Building First Hunting Rifle

[hawk45]

On a short action the 6.5 gives you more of the good things and less of the bad things. 308 is still a great round with a ton of options as well. Inside 300yds it's kind of a wash, so distance would show where others shine over one another, but if you are a bench/LR shooter, we don't have to explain ballistics to you, you can probably school us. I have bigger/heavier rifles but like to grab a sub 8lb rifle in .270/.308/6.5/6mm when I head out. Options are great. I think getting a good lightweight, balanced rifle is more important than caliber.
Best of luck!

 

[xsn10s]

Any of those rounds you mentioned can do your job out to 300 yards pretty easy. But let me make one suggestion for you to kick around. If coyotes or smaller varmints are going to be the focus then look towards 223, 22-250, or maybe even the 6mm's. My 22-250 was my go to rifle for chucks and yotes. If mainly yotes and hides aren't a concern then 243, 6mm CM or 6.5 CM is fine. If deer are more the focus then I'd go with the 6.5 CM or 308 Win. Personally I'd lean towards the 308 win especially with your scope and range limits. Great magnification choice for hunting btw. But if you're used to the 6.5 CM and have been competing with it then that would be the logical choice for you. Two rifles one for varmints and one for big game hunting IMO is ideal.

 

[xsn10s]

Currently I use my AR15 M4 clone for all varmints to 300-400 yards. I burned the barrel out of my 22-250 so it's going to be rebarreled to 260 AI. And my big game rifle is a pushfeed FWT 30-06. but I may change that to a 300 WM someday.

 

[Daerider]

I appreciate all the information that everyone has provided! After going through all of the comments, it seems clear that balance in a carry rifle is very important. So I have decided to order two barrels for this build. the first is a Shilen CM #4 profile 12-twist .308 bore. The second barrel is a Carbon6 8-twist Bull profile 6.5mm bore. Both barrels will be finished at 26" and weigh roughly 3lbs. I have a 7mm Rem Mag barrel in a similar profile that I spun on the action to test and the balance feels nice.

 

[Pem Tech]

6.5 Creedmoor has lots of factory ammunition choices, is plenty of gun for deer and coyotes, and has superior ballistics to a 308.

At hunting ranges 100-300 yards or long range 300-1000 yards? I understand that 6.5 is the winner when considering recoil but how superior is the 6.5 ballistic performance from muzzle to 300 yards (local hunting range restriction due to terrain)?