicated ppc rifle ready to go be competitive but itll pretty much only work for br work. Cant have combo units or they wont do anything well. If youre going to run a magazine a 6x47 would be my choice. Itll do everything except short range br