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Hunting
Long Range Hunting & Shooting
6.5CM or 300WM for Once In A Lifetime Hunt?
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<blockquote data-quote="Greyfox" data-source="post: 1226565" data-attributes="member: 10291"><p>I may be odd man out on this one but have been in the same dilemma myself with two superbly shooting LR rifles, a 6.5x284 and a 300WM. I hunt medium game; whitetails, mulies, and antelopes almost exclusively and generally limit my shots 1000 yards(except for varmints and the occasional antelope). There is no question in my case that the 6.5x284 is my darling. Lighter, pleasant to shoot, and downright deadly in terms of accuracy. But like yourself, I was initially concerned about the killing power at longer ranges. Now after 7 years and dozens of game and a bunch of coyotes taken between 500 and 1200 yards with both rifles I have made some observations. I don't consider them gospel, just my personal experience. Firstly, at long range, the heavier 30 caliber, high BC bullets(210/215's) rarely expand on medium game and pencil through. The smaller 6.5 bullets will still expand tending to offset any energy/caliber difference between the two. I have had more medium game DRT with my 6.5x284 then my 300WM. Second, bullet placement trumps any difference in caliber. A bullet hole only .04" bigger in the wrong place gives a comparable bad result. For these reasons I have settled on my 6.5x284 for my LR medium game and reserve my 300WM if larger game is on the menu. The lighter 6.5's like the CM and 260 I would set my max range on medium game a couple of hundred yards less then the 6.5x284 but given that +90% of the reasonable opportunities at game I have shot is under 800 yards, I would still use the smaller 6.5 if I was more confident, and the rifle was a handier hunting weapon. </p><p>Just my thoughts.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greyfox, post: 1226565, member: 10291"] I may be odd man out on this one but have been in the same dilemma myself with two superbly shooting LR rifles, a 6.5x284 and a 300WM. I hunt medium game; whitetails, mulies, and antelopes almost exclusively and generally limit my shots 1000 yards(except for varmints and the occasional antelope). There is no question in my case that the 6.5x284 is my darling. Lighter, pleasant to shoot, and downright deadly in terms of accuracy. But like yourself, I was initially concerned about the killing power at longer ranges. Now after 7 years and dozens of game and a bunch of coyotes taken between 500 and 1200 yards with both rifles I have made some observations. I don't consider them gospel, just my personal experience. Firstly, at long range, the heavier 30 caliber, high BC bullets(210/215's) rarely expand on medium game and pencil through. The smaller 6.5 bullets will still expand tending to offset any energy/caliber difference between the two. I have had more medium game DRT with my 6.5x284 then my 300WM. Second, bullet placement trumps any difference in caliber. A bullet hole only .04" bigger in the wrong place gives a comparable bad result. For these reasons I have settled on my 6.5x284 for my LR medium game and reserve my 300WM if larger game is on the menu. The lighter 6.5's like the CM and 260 I would set my max range on medium game a couple of hundred yards less then the 6.5x284 but given that +90% of the reasonable opportunities at game I have shot is under 800 yards, I would still use the smaller 6.5 if I was more confident, and the rifle was a handier hunting weapon. Just my thoughts. [/QUOTE]
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