Convince Me Which Caliber to go With
- Thread starter jmill
- Start date
There's a guy on you tube Eric Cortina, most in the competition world has heard of him!
Check out his videos, "ethical hunter challenge"
There's quite a few guys with 12-15lb target rifles that could make a kill shot at 500yds.
Realistically 200yds is a hard shot without a super solid rest & while breathing hard from a mountain climb.
I dam sure wouldn't try 500 on a game animal!
That said!
I love my .280, it certainly preforms at the hunting range I would shoot at.
It would carry a little further than your 308 but not a lot!
Penetration would be a little deeper, but not a lot!
If I needed an excuse to buy a new gun & if I was buying a new gun for your purpose, I'd look at a Sako if I could afford it or a Tikka if I couldn't, of course 280 is not so popular any more but more & more guns are chambering for 280AI which is a slight improvement in ballistics.
Above opinions are all my own, other will defiantly vary.
In most cases it’s not the rifle that lacks the ability. It’s the lack of ability to use the rifle.
Quality optics and the right ammo combined with lots of practice in shooting at the distance you mention, you have ample rifle.
Quality optics and the right ammo combined with lots of practice in shooting at the distance you mention, you have ample rifle.
Can always tell the 300 WinMag owners at the range.
They set up and let one go. Wait a while and let go another. Wait even longer and let go a third.
Then they walk up and down the line asking if anybody wants to try their gun.
I'm not a small guy. 100Kgs. The two times I've shot a 300 Win Mag while sitting at a shooting bench, my body spun 90 degrees.
No thanx.
When I say I've no interest in a 300 Win Mag smaller guys tell me I'm being a wimp. I don't mind. It's like on here when some guy tells me I'm wrong.
Oh no, I'm going to have difficulty sleeping because of what some guy on the interweb typed. Not.
Shot placement is everything. Get the calibre you can shoot regularly, consistently, and accurately.
They set up and let one go. Wait a while and let go another. Wait even longer and let go a third.
Then they walk up and down the line asking if anybody wants to try their gun.
I'm not a small guy. 100Kgs. The two times I've shot a 300 Win Mag while sitting at a shooting bench, my body spun 90 degrees.
No thanx.
When I say I've no interest in a 300 Win Mag smaller guys tell me I'm being a wimp. I don't mind. It's like on here when some guy tells me I'm wrong.
Oh no, I'm going to have difficulty sleeping because of what some guy on the interweb typed. Not.
Shot placement is everything. Get the calibre you can shoot regularly, consistently, and accurately.
Years ago I worked in a LGS and a young guy came in and just had to have a 300WM ... probably because all his idiot friends called him a wimp. I tried to talk him out of it but he just had to have that rifle. A week later he was back in the store looking for a recoil pad because the 300WM was kicking the cr@p out of him ... exactly as I had told him it would.
THIS EXACTLY. Spend money on ammo and practicing and you will exceed anything the stupid magnum guys can do.
I spent an afternoon with a lightweight 338WM many years go. It kicked the ever living CR@P out of me. I literally ended up blue all over my shoulder and cheek. I've shot a lot of really nasty stuff but that one did me the worst damage. Its not the heaviest recoiling rifle I've ever shot but nothing else turned me blue.
I hear you brother. This past October I gave all my magnum rifles to my son, except for one, it has a muzzle brake. I'm getting long in the tooth and not content getting pounded. I'll mention one thing, I'm a much better shot with standard cartridges (the 30-06 and it's off-springs) et al.
Range days will be all sunny, conducting load development and practicing for the big game season.
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I don’t hunt and still have a variety of rifles in various calibres. So buy whatever you enjoy. However I usually go to the range a couple times a week and I often see people purchasing some magnum rifle and struggle zeroing it. The body has an its own intelligence ow that hurts my shoulder my ears my arm. Even if you think you’re tough the body is not an idiot.
So whatever you think you will gain by a few hundred fps will likely be lost in shot placement.
So whatever you think you will gain by a few hundred fps will likely be lost in shot placement.
My 338 weighs 8.1lbs naked (Ruger M77) and with the brake it comes with I could shoot it all day, feels comparable to my lighter 30.06/308's. Can easily shoot 100 rounds through it in a session.
100 rounds a session? Sounds like an expensive afternoon.. At current prices for the accubonds I shoot from mine is a $350 session.
More to the OP Original ask... He has money burning a hole in his pocket and has come to his senses that there are better calibers than the 308..
Find that beauty wildcat. The more I read about, the 6.5prc and the 7mm backcountry sound fun to mess with.
I hate how these questions turn into people assuming and making blanket statements that "must be facts".
Nobody can shoot a light magnum, not true, some people really dont mind. Size of the person doesn't matter, a well fitting rifle matters. So its not pleasant for you to go through a box or two or more at the range. Ok nothing wrong with that. But it doesn't bother others, you just need to know where your tolerances are.
Yes there are more magnums for sale as it seems, but your just assuming it must be recoil. Did they buy a different magnum instead, did they want the better twist in the newer tikka models instead, did they realize you dont need a mag for a deer, did they not realize the cost per shot difference? We dont know unless we are the one selling it.
Back to the OP on his question...
for mountain hunting I would stick to the Tikka for a factory rifle, for the price its hard to beat in the weight range and quality/accuracy of them.
caliber for hunting... depends.
Hunting sheep/deer and smaller with others I would go:
- 6.5cm
- 270 win
- 30-06
- 308
- 6.5 prc
Hunting bigger then deer, into elk at 500 yards, or hunting the mountains solo for smaller game I would go
- 30-06
-300 win mag
- 300wsm
- 7 prc
- 7 rem mag
- 338
Price per shot non-reloading would bring me back to the 30-06 again. The others in the elk size hunting are all awesome but your paying a premium for them. All tikkas are the same action length so going a long action (30-06) wont increase weight or anything, its the same as your 308 right now, actually technically slightly less as some chamber is reamed out for the longer case. If I was not all kitted out to reload the next 1000 rounds for my 300wsm I would get a 30-06. The Superlite Cerastrat cerakoted threaded with a brake, toss that in a wildcat stock (as long a barrel diameter was okay) and it would be amazing.
As others have stated nothing wrong with the 308 either. If you dont have good scope for longer shots then the money might be better spent on that, and a stock upgrade.
Nobody can shoot a light magnum, not true, some people really dont mind. Size of the person doesn't matter, a well fitting rifle matters. So its not pleasant for you to go through a box or two or more at the range. Ok nothing wrong with that. But it doesn't bother others, you just need to know where your tolerances are.
Yes there are more magnums for sale as it seems, but your just assuming it must be recoil. Did they buy a different magnum instead, did they want the better twist in the newer tikka models instead, did they realize you dont need a mag for a deer, did they not realize the cost per shot difference? We dont know unless we are the one selling it.
Back to the OP on his question...
for mountain hunting I would stick to the Tikka for a factory rifle, for the price its hard to beat in the weight range and quality/accuracy of them.
caliber for hunting... depends.
Hunting sheep/deer and smaller with others I would go:
- 6.5cm
- 270 win
- 30-06
- 308
- 6.5 prc
Hunting bigger then deer, into elk at 500 yards, or hunting the mountains solo for smaller game I would go
- 30-06
-300 win mag
- 300wsm
- 7 prc
- 7 rem mag
- 338
Price per shot non-reloading would bring me back to the 30-06 again. The others in the elk size hunting are all awesome but your paying a premium for them. All tikkas are the same action length so going a long action (30-06) wont increase weight or anything, its the same as your 308 right now, actually technically slightly less as some chamber is reamed out for the longer case. If I was not all kitted out to reload the next 1000 rounds for my 300wsm I would get a 30-06. The Superlite Cerastrat cerakoted threaded with a brake, toss that in a wildcat stock (as long a barrel diameter was okay) and it would be amazing.
As others have stated nothing wrong with the 308 either. If you dont have good scope for longer shots then the money might be better spent on that, and a stock upgrade.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
A caliber that can reliably reach 500 yards with enough powder to make the bullet expand in a 6lb package You are going to come back and complain about recoil. I don’t see the need to “hunt” at 500 yards it’s not really hunting at that point and I have seen way too many videos of people shooting animals at that range to only hit them in the guts or miss and hit something nob vital.
A belted mag as others have listed is what you are going to need most soft points require about 1500+ fps to open.
A belted mag as others have listed is what you are going to need most soft points require about 1500+ fps to open.
jordanlillico
Member
- Location
- fsj bc canada
Your 308wi. Will do it all
A 6 5creedmoor or 6.5prc would be a small edge
708 is also very underestimated
A 6 5creedmoor or 6.5prc would be a small edge
708 is also very underestimated
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
That’s what happens when you pack a .300 win mag into a 6lb package with someone who complains that a mosin is too much recoil.
With a “heavy recoiling” gun weight is your friend need to pack a rifle up a mountain either need to suck it up one way or another couple extra pound in a rifle or More recoil.
