Help me pick a caliber, I still don't find it

[Trashy]

I have no experience with it, but didnt see it mentioned yet, (unless I missed it) but what about the 22 dasher?

 

[Twicepop]

never heard of that one, I assume is a 30 cal bullet? that should not kick a lot? the nice part is that I already have a bunch of tools for 30 cal

I think these shoot bullets of around 110-125 grains as a rule. Heavy recoil shouldn't be a big problem in a match weight rifle shooting bullets in this weight range. As a few other have suggested the .222 Remington, it was the darling of the bench rest circuit until the 6PPC came about. I read where someone won the Super Shoot a couple of years back with a "Deuce" beating all the 6PPC shooters. Or the slight smaller sibling of the Deuce, the .221 Fireball.

 

[joshb]

Go straight to the 6ppc! All the reloading fun you can ask for and the results can be phenomenal!

 

[hoz53]

(I apologize if I am putting this in the wrong section, please move if necessary)

My specific case is kind of different so please bear with me. I cant find a caliber that suit my precision shooting needs.

What I am looking?

- I enjoy handloading even more than shooting, I love all the process and work with all of those tools. I recently started getting in to annealing, trimming, neck turn, primer pocket uniform, concentricity check and even want to start pointing bullets, I enjoy that stuff, way more fun than watch TV.

- I DONT shoot more than 100 yards which my local indoor club has, my farthest club is 200, ranges with more than that I dont even know where they are plus I'm not interested.

- My goal is to produce a round that with a good rifle I can put 3 shots in one hole at 100 yards quite repeatable , Im not in to competition (pretty busy life)

- As I am getting old calibers with big recoil are not enjoyable for me.

- I am not a hunter, not PRS, not Fclass, just poke holes on paper looking for that super awesome round for bench rest or prone, thats what pleases me.

What I have tried?

- 308 on a Remington 700, too much recoil and not enjoyable.
- 6.5 Creed on an AR10, too much recoil and I dont need that much for only 100 yards, plus prefer bolt action.
- 6mm Creed, just bought a Bergara Premier HMR and only shot it once and while the caliber is ok still quite more that the recoil I will like, plus Im kind of disappointed with the Bergara's barrel, didn't noticed on pictures before buy it online that the barrel contour is like a pencil, I like stuff more robust like bull barrel, etc, I guess like what the guys use on Fclass? I am even consider it re-barrel it but gosh, dont even shot 50 rounds yet lol.
- 6mmBR on a Savage 12 BR and while the recoil was ok I was never able to get those 3 shots in one hole (my handloading process was not as extensive as now). Plus the caliber was so weird in my hands lol

So, my thoughts:

While 223 is a very nice caliber regarding recoil I never see it on any type of precision competition shooting so makes me thing that is not that great, and when I look for info about it everybody has to mention that is not for long range (we have to remember, I am shooting 100 yards) so can't find any concrete information about if is accurate for my intentions or not. Plus I dont see any reputable brand making .223 bolt rifles, I cant even find Rem 700 on .223.

I think my perfect caliber will be something like a .22 Magnum BUT, I cant reload it and as stated at the beginning thats the part I most enjoy.

So, what caliber do you recommend me that I can find a decent rifle or barrel for my purpose? I told you at the beginning "Im kind of different" than the norm, everybody seems to be in the 6.5 bandwagon shooting very long ranges, I'm too moron to read winds, do calculations on the fly, deal with mirage etc, deal with thousands of an inch in my reloading room is way more fun haha ;-)

If it dont exist I guess I'll stick to 6mm or 6mmBR.

I will appreciate any advice.

ill echo these guys with the 6br. you shoulda just bought an aftermarket dropin barrel for the savage. Shilen or Criterion- many others out there also. if you absolutely dont want a 6br fo with a ppc if like alot of loading work or a 222. truthfully lots of different cartridges will get the accuracy you want with a good aftermarket barrel.

 

[Fast14riot]

Pick a good barrel brand, pick a good smith, then find one of the small cartridges from 221 fire ball to 6br. Personally, if I loved reloading that much I'd go 6ppc and and 55-65gr bullets. Buy a copy of Tony Boyer's book and go shoot bug holes in paper.

Most of all, enjoy the journey!

 

[Richard Coody]

Don't know what your budget is but...

If your savage in 6br disappointed it is a very simple process to change that factory barrel out for a shilen from Northland Shooters supply. 6br is probably the easiest tuning round in my collection. They will shoot.

Now the other choice I would suggest especially since you like all the aspects of brass prep and reloading is the 6ppc. Obviously this cartridge will meet your precision requirements. Easiest path is to look at used guns at Shooters Corner. I would suggest contacting DJ's Brass and get some fully preped brass to start with.

 

[Spike A]

I’m throwing these out there for these seem to have a place and my own curiosity.... I hope others have thoughts on these rounds... I’ve heard things but have never had any in my hands besides the k-hornet... 22 cheeta, 22jet, 22-k hornet... or the 20 k hornet?

wanted to add... my choice would a a triple Duce ... own one in a contender pistol that will shoot and some day will own a rifle in it

 

[DaveTooley]

I think your success has been limited by your choice of rifles. Look for a Remington 40X single shot in an appropriate caliber. 222 or 6 BR would be my choice. If you want to dive into the deep end of the pool get a used BR rifle in 6PPC.

 

[284winner]

6.5 Grendel. Many platforms to pick from. The mini action bolt is an interesting one for sure. Low to no recoil and easy for one hole groups. Good luck. John

 

[mongo chicago]

Any of the 6mm or 22s should fit your bill. I have/had 22-250, 6mm Rem. 6XC. The 6XC is my favorite.

 

[NateHaler]

Go to your local short range (100-200y) benchrest match. Listen, look, and ask (if the competitors have time, it can be intense). 6 PPC rules that game. Like Dave Tooley said, if you want to dive in the deep end -- and it sounds like you do -- then this is what you want.

I'd bet money that 6 PPC is used at benchrest competition more than all of the other chamberings combined.

Find somebody that kept their copies of the long-since-discontinued 'Precision Shooting' magazine, and buy/borrow them and start reading. Report back in 3 months or so after you've worn out a couple pairs of bifocals!

6 PPC

 

[GSRswapandslow]

go check out the shooters corner list and buy #387

Benchrest Rifles | The Shooters Corner

theshooterscorner.com

 

[BillJ]

6 Dasher? Gavin Gear has a video on his build "Gavintoobe" / Ultimate reloader.
I've heard the 6 PPC many, many times..

 

[Fuj]

I see the 6.5 Grendel was mentioned, and rightly so. It
has undiscovered potential. Looking over my bucket list
of notes, I have scribbled this case, necked down to the
the .257 131gr Ace (Black Jack). Be a dandy for the short
course.

 

[lightman]

I would look at the 6mm BR, 6mm PPC or the 222 Remington and put a custom barrel on either your Savage or your Remington.

 

[MGYSGT]

6PPC, 22PPC, 6BR. Unless you are shooting free recoil, I think the 30 BR with 33-34 grains of H4198 will be too much recoil for a recoil sensitive person.

 

[457ciSBC]

6BR, 6PPC, 222 Rem....in no certain order, easy found components, plenty of history and no need to piss into the wind or uphill with sub calibers, forming brass, or obscure wildcats...etc. Get yourself a Jewell trigger, 24 or 36x scope, decent front rest and rear bag and have at it! Also, you just can’t point an inherently accurate rifle at a target and expect all shots to magically fall into one hole consistently, there is a certain amount of learned skill.

 

[rogina]

I am not sure you are going to find the kind of results you are looking for in an off the shelf rifle. If it were me I would rebarrel the Rem 700 to a 6 BR( bolt face works ). However that can be a long rat hole to start down. Many places to spend lots of $$$$$.

The first thing you are going to learn is that kind of accuracy is not cheap. You have been going cheap and expecting great accuracy. You can buy a used 6ppc custom benchrest rifle for $1500 that doesn't have all the latest features, yet it will shot great. Just my opinion. Good luck!

 

[powderbrake]

I suggest you will not achieve the results you want until you improve the gun you are using.

A better barrel and a better action/trigger will make a big difference. If you really want to shoot one hole targets on a consistent basis, a custom action and barrel is the answer. In addition, a more accurate rifle is needed to actually see the results of changing loads or loading techniques.

Don't spend any more money on a factory rifle, save up for a custom action, bedded in a stock, a Krieger, Brux, or Bartlien or other big name barrel and a good trigger.

You will also need a good front rest (with a stop to repeatably locate the front of the stock) and good rear bag.

I suggest that 6mmBR is the easiest to load, high accuracy cartridge. 30 gr of Varget with a Berger 105 hybrid is a starting point, and may well produce your one holer. Cases seem to last forever. You can run standard necks without neck turning.

I suggest you avoid the 6PPC. While super accurate, to get that accuracy, it runs at such high pressure that the cases don't last very long before the primers will be very loose. They require fireforming from a 220 Russian (or hydroforming), and require neck turning.

While you are saving up for a new rifle, I suggest your Savage in 6BR is your best bet for now, depending on the twist rate. The 105 Berger needs an 8 twist or faster, if yours is slower, you need to use a lighter bullet. It can be equipped with a name brand barrel ( yes I know I said don't spend any money on it) but it may do the job as is with the factory barrel as you polish your skills.

Perfect your shooting skills, ie, placement of gun on bags being repeatable, hold, ie free recoil or actually holding the rifle in a repeatable manner, careful, repeatable trigger pull, and a consistent sight picture.

 

[divingin]

- I am not a hunter, not PRS, not Fclass, just poke holes on paper looking for that super awesome round for bench rest or prone, thats what pleases me.


- 308 on a Remington 700, too much recoil and not enjoyable.

- 6mmBR on a Savage 12 BR and while the recoil was ok I was never able to get those 3 shots in one hole (my handloading process was not as extensive as now). Plus the caliber was so weird in my hands lol


While 223 is a very nice caliber

If it dont exist I guess I'll stick to 6mm or 6mmBR.

Sounds like your shooting pretty much matches mine (no competition, limited in range.)

I'd either rebarrel your Savage (easy to do with the barrel nut), or convert your 700 in 308 to a 6BR (which is what I did, using UrbanRifleman's RemAge solution.)

Brass doesn't need to be formed, easy to tune, good barrel life, can shoot free recoil given a decently heavy stock, and one hole groups are pretty damn common (to get really small, like 5 shots in .1" center to center will take a lot of work, but 5 shots touching is easily doable.) And bullets are cheaper than 30 cal.

That said, 223 wouldn't be a bad choice. They're out there. Might be in short supply right now, but given the times, what isn't?

All the BR competition stuff