Looking for a versatile cartridge

[ReLes]

Hello there.
To sum it up, I'm willing to replace my 22-250.
75% of the use or the rifle will be shooting at deer, at distances comprised between 80 and 150 yds. The rest will be shooting deer at 250-300yds, and hogs in the Woods at less than 50yds.
The 22-250 is nice for the first 75% because at those distances i Can confidently go for a neck/headshot. But I'm not good enough a shot to do that at longer distances, and a lung/heart shot won't do it with that cartridge. Also, close range shots at hogs are no good : bullet fragmentation leadind to no exit hole (and hard tracking of the animal) and lots of meat damage.
So what I'm looking for is a cartridge with good enough ballistics to shoot at up to 300 yards without too much thinking, and whose bullets won't fragment and will expand properly on a 30yards shot.

Criterias are :
- versatility
- light recoil
- moderate velocity (i think ?)
- ammo availability ( i don't reload cuz no Time)
- barrel lifespan.

The most serious contenders are probably 7mm08, .308, .270.., but I might be missing something.

Thanks in avance for tour advice.

Best regards

Édit : I live in New Caledonia, a small french Island in SW Pacific

 

[JMW67]

7mm-08 followed by the 308 would be my choices, I hate to say it but the 6.5 creed would be right there too

 

[ReLes]

Thanks for the reply.
6.5 Creedmor isn't good because of the ammo availability criteria (most common here is 243, 270 and 7RM, then you have 308, 22-250, 7mm08 and 300wm, anything else Can be considered an exotic cartridge and will be really hard to find).

 

[JMW67]

The 270 is a great all around cartridge if that is what the ammo supply dictates

 

[Ace Quackhunter]

Hello there.
To sum it up, I'm willing to replace my 22-250.
75% of the use or the rifle will be shooting at deer, at distances comprised between 80 and 150 yds. The rest will be shooting deer at 250-300yds, and hogs in the Woods at less than 50yds.
With the 22-250 is nice for the first 75% because at those distances i Can confidently go for a neck/headshot. But I'm not good enough a short to do that at longer distances, and a lung/heart shot won't do it with that cartridge. Also, close range shots at hogs are no good : bullet fragmentation leadind to no exit hole (and hard tracking of the animal) and lots of meat damage.
So what I'm looking for is a cartridge with good enough ballistics to shoot at up to 300 yards without too much thinking, and whose bullets won't fragment and will expand properly on a 30yards shot.

Criterias are :
- versatility
- light recoil
- moderate velocity (i think ?)
- ammo availability ( i don't reload cuz no Time)
- barrel lifespan.

The most serious contenders are probably 7mm08, .308, .270.., but I might be missing something.

Thanks in avance for tour advice.

Best regards

It's hard to beat 308 for what you want to do. I have used one for many years and it will work up close and out to 300 yards without a problem. I have used my 22-250 for Deer as well, 55 grain, but when I switch to partition bullets I was surprised as to how well the preformed on deer. If your were to re-barrel with a fast twist you could used a heavy bullet in the 22-250.

 

[LVJ76]

7mm-08 followed by the 308 would be my choices, I hate to say it but the 6.5 creed would be right there too

What said. I'm a 7mm-08 addict, but any of those 3 will do it and all have tons of ammo options

 

[fabricator21]

6.5x47 lapua

 

[338 dude]

Hello there.
To sum it up, I'm willing to replace my 22-250.
75% of the use or the rifle will be shooting at deer, at distances comprised between 80 and 150 yds. The rest will be shooting deer at 250-300yds, and hogs in the Woods at less than 50yds.
With the 22-250 is nice for the first 75% because at those distances i Can confidently go for a neck/headshot. But I'm not good enough a short to do that at longer distances, and a lung/heart shot won't do it with that cartridge. Also, close range shots at hogs are no good : bullet fragmentation leadind to no exit hole (and hard tracking of the animal) and lots of meat damage.
So what I'm looking for is a cartridge with good enough ballistics to shoot at up to 300 yards without too much thinking, and whose bullets won't fragment and will expand properly on a 30yards shot.

Criterias are :
- versatility
- light recoil
- moderate velocity (i think ?)
- ammo availability ( i don't reload cuz no Time)
- barrel lifespan.

The most serious contenders are probably 7mm08, .308, .270.., but I might be missing something.

Thanks in avance for tour advice.

Best regards

7mm08

 

[BoomFlop]

I love the 7mm-08, however, ammo availability has been hard to find and not near as many options. One of the reasons I started to reload.

I would suggest a 308 Win. Availability is better than probably any other cartridge. Options of bullets are virtually endless. Very accurate. Recoil is mild (not light) yet not bad if rifle has a little weight to it. Cheap ammo options as well for practice.

Good luck,
Steve

 

[ReLes]

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I live in New Caledonia, the only places you Can but ammunition here is armories, and you Can count them on the fingers of one hand. So By "availability" I mostly mean how much different Factory ammo i Can find to get one the rifle will like and shoot accurately.
And here bying a New rifle will be cheaper than having mine rebarrelled.

 

[OG10]

He is in the SW Pacific ocean ,750 miles east of Australia. What ever ammo is availiable constantly wil dictate your choice.In my humble opinion any of the 3 choices you have wil work for your intended use.I like all 3 of your choices, good luck and happy hunting.

 

[Frog4aday]

I'll second the .270 Win recommendation. Makes any shot out to 300 yards easy as it is very flat-shooting. Great round for deer & hogs with plenty of power for either. It hits with authority. If recoil avoidance is high on your list of criteria, then I'd suggest a look @ the .243 Win since you said you could get ammo for it, too. It will do what you want while going easy on the shoulder.

 

[David Emerson]

No 30-06 ammo? By your parameters it should work perfect.

 

[ReLes]

Thanks for the input.
Both my shoulders got dislocated during rugby games. Hence the need of soft recoil. 30-06 would hit too hard, that's why I didn't consider it in the first place.