Deer rifle build.

[jahollis2]

Well I got a sweet deal on some 7mm bullets, so that narrows it down some. Lol. So now its between, 7 mauser, 284 or 280. Lack of brass and powder sucks. Makes it hard.
280: brass + plenty of hp
7x57: lowest recoil, can get remington loaded rounds + cool factor
284: brass, plenty of speed, poor factory ammo
I figure 140 gr close to 3000fps is plenty enough speed. High bc bullets are pointless to me.

 

[59FLH]

.280

 

[M70_MAN]

+1 for .280

 

[txtrout]

There is a cool factor with the 7x57. With hand loads you can substantially increase the velocity at a later time over the book numbers. Those numbers are held low for old military surplus rifles that are 100 years old.

 

[precisionobsession]

I'm interested in this thread. I also have a long action Remington 700 that is currently a 270 cdl. Thought about building something different with it as it's currently just sitting in the safe. I thought about trading or selling it and getting another action.

 

[Ebender34]

The long action is the catch. My first thoughts are 6.5 Creedmoor with 110 to 120 grain bullets to keep recoil down for the grand kids. Second thought is 7mm-08. On a long action, I would think the 7x57 or 6.5x55 would be sound choices. Plenty of kill power, good bullet selections with both, mild report, and not so big to scare off the kids. For simplicity sake, I wouldn't AI anything. You also didn't mention whether it was a standard or mag bolt face, but assume standard with the rounds you mentioned. Ive had good success with the Creedmoor and 110 Lehigh at modest distances. Recoil is noticeably less than 140 class bullets. Kills deer just fine. Also the 120 Barnes TTSX has good field reports so far. With any of the 7mm versions, its a little harder to get lighter bullets that aren't designed as varmint bullets. If recoil mitigation is high on the list, I would steer you towards 6.5s of some version to get the slightly lighter bullets.

I will die on the hill of the 7mm-08 being one of the best youth calibers around.

 

[Roughrice]

Well I got a sweet deal on some 7mm bullets, so that narrows it down some. Lol. So now its between, 7 mauser, 284 or 280. Lack of brass and powder sucks. Makes it hard.
280: brass + plenty of hp
7x57: lowest recoil, can get remington loaded rounds + cool factor
284: brass, plenty of speed, poor factory ammo
I figure 140 gr close to 3000fps is plenty enough speed. High bc bullets are pointless to me.

You are right on track!
7mm-08 is in the ballpark of the 7x57 (hence, the low recoil) but not with the 284 and 280 Rem.

Facts supporting your comments:
1) Plenty of brass and factory ammo for 280 and 7mm-08... less with 7x57 and very little to none with 284 Win.
2) HP of the 280 Rem and 284 Win beat the 7x57 and 7mm-08 every time, period.
3) If you want 3000fps with 140's... 280 Rem and 284 Win are the only ones in this group that will safely provide that performance.

Some people shoot one of these cartridges a few times a year and make comments and suggestions.
Some people shoot hundreds of rounds per month of different cartridges and know the ballistics of many and can give facts from actual load testing.

With that said... in your situation with a long action standard bolt and availability of components... I'd go 280 Rem!

Best of luck with your choice and build!