"We don't take souls, we leave that to wives and girlfriends, but we can do a layaway " - Grumpy Wolverine.
If you need religion to have good morals then you don't actually have good morals.
It may be far but its hella fun. Nothing forces you to learn wind like shooting 22 LR at 300+.
I guess I struggle to under the OPs premise. I dont get this concept of dual use.
When I hunt with a rifle, the plan is to shoot it, not use it as a bludgeon. And any hunting rifle I use i will also target shoot with extensively just to get proficient amd confirm ammo and zero before the hunt. Thats not dual use. Thats just all part of the same single purpose of hunting.
If you want readily available somewhat affordable ammo, just go .308 and be done.
A hundred years from now long after all the boutiqie fad calibres have faded into dust and been replaced with plasma rifles in the 40 watt range you will still be able to find .308 in production and stockpile.
Last edited by Cameron SS; 05-10-2024 at 12:48 PM.
Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods. HL Mencken. 1919.
Sell the rest and get a 6.5 PRC
All ammo is expensive now, you’re going to have to reload if you want to shoot volume.
Last edited by 45C; 05-10-2024 at 12:59 PM.
7mm 08 and 6.5 prc arent likely to be much better on felt recoil than what you have now. And certainly not better on cost.
If you like the cartridges you are in now, Instead of buying a whole new gun, take a look at a good recoil pad and perhaps a muzzle brake. Fraction of the cost, preserves the value of your investment in the gun you already have, adds +10 to cool factor.
Not sure if anyone else said yet either but you can trying going down the rabbit hole of handloading amd can load yourself up some reduced loads for training, and lower cost (but better quality) hunting ammo.
With hunting off the table, .22LR all day every day. But a nice precise bolt gun that closely resembles your go to hunting rifle set up, throw your hunting scope on it and starting throwing 40 gr rocks at 250-300 yards.
If you can get good at that the moving back up to your centre fire will feel like cheating.
Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods. HL Mencken. 1919.
What the OP apparently wants is a cross-over rifle in a calibre suitable for both target shooting and hunting. I would suggest that there are 2 issues at play here - the rifle design, and the calibre. In terms of the rifle design, if you want a cross-over rifle, you should probably look at the cross-over designs. There is one design in particular that meets the OP's criteria, and that is the SIG Cross (Cross as in cross-over!). It is the near-ideal combination of precision target rifle and lightweight, accurate and reliable hunting rig, capable of filling both roles without need for adjustment nor modification. By combining the traditional steel action and alloy chassis into a singular, aluminum structure with steel lock-up between the Barrel Extension and Bolt, the SIG Cross's designers shed weight while simultaneously enhancing rigidity and accuracy. The SIG Cross is a compact and exceptionally ergonomic precison-capable hunting rifle that routinely produces .5 MOA out to 500m (and beyond) from its 18" 6.5 Creeedmoor Barrel using suitable match grade ammunition.
In terms of calibre, I would suggest to the OP that his lack of reloading simultaneously simplifies and limits his commercial ammo selection to either .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor. I believe that 6.5 Crredmoor is the way to go, given its capabilities as both a long-range precision target round and a suitable, medium-game hunting cartridge. The Creedmoor bucks the wind much better than .308 Win can, with a far superior Ballistic Coefficient, making it the precision target round of choice over the .308 cal. Insofar as the effects on game are concerned, suitable game animals apparently have a difficult time differentiating between the terminal effects of 6.5 Creedmoor versus those of .308 Winchester. Both are effective and deadly calibres for game harvest out to 500m if the shooter is sufficiently skilled with a properly zeroed rifle for which he/she has valid Data On Previous Engagements (DOPE) using suitable hunting ammunition.
Mark C
IMHO, you have some good hunting rifles - why not just get one thats super inexpensive to plink with - 223!
24ish grns of powder and bullets $60/100, brass is cheap. SR primers readily avail. 3000-5000 rounds per barrel.
Wheras, a PRC is 55-59 grns of powder (if you can find), brass is $2-3 each, Primers are $$$. Bullets average $80-100/100, and 1200-1500 rounds per barrel.