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Bighorn tag, which gun

tstowater

Drew a Colorado bighorn tag in a rather nasty unit. Would compare to the Frank Church in Idaho. Must be partially insane, but looking forward to the trip. Thought about buying another gun as a reward but decided otherwise. Choices are as follows:
1. 25-06 in a Sendero with good 4-16 Vortex scope.
2. 6.5 Creedmoor in Kimber
 
Hit the wrong button. Continued

2. Kimber has 4.5-14 Leupold with B & C reticle.
3. 6.5-300 Weatherby in Vanguard with VX5HD 3-15.
4. 6.5 PRC Christensen Arms. Brother's gun, not sure of the scope. Shoots good.
5. 7PRC in Browning. Has the same scope as the 6.5-300 Weatherby, but need to put together and put some ammo down range. Not looking to handload as I don't have the time.

Looking for some input. Not looking at any other options.
 
That's awesome. I have never hunted sheep. If it's a once in a lifetime tag that would push me towards the bigger/faster cartridges. But I'd also consider accuracy to weight ratio.
 
I'd go with the medium lightweight, if that makes sense. A super lightweight is nice to pack around but not as stable to shoot when the time comes cause the balance always seems off a bit. So a lighter weight rifle that hangs on the target for you.
 
I would take the rifle you are comfortable carrying but most important is the one that is the most accurate and the one you can shoot the most accurate. just looking off the list and not knowing how they are shooting this would bet my choices:

#4 6.5 PRC Christansen arms

#2 6.5 Creed Kimber

#3 6.5-300 Whetherby

I didn't pick the #5 7PRC browning not because of the cartridge but because I have seen so many newer Brownings that just wouldn't shoot and had horrible barrels.

The 25-06 would be an ok cartridge but that sendero is going to get heavy real fast!

The 6.5 PRC is a great cartridge for this hunt, the 7 PRC chambering would be fine too. If the shot the Kimber the best then the 6.5 Creedmoor would do the job. I don't go for that theory that a bigger cartridge can make up for a bad hit on the animal, over the years I have seen more animals lost by guys shooting more gun than they could shoot accurately. I would rather have a guy shoot a 6.5 creed moor if he is confident and shoot it good than have him use the 6.5-300 Whetherby and not shoot it accurately. The best rifle to use is the one you are most proficient with.

As far as scopes go remember it real easy to change scopes from one rifle to the next so don't let the scope on that particular rifle influence which rifle you pick. Its sounds like its a tag of a lifetime don't be afraid to swap scopes from one rifle to another to make the best combo for the hunt you can, when you get home its real easy to swap them back.

Good luck and which ever one you pick get out there well ahead of time and put 100 rounds through the rifle to get it dialed on and get confident with it.
 
Either will do fine. What bullet you choose will be more critical than caliber. Shot placement matters most as usual.
Which one do you wish to carry?
 
Once in a lifetime sheep hunt.
I’d put more worry into your scope choice. Any of those rifles/cartridges will do the job, assuming they shoot well.
Sell whatever you have to and get a dependable scope, NightForce or Tract are two better choices.
Good luck
 
Any of the cartridges you have mentioned will work just fine. IMO you should be more concerned with taking the rifle that you shoot the best. By "shoots the best" I mean the one that comes up instinctively and that you can shoot well from all positions, not necessarily the one that groups the best from the bench.

drover
 
tstowater said:
Drew a Colorado bighorn tag in a rather nasty unit. Would compare to the Frank Church in Idaho. Must be partially insane, but looking forward to the trip. Thought about buying another gun as a reward but decided otherwise. Choices are as follows:
1. 25-06 in a Sendero with good 4-16 Vortex scope.
2. 6.5 Creedmoor in Kimber
Click to expand...
You did not list the accuracy and weight, both are important. Are you in good physical shape for steep and rugged terraine? I would pick the most accurate medium weight and use the Leupold variable scope. Sight at 275ys and practice shooting prone, sitting., offhand.
You must be in very good mountain condition or the hunt will be a series of bad compromises.
Try to get as close as you can, 200 yds or less. Take the first nice ram you see and don't always be looking for a book sheep. Respect the weather because it can kill you in the mountains. Don't ever go out unless you are prepared to spent the night if something goes wrong. Choose your gear wisely and try it all out before you leave.
Good luck.
Bill
 
I'll add a little more. This is my fourth sheep hunt so I understand what it takes. I actually have two rifles in 6.5 Creedmoor that will be set up with 4.5-14 Leupold scopes. Like the feel of both. The 25-06 and the 6.5-300 have both been on mule deer hunts. The 25-06 shoots great, but too heavy to carry around. The 6.5-300 has great ballistics and is pretty much 0-350 point and kill. I like the concept of the 6.5PRC but I haven't shot the gun. I know that my brother and his daughter have a bunch of trigger time with it. Other than the 6.5-300, the 7PRC in the Browning X-Bolt is going to have the best ballistics with the 175 grain ELD-X.

The Kimber is going to win the weight contest hands down. The other 6.5 Creedmoor and the 6.5-300 are both Weatherby Vanguards so they should weigh similar other than scopes and ammo. The X-Bolt is going to be similar. Haven't scaled any loaded.

Likely going to take a backup gun in case of problems. Outfitter things is a good idea. Used a Winchester model 70 in a 300WSM on the other sheep hunts. Did not like the performance of the 180 Nosler partitions on sheep and will leave it at that.
 
Never hunted sheep. Hunted out west for antelope, deer, and elk. Id feel a little under gunned with a 6.5 creedmoor . Might be 100 yd. might be 500 yd. Id take a mag. My creedmoor is accurate as hell but Id want a little more pop. Doug
 
Originally I hadn't given the Creedmoor any thought until I was visiting with the outfitter's wife. She said that she and their daughter had both used a Creedmoor on their own sheep hunts. My research tells me that the Creedmoor is good to 6-700 yards which is further than I want to shoot short of a pure long range shooting gun. I need to get some more trigger time behind several of those guns. Weight isn't everything but I'm not going to carry an extra 4 or 5 lbs if I have a lighter weight gun that will get the job done. Easiest solution is to get the 7PRC shooting well and call it good. I have some work to do before I say yes or no to several of these choices. The advice that I am getting from the outfitters that I have talked to is to take the one you are most confident in using.
 
That 6.5 300 sounds like the ticket to me. The B.C. of the .264 bullet and the pop of a 300 mag. Whats there to argue about. The only elk I ever killed was with a .308 in a TC encore pistol. Only thing I could shoot at the time due to a car wreck. I would have felt better with one of my white trash weatherbys. Doug
 
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