Undecided on a new Cartrige

[Greg Duerr]

I own a custom .243 AI that I use for marmonts and jackrabbit............I spend most of my shooting time with Varmints. However I have family that live up on the Montana, Idaho boarder and ask me to come up and hunt deer and Elk................My son is a black bear hunter and I will be hunting with him this fall for Bear. My .243 has a 1x9 twist so I can shoot the heavyer bullets, its just that I would feel a lot better with a rifle of a larger caliber.

For Mule Deer, antelope and bear and Elk...............................


What would you buy?? If I do get another rifle it will be from Cooper......................

Greg

 

[D.ID]

How far do you want to reach out on your hardest targets elk and bear? What kind of bear? Are you recoil sensitive? Do plan on a brake or no-brake option?

 

[Broz]

300 Win Mag. Great brass and bullet selection. Good factory ammo choices if you don't reload. Very sweet to shoot with a good brake. Plenty of energy to 1000 yds for all game you will be hunting. And the big plus ...... barrel life that is awesome so you don't have to change it out every 500 to 700 rounds.

Jeff

 

[Greg Duerr]

I have shot one Bull Elk, 318 B&C points and I used a borrowed 300 win Mag with a break. It was pleasant to shoot, it shot about like my old 7mm-08, would that be a fair fair estimate in the felt recoil/
For those of you who have a 300 WM did it come with a break or was it an after thought? Does the break make a big reduction in the felt recoil?

As far as distance, I bought a Leica 1200 new in the box. For the first time I got a real look at what 400 yards looks like. Thats a long ways out there for me. Thinking back to last years Antelope hunt, I extimated my shot at about 225 yards.........with the range finder it was closer to 175 yards. It gave me a huge apprecitation for the shot you guys take..............I ranged a rock that was 724 yards..............CANT even imagine shooting somthing that far away.............This is all so new to me, and a real eye opener, so for now my first goal is to take anything at 400 yards.
This is way I keep putting off going up to Idaho to hunt with my father in law..............I only have a .243 AI.
I appreciate your feed back and the 300Win mag seems the way to go..................

Question what does your 300's felt recoil compare to with a MB and does the MB cut a lot of the felt recoil out?

G

 

[Broz]

My 10 lb equiped 300 win with a JP ent. brake is a kitty cat to shoot. My wife shot her first elk with it at 425 yards and she is 5' 2" and scared of everything. She never complained once about recoil.

Jeff

 

[Greg Duerr]

Jeff

What kind of Brake do you have ....................could you give me more info on it.

Sounds sweet to me........................

G

 

[Broz]

Jeff

What kind of Brake do you have ....................could you give me more info on it.

Sounds sweet to me........................

G

JP - Compensators - Bennie Cooley Signature Series



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[Daryl licht]

I've guided hunters all over the state of new Mexico and without hesitation I can state " bring the weapon you can shoot the best". There is no substitution for trigger time. I wish all hunters could shoot the .338 class of cartridges well...but they can't. By well, I mean putting five shots into a paper plate. If you can put five into the plate at 500 yds. Then by all means use that as you maximum range but if you can do that at only a 100 yds. Then keep that as your maximum. Caliber by no means takes the place of placement. I've had a young man that has killed several nice bulls with a .257 Roberts hardly anyone's first choice as an elk round but he could put five into an area the size of a coffee cup and hit his animals in the neck. On the other hand I've seen poorly hit animals with a .340 weatherby run off and become a hot lunch for the coyotes. To me it sounds like you need to take your .243 and hit them in the neck or buy a larger caliber and a thousand rounds of ammo...and get good with it. Good luck my friend.

 

[Greg Duerr]

Well Im leaning towards the 6.5mm's.................its a big jump from my .243 and I dont think I will have to hit them in the neck. For me after buying a good range finder ................400 yards is a long shot. so going from a 100gr bullet to a 140 gives me a little breathing room.
My second choice is the .280

Greg

 

[sasaholic]

black bears go down just fine with a good shot from a .243. people dont give small bullets enough credit for what they can actually do. Id be more comfortable shooting an elk with a .243 that i have hundreds of rounds of practice with over any 300 that was just handed to me. bullet selection plays a pretty big role in knockdown power so do go shooting a target bullet at a big elk, but with a custom rifle you should already know the basics. i say go out there with what you know and stalk in close and drop the hammer. good luck with whatever you choose.....btw im not talking you out of buying more guns that would just be crazy

 

[Tikkamike]

I am with Jeff, 300 win is a good all around rifle, or the 300 wsm

 

[Greg Duerr]

In the end its all about bullet placement with a good bullet. Im not a big bore fan. Right now Im considering having a light 7mm-08 built up with a McMillan "Edge" stock and a # 21/2 Pac Nor barrel ................Im also looking hard at the Cooper Mdl 54 Excaliber....................I would think that a well placed 150gr Swift Scirocco would do wonders on most anything. Its your shooting ability and the confidence you have in your rifle. I hunt in some ruff steep places and a 10 lbs rifle................Im tired already.

G

 

[429421Cowboy]

Nothing wrong with the .280 rem, or especially the .280 AI, which gives the option of using both rounds if need be. Sadly factory ammo is a bit lacking in the .280, but handloading the AI will get you pretty much the 7mag with less powder burned.
I shoot 7mag just for the ease of brass and if need be (gasp!) factory rounds. I would recomend in to anyone that reloads and may ever consider long range hunting or targets for many factors. Not the least being that i shoot mine without the brake and could not be happier, i try to stay away from the ear splitting tendancys of a brake on a hunting rifle is at all possible.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[submoa]

I would say if you like the 6.5s look at the 6.5-284 or 6.5-06.