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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rifles, Bullets, Barrels & Ballistics
338 Edge - Why?
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<blockquote data-quote="benchracer" data-source="post: 1269785" data-attributes="member: 22069"><p>The virtue of the 6.5's for deer sized animals has more to do with balance than it does with raw ballistic performance. The 6.5's are easy to shoot well in carry weight rifles, while offering excellent down range ballistics and good terminal ballistics. I know of some very experienced 6.5 shooters on this site who swear by them for elk and have the track record to back that up. I wouldn't personally be comfortable with a 6.5 for my primary elk rifle, but I don't have their experience, either.</p><p></p><p>The 6.5's can easily be beaten by 7mm, .30, and .338 class cartridges in both external and terminal ballistics. The tradeoff comes in terms of the size of the cartridge case needed to achieve equivalent external ballistics and the weight of the rifle needed to maintain shootability. A muzzle brake can offset some of the weight issue in the larger calibers, if one can stand the increase in noise and blast. Again, the core issue involves tradeoffs.</p><p></p><p>I own a .264 Win Mag that would be my first choice for deer or pronghorn sized animals in open country.</p><p></p><p>I will soon have a .338 under construction that will launch 250's @ 2850+ in a carry weight rifle, only slightly heavier than my .264. It will wear a muzzle brake. If I were hunting elk, it would be my first choice. If I were hunting ANY game animal in brown bear country, it would also get the nod, though I might even consider my .375 for that purpose over my .338.</p><p></p><p>IMO, the expected application, along with individual shooter tolerances and abilities, should have more to say about cartridge choice than paper ballistics.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="benchracer, post: 1269785, member: 22069"] The virtue of the 6.5's for deer sized animals has more to do with balance than it does with raw ballistic performance. The 6.5's are easy to shoot well in carry weight rifles, while offering excellent down range ballistics and good terminal ballistics. I know of some very experienced 6.5 shooters on this site who swear by them for elk and have the track record to back that up. I wouldn't personally be comfortable with a 6.5 for my primary elk rifle, but I don't have their experience, either. The 6.5's can easily be beaten by 7mm, .30, and .338 class cartridges in both external and terminal ballistics. The tradeoff comes in terms of the size of the cartridge case needed to achieve equivalent external ballistics and the weight of the rifle needed to maintain shootability. A muzzle brake can offset some of the weight issue in the larger calibers, if one can stand the increase in noise and blast. Again, the core issue involves tradeoffs. I own a .264 Win Mag that would be my first choice for deer or pronghorn sized animals in open country. I will soon have a .338 under construction that will launch 250's @ 2850+ in a carry weight rifle, only slightly heavier than my .264. It will wear a muzzle brake. If I were hunting elk, it would be my first choice. If I were hunting ANY game animal in brown bear country, it would also get the nod, though I might even consider my .375 for that purpose over my .338. IMO, the expected application, along with individual shooter tolerances and abilities, should have more to say about cartridge choice than paper ballistics. [/QUOTE]
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338 Edge - Why?
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