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Needs some help picking a cartridge for Tactical Matches/Hunting purposes?

Tulo2tass2

Ok so I know that this is not a sniper/tactical based forum but it is by far my favorite group of shooters to gather knowledge from. With that being said I have decided that factory rifles are just getting boring to me so I am going to begin a custom build. I am not much of a bench shooter and prefer more real world applications where first shot hits are critical. I have decided that I am going to try and get my hands on a Surgeon or Defiance action equipped with a Krieger or Bartlein barrel with a Jewell trigger inside of a McMillan or Manner stock. But I am having the HARDEST TIME PICKING A CARTRIGE. I would like some opinions on your favorite cartridge that fits my criteria?
I have looked into so many different possibilities such as the .243, 6x47, 6.5x47, 6.5-284, 6 Creed, 6.5 Creed, 6.5x55 Swede, and the .308??? I know a lot about most of these cartridges but I cant seem to find WHY I would pick one over the other.
I know everyone has a their opinion as to which is the best BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU PICKED YOURS OVER THE OTHERS?

Thanks for the help
 
My choice would be 6 or 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x47 is another good choice if you can bring yourself to leaving Lapua brass in the grass.
 
There was another thread on here asking about actions for tactical / hunting... I will state this again, I have a friend who is a gunsmith>> and an excellent one at that.. He builds A LOT of tactical rifles for alot of people who compete in that arena.. I know some of, if not most of, these people have the wherewithal to get ANYTHING they desire. Their choice is predominately a Surgeon action. As far as calibers go I have seen everything from a 6.5 Grendal to a 408 Chey-Tac... But many of them pick a .260 Remington... For many of those shooters, that seems to be the most sought after cartridge... I do not shoot tactical so I am only telling you what I see and hear when I am at my gunsmith's shop..
 
ShootDots,

I did forget to mention the .260, but I am more curious why someone would choose the .260 say over the .243 that is very flat shooting and light recoil. I have read countless information on cartridges that people are using but I cant seem to find the answer as to WHY?
 
I don't know Tulo>>> like I stated, I have never shot in that arena... I can only tell you what I see and hear from my gunsmith who builds for them.. I can not tell you from experience why the people choose what they choose..
 
Surgeon builds rifles, you might want to talk with them.

I am currently considering a 260. I would like to see Beretta import the TRG-22 in 260. That would pretty much be a no-brainer for me right now.

Ease of reloading, low recoil, accurate.
 
7mm-08 might be worth a look. Excellent selection of bullets, great accuracy, awesome for hunting. I have one with a 24" barrel and a laminate stock with a 2.5-10 for hunting that I shoot out to 600 all the time. In a purpose built "tactical" style gun it seems like a great choice.
 
My 260 was a hammer, but a 6.5 Creedmoor with its 30 degree shoulder should have the same performance with less powder, and be able to be fed out of AICS mags longer, 6mm Creed shoot flatter and have a slightly smaller wind hold but on hot summer days the 6mm pill hits are hard to spot at distance, IMHO the 6.5 is a better choice, longer barrel life, very accurate and repeatable, and factory loaded ammo is almost always on the shelf.
 
I have a 260 ai. I doubt I will ever own another 6.5. Some say they are a jack of all trades, but for me I'd rather have a 6 or 7mm. You don't say what your hunting but, I would probably rule out the 6mm unless you are only gonna shoot white tail max. I think a 284 would be a great round, very versatile.
 
http://www.6mmar.com/260_Imp_30_.php

Low recoil, good in the wind, feeds from a mag well.
 
Mine is based on a Surgeon action with a Krieger barrel and Jewell trigger built by Terry Cross. Has Terry's KMW Sentinel stock made for him by McMillan . Topped off with an S&B 5-25. It has lived it's life as a .308 for the last year and I've learned a lot about wind reading. Monday my new barrel in 6.5x47 will be here from Terry and will be changed out. The .308 will probably not go back on it for a while. I really like the 6.5x47 round and prefer the small primer. The great thing about having one from Terry is that he keeps all dimensions per serial number pertinent to chambering and when you want a new barrel you can shoot your old one until the new one arrives. He only builds an extra rifle every so often with an agency order so getting one from him can take a while. That said I could not be happier with the rifle.

3rd Gen has a Bighorn in stock and Bugholes.com seems to have a Defiance. Both of those are great also and good to build upon.

Good luck,



 
I have shot the 243, 6mm Creedmoor and 6.5 Creedmoor a lot. I would hands down pick the 6mm Creedmoor over the 243 Win. I'd give a slight advantage to the 6.5 over the 6 because of larger bullet splash and less wind deflection. I shot the 6mm Creedmoor with 105 VLDs 105 A-Maxes 105 Hornady BTHPs and 115 DTACs and the 6.5 Creedmoor with 140 A-Maxes, 140 JLKs, and 140 Berger Hybrids. I had the best luck with the 140 Hybrids.

My experience with them was mainly at 1000yd Benchrest and some 600, not tactical shooting though.
 
I'll try to take a stab directly at your question. Getting the 1st shot hit on small targets obviously takes knowing your rifle and some serious wind reading skills. After that you need a round that will buck that wind as good as possible to help with mistakes in reading plus something that will not beat you to death. If you do miss you also need to be able to spot the impact for correction yourself .308 with a 24" barrel doesn't get me consistent hits passed 750 yards or so on 1moa or smaller targets. The 6.5's shine passed there along with the fast 6's. I am moving to 6.5 x 47 because of ballistics, small primer, longer brass life, good barrel life, and I will be reloading exclusively. If i were shooting factory ammo it would probably be 6.5 Creed or .260, or stick with .308.
 
6, 6.5 and 7mm are all good choices. You have to decide which matches you are going to shoot, as stated distance and terrain will play a part. A 6mm can be hard to spot impacts at long range under some conditions, and under some conditions a 6 or 6.5 can help due to low recoil and being able to spot your own shots. I'm currently in the process of building a 6.5x47 for shorter distance tactical matches that can also be used for longer ranges if needed. I felt for a 6mm to perform short and long I needed a longer barrel than with the 6.5. I watched a 260 win the ASC match against 7mm's and 300's and a 6mm xc place second. That is some serious shooting out to 1250+ yards, so the smaller cartridges can do it.
As for hunting, do you hunt long, short in the woods etc. depending on how you hunt would be a factor. I hunt and cull deer with all of my tactical rifles, for most conditions any of them work.
 
Tulo2tass2,
I have been shooting a steel match this year www.bangsteel.com I am shooting what I have, a Savage LRPV 223ai 8tw shooting 80gr bullets and Bat B in 6BRX shooting 105gr Berger. The guy leading the points is shooting a 243 7tw shooting 115gr bullets. Only 3 have cleaned the match with one per target for 7 target. I don't what the first guy used, but the second guy was the points leader using a 243. I also cleaned it with my 6BRX, it close to the 243 in speed. There are 243's 260, 6.5 to 300 WM the is the limit due to target damage.
Good luck with the hunt

Mark Schronce
 
MarkS said:
Tulo2tass2,
I have been shooting a steel match this year www.bangsteel.com I am shooting what I have, a Savage LRPV 223ai 8tw shooting 80gr bullets and Bat B in 6BRX shooting 105gr Berger. The guy leading the points is shooting a 243 7tw shooting 115gr bullets. Only 3 have cleaned the match with one per target for 7 target. I don't what the first guy used, but the second guy was the points leader using a 243. I also cleaned it with my 6BRX, it close to the 243 in speed. There are 243's 260, 6.5 to 300 WM the is the limit due to target damage.
Good luck with the hunt

Mark Schronce
Click to expand...

Got to shoot the bangsteel course once this year. Hope to make it there for some comps this coming year. Great place to shoot. A few hours away for me.
 
Since you added hunting, the 260 gets my vote. The attached links helped me make the decision a few years ago. Good luck with the decision.

http://demigodllc.com/articles/6.5-shootout-260-6.5x47-6.5-creedmoor/?p=1

http://demigodllc.com/articles/the-case-for-260-remington/?p=1

Jet
 
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