Offseason cartridge decision

Well the "it depends" argument plays a big role here. Where are you hunting? How many days? How far are you realistically shooting game at your max distance and have your practices and are proficient at those distances in ten wind and other conditions you will face on your hunt?
 
Have you tried a 300 (BEE) Weatherby pick a good bbl#5 conture , mate it to the action of your choice keep it 26 inchs & 1/10 twist ,sems" like you faver Remington 700"s & that's Positive complement ! Bad side is you'll have to chain your steel targets , good shooting!!!
 
Over the years I have researched and selected 3 rifles. 1st is a Ruger heavy 220 Swift, which holds a 1\2 or less moa, for varmits (it has also harvested 17 deer, some by family members); 2nd is a Winchester 264 win mag, it holds a 1 MOA , Which has killed many deer, 9 elk, a bear, a moose, and antelope; 3rd and latest is a 300 RUM Rem SPS with muzzle break and I am using 210 bergers, which I will use for elk and other bigger game and when long ranges are anticipated is a consistent 3\4 moa. But I have shot a lot of 1\2 MOA groups several 1" 300 yard and a few 600 yd 3". Still in the process of fine tuning everything by using the advice of an earlier forum thanks to everyone's help
 
glbhunter said:
Over the years I have researched and selected 3 rifles. 1st is a Ruger heavy 220 Swift, which holds a 1\2 or less moa, for varmits (it has also harvested 17 deer, some by family members); 2nd is a Winchester 264 win mag, it holds a 1 MOA , Which has killed many deer, 9 elk, a bear, a moose, and antelope; 3rd and latest is a 300 RUM Rem SPS with muzzle break and I am using 210 bergers, which I will use for elk and other bigger game and when long ranges are anticipated is a consistent 3\4 moa. But I have shot a lot of 1\2 MOA groups several 1" 300 yard and a few 600 yd 3". Still in the process of fine tuning everything by using the advice of an earlier forum thanks to everyone's help
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I have seen a big change in the battery over the years. I am, once again, trying to pare it down to 4 purpose driven hunting rifles. The hateful, but unavoidable, fact that I have become more sensitive to recoil and less able to hoof the hills after crossing the 65th annum, has weighed just as heavily as terminal ballistics and absolute accuracy. If you still have the ability, keep the criteria on the heavier side. Just know that it will be most helpful to start paring back down the power and weight scale without letting ego and bravado impair your real ability to get out there. Right now I am sitting on .222, 6PPC, .270 and .300 Win Mag. All shoot extremely well thanks to merciless culling and good smiths. All are heavier than I want to carry more than 2 miles uphill and all have longer barrels than work in any tight situation. My bench rifles are .223, 6PPC, .308 and .300 Win Mag which helps with the component inventory and load development. I may very well stay with these "Old School" tried and true cartridges, but the rifles must be trimmed. In short, cartridge selection is just 1 consideration and maybe not the most important. -GB
 
glbhunter said:
Over the years I have researched and selected 3 rifles. 1st is a Ruger heavy 220 Swift, which holds a 1\2 or less moa, for varmits (it has also harvested 17 deer, some by family members); 2nd is a Winchester 264 win mag, it holds a 1 MOA , Which has killed many deer, 9 elk, a bear, a moose, and antelope; 3rd and latest is a 300 RUM Rem SPS with muzzle break and I am using 210 bergers, which I will use for elk and other bigger game and when long ranges are anticipated is a consistent 3\4 moa. But I have shot a lot of 1\2 MOA groups several 1" 300 yard and a few 600 yd 3". Still in the process of fine tuning everything by using the advice of an earlier forum thanks to everyone's help
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Thanks GLB Hunter. Could you cite the earlier forum or what you gleaned from it? I'm always trying to try things that improve utility but mostly accuracy.
 
laker said:
Well it's the off season and I can't seem to make my mind up. I've got a great shooting 6.5-06 that I'll be using for deer and antelope and windy day coyotes, a 223 for my fur rifle. Only thing I'm missing now is a dedicated elk rifle. So since I can't seem to decide what I want to go with I figured I'd see if you guys can give me any ideas on what to build or buy. I'll be using it to shoot steel out to 900 yards all summer just like the 6.5-06 and when I'm elk hunting my ranges are from in your lap to as far as the eye can see. What do you guys think
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The 35 Whelen has become my favorite Elk rifle. Many think it is a brush gun as many also think of any caliber over .30, but it is not. I have so far only shoot it to 400yrds, but it is not hard to do. It's ballistics is very close to the 30-06 but with heaver bullets. It may not be a good chose for extreme long range but it is a much more versatile round than it get's credit for. I am pondering getting a 358 STA for longer shooting. The 358 Norma Mag. is another good cartridge. If you want to stay main stream I would not go smaller then a 30 caliber mag. for extreme long range, and a 338 win. mag. would be good too. For elk the 375's are really not to big.
 
Gideon Brett said:
Thanks GLB Hunter. Could you cite the earlier forum or what you gleaned from it? I'm always trying to try things that improve utility but mostly accuracy.
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The first big change was the bell and Carlson stock, much solider, cheek press and heigth better. Then I changed to a 210 grain Berger hunting bullet. Next very careful brass prep., cleaned, uniform length, weighed brass keeping brass less than 1 grain difference, weighed bullets grouped close weights. Ok now comes the next important process. There is a sweet spot to set bellet length off the lands. Mine came in about .0010. There are many ways to do this. I followed several from the forum. One I use a lot is with help of Sinclair oj tester on calipers. I checked all my brass to be sure the bolt closed smoothly but snug. Two more important things. For long range I recommend a level on scope. And don't ignore adjusting perilex focus on scope so crosshairs don't move when you move your eye around. This comes with practice. Lots of other things, too many to mention. Good shooting my friend
 
I always thought the 300Lapua would be cool. If you want a 338 though, a lapua improved performs admirably.

Found some 375 Ruger brass at the range the other day. I'm liking Wildrose's suggestion more and more the more I think about it.
 
Good said:
I always thought the 300Lapua would be cool. If you want a 338 though, a lapua improved performs admirably.

Found some 375 Ruger brass at the range the other day. I'm liking Wildrose's suggestion more and more the more I think about it.
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I bought the 375 Ruger for my first trip to Africa. To be honest I was a bit "gunshy" the first time I took it to the range.

I quickly found it to be much more tolerable to shoot than expected and seeing it perform on game sold me on it permanently.

My Ruger was a 20" and I immediately started wondering how a few more inches might make it into a really fun gun at longer ranges.

I had zero issues at even 350-400 yards with it in Africa but here in Texas things can frequently stretch out well beyond that range so I set about looking to find one in a 26" or longer or to have one of my 300's rebarreled with a 26-28" 375R Tube.

One day just cruising around the net I came across a full custom Model 70 26" that a guy built and shot once at a price probably a thousand off of what he'd paid to have it made and dove in.

In the last 18 months or so it became my go to centerfire for everything and every time I shoot it I like it a little more.
 
WildRose said:
I bought the 375 Ruger for my first trip to Africa. To be honest I was a bit "gunshy" the first time I took it to the range.

I quickly found it to be much more tolerable to shoot than expected and seeing it perform on game sold me on it permanently.

My Ruger was a 20" and I immediately started wondering how a few more inches might make it into a really fun gun at longer ranges.

I had zero issues at even 350-400 yards with it in Africa but here in Texas things can frequently stretch out well beyond that range so I set about looking to find one in a 26" or longer or to have one of my 300's rebarreled with a 26-28" 375R Tube.

One day just cruising around the net I came across a full custom Model 70 26" that a guy built and shot once at a price probably a thousand off of what he'd paid to have it made and dove in.

In the last 18 months or so it became my go to centerfire for everything and every time I shoot it I like it a little more.
Click to expand...
What bullet at what velocity are you shooting? How is coal?
 
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