Mid-range deer cartridge

[GSRswapandslow]

i'm doing a 7mm-08 for shots out to 300yds

 

[Exocet]

I vote for .280 Remington. Either normal or Ackley. I have two .280 Remingtons that shoot great.

7mm bullet. Great bullet selection. More umph than the 7-08. Still has mild recoil. 139/140 grain bullets are great for deer. Heavier weights only gain in ballistic performance over distance.

What's not to like.

 

[DBLNUT]

My mid range is 250 yds. I just had Tim Smith in Warren Pa build me a little 250 Savage. Rem 700, SS Rock Creek Mountain Rifle contour in a McMillan Hunters edge stock.

 

[xpilot]

7-08. no need to reinvent the wheel........

 

[LHSmith]

what happened to the OP's requirement for a short action and all the suggestions for cartridges that need a long action for hunting use? OP- BTW the 6.5 x 55 GWI needs a Long action.

 

[ShootDots]

what happened to the OP's requirement for a short action and all the suggestions for cartridges that need a long action for hunting use? OP- BTW the 6.5 x 55 GWI needs a Long action.

I was wondering IF and WHEN someone may bring this up! Way to go LH! Now for the second requirement>> LOW felt recoil, apparently for his wife! Some of the recommendations do not fall into that qualifier either...

 

[Rustystud]

I build a lot of hunting rifles, short, mid, long range. I could have any thing that I want. I deer hunt with one of the following: 243 Win., .308 Win., 30-06 Springfield., or 300 Win mag. I build for customers a lot of .260 Rem., 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm/08, 270 Win, .280, .280AI., 7 mm Mag., 300 WSM., and 300 Win Mag.
The 7mm/08 and 308 Win loaded with control expansion bullets does a great job on White tails.
Nat Lambeth

 

[LHSmith]

My personal favorite is .250 Sav. , but brass is hard to find. I recommend a 7mm/08 and use reduced H4895 loads and find a load comfortable for the shooter. As they get more accustomed to the rifle, the load can be adjusted closer to full power. H4895 is very safe for reducing loads down to 60% - see Hodgdons website.

 

[hogpatrol]

My .02, 6.5x47. with Berger VLDs. It'll thread a needle at 500 yds. ;D

 

[Jtate]

6.5 Creedmoor, a better 260

 

[bloc]

My vote is for the good old 308 Win. Easy load development, great accuracy.

Brian

+1

All it does is work. Lots of bullet choices, tons of load data, factory stuff available everywhere, easy on the shoulder.

 

[snert]

I would love to say a BR, or 243 AI...but I have to admit it, the 260 and 7-08 fit the bill very well, do the job, SA and low recoil. I think I would go 260 if the youngster is small, or 7-18 if a bit bigger.

My daughter, 5 foot tall, 120 shoots a heavy 308, but it is on the edge of uncomfortable for her. A 260 would not be.

FWIW

Snert

 

[HTSmith]

260 Rem. You can load it with 100 Gr bullets for a really low recoil load that will still do the job on deer. Later you can load up a 130 Gr bonded and have one of the best setups going in my opinion. I ran a 7/08 for a long time and loved it but the 260 does the same job with less recoil.

 

[pogson]

I would like to build a mid range (out to 500 yd) short action rifle for my son for hunting/targets for his birthday. My wife, also a competition shooter and hunter, and I have kicked around a few calibers, 243 AI, 260 rem, 6xc, 6.5x47L, 6.5x55GWI, and one of the RSAUMs. Looking for something with a lower felt recoil but enough oomf to take a deer at mid range once I am comfortable with his shooting those distances. I prefer to stick with a 6mm/6.5mm/7mm. What are your thoughts/suggestions?

I would skip 6mm for the long range deer. 6.5X55, 7x57, 7mm-08, or .308Win would all be decent choices. .308 definitely has known accuracy but in a custom rifle the smaller bore might have an edge. I'd go with the 6.5x55 built to modern standards, not that whimpy old stuff throated for 160RN from the 19th C. With reloading you should be able to load for light recoil and still find long bullets that will do the deed at 500 yards. You could ask for a throat and twist optimal for the lighter bullets, 85-140 grains. The builder might also be able to provide specific loads to match the rifle for safety/accuracy.

Too bad there's no smiley for drooling. Crying will have to do. It must be great to help create a rifle that meets your needs exactly. I certainly can't afford it but my needs are simpler, too. :'(

 

[jsthntn247]

If you do a 7-08, make sure they get the freebore right or you will either get pressure signs to early or have to jump a mile to mag feed. For that reason, I'd go with a 6.5x47 or 6.5 Creed. I use a 7-08 for hunting but on a long action.

 

[XTR]

If you do a 7-08, make sure they get the freebore right or you will either get pressure signs to early or have to jump a mile to mag feed.

eeeh, that is kind of the case with anything if you plan to shoot heavy bullets.

If you are doing a custom and put a Wyatt's box in it you can shoot 2.9 and longer from the mag, mine has had the ramp cut and feeds ~2.95s from AICS w/o the plate. I have a really long freebore (.188) to be able to shoot 162s if I want and I can still seat a Sierra 140SGK (which is my "go to" white tail bullet) on the lands at 2.85 oal. So far the only hunting bullet I've found I can't seat well is the 140 accubond, the nose and plastic tip are so long that I'm still way off of the lands seated to 2.95 from the mag. That bullet would need to be seated over 3.00 to get to the lands in my rifle.

That's not to say that a 7-08 is any better or worse than a 260, deer won't be able to tell the difference. The 7-08 has the advantage of longer barrel life (not an issue in a hunting rifle) and a somewhat wider selection of bullets. Shooting a 140 in a 7 is a middle weight for class bullet, shooting a 140 in a 6.5 is shooting the heaviest in class. I'd personally rather shoot the 7 with 140s, which is why I built one.

 

[timeout]

I realize my setup is only for the tinkering types, but love my 6 Dasher. Two of us shooting them this past season and the results were outstanding. I am shooting a #3 contour Krieger barrel with a Harrell's brake trimmed to the barrel diameter. Load used is Berger 105 Hunting VLD's over RL15. Rem. 7 1/2 primers. FPS nearing 3000. Lightweight, no recoil, can see the impact downrange and great terminal damage. Farthest and best shot I made was 261 Yards running, dropped immediately as if hit with a hammer. Many of you will criticize taking this shot, but we do deer drives in farm country and seldom fail to recover an animal. I'm getting on in years and this will be my deer rifle for evermore. Also for the optics on this Dasher - Leopold VXR 4-12X50 Firedot LRV reticle. I have been a NF Zero stop dial up guy for awhile now, but love this Leupy. The dots are small, light brightness is adjustable so it works from low light up to full and bright sunshine. On my Dasher for minute of Whitetail I shoot the top dot 50-200 yards. The center dot is on at 300 and the bottom dot is useable at 400 and 500 yards by compensating on POA. If you haven't tried the Firedot LRV on fast action hunting situations, you're missing out!

 

[rvn1968]

KISS always works. I'd go with a 243 for your son and keep on with a 308. Both are accurate at 600 and 308 has been used successfully at 1000. IMHO,Tom.

 

[GTshooter]

what happened to the OP's requirement for a short action and all the suggestions for cartridges that need a long action for hunting use? OP- BTW the 6.5 x 55 GWI needs a Long action.

Sir, thanks for getting the thread back on track. The reason I added 6.5x55 gwi as a shirt action caliber is that Ian Kelbly said he could chamber one in a short action if I stick with the shorter 130 and below grain bullets.

 

[tnhunter]

6 creedmoor gets my vote