Help me pick a calibre 243 or 6.5 Creedmoor or other

For those who hunt enough shooting the .243 and 6.5 will pretty much be the same. They are cartridges that really under perform in most hunting scenarios. They are too much for a predator rifle (if you care to utilize the fur), and a bit under for most big game. I own a .243, it collects dust and had a 6.5 Creed that never saw the field when given the option of my 30 cals. Buy a dedicated coyote/ varmint rifle and a dedicated big rifle and have the best options when you head out.

For those who think kids cant shoot a .308 thats simply not true. This is my 15 yr. old sons first muledeer buck, shot him at 300 yards with .308 150gr SSTs. He's a lanky beanpole too.

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I see a lot of recommendations for 7mm. I used to have a 7x57 and loved, but my wife found the recoil a little stiff, which is why I am looking in the 6 or 6.5 territory. That being said, I have never used either calibers in question, so I don't really know how much lighter they are. I could always pick up another 7mm rifle and load it down. In some ways this may be advantageous for me, as I have a ton of components for the 7x57.
 
scott_r said:
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For those who think kids cant shoot a .308 thats simply not true. This is my 15 yr. old son's first muledeer buck, shot him at 300 yards with .308 150gr SSTs. He's a lanky beanpole too.

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As a tall skinny fellow who never heard about these things, get the kid working on strengthening his core muscles early. It is too easy to get injured by Tall Man's Disease or long lever back sprains and strains. It is easier to build muscle before age 25 than after 25.
 
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thepolinator said:
I see a lot of recommendations for 7mm. I used to have a 7x57 and loved, but my wife found the recoil a little stiff, which is why I am looking in the 6 or 6.5 territory. That being said, I have never used either calibers in question, so I don't really know how much lighter they are. I could always pick up another 7mm rifle and load it down. In some ways this may be advantageous for me, as I have a ton of components for the 7x57.
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The 7mm is a very flexible caliber and a good choice as you are already a handloader with 7x57 reloading supplies on hand. The 120gr NBTs are fine for low recoil deer loads. I will use them in my 275Rigby for the same as well 160gr NPs for moose. Covers a lot of ground with proper bullet selection without very much compromise at all.
 
Rifle fit, balance and weight are a lot more important then cartridge selection. If the rifle is uncomfortable to hold , too long, too heavy it's not going to be easy to shoot well.

Concentrate on the rifle and scope combo, then pick one of the many cartridges mentioned already.
 
No good reason to go with anything other than the 6.5 Creedmoor in a new rifle these days... enough case capacity, plentiful bullets, lots of brass available locally at SD, many different rifle platforms to choose from all with light recoil.
 
357Maximum said:
Rifle fit, balance and weight are a lot more important then cartridge selection. If the rifle is uncomfortable to hold , too long, too heavy it's not going to be easy to shoot well.

Concentrate on the rifle and scope combo, then pick one of the many cartridges mentioned already.
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Thanks, but like I said this is a loner for other people. There is no possible way to make it fit several people of different sizes, hence the need to try to mitigate it with calibre.
 
May I suggest the 260 Remington. Or, if you are feeling trendy, the 6.5 Creedmoor.

These are mild mannered rounds that will not beat anyone up, and are quite effective
on game up to and including Moose.

Obviously, bullet choice and shot placement are paramount.

I would be shooting the 130/140 Accubond or the 130 Scirocco II for
game animals from small deer right up the bigger animals. Dave.
 
A 6.5x55 can be gotten for little money, and workers well on game from deer to moose. Another good cartridge for recoil and effectiveness is 7x57. Both cartridges out perform (imho) than a 243. (I have 2 but are coyote rifles)
 
thepolinator said:
Thanks, but like I said this is a loner for other people. There is no possible way to make it fit several people of different sizes, hence the need to try to mitigate it with calibre.
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One option would be a lite weight chassis with an adjustable butt stock to fit the barreled action of your choice, easily adjustable to fit a number of people.
 
hoytcanon said:
No good reason to go with anything other than the 6.5 Creedmoor in a new rifle these days... enough case capacity, plentiful bullets, lots of brass available locally at SD, many different rifle platforms to choose from all with light recoil.
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Eagleye said:
May I suggest the 260 Remington. Or, if you are feeling trendy, the 6.5 Creedmoor.

These are mild mannered rounds that will not beat anyone up, and are quite effective
on game up to and including Moose.

Obviously, bullet choice and shot placement are paramount.

I would be shooting the 130/140 Accubond or the 130 Scirocco II for
game animals from small deer right up the bigger animals. Dave.
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Sage advice right here. I am a fan of the 260 Remington, have been a long time, nothing can be done with one of these that can't be done with the other. Currently I use a 6.5Cm simply because of ammo availability. I reload as well, and will be getting a 260 again soon to fill the gap in my "want" column.
 
scott_r said:
For those who hunt enough shooting the .243 and 6.5 will pretty much be the same. They are cartridges that really under perform in most hunting scenarios. They are too much for a predator rifle (if you care to utilize the fur), and a bit under for most big game. I own a .243, it collects dust and had a 6.5 Creed that never saw the field when given the option of my 30 cals. Buy a dedicated coyote/ varmint rifle and a dedicated big rifle and have the best options when you head out.

For those who think kids cant shoot a .308 thats simply not true. This is my 15 yr. old sons first muledeer buck, shot him at 300 yards with .308 150gr SSTs. He's a lanky beanpole too.
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Nice deer! Better than any muley I've shot and I'm twice his age :). But why do you think a 150gr .308" SST is good deer medicine but a 140gr .264" SST from the same case size is not? That seems pretty similar to me.

I've seen deer killed with everything from 243 to 25-06 to 308 to 300 WM and they all died very similarly. Using bonded bullets from any cartridge they stayed on their feet for 5-10 seconds (yes, even with 300 WM) and using cup and core bullets they flopped over on the spot. But they all died quickly so did it really matter whether it was a 100gr Interlock or 200gr Accubond? I know some guys in BC and Texas who happily use 70-77gr 223 on deer.
 
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