6.5/284 or 300 wsm

[BLASERMAN]

want to build a light
Sheep style rifle. Titanium
action , carbon rapped barrel
Manners or Mc Millian stock
Opinion 's on the calibers
300 wsm Or. 6.5 -284

 

[WeiserBucks]

Either one will be excellent, you just need to narrow down your bullet choice.

 

[Barrelnut]

Maybe think about a long or short action too. 6.5/284 is better in the long action. 300 WSM can go either way, but needs a magnum bolt face.

 

[Rick Richard]

I like the 300 WSM, but I think either will be just fine.

 

[BeaverHunter]

I have both calibers and have been lucky enough to hunt sheep once. Do you plan on hunting anything larger than sheep with it? If so I would go with the 300 wsm. If not then the 6.5 284 because they are so fun to shoot because of the almost no recoil. Especially with a brake on it. Just my opinion.

 

[LongBomber]

The 300wsm will have significantly more recoil, a consideration if you are going to build a 6ish pound or less rifle. I have both in matching heavy barrel rifles, and you can tell the difference in recoil.
A 6.5 pushing a vld/eld bullet is a hard combo to beat for anything under elk size. Pretty solid performance for the recoil.
I have a 260ai on a first gen rem ti action, used a wyatt mag box for a bit more room, frozenfibre 26" barrel. Perfect mtn gun,

 

[Milepost]

For a goat/sheep gun I would stick with the 6.5/284 and use a 28" Proof barrel. Do your self a favor and go with a long Ti action. You will need the extra length action to load the bullets long. Then stick it in a Manners folding stock to keep the packing length down. Only downside to a combo like this is it will be about 1.25 lbs. heavier than a the conventional style Ti mountain rifle.

 

[Mach 1]

I'm a 300 wsm guy. I'm just not a 6.5 fan at range on big game. The simple fact is the 6.5s just don't have the kinetic energy of the short mag with 215 grainers or the like. They are great for paper punching and I use them but I prefer the short mag on deer or bigger past 500 yards.

 

[Deleted member 25294]

If you're going really light I promise the 300 wsm is going to suck to shoot.
Im not recoil shy but I shot a tikka wsm in the past and it was ridiculous.
In my personal experience anything bigger than a fast 6.5 is really tough to shoot well in a light weight setup.

 

[Milepost]

I'm a 300 wsm guy. I'm just not a 6.5 fan at range on big game. The simple fact is the 6.5s just don't have the kinetic energy of the short mag with 215 grainers or the like. They are great for paper punching and I use them but I prefer the short mag on deer or bigger past 500 yards.

I'll agree with you that hunting big game it starts with a .30 cal, but for anything smaller than 500 lbs the 6.5's will get the job done with less meat damage.

Nice thing about the 300WSM it is still very efficient with a 24" barrel. You can shoot the big 215 Berger at over 2900 fps and they'll carry enough speed/energy to reach out 900-1000 yards in the mountains. Only problem I see is that it will kick like a mule in a sub 9lb hunting package.

 

[Greyfox]

IMO, the 6.5x284 is a perfect sheep cartridge with great ballistics, and sufficient energy. It will be easier to shoot with high precision in a light weight package. Used with a good muzzle break, the low recoil/muzzle jump will better enable you to spot your hit, a critical factor in sheep hunting.

 

[WildRose]

I'm a 300 wsm guy. I'm just not a 6.5 fan at range on big game. The simple fact is the 6.5s just don't have the kinetic energy of the short mag with 215 grainers or the like. They are great for paper punching and I use them but I prefer the short mag on deer or bigger past 500 yards.

A 140gr 6.5 leaving the barrel at 2850fps or more can take any N. American game with confidence out to 800 yards or more with perhaps the exception of the big bears, bull moose etc.

 

[WildRose]

I'll agree with you that hunting big game it starts with a .30 cal, but for anything smaller than 500 lbs the 6.5's will get the job done with less meat damage.

Nice thing about the 300WSM it is still very efficient with a 24" barrel. You can shoot the big 215 Berger at over 2900 fps and they'll carry enough speed/energy to reach out 900-1000 yards in the mountains. Only problem I see is that it will kick like a mule in a sub 9lb hunting package.

How much meat damage is done is much more dependent on bullet choice, velocity, and shot placement than caliber.

 

[WildRose]

want to build a light
Sheep style rifle. Titanium
action , carbon rapped barrel
Manners or Mc Millian stock
Opinion 's on the calibers
300 wsm Or. 6.5 -284

Unless you are going to plan on using the same rifle for big elk, moose, bears etc the 6.5 would certainly be the way to go.

In a short action I would probably lean more towards the .260 Rem, 6.5CM, 6.5PRC, long action .264wm.

You could always compromise and go with something like the 7LRM, .284, .280AI, or 7RM to be more comfortable on larger game and longer range with Higher BC bullets.