Best budget caliber for HP silhouette newbie?

[steyrsteyrsteyr]

Hey guys, I've been trying to do as much research as I can searching on multiple forums and every time a similar question is asked it gets in to a debate and more and more in depth.

Recently tried smallbore silhouette and loved it and I'm considering HP. With smallbore it's simple and straight forward while HP seems to be all about reload recipes imo.

I've narrowed it down to 7mm-08, 6.5 CM, and maybe 6.5 swede. I would like to keep the cost / round to be about .50-.75 cents. What grain should I go with?

I do not plan on reloading. I have my heart set on a Tikka T3x Forest.

So what caliber would you recommend for a beginner that just wants to have fun without things getting complicated.

Thanks.

 

[xswanted]

Out of your list there do the 6.5 Creedmoor.

It’ll do everything you need it to and have pretty mild recoil as well.

I shot a 260 T3 Forest for a bit for silhouette and it was a great rifle.

 

[steyrsteyrsteyr]

Out of your list there do the 6.5 Creedmoor.

It’ll do everything you need it to and have pretty mild recoil as well.

I shot a 260 T3 Forest for a bit for silhouette and it was a great rifle.

Is there a preferred grain for 6.5? Go as heavy as possible?

It seems like a lot of people love .260, but it's a bit out of my price range. I'm not looking to start with match ammo either, just throwing that out there.

I plan on viewing a HP match in the near future, I will also see what other people are using.

 

[xswanted]

Is there a preferred grain for 6.5? Go as heavy as possible?

It seems like a lot of people love .260, but it's a bit out of my price range. I'm not looking to start with match ammo either, just throwing that out there.

I plan on viewing a HP match in the near future, I will also see what other people are using.

If you’re buying factory ammo I’d stick with something in the 120 range.

I’m not up to speed on what is loaded for factory options for the Creed but 120s don’t kick much and will knock rams over.

If you’re not very sensitive to recoil then go ahead and get a 140 class offering.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

For factory ammo the 6.5creedmoor is the best choice with a 140gr. There are plenty of options in any price range

 

[std7mag]

I can't imagine shooting a match with factory ammo.

The 7mm-08 was the go to for many years.

 

[JEFFPPC]

I shot the game for about15 years. Started with 308 then moved to 708. I would be leary of 120 gr. 6.5, gonna cost you some animals, especially on rainy or cold days. I would advise 7
08. Sometimes you need the momentum of a heavier bullet, like when the rams get muddy feet.

 

[steyrsteyrsteyr]

I can't imagine shooting a match with factory ammo.

The 7mm-08 was the go to for many years.

Why can't you imagine shooting a match with factory ammo?

 

[std7mag]

Are you gonna trust your match to someone else?

Akin to running your Chevy Cavalier in Formula One.

 

[dolek]

Why can't you imagine shooting a match with factory ammo?

Use whatever you need to ,you have to start somewhere . Have fun and good luck .

 

[miningshawn]

I got started shooting silhouette next to the BPCR guys at our fantastic range in Butte, Montana. Shooting a 6.5 Creedmore I found out in a hurry that to topple a ram I had to hit it well above the centerline or I would just have a really pretty "splash" on an un-toppled target using 129gr. Moving up to 140gr solved 95%, but I still got the occasional "splash". A lot of the guys liked the 7mm-08, and I moved up to .308. I just couldn't stand hitting them but not dropping them!

It doesn't get much cheaper than plain old .308.

 

[rwj]

Good article on Berger factory 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition in the Forum Bulletin - http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2020/06/berger-6-5-creedmoor-ammo-shoots-great-in-prs-rifle/

 

[Rope2horns]

@Average joe

 

[Aero]

Are you gonna trust your match to someone else?

Akin to running your Chevy Cavalier in Formula One.

Shooting sillywet on a club level or even a National Championship level ain't close to F1. It's just a game we play. It doesn't require the 1/4 minute all day long accuracy that is as common as dirt nowadays. It requires offhand shooting skill and a gun/load combo that can hold 1 1/2moa will knock down every animal the shooter can hold the crosshairs on and pull the trigger.

Factory ammo has come a long way in recent years and I've seen some pretty impressive accuracy using it in a variety of rifles, factory and custom. I don't see why it would present any problem in a Silhouette match. I know a few guys that have used it and their scores at the end had little to do with the ammo they were shooting.

I've rung rams with 140s from 260 Rem chambered rifles and marginal hits. I've also rung rams with 530 grain bullets from a 45-90. It sucks, but it's part of the game.

My whole shooting life I've heard people tell me about how recoil doesn't bother them. I've never believed any of them and I just smile and nod when I hear it.

 

[Kimber.204]

@steyrsteyrsteyr You'd be better off with the 6.5 Creedmoor or the 7mm-08. The 6.5 Swede ammo will leave you with less choices. Get the one that you think you want the most....any of them will work great for occasional/casual competition.

If it was me, I'd choose the Creedmoor. A lot of the guys I used to shoot with used 168gr SMK in their 7mm-08 for the long line and I don't think you can buy that as a loaded round in factory ammo.

Also, recent price gouges aside, the Creedmoor will give you several good options in several price ranges. You can use a 120gr for the closer animals and 140/143/147 for the Rams.

I used to be a reloaded ammo snob...I had several rifles that had hundreds or thousands of rounds through them and none had been a factory loaded round. Then life happened....when work pulls you out of the house too many nights/weeks per year and you want to spend time with the family when you get home not reloading starts sounding pretty good. At the same time, factory rounds started to get better.

Look, if this is your only hobby and you want to count kernels of powder more power to you. But I run most of my match ammo on a progressive and spend the extra time at the range (or dryfiring in the basement) working on my NPA, my trigger control, magazine manipulations, etc. I've had guys tell me at matches that they couldn't believe that I didn't turn necks and weigh each charge that I was leaving points on the table .....at a 200yard walk and paste NRA Highpower match. I beat them all that day with my fully progressive loaded ammo.

I've toured the new Peterson Cartridge factory and I can tell you that their factory loaded rounds are in fact hand loads for most if not all rifle cartridges. Each charge is weighed individually. Some are even seated using arbor presses. And, the Velocity SD's show it. Their lead ballistician showed me the log book for various lots of ammo and single digit SD's were the norm. On the two pages that I looked at I didn't see any double digit SD's. I'm waiting on some of their new 6XC ammo right now to use for NRA Highpower.

So, yes I think you can use factory loads. You probably won't have to look too hard for a type that your rifle likes (especially with the ammo we have today and especially with factory rifles like Tikka's). But right now it may be hard getting them for $0.50 - $.70 each.

<<<end rant>>>

Bottom line.....take all our advice with a grain of salt. Do what makes sense for you and don't look back.
Best of luck.

Ross

 

[jbmarshtx]

I think this is my 4th year shooting silhouette. I started high power with my 6.5 creedmoore remington 700. I still use that one, and put together a remington 700 grendel with and action and bolt I found here. Of your listed calibers, I would get the 6.5 creedmoor. The ammo is relatively inexpensive for match grade. A lot of the factory loads will be pretty hot, so I would get some 140s for the rams and 120s for the other three. I shot hornady factory ammo the first 2 years and only started reloding 2 years ago. I think that I'm put about 1k rounds through the grendel and 2k+ through the creedmoor.

I shoot a really light load of 29ish grains H4895 (good for reduced loads) behind 108 lapuas for the chicken, pigs, turkeys in highpower. I shoot a moderate load with 139 scenars at rams. There are 30 other animals, so it's ok to ring a ram or two if you pick up 4-6 more of the others bc of lower recoil.

 

[AWS]

I started with a 308 and shot it until I moved away from a range that shot MS. I would have no qualms about shooting one again and there are plenty of HB 308's out there that are reasonably priced.

 

[Hohn]

Are you gonna trust your match to someone else?

Akin to running your Chevy Cavalier in Formula One.

Not at all like that.

Factory match loads these days are better than ever. There are PRS shooters placing in national level matches with factory Hornady 108s.

Creedmoor is the easy call here. No real recoil penalty to the 140s over the 120s, so gain the simplicity of using one load for everything and you'll be fine. Hornady 140BTHPs are good bullets and reasonably priced.

A 7-08 pushes 140s only a tiny bit faster than a 6.5 does. Not much advantage to 7-08 and you can get excellent factory target ammo in 6.5. Good luck trying to find a factory 7-08 target load with a 162 Amax or such.