A .308 would be a great choice but it's ballistics past 800 start to suffer compared to a 7mm or 300WM. Both of which are also great choices. I wouldn't overlook the 6.5mm cartridges. A .260 rem or 6.5 CM would also get you to 1000yd and kill a deer at reasonable distances.
Buying a New rifle
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shooter7
Well-Known Member
If I were to limited to 1 gun for 1k target shooting and hunting all North American game I would choose something similar to a Remington 700 Long Range in 300 Winchester Magnum. In that method of thinking I'm sort of factoring in that I may one day have to shoot an aggrevated grizzly on an alaskan moose hunt (we cam all dream, right?). The 300wm is a great choice for anything really. The downside, premium loaded ammo for the 300 is expensive. And the recoil can be too much for some shooters. If you plan on just shooting whitetails, the occasional pronghorn, coyote or even maybe one day going for elk I'd say a 308 Winchester is just about right. There's factory ammo available for whatever you want whether precision match ammo or bonded ammo for large gam animals and everything in between. Plus you get that with a lot less recoil than a big magnum cartridge. I think another member already mentioned it so another upvote for a Remington 700 5r
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Agreed, if you don't reload, all of those are great options...With the 7mmRM being at the top of the list, IMO.
Yep. 7mm RemMag would be my first suggestion, as well.
Something like this would do quite nicely.
legendary arms works 7 mag : Bolt Action Rifles at GunBroker.com
legendary arms works 7 mag : Bolt Action Rifles at GunBroker.com
snox801
Well-Known Member
Someone please fill me in on why some would choose .308 over 6.5 creed. Seems the 6.5 does everything just a bit better than the .308. That is way I chose that over a .308 for my latest build. Not being smart just wondering. I know ammo is everywhere but my line of thought was cheap ammo won't get you out to far in distance. So if you have to hand load or buy premium cost is not that much different. Especially when we are talking hunting even $20 more a box isn't bad that is only a dollar a round. Hell most people take a few years to burn through a box hunting. Like I said I may be missing something I'm definitely no expert.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
If it does everything so much better, then why are there still .308's beating 6.5 Creeds in comps?
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...irst-ever-f-tr-match-with-pierce-built-rifle/
snox801
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the link. I knew lots of guys still shot them. I just always hear everyone say that the 6.5 is better at everything but bullet selection. Like I said never really looked that deep into it. Just a quick look at ballistics from some common loads. The 308 seems like the 300 win mag to me people keep making the next round that will be it and some do but for an old round it is almost still the best choice.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
It may be old, but with advancing powder, brass, and bullet technology it is no longer "old school".
As for the "6.5 is better at everything" comments, that's just supporter BS. Accuracy is accuracy, and in the right hands given the right circumstances, anything has the potential to be a more proficient choice than anything else.
7magcreedmoor
Well-Known Member
6.5 vs .30cal: everything is a trade-off in some way. If you want a lightweight rifle, recoil is going to be greater with a 30cal. If you want flatter trajectory and less windage with lower recoil, 6.5 will be give the necessary BC with less bullet weight (and therefore less recoil). If energy at great distance is an absolute requirement, then a heavy (210 grain or more) 30 cal bullet launched at 3000+ fps will out-smack the heavy 6.5s at equal velocity. In rifles of equal weight the 30 will pound the snot out of you compared to the 6.5, unless mitigated by an ear-splitting, sinus cavity collapsing brake. For high volume shooting (practice is supposed to be FUN!) a big 30 will need to be fairly heavy, but then it won't be much fun to carry up the mountain to hunt the high country, and ammo will cost more because you use more of everything. Opinions vary about how much energy on impact it takes to kill various critters, and bullet placement will is always important because it doesn't matter how much energy you miss with, only how much you dump into the target. A 300 ultramag with a 210+ grain bullet will hit much harder at 1000 yards than a 6.5 Creedmoor with a 140 grain bullet, but how much practice are you going to enjoy with the "loudenboomer" to be confident or making the shot 9 times out of 10, cold-bore, halfway back of beyond...
Now, for the OP especially: decide how much energy you need at the target, how much recoil you can take repeatedly, and how much money you can spend on ammo, then choose accordingly. But above all, you must like shooting your final choice, or you won't do it enough to be proficient with it.
Now, for the OP especially: decide how much energy you need at the target, how much recoil you can take repeatedly, and how much money you can spend on ammo, then choose accordingly. But above all, you must like shooting your final choice, or you won't do it enough to be proficient with it.
snox801
Well-Known Member
As for the "6.5 is better at everything" comments, that's just supporter BS. Accuracy is accuracy, and in the right hands given the right circumstances, anything has the potential to be a more proficient choice than anything else.[/QUOTE]
Well put that's kinda how I feel. A great round can't make a bad shooter good. I am waiting to see how the hornady eldx factory loads pan out in the creed. That may sway some people to the creed over the 308. But then again I don't think hornady will leave the .308 out for long. Kinda surprised they didn't make a 6mm pill either.
Well put that's kinda how I feel. A great round can't make a bad shooter good. I am waiting to see how the hornady eldx factory loads pan out in the creed. That may sway some people to the creed over the 308. But then again I don't think hornady will leave the .308 out for long. Kinda surprised they didn't make a 6mm pill either.
engineer40
Well-Known Member
Doesnt really matter what you buy. You wont own just one rifle for long.
Before you know it youll be asking yourself if you should stop buying rifles or if you can justify buying another safe.
You guys know its true.
Before you know it youll be asking yourself if you should stop buying rifles or if you can justify buying another safe.
You guys know its true.
snox801
Well-Known Member
Doesnt really matter what you buy. You wont own just one rifle for long.
Before you know it youll be asking yourself if you should stop buying rifles or if you can justify buying another safe.
You guys know its true.
Bingo
ATH
Well-Known Member
When you mention wanting to hunt stuff bigger than deer at non-long range, IMHO this puts you at 7mm minimum, 30cal ideal. People can argue, it's opinions and preferences, there are not facts here.
Given that your long range objectives are targets and not game, I recommend you not punish yourself with the magnums in these calibers unless you brake them. My LR hunting rig is a 300WM but the round count is pretty low per year. It is just so much more fun to shoot my 243AI. But I'm not going to hunt elk with that.
All points considered the .30-06 is a solid recommendation.
Given that your long range objectives are targets and not game, I recommend you not punish yourself with the magnums in these calibers unless you brake them. My LR hunting rig is a 300WM but the round count is pretty low per year. It is just so much more fun to shoot my 243AI. But I'm not going to hunt elk with that.
All points considered the .30-06 is a solid recommendation.
