Big game rifle options?

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Ryan500L

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Well
Kinda how I am feeling about it. But it seems like a damn good round. I figure if I bought 200 with the components to load another few hundred I could be set for life with it. Considering there’s a limited number of sheep, elk, moose, and bears I’ll be shooting in my lifetime it seems sufficient. Or am I just fooling myself and setting myself up for failure?
if you plan on handloading your ammo you can shoot anything you want really. I have a few odd ball rounds myself like an 8mm Remington Magnum and a .470 Capstick but they don't get shot very often. If your a handloader almost anything is possible to keep a cartridge alive. But sometimes it's just handy to drop by Atwood's or Wal-Mart and grab a box of '06, 7 mag or .300 Win mag and not have to look all over for some new weird round.
 

swampratt

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@HoLeChit are you planning an African hunt?

One thing important about those hunts is to get something not odd ball so if your ammo gets lost on the airplane
you can find some at a local store.

Myself I have loaded my 30-06 to modern levels with 155 gr bullets and a 300WM is a little over 100fps faster.
I do not even need that much to kill anything around here.

Yea a big boom stick has cool factor and I have drooled over some.
But then reality kicks in and dead is dead with the right shot placement.

The old 7x57 has killed many African game and is still used today.
Pick the right bullet and put it where it counts.

In the drool department if I had to get something better than my 30-06 or .308 it would not be a 30 cal anything.
I would probably get something in .338 and it better be awesome because all it is is braggin rights and drool factor.

338 Lapua probably.
Not going to do that as I have too many car projects that I would rather spend my money on :)
30-06 kills everything I hit with it. But same goes for my .223.
400+ lb Hog was my largest wild kill and it was 1 shot with a 55gr V-max. Dropped where I shot it and never got back up.
Puny little Savage Axis in .223, super accurate little rifle.
 

HoLeChit

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@HoLeChit are you planning an African hunt?

One thing important about those hunts is to get something not odd ball so if your ammo gets lost on the airplane
you can find some at a local store.

Myself I have loaded my 30-06 to modern levels with 155 gr bullets and a 300WM is a little over 100fps faster.
I do not even need that much to kill anything around here.

Yea a big boom stick has cool factor and I have drooled over some.
But then reality kicks in and dead is dead with the right shot placement.

The old 7x57 has killed many African game and is still used today.
Pick the right bullet and put it where it counts.

In the drool department if I had to get something better than my 30-06 or .308 it would not be a 30 cal anything.
I would probably get something in .338 and it better be awesome because all it is is braggin rights and drool factor.

338 Lapua probably.
Not going to do that as I have too many car projects that I would rather spend my money on :)
30-06 kills everything I hit with it. But same goes for my .223.
400+ lb Hog was my largest wild kill and it was 1 shot with a 55gr V-max. Dropped where I shot it and never got back up.
Puny little Savage Axis in .223, super accurate little rifle.
While I would love to go on a big ol safari one of these days, it’s not in my immediate future. I have all the intermediate and short distance rifles I need, and I’m pretty confident that I could take something humanely at 300+ yards with my 308. I’m primarily looking for better ballistics and overall performance. ESP when looking at hunting sheep, elk, and other large “big” North American game. I am strongly favoring the 300WM and feel it will do just fine. I’ve just come across the 6.8 western and it seems appealing. Slightly less recoil than 300WM, bucks the wind better, And flatter trajectory, at the cost of a very small amount of kinetic energy. People are already saying that the round is taking down game at 500, but still provides expansion at 100 yards or less. I feel the accuracy potential is phenomenal as well, between the High BC bullets and the supposed .0001 of freebore spacing that Winchester is saying their rifles in 6.8 western have.

In terms of smaller cartridges it seems to hold its own pretty well too, Winchester says it’s bringing 16 percent more energy than the 6.5 PRC at 500 yards and 67 percent more energy than the 6.5 Creedmoor.

I’m far from decided, but I’m just bouncing ideas off my own brain and the collective brain here.
 

Jcann

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I shot a 7mm RM for 20 years, a 300WSM for 10 years and then rebarreled it to 7WSM. I love heavy for caliber bullets in .284. If I didn’t have 250 loaded 7WSM with Berger 180 grain hunting VLD’s and another 150 pieces of virgin brass I would probably be looking at an 280AI. You can get excellent performance with modern bullets close to and possibly exceeded some 7mmRM ballistics. The 280AI has a track record from the 1960’s with a greater following today. More and more ammo manufacturers are loading for it with LR bullets and more firearm manufacturers are chambering rifles in it.

Ballistically, how it compares to the 6.8 western I haven’t a clue but I do know the track record of Browning and Winchester with regards to new chamberings…….how they stop supporting them after a few years
 

dennishoddy

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@dennishoddy arent you invested in a bygone short mag caliber? What are your thoughts, and how has it worked out for you?
Yes, .243 WSSM. It runs 100-200 fps faster than a .243 but the beauty is that it is capable of being ran in an AR-15 where the .243 cannot.
Browning/Winchester probably killed it when it was introduced in a bolt gun that had the standard feed ramps of a .243 causing a lot of difficulty when chambering a new round. Huge amount of keyboard "gun experts" before it came on the market calling it a barrel burner which it turned out not to be.
The AR feed ramps are a different angle and support the short fat cartridge.
I have two uppers, one in 1:12 for 55 grain bullets, and another in 1:8 for heavier bullets. Amazingly accurate at long ranges with their inherit limitations.
Smaller bullets are much faster with the .55 grain screaming at 4150 fps over a chrono and the 90 grain running 3400fps +/- a few fps.
I've killed deer at over 400 yards with both bullets. Currently going to try some of the 80 grain Barnes in the 1:8 to see if they stabilize and see how much additional fps can be added.
The short fat 6mm ARC has been introduced with much fanfare, but it can't compare to the WSSM in the same caliber.
 

dennishoddy

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Dennis, with that 8 twist, I'd try some heavies. 108-115s.
I have tried some 100 grain. They were just as accurate as the 90 grain but slower fps. Trying the 80 grain Barnes TTSX that are longer than copper/lead core is an experiment to see if they will stabilize. If they do, the deer probably won't know much difference. I love Barnes bullets.
In reality the 108's and 115's would prove to be better at longer ranges with the longer bullets/higher weights, etc. like you suggest, but I'm a speed freak and like to play with loads.
 

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