Looking for a versatile cartridge

[nksmfamjp]

Thanks for the reply.
6.5 Creedmor isn't good because of the ammo availability criteria (most common here is 243, 270 and 7RM, then you have 308, 22-250, 7mm08 and 300wm, anything else Can be considered an exotic cartridge and will be really hard to find).

Do you have the internet? When possible, I find it best to buy ammo in bundles no smaller than 100 to ensure some stability of ammo supply. That should also improve availability to you.

 

[Turtle566]

Hi, I would buy the Tikka hands down over a Ruger, we used to be pro roo shooters, and Tikka ended up our go to brand due to reliability, price, accuracy and parts when needed (extremely rear), I have been lucky enough to get a few Anschutz's lately but still love my older(80's,90's) Tikkas, best of luck and please let us know what you end up with,
Regards
Graham.

 

[Frog4aday]

The Tikka & Browning are both excellent choices to have. You can't go wrong either way. That being the case, I'd pick up the Browning and use the $150 to $200 you saved & buy some ammo.

 

[ReLes]

Seems like the post has disappeared, but I'll go with the tikka. There is only 1 x-bolt in stock at the shop, and it's a discontinued model, so if it happens to have a factory defect, I'm screwed. Plus the stock is solid wood, and I've had issues with those here, everything "solid wood" (rifle stocks, but also electric guitars/basses and si on) is bound to suffer from our climatic conditions.

 

[LVJ76]

7mm-08, For shots inside of 300 yards, they kill surprisingly well. I've heard many people who owned both the 270 Winchester and a 7mm-08 make the statement that the 7mm-08 kills just as well as the 270, only with less perceived recoil.

I can verify this, I started with the 7mm-08, then changed to the 270 Win and used it for a few years, then went with the 280 Rem only to go back to thw 7mm-08. And still use the 7mm-08. Good for anything in north america except brown bears. You can use 100gr varmint bullets up to 168gr bullets for longer range hunting. Can't go wrong with this cartridge. At 570 yds I still have 1,800 fos and 1,200ft/lbs of energy with the 168gr Classic Hunter. And there are other higher BC bullets available. For pigs bonded bullets will work every time.

 

[Rifleman97]

Thanks for the reply.
6.5 Creedmor isn't good because of the ammo availability criteria (most common here is 243, 270 and 7RM, then you have 308, 22-250, 7mm08 and 300wm, anything else Can be considered an exotic cartridge and will be really hard to find).

Fascinating. Where I'm at there's more 6.5 creed than 308 and 270 combined. Crazy how popular the round got

 

[Jeffsavage]

.243 100 grain bullet has always worked good for Missouri whitetail.

 

[greenejc]

Hello there.
To sum it up, I'm willing to replace my 22-250.
75% of the use or the rifle will be shooting at deer, at distances comprised between 80 and 150 yds. The rest will be shooting deer at 250-300yds, and hogs in the Woods at less than 50yds.
The 22-250 is nice for the first 75% because at those distances i Can confidently go for a neck/headshot. But I'm not good enough a shot to do that at longer distances, and a lung/heart shot won't do it with that cartridge. Also, close range shots at hogs are no good : bullet fragmentation leadind to no exit hole (and hard tracking of the animal) and lots of meat damage.
So what I'm looking for is a cartridge with good enough ballistics to shoot at up to 300 yards without too much thinking, and whose bullets won't fragment and will expand properly on a 30yards shot.

Criterias are :
- versatility
- light recoil
- moderate velocity (i think ?)
- ammo availability ( i don't reload cuz no Time)
- barrel lifespan.

The most serious contenders are probably 7mm08, .308, .270.., but I might be missing something.

Thanks in avance for tour advice.

Best regards

Édit : I live in New Caledonia, a small french Island in SW Pacific

All the cartridges you mentioned are in the running. They'll all do what you want. For pure availability, I'd go with the .308. If the 30-06 is easily available there, it will also do the job easily. The 7mm-08 is good but may be a little harder to get than the ..270, and .308. Just read about your injury. Go with the .270 in 130 grain bullets and you won't go wrong.

 

[JASmith]

The Grendel is truly hard to beat at those ranges.

It is available in bolt guns and ars and can b readily implemented on an Encore.

Wolf makes steel case ammunition which brings the prices a lot more in line with some of the bargain 223 stuff.

 

[Ingwe]

For what you are looking to do with ammo and component availability in mind I would choose the 308. Not sexy or "cool" like the 6.5 Creedmore but perfect for your purposes

 

[Chas1]

Go with 308, can't go wrong and if at some point you decide to reloads then options are endless. good on deer even beyond 300 and a hammer on hogs

 

[Gus Avocado]

Ranges you are talking, .30-06 or .308 all day long. You can load down to 110 grain, or find 150-220 on the shelf. I love the 7mm-08,but inside of 500 yards it wontdo anything a .30-06 or 308 will do, and ammo will be less available and more expensive. .243 would probably get it done for you too, with the above advantages.

 

[ReLes]

Update, I went for a Tikka T3X 7mm08. Couldn't get the Stainless Model though, not available. It's equipped with a Vixen 2.5-15x50.

It shoots 1 hole groups of 3 bullets at 100 yards with hornady superformance sst 139 gr.

In the target picture most of the impacts are from core-locts ans interlocks. First 3 sst bullets made the big hole 1'left ans 1/2' high of the bullseye. After thé rigjt amount of clicks I shot 2 Times, that's the hole in the centre of the target.

Then the deer killed with this setup this sunday. Neck shot @ 80 yds, broken spine, DRT.

 

[NZTahr]

Good choice of rifle and caliber. Well done. Nice little Rusa. I have hunted in your country and loved every minute of it. Kia ora from New Zealand.