Moderate Recoil Cartridges for Wind

[Bubba Boomstick]

I went on a hunt recently, I shot a buck mule deer at 300 yards in Wyoming. The wind was probably between 10 to 20 mph crosswind, it pushed my 6.5 Creedmoor bullet 6 inches left and missed the whole rib cage. The bullet was a 140 grain Norma Whitetail which has a low BC (0.3 G1) and velocity was only 2600 FPS. Thankfully the animal still died within seconds, but I may not be so lucky next time.

For better wind performance without punishing recoil in a 10 pound rifle, what are some good options? I am not concerned with rifles being a barrel burner.


Seems like the 6.5-300 Weatherby is a laser beam. 7-300NMI seems like work with the fireforming process.

What do you think?

 

[jackieschmidt]

Many really affective hunting bullets have poor BC numbers compared to many of the popular Match Bullets. These bullets are designed around terminal ballistics in game rather than in flight ballistics.

If you really want to know what I think, you should have aimed about 6 inches to the right if you knew there was that stiff of a crosswind. Don’t sacrifice terminal bullet performance for BC.

 

[ebb]

^^^^^^^^^ Compensate for the wind!

 

[Frankm]

Highest bc hunting bullet you can load/but AND practice doping the wind at varying distances.

The wind is an equalizer!! ( Or often times Spoiler)

 

[Evlshnngns]

Berger 140gr hunting bullet drifts 5.74" at 300 yds in 10mph 9oclock wind.
Your load drifts 13" in the same conditions.
2600fps for both.

Buy or handload better ammo. The 6.5cm is an IDEAL moderate cartridge at 300yds in the wind.

I would grab my 270win pushing a 145eldx at 2950 for a deer hunt.

 

[Orr89rocz]

I dont consider your choices moderate recoil unless with a brake lol. Brake opens up choices.
I think under 500 yards velocity trumps bc within reason but play with the calculators, and those 6.5-300’s are lasers, same with a 7 mag with lighter bullets. Somewhat moderate recoil.
6.5 prc be a better choice than your creedmore. 270 wsm would be fantastic with 130-140’s. 6.8 western has bc but is slow. Not a bad round tho. Regular 270 winchester be great too

Any of the 300 mags with mid range weight bullets moving fast would work well. But likely need a brake to be comfortable

 

[SKWERLZ]

7mm or 270 short magnum of some flavor and 280AI.

 

[ebb]

6.5-284, shoot the same bullet you are using now at 2950-3000. It would need to be built on a long action to get case volume. Moderate recoil and performance is why back in the day they were known as the "fag mag". Short mags are certainly able to supply the performance, but I don't know if their kick can be described as moderate.

 

[DGP4]

What's wrong with using a 130-grain bullet at up to 2950 fps? Nosler has a 129 grain AccuBond with a BC of .53.

 

[Will Henry]

The wind blows everything off course. You can try and ignore the wind by shooting a higher BC bullet faster. Or you can learn the recognize and deal with conditions. Another valuable tool is to learn when you are at your limit on a given day. None of us are going to starve to death if we pass on a shot and wait for a better opportunity. WH

 

[WSnyder]

22CM w/88 ELD-M
6CM w/109 ELD-M

Two of the easiest shooting and great in the wind cartridge bullet combinations. If the 22 isn’t legal in your state for big game go with the 6. Both bullets work great on game. If you want even more, 6 PRC w/109 ELD-M.

Either of these with a brake or suppressor will keep you on target in the scope and will allow for quick follow ups. Shooting them is easy. They’ll also beat out or stay with a lot of larger bullet cartridge combos as far as wind goes well beyond 500 yds.

 

[Bubba Boomstick]

I dont consider your choices moderate recoil unless with a brake lol. Brake opens up choices.
I think under 500 yards velocity trumps bc within reason but play with the calculators, and those 6.5-300’s are lasers, same with a 7 mag with lighter bullets. Somewhat moderate recoil.
6.5 prc be a better choice than your creedmore. 270 wsm would be fantastic with 130-140’s. 6.8 western has bc but is slow. Not a bad round tho. Regular 270 winchester be great too

Any of the 300 mags with mid range weight bullets moving fast would work well. But likely need a brake to be comfortable

Thank you for the input. I usually shoot 338s so I'm new to these smaller caliber hunting rounds.

 

[Bubba Boomstick]

Many really affective hunting bullets have poor BC numbers compared to many of the popular Match Bullets. These bullets are designed around terminal ballistics in game rather than in flight ballistics.

If you really want to know what I think, you should have aimed about 6 inches to the right if you knew there was that stiff of a crosswind. Don’t sacrifice terminal bullet performance for BC.

Good input, I should have aimed more to the right. But that isn't the answer to my question.

Why not shoot the same bullet with great terminal performance at a higher speed like 2900 FPS?

 

[Bubba Boomstick]

22CM w/88 ELD-M
6CM w/109 ELD-M

Two of the easiest shooting and great in the wind cartridge bullet combinations. If the 22 isn’t legal in your state for big game go with the 6. Both bullets work great on game. If you want even more, 6 PRC w/109 ELELD-M.

I think the 6 Creedmoor is appealing. Shooting bullets at 3000 FPS sounds like a good recipe. Lots of good 6mm hunting bullets available as well.

 

[Bubba Boomstick]

6.5-284, shoot the same bullet you are using now at 2950-3000. It would need to be built on a long action to get case volume. Moderate recoil and performance is why back in the day they were known as the "fag mag". Short mags are certainly able to supply the performance, but I don't know if their kick can be described as moderate.

The 6.5 creedmoor is the slowest cartridge I own. Most of my stuff has a muzzle velocity of 2800 to 3000 FPS. I usually don't have to hold for wind off the target. The 6.5 CM with this bullet is a very bad choice for wind. Anything less than a 338 Norma Magnum is what I consider moderate. Thank you for the input.

 

[Orr89rocz]

A 28 nosler with berger 180-195’s and a small brake would be the best imo. Even without a brake in a 10-11 lb deal its not terrible. But its more than i would want for a long range shot to spot hits

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Try plugging various numbers into a ballistics program and see if the gain is worth much in your application before changing equipment. The wind moves them ALL and the difference at 300 yards is small. Say it moves your bullet 6" but a 338 QuasiMag only 4". Either way, you need to make an aiming correction and only 2 inches different. "Let me be perfectly clear. I was brought up in a small town"...but your issue was not the equipment used. Lol! Ballistics will only carry you so far. In the real world while hunting...it's a lot more to do with shooter input than ballistic advantage. Again, play with a ballistics program and see what you come up with but when shooting from a fence post, does any of it matter?

 

[Bubba Boomstick]

A 28 nosler with berger 180-195’s and a small brake would be the best imo. Even without a brake in a 10-11 lb deal its not terrible. But its more than i would want for a long range shot to spot hits

Are there any cartridges that you know of that buck the wind and are easy to spot your own shots?

 

[WSnyder]

Are there any cartridges that you know of that buck the wind and are easy to spot your own shots?

22CM w/88 ELD-M
6CM w/109 ELD-M

Two of the easiest shooting and great in the wind cartridge bullet combinations. If the 22 isn’t legal in your state for big game go with the 6. Both bullets work great on game. If you want even more, 6 PRC w/109 ELD-M.

Either of these with a brake or suppressor will keep you on target in the scope and will allow for quick follow ups. Shooting them is easy. They’ll also beat out or stay with a lot of larger bullet cartridge combos as far as wind goes well beyond 500 yds.

 

[WSnyder]

Try plugging various numbers into a ballistics program and see if the gain is worth much in your application before changing equipment.

Here’s an effective quick and dirty to compare different bullets at different speeds for windage.

Trajectory Normalizing Factor

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