Caliber Recommendation for 600 Yard Sheep Rifle

[6.5x300 WBY]

6.5 or 7mm RM is about perfect. 7rm if loaded properly is fine against Griz. Also they are not huge either. Not like a Brown but yes tenacious.
If you are truly worried have your wife sling a nice compact 12 guage shotty loaded with slugs since you said she will be with you. This way its close to you since wife will be with you.

Best of luck

 

[RD57]

I'd go with the 300 Win Mag and get confidence with it on the range before you go. I'd trust the guide for bear protection ... but not solely trust the guide, remember you've got to cover his 6 as well. It's great to have a detailed plan, but have a couple more for contingencies.

 

[rm76]

6.5-284 Norma in a fast twist barrel is worth considering.

 

[Allen Kitts]

Anything in the 6.5 Category should do the trick just fine. I've always dreamed of a super light 6.5 x 284 for a sheep hunt but am now having a 6.5 PRC built just in case I do ever get lucky enough to get drawn. A little more horsepower with the larger bullets. As you can see in my avatar I did get lucky enough to draw a RM Goat tag in Montana and the rifle I took was a little heavy for the kind of country those critters like to live in. Getting a lighter rifle is definitely the way to go. There were Grizzly tracks everywhere but we never saw one. We both carried handguns just in case.
A lot of international countries require the ammo to be separate from the firearm. Its just part of the adventure. Good Luck.

 

[MOOSE39465]

I would do a search and find what components are available before choosing what caliber to build on. Getting your hands on ammo or reloading components can be aggravating

 

[jshepherd61]

If you were getting a custom rifle built for the sole purpose of a stone sheep hunt (in grizz territory) and wanted to have 600 yard reach, what caliber would you go with?

I do handload/reload, but have heard some stores lately of ammunition/luggage getting lost, so part of me thinks it is wise to go with something a store in BC is going to carry

Thanks in advance

My choice is a 7mm STW or Nosler 28 both utilizing the 175 ABLR or 195 EOL. Great long range 1k rifles and more than enough for Grizzlies!

 

[Slick8]

I don't care if you're hunting squirrels or the biggest Grizz in the region with a sheep fitting somewhere in the middle, I'd go with a 300 to 338 mag shooting high BC bullets.

My thoughts are regardless of the animal you're after you need to a big heavy bullet for 600 yards and battle the wind. Add to that, something that's a deterrent to bears takes you to 30 cal and above. Sure, a 6.5 creed would do the job but you're approaching the limits of that round and don't even get me started on the 6mm's. Again, I feel like most people don't consider the wind when these type situations are brought up.

This is a very expensive hunt and possibly once in a life time. As stated above, if that critter walks out on the last day you don't want to be horse power limited. You said build not will dads trusty ole aught-6 work...If you're building, then no need to marginalize things.

I wouldn't hesitate to roll out with my 9 pound loaded 30 Nosler. I'd consider trading in my 230 Bergers for some 200 Bull Dozers or Hammers but I'd be ready to sling led or copper to 800 yards.

One last thought FWIW and purely my personal opinion. I've only been on a few guided hunts. While it's there job to keep me safe, I ultimately take full responsibility for my own safety. My guide had some suggestions on shedding weight on a NM Wilderness hunt this past fall. Most of it was around safety and water. I took his advice and removed some but not all.

 

[azsugarbear]

6.5 PRC orCM.

 

[MOOSE39465]

After doing a search I noticed 6.5-284 Norma brass is available in a good many of stores.

 

[StanB]

28 Nosler has worked well. Dial it in with 180s or 195 for sheep; 195s in the mountains would get the nod for windage. Carry some 175 A-Frames when not poking at the sheep, and know the POI change to dial those in for 100. The A-Frames are tough and did wonderful on all manner of bigger African game, fantastic penetration. 175 Nosler Partitions are good too, but are softer than the A-Frames, and don't hold up nearly as well inside 100, but they do shed a ton of energy....Good luck on the hunt!

 

[littlebighorn]

I don't think you need to fret over bears, given you will be guided and taking care of you is your guide's #1 priority. Your challenge is to take a gun you can carry and shoot well enough to kill a ram. I've been on 5 sheep hunts of my own and a dozen or two with other tag holders. From my experience, sheep are not hard to kill so your shooting ability is the most important factor. My last sheep was killed with a light weight 6.5 CM. which was easy to carry and it did it's job. If you are going on a backpack hunt I'd keep it as light as possible. If you are taking horses I'd say an 8# rig is sufficient.
One thing to consider is a water resistant set up. It rains a lot in sheep country so a stainless (or the like) barrel/action may be a consideration so you don't get rust issues. On one of my sheep hunts I suddenly got trigger issues and I didn't bring any gun oil. It made for some really big frustrations and could have cost me my sheep.
I've never had issues with my gun and ammo not getting where they need to be and I've never factored it into the sheep equation. I have shot sheep with a 300WSM, 28 Nosler, 7RM, and a 6.5 CM and I'd take almost anything similar (leave the big stuff home!!) into sheep country, as long as I can shoot it well.
Best of luck.
Sheep hunting is awesome!

 

[jshepherd61]

I don't care if you're hunting squirrels or the biggest Grizz in the region with a sheep fitting somewhere in the middle, I'd go with a 300 to 338 mag shooting high BC bullets.

My thoughts are regardless of the animal you're after you need to a big heavy bullet for 600 yards and battle the wind. Add to that, something that's a deterrent to bears takes you to 30 cal and above. Sure, a 6.5 creed would do the job but you're approaching the limits of that round and don't even get me started on the 6mm's. Again, I feel like most people don't consider the wind when these type situations are brought up.

This is a very expensive hunt and possibly once in a life time. As stated above, if that critter walks out on the last day you don't want to be horse power limited. You said build not will dads trusty ole aught-6 work...If you're building, then no need to marginalize things.

I wouldn't hesitate to roll out with my 9 pound loaded 30 Nosler. I'd consider trading in my 230 Bergers for some 200 Bull Dozers or Hammers but I'd be ready to sling led or copper to 800 yards.

One last thought FWIW and purely my personal opinion. I've only been on a few guided hunts. While it's there job to keep me safe, I ultimately take full responsibility for my own safety. My guide had some suggestions on shedding weight on a NM Wilderness hunt this past fall. Most of it was around safety and water. I took his advice and removed some but not all.

I've shot four elk in the last five years with 168gr Accubond Long Range out of a 7mm STW all well over 1000 yds. Prior to that the military mandated 168 gr out of either a 308 or 30-06 for 1k matches. Learn to read the wind. I shoot the turds 225 - 250gr out of my 300 PRC. Out to 1k I'll take the 168 at 3352 fps any day. No need to destroy meat

 

[gnbruce]

I love the 33xc for long range

 

[fmuguira]

280 AI ?? 7 RM performance with one more round in the mag and slightly less recoil. One of these in 6.5 to 7.5 pd rifle would be awesome. Still have the chops to handle a grizzly if necessary.

If bullet diameter/weight concerns you because of Grizz then I d say step up to 300 WM. I have a 300 that weighs 7.75 lb and it's still manageable without a brake, a little lively but not terrible. Ammo availability between these 2 cartridges would lean to 300 WM.

Good luck with your decision and hunt! Sounds like a bucket list/memory maker.