Comfortable shooting magnum caliber

[tribb]

Looking for a magnum caliber that is still comfortable to shoot or standard caliber with good long range energy
No wild cats please and 6.5s have no grown on me yet either
Also will be shooting factory ammo to start with

Get a 257 weatherby or 270 Weatherby or 7 mag. I've got all of them and they will all do all I need. They should work for you as well!! There's elk medicine in there also!! Weatherby factory ammo is great don't need to reload for it!!

 

[Eric Alexander]

Looking for a magnum caliber that is still comfortable to shoot or standard caliber with good long range energy
No wild cats please and 6.5s have no grown on me yet either
Also will be shooting factory ammo to start with

odd that no one suggested the obvious: the .264 Win Mag. Light bullets with speed. The downside is that most production rifles (Win, Rem, SAKO) come with a 1:9 twist which means shooting the long, high bc bullets is an issue. But all the 140 grain (and under) factory hunting bullets will work fine. An excellent bullet is 129 Nosler ablr for the 1:9 twist.
Fast, high bc, dinks recoil.
But, if you can get one with a 1:8 twist (e.g.,Montana) or rebarrel some other magnum rifle, then the whole realm of high bc bullets opens up to you (Hornady 143eld-x, Nosler 142 ablr, Berger eol, etc).

Lastly, the 257 Weatherby is a lovely round but would suggest a custom 1:7 twist barrel to take advantage if new high bc bullets from ACE, Hammer, Cutting Edge. This lets you shoot some sweet, very high bc bullets in 120-131gr range. dinks recoil

good luck

 

[John Polk]

Looking for a magnum caliber that is still comfortable to shoot or standard caliber with good long range energy
No wild cats please and 6.5s have no grown on me yet either
Also will be shooting factory ammo to start with

I would suggest you look closely at the .257 Weatherby magnum and the .270 Weatherby magnum. Both are these calibers can be obtained very inexpensively with the Weatherby Vanguard series of rifles. Amunition could be a little bit expensive, however if your only intrested in hunting it shouldn't be much. Both of these rifles are capable of taking anything in the Western hemisphere this side of the big bear's. Good luck.

 

[Blue Ridge Rifleman]

I've been researching the 7mm mag and 7mm wsm and I really like the 280ai but only draw back is I dont reload right now and not many factory ammo options I do plan to start reloading but shopping around for good deal on supply's now

You can fire factory 280 Rem rounds in a 280 AI and save the now fire-formed brass for when you start reloading. The 280 Rem is already a really nice cartridge with fine ballistics and manageable recoil. I really like the 140 grain Federal Fusion.

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

Well, some experienced guys on here are offering some good suggestions based on "long range" (hence the page title) but Im gonna break with the big gun magnum advice. I think you'd be just fine to get a lightweight rifle in a 7mm-08 and put a scope with dialable range turrets on it--mild recoil, low muzzle blast and easy to shoot. With the 145 gr Barnes LRX leaving the pipe at 2800+ you have enough jack to put down an Elk at 500 yds. You would not be wrong with venerable old .308 win and its wide range of bullets, but the 7mm bullet has a better BC than the 308, and less recoil and MB. I know you ruled out the 6.5 but man, take a look at the 6.5 PRC. Strong medicine and still pretty mild numbers on recoil & MB. Good legs long range due to superior BC. They're still pretty manageable in a lighter rifle. I have all the above btw. I'm guessing the 26 Nosler or 6.5 Wby RPM might be a bit snappy in a lighter rifle. I got myself a Fierce Firearms CT Edge with a 22" carbon fiber barrel about two years ago in 7mm-08 and worked up a good load for it. It weighs about 6.5 Lbs with the optics, handy to carry, easy to shoot and that little 7mm-08 is just the deadliest little cartridge I've personally observed for a number of years. That little "pocket rifle" (as I call it) has a 500 yd Elk kill and 475 yd mule Deer kill on it--1 shot DRT. If your idea of long range is 750+ you might pick another cartridge...maybe shoot your buddy's 6.5 PRC and see if you change your mind...or you can just get yourself a big ol' honkin', heavy rifle in a big caliber and go that way, but that'll pretty much negate your light recoil, low muzzle blast and remove any option for lightweight. If you go bigger, just do it and go with 28 Nosler...or the like. Personally, after carrying my 10 lb .300 Wby Mag (old German Mk V) out of nostalgia to Africa last year, I'm really loving that 6.5 Lb. 7mm-08.

 

[arch408]

You want good grammar or good taste. Magnum and low recoil just don't go together unless you have a muzzle brake or a heavy rifle. You don't want a 6.5, so that leaves the 7mag or the short mags. Or just go with the old tried and true 30-06. I haven't used Superformance or StaBall powders in the 30-06, but the loading data for those those powders show pretty good performance with the 150 grain bullets. Plus you have one more round in the magezine. I'm not a fan of muzzle brakes. I think they are a necessary evil. I have one on my .388 Rum with a light stock. Recoil is absolutely brutal without it. One of my favorite rifles is a M700 titanium .300 SAUM. The rifle and scope weigh 6 1/2 pounds. Recoil is stout but manageable.

 

[schmi015]

I have 2 rifles set up for long range. 1 is a 300 win mag and the other is a 7 mm rem mag. They have the similar ballistics shooting the same bullets but of different weights. The 300 shoots a 210 g Berger vld. The 7mm shoots the 162 g Berger vld. I run validated turrets on each scope. They are so close. No let's talk recoil. 300 with the 210 bullet kicks like a mule! So I added a muzzle brake and put rifle in a chassis. It shoots sub moa but weighs 12-15 lbs and is loud. You have to have hearing protection. Or you he shell shockedfrom the decibels. Not a good thing 7 miles in the wilderness. The 7mm 9 lbs with strap and no muzzle brake no problems. And I can shoot it 1 kill shot and my ears don't ring. Very seldom do I carry the 300.

Just cause your ears don't "ring" doesn't mean you're not damaging your hearing.

 

[Coyote_Hunter]

I would say that puts you in the realm of the 7mm mag, 300 mag, 280 AI (saami) or 6.5-06. Those are pretty mild

I agree with the first three. The 6.5-06 is not a good choice for the factory ammo shooter - much better to go with the 6.5PRC in the long run.

My 7mm RM recoils about like many .30-06 loads. My .300Wm adds significant recoil but significantly less than my .338WM.

 

[SilverbulletMAG]

odd that no one suggested the obvious: the .264 Win Mag.

Because he said...

No wild cats please and 6.5s have no grown on me yet either
Also will be shooting factory ammo to start with

...which seemed to rule it out.

 

[huntintoo]

I really like my .257 Weatherby Mag. not too much recoil and deer and elk have fallen to it in the last 3 years I've had it!!

Just my 2 bits. but loving it right now. Bought factory loads for brass but will be loading for it this winter.

 

[schmi015]

Best bang for the buck right now would be a 6.5prc, flat shooting, high bc Bullet that cheats the wind. Low recoil, with more retained energy downrange, ballistics similar to a 230 a/tip or 215 berger hybrid out of a 300 Norma or 300prc. With a little less ft/lbs (energy) on target. 6.5prc is the real deal.

 

[pacowboy]

So your sayinga 300 win mag with a brake would be just as easy to shoot as a 30-06?

My 300 win Mag With a R. W. Hart break has less recoil than my .280. More like a .243.

 

[Tidus56]

I agree with the first three. The 6.5-06 is not a good choice for the factory ammo shooter - much better to go with the 6.5PRC in the long run.

My 7mm RM recoils about like many .30-06 loads. My .300Wm adds significant recoil but significantly less than my .338WM.

Yeah I actually missed the factory ammo part. The easiest overall answer is the 7mm mag IMO.

 

[Tidus56]

Pretty much anything from a .300WM down you can learn to shoot well unbraked. Especially if it its a heavy barreled gun with a good recoil pad. Blast is more intimidating than kick. 26" or longer barrel helps a bunch here. Put a brake on any of these, and the kick is gone, and it is much easier to spot your hits. Still have to get used to the blast, unless you get a can.

I recently shot a short barrel rifle, it was just a 6.5 creed but I was shocked how much more blast that 18 inch barrel had on my 26 inch barrel. So I agree the longer barrel helps blast significantly.