Building First Hunting Rifle

KyCarl said:

I never said anything about anyone! I said I'm not one to jump on the "Next Big Thing"
bandwagon. Time will tell? There have been a slew of new ideas that never really worked out. Look back at the changes in shotgun shells (prices) since I was a kid and they are just now catching back up to plain old lead? All the hulls were paper back then!

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Nor did I even intimate that you had. It's not a fad, the mono's have been around since the 70's and as the gov't closes more and more of the land to lead it's simply the future we all have to face.

Carry weight hunting rifle for deer out ton300 yards and coyotes? 6CM or 6.5CM would be my choice.

20-24" barrel. Something like a Bartlein #2b, 3, or 3b or Proof Sendero Light contour. 6mm 1:7.5 or 6.5mm 1:8" twist.

6mm something like a 95 TMK, 100 SGK, 107 SMK, 105 Hybrid, 105 HVLD, 115 HVLD.
6.5mm maybe a 130 Hybrid or HVLD, 140 Hybrid or HVLD, 130 TGK or TMK, 140 SGK or SMK, 142 SMK.

You have everything you need to get started. Of the reamers you have, I'd go 6.5 creed. Get yourself an 8 twist barrel (length of your choice) and a good bedding job. Once you're all put together spend a lot of time dry firing and get out and SHOOT! I tell everyone who'll listen to buy some butcher paper and a roll of 1" black circle stickers from amazon. Those are your targets. Shoot those dots at 100 yds until you're tired of putting them all in the same hole. Then start extending the distance. It's a simple recipe for success and if you can master dots consistently at 100 the rest is just gathering dope and learning some positional shooting.

WildRose said:

The velocity difference alone makes the CM superior particularly for the new shooter.

There's a near unlimited selection of factory ammo and it's cheaper to reload for.

There's nothing wrong with the .308 but out to 600 yards it simply can't compete with the 6.5's.

Shoot the good factory ammo like Prime Ammunition, save your brass for a couple of hundred rounds while you're buying a beginning reloading kit and by the time you're done you're ready to rock for years.

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The 308 has held all kinds of state and world records. What has the 6.5 creedmore ever accomplished? If your looking for 100 to 200 yard accuracy u get a 6 ppc. If you want accuracy from 300 to 1000 yards you get a 6br or a cartridge based on it. Past 1000 yards to 1400 yards it's hard to beat a 300 wsm. The creedmores are great at nothing. The 308 is dated but still holds its own. And with the advent of high bc turned bullets the 308 is getting new life and can compete with the creedmores at every turn.

Mach 1 said:

The 308 has held all kinds of state and world records. What has the 6.5 creedmore ever accomplished? If your looking for 100 to 200 yard accuracy u get a 6 ppc. If you want accuracy from 300 to 1000 yards you get a 6br or a cartridge based on it. Past 1000 yards to 1400 yards it's hard to beat a 300 wsm. The creedmores are great at nothing. The 308 is dated but still holds its own. And with the advent of high bc turned bullets the 308 is getting new life and can compete with the creedmores at every turn.

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The .308 has been around for more than half a century and as a service rifle was allowed to compete in many service rifle competitions others were not.

Ballistically it cannot compete with the 6.5's period.

It is what it is, and it's more than adequate for most people but it will never be able to hang with the faster, flatter, and every bit as accurate 6.5's which have been setting records since before they even began to hit the market commercially.

WildRose said:

The .308 has been around for more than half a century and as a service rifle was allowed to compete in many service rifle competitions others were not.

Ballistically it cannot compete with the 6.5's period.

It is what it is, and it's more than adequate for most people but it will never be able to hang with the faster, flatter, and every bit as accurate 6.5's which have been setting records since before they even began to hit the market commercially.

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Exactly! Well said!

WildRose said:

The .308 has been around for more than half a century and as a service rifle was allowed to compete in many service rifle competitions others were not.

Ballistically it cannot compete with the 6.5's period.

It is what it is, and it's more than adequate for most people but it will never be able to hang with the faster, flatter, and every bit as accurate 6.5's which have been setting records since before they even began to hit the market commercially.

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How do you figure the 308 can't compete with the 6.5 creed? What does the 6.5 creedmore do and do very well???? That's right, absolutely nothing. It came around at the right point in time and a bunch of people jumped on the new thing band wagon. The 260 has been around a lot longer than the 6.5 creed and has better ballistics. The only thing it has over the 260 is the ability to feed reliably outa a mag with the higher bc bullets but that's because it has less case capacity. The 6.5 creed is a fine round but certainly nothing special.

It's simple. Compared to a 6.5CM, a .308 win offers;

-More recoil
-More drop
-More drift

When it comes to hitting small things far away, and consistency under variable conditions, none of these traits are advantageous.

Hand Skills said:

It's simple. Compared to a 6.5CM, a .308 win offers;

-More recoil
-More drop
-More drift

When it comes to hitting small things far away, and consistency under variable conditions, none of these traits are advantageous.

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You don't know what your talking about. A 308 shooting the new 200 gr sierra matchking at 2700 FPS sighted in at 100 yards vs the 6.5 creedmore shooting the 140 Berger VDL. Going 2850 FPS at 1000 yards the 308 drops more by 3.4 moa. BUT with a 10 mph 90 degree wind at 1000 yards the 308 has about .5 moa LESS wind drift. At 1000 yards the 308 is going 1610 FPS with 1150 foot pounds of energy. The 6.5 creedmore at 1000 yards is going 1632 FPS and only has 829 foot pounds of energy.

The 308 beats the 6.5 creedmore in almost everything at 1000 yards and it's only gets worse for the creedmore at farther yardages. The 6.5 creedmore is better than the 308 win only when comparing the high bc 6.5 bullets to the older low bc 308 bullets. If you don't believe me look it up for yourself.

You're absolutly right,

A single loaded .308win with a 30" 1:9 barrel can absolutly hang with a bone stock 6.5CM.

I never thought about it that way before.

Hand Skills said:

You're absolutly right,

A single loaded .308win with a 30" 1:9 barrel can absolutly hang with a bone stock 6.5CM.

I never thought about it that way before.

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Not hang with it. Beat it. And My Stiller is running a 28 inch barrel. And it doesn't have to be single shot.... that's part of the reason for the custom reamer business being so busy. You can have it throated as you please. An off the shelf creedmore is fine and dandy but it's just like any other tire on the road

Interesting. How much powder does it take to get 2700 with a 200 grain bullet in the .308? Do those fit in a SA mag box?

Kimber7man said:

Interesting. How much powder does it take to get 2700 with a 200 grain bullet in the .308? Do those fit in a SA mag box?

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I ended up using cfe223 at around 46 grains. To get my velocity. Mine doesn't fit it the box mag. Although I think I'm going to have the smith throat the next barrel shallow for this bullet and it may go into the mag as my current loads aren't far from going in a mag now. It would change my case capicity seating the bullet farther into the case and I'm not sure if I will be able to retain the velocity. I like to piddle so we will see.

Just remember...