Suggestions for a "big and slow" caliber?
- Thread starter Suther
- Start date
Reduced loads and muzzle brakes are for people that don’t want to buy a rifle chambered for its original purpose.....
I can buy a Porsche and govern it to do 110 kph, and I could buy a Honda Civic and hop it up to do 190 kph..... but what’s the point?.....bunch of money, time and effort wasted IMOP...... and more money spent in then long run.....
Muzzle brakes are loud and not for everyone, but they do have their uses. If that impinges my masculinity, so be it. I don't own one, but I'm cheap too.
For sure Brad, I appreciate Suther's approach too. I am in the process of working my way up to a true big bore. Think I'm just about ready when finances agree.
Too bad we never got to shoot our medium bores in Ontario, would have loved to try your style of deer hunting.
Benching the 300 grain woodleighs at slightly over max book loads (no pressure signs) from my sub 6.5lb .338 wm gave me a nosebleed, so I don't know if it's what OP ordered...
Too bad we never got to shoot our medium bores in Ontario, would have loved to try your style of deer hunting.
Benching the 300 grain woodleighs at slightly over max book loads (no pressure signs) from my sub 6.5lb .338 wm gave me a nosebleed, so I don't know if it's what OP ordered...
Well said sir, well said.
It's not the pc thing to say in this world, but I believe any gun with a muzzlebrake needs to come with a purse. And a sign affixed acknowledging that "this guns owner does not care about the hearing and enjoyment of others."
If your muzzle braked rifle is right for you Emerson, then fill your boots..... and I am not insinuating that it puts limits on your masculinty.... quite the opposite..... I am preaching that a guy should handle what he can handle .....
If your hunting situation dictates that you shoot a 300wm because you need to get “out there”, yet you don’t want that level of recoil and want to put a brake on your rifle then fill your boots... as long as you are confident in your shot....
Not sure where you dad otherwise...
I AM adverse to guys shooting big cartridges and adding brakes and loading them down for no reason other than to say they shoot a larger cartridge... when there are plenty of cartridges that can just do it naturally
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
Glad I picked up my 338 WM Ruger Hawkeye which has a factory muzzle brake. The factory muzzle brake provides optionality. I don't think it kicks that hard without it so I removed it to avoid the increased blast. But it's there if I change my mind. With the brake installed it's surprising how gentle it recoils.
Reduced loads are an effective way to get used to recoil. With regular shooting practice with reduced loads recoil becomes more benign so loads can be worked up further.
Reduced loads are an effective way to get used to recoil. With regular shooting practice with reduced loads recoil becomes more benign so loads can be worked up further.
Don’t Agree on brakes..... they have their place..... just not on any of my rifles or on rifles where someone may be shooting nearby.....
I hate blanket statements and know guys I help hunt where a braked 308 is required..... but limited to the stand etc....
Brakes and reduced loads have their place, I have done many rifles with brakes back when the kids were working their way up to full hunting rifles. I also have a number of heavier recoiling rifles with accurate reduced deer loads worked up, and shoot them when conditions dictate, I also loan these to friends and their kids to get them out hunting and shooting. I have a couple rifles that I dearly love to shoot in .350 RM and .375 H&H but full loads out deer hunting are pointless and unneccesary... I have good reduced deer loads worked up for both and carry them afield often.
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
Ruger offers their Guide Gun in 338 WM complete with a muzzle brake and thread protector. And iron sights. Pretty rifle.
https://www.ruger.com/products/guideGun/specSheets/47117.html
https://www.ruger.com/products/guideGun/specSheets/47117.html
Never is a very strong word Conor.....
Did it and got the t-shirt...... rifle was heavy as hell.....
As Hoyt says, reduced loads and brakes have their place...... just not with the OP....
Its not so much that I don't want more recoil than the 270. I'm fine with taking a step up in recoil. The thing is I want a hunting rifle, and hunting for me involves a lot of walking, and the BC Coast is a steep place. For that reason, I want the rifle to be lighter than my 270 (or at the minimum not noticeably heavier).
Again, hunting rifle, so I won't be getting anything with a brake. Downloading is a possibility, but any rifle I get I will want to shoot full house loads eventually so I would want something to weigh enough for those full house loads to be tolerable - so if I get something like a 375h&h, I'll be going above my weight goal on the rifle.
Well, reading all this has been entertaining to say the least (25 pages in and people are still arguing for their favourites).
To the op:
You may want to try loading heavy for the calibers you already have (160 gr accubonds in 7x57r and 200 gr accubonds in my 8x57's have had great results on deer and moose within 150 yds the last two seasons with very little meat loss).
I have had a few .375 h&h rifles (currently shooting a high wall) and the projectiles are more expensive and have been more difficult to find than other calibers - I would pick up something else for that reason alone. I have owned a .38-55 and a couple .375 winchesters but sold them off as my .45-70's will do anything they will do and more. Currently playing with a 9.3x62 and that would definitely get my vote for a easy to shoot medium bore rifle. I say that with the awareness that all of my hunting takes place within 150 yds or less - so a heavy for caliber projectile at medium velocities (2000-2600 fps at the muzzle) has worked very well for me.
If that applies to what you do as well - then I would recommend:
.45-70 - easy to find and cheap components, easy to load up with cast bullets for practice and many powders that will work. Also a large variety of factory ammo available.
9.3x62 - harder to find factory ammo but a real pleasure to shoot and easy to load for. Lots of components available from tradex and cheap rifles can also be found.
To the op:
You may want to try loading heavy for the calibers you already have (160 gr accubonds in 7x57r and 200 gr accubonds in my 8x57's have had great results on deer and moose within 150 yds the last two seasons with very little meat loss).
I have had a few .375 h&h rifles (currently shooting a high wall) and the projectiles are more expensive and have been more difficult to find than other calibers - I would pick up something else for that reason alone. I have owned a .38-55 and a couple .375 winchesters but sold them off as my .45-70's will do anything they will do and more. Currently playing with a 9.3x62 and that would definitely get my vote for a easy to shoot medium bore rifle. I say that with the awareness that all of my hunting takes place within 150 yds or less - so a heavy for caliber projectile at medium velocities (2000-2600 fps at the muzzle) has worked very well for me.
If that applies to what you do as well - then I would recommend:
.45-70 - easy to find and cheap components, easy to load up with cast bullets for practice and many powders that will work. Also a large variety of factory ammo available.
9.3x62 - harder to find factory ammo but a real pleasure to shoot and easy to load for. Lots of components available from tradex and cheap rifles can also be found.
Then I will continue to submit a 35 cal..... any of them will work for you right out of the box....
Tabacco Brook
Regular
- Location
- Nova Scotia
There has been some good advice and options/suggestions given through out this thread,... I still think a BLR chambered in 358 Winchester would be a great choice for you,.. I have had one for a few years and I am very happy with it,... it is everything you describe that you are looking for...
A .338 will push a 200 gr. bullet at 3000 fps or close to it, probably a little faster than what you'd get from a .300 WM with the same bullet weight, so where's the difference in trajectory? A 250 gr. will hit 2700+ in a .338, I doubt you'd get that from a .300.
