caliber recommendatioins for low recoil at 500 yards

jimsbriar

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seeking ur guys advice on a low recoil caliber that will be extremely effective on deer sized game out to 500 or even 600 yards. was looking at the sako finnlight 85 in 6.5x55. unfortunately it only has the 22" barrel.


thoughts?
 
seeking ur guys advice on a low recoil caliber that will be extremely effective on deer sized game out to 500 or even 600 yards. was looking at the sako finnlight 85 in 6.5x55. unfortunately it only has the 22" barrel.


thoughts?


HA! I will be the first of many to recommend a savage in .257 or 6.5 caliber. Brace yourself. You're going to get alot of this. You will also get some .243/6mm suggestions..but I am a "bigger is better" kinda guy. As far as a low recoiling caliber.. id go with ANY 6.5. preferably a .260rem.
 
seeking ur guys advice on a low recoil caliber that will be extremely effective on deer sized game out to 500 or even 600 yards. was looking at the sako finnlight 85 in 6.5x55. unfortunately it only has the 22" barrel.


thoughts?

If you like the 6.5x55, go for it! It should do quite well even with a 22" barrel on deer at 600 yards. The .260 Remington would also be a good choice. If you want to go a little smaller, the .257 Roberts or 25-06 would even do he trick......Rich
 
I'd go with a 6.5 (260 Rem, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x55, 6.5x47 Lapua) as the bullet selection is better (high BC) and their sectional density (performance on game) will be better than any of the 'light' 7mm bullets with similar ballistics.
 
seeking ur guys advice on a low recoil caliber that will be extremely effective on deer sized game out to 500 or even 600 yards. was looking at the sako finnlight 85 in 6.5x55. unfortunately it only has the 22" barrel.


thoughts?

My thoughts may not be others thoughts. It will depend on your gun library. If you want an all around 600 yard capable rifle that you can pack on hunting trips without hiring a lackey to tote it, I'd go with a Savage in 6.5Creedmore or a Savage in Winchester 308.

Keep in mind that the 6.5 has better ballistics but, if you do a fly to hunt andf you loose your ammunition, it's hard to find 6.5 at the hardware store in the little town you are in. 308's are everywhere. It happens, happened to one of opur hunting party on an out west hunt.

Myself, I carry a Savage 11 Lightweight Hunter in 308. With scope and a stock stock, it weighs just over 7 pounds and manageable and can take anything in North America to 600 yards.

If you want an out and out long range rifle and don't plan on packing it, step up to a 338 Lapua or 338RUM and add a muzzle break. My 338 Savage's recoil is lighter than my 308 and packs 2 times the killing power and 2 times the weight.

Keep in mind that the heavier the rifle, the less abrupt the recoil is because the mass deadens the recoil. So you get a large bore tank thats heavy and you won't feel the recoil like you would with a lightweight sporter.

It's all a matter of what the intended purpose is and you have to decide that for yourself.

No amount of suggestions about this or that will actually prove beneficial until you set your parameters.
 
Another recommendation for the 6.5 or 308.

I like Sakos as well. I have a Sako TRG-22 in 260 Rem with 26" barrel and another TRG in 308 with a 20 inch barrel. I also had a Sako 85 in 260 Rem with a 24" sporter barrel. The sako 85 recoiled quite a bit more because of the lightweight nature of the build. It had an extractor problem first outing and I returned it to the dealer for the 20" 308 TRG. I heartily recommend the TRG over the Finnlight unless you are going to do a lot of hiking. In my opinion, the 6.5s do not have a huge advantage over the 308 until you get beyond 600 yards. They do definitely recoil less, are very easy to shoot well, and are really an efficient caliber in a short action. But for deer out to 600 yards, I will grab my 20" 308 TRG. The 20" barrel is really handy in the woods, a ton of bullets to choose from, and long barrel life. In my TRG, for hunting, I shoot 200gr Sierra Game Kings at 2550fps. I anchored an eight point with this load last year. It is a joy to shoot suppressed and don't get me started on the trigger. One can almost shoot as fast as a semiauto with the overall ergonomics and 60 degree bolt throw. It is really a fine firearm. Seems expensive until you see what you get for the price. It is actually a pretty good value!

If you are stuck on a sporter weight rifle, get the 6.5. (FYI - the 20" TRG at 10.25 pounds recoils far less than the sporter weight 260.)

TKAB
 
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