Mild recoiling rifle for hunting medium sized game

[gilk1]

Invest in a good muzzle brake (harrels precision radial brake for $30 and pay a gunsmith $50-75 to install it) make a 300wm feel like a weak 243.

For target shooting (w/o reloading) stay with the 6 or 6.5CM. 6.5 if you hunt with it. 7-08 would be more ideal for hunting with 168-180vld but you might have trouble finding the ammo/gun combination for that w/o a custom built rifle or reloading. Got to ballisticstudies.com and read about terminal ballistic performance of 6.5mm vs 7mm bullets and whether your bullet will maintain enough velocity at 700yds from a 308 sized case. You might find out that you need a 6.5PRC or 7mag and then why not just use the 300wm with a brake for $100?

 

[iclick]

Look at the 6.5-284 Norma. I have 2 of them as well as a 6.5 CM. The CM lacks the horsepower at longer ranges. Nosler, Norma and several others have factory ammo and if you are a reloader you can choose from so many High BC bullets for hunting or target use. Ron Spomer did a write up about the cartridge and has rated it his choice for the best overall cartridge. I have many rifles in several calibers from 35 down to 223 but the 6.5-284 is my go to nearly every time. I am building another one with a 28 inch bull barrel for bench work right now. Just waiting on a couple of parts and a chassis to be here to finish it. Do a little research on it. Google is your friend sometimes.

 

[clownbuster]

Hello, new to this forum. Looking for recommendations for factory rifles for this purpose. My planned shooting range on game would not exceed 600-700 yards but I would like to try target shooting out to 1,000 ish yards. The 6.5 CM gets a lot of press and it seems like there are a lot of choices in rifle and ammo. However, I am open to other caliber choices. I don't plan to handload.
FYI, I have a 300WM that I use for elk hunting and shoot it well but would be nice to practice with less recoil and lower ammo cost.
I would like scope suggestions as well.
Thanks in advance.

Hi Alan, welcome!
The search engine here is your best friend. Select "Search Threads and Posts", type in "best caliber" into the Kewords search bar, select "All Forums" and you will have the last seven years of that question being answered for every reason you have.
Happy hunting!

 

[Pacecount]

6.5 CM or 7mm 08... both fly well and are short actions.

Just to be clear, I would not hunt large game beyond 500 yards with either of these.

 

[GunHawk]

Surprised no one recommend SWFA or Athlon.

 

[Memberberries]

There are a lot of calibers that do what you want but if you want options for factory guns and ammo the only thing that beats the creedmore in terms of availability is a 308 win.

If you want to shoot 1k then both are good for paper but at 600yds I would say to just pull out the 300 win mag for hunting.

Buy a Remington 700 5r Gen 2 and bolt quality glass on it then don't look back

 

[JAYgs8163]

6.5 Creedmoor with or without a muzzle break. Depends how light of recoil you're looking for. There are numerous quality off the shelve rifles with both. A friend just bought last years model Savage Long Range Hunter, with Muzzle break, accutrigger, and accustock in 6.5 Creedmoor for $560 on close out and is new, helluva deal. I believe he got it on GBroker. Shoots 1/2 moa groups with factory ammo.

 

[LongProng]

If you want something really light on recoil the 224 Valkyrie fits that bill. Ammo is pretty cheap and shoots out to 1000. I took an Antelope this year at just a touch over 500 yards. Would be fine for deer as well. There are several match, hunting, and plinking ammo choices by Federal and Hornady.

 

[tnek13]

Tikka CTR in 6.5 Creedmoor- vortex scope will come in under $2000 and give you all the accuracy you need for hours of fun or get a 308 either will work well

 

[iainfarthing]

Go retro and find a 6.5x55mm, preferably a Sako 75. Top it off with a Swarovski Z6i 3-18x50, run Hornady 143gr ELD-X through it and you'll have everything you need.

 

[adrexco]

Ones of theses in 6.5CM

https://www.browning.com/products/f...t-production/xbolt-max-long-range-hunter.html

 

[chickm1]

7mm08

 

[Ranger Rick]

Hello, new to this forum. Looking for recommendations for factory rifles for this purpose. My planned shooting range on game would not exceed 600-700 yards but I would like to try target shooting out to 1,000 ish yards. The 6.5 CM gets a lot of press and it seems like there are a lot of choices in rifle and ammo. However, I am open to other caliber choices. I don't plan to handload.
FYI, I have a 300WM that I use for elk hunting and shoot it well but would be nice to practice with less recoil and lower ammo cost.
I would like scope suggestions as well.
Thanks in advance.

Some options: for target practice, 6.5CR or 6.5PRC, a .270, 7mm-08 or .308. I am comfortable with those calibers our to 300 yards for a one-shot kill. IMO, at 600+ yards, one needs more zap, like a 7mm mag or .300 win mag plus a very good scope and practice. When I check out my 7mm mag at the range, I often use a slip
on recoil pad.

 

[Alibiiv]

The 308 (7.62 X 51) is my choice. I shoot one often and can put 100 rounds down range with excellent accuracy and the recoil is not bad at all. When I was in the service we shot the M 14 900 meters with great accuracy. As has been said, ammo for the 308 is plentiful and many weight bullet configurations to choose from. I shoot 165 and 168 grain bullets through mine as the 150 grain bullet I find too light to hold a very good group. The 165 and 168 grain bullets hold a better group at longer ranges even out to 900 meters. As for a scope I have a Vortex 3 to 16 X 40 MM on mine and it seems to do just fine.

I read where you wrote about 165-168, 30 caliber bullets. For 30 caliber 168 grain bullets, I was using the Hornady, 168gr BTHP Match bullets, they grouped really well out my Ruger 77 30-06. So......I found the Nosler 168gr Core Bond Long Range bullets (.525BC) and put them through the 06, and..... "hopefully" have found a new hunting bullet for next white tail hunt. They are extremely accurate out of the factory barrel (100yd bug holes); glass/pillar bedded, floated barrel, Leupold 4-14X30MM.