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Need Help Choosing Caliber for New Rifle

Nutterbuster said:
No experience with the 6.5.

I'll be honest, I kinda wanna hate it because of that vibe though. Also, poo on 6mm anything.
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Oh I totally get that. I was going for a .308 ar10 from Palmetto and when I went to buy they were out of .308 and the 6.5 upper was even cheaper than the .308.

So far I have made 5 shots on deer and have dropped all 5 deer in their tracks. Ranging from 85-175 yard shots.

Not saying I wouldn’t have with a .308 but I’ve been really happy with its accuracy.
 
Aaronpaul14 said:
Oh I totally get that. I was going for a .308 ar10 from Palmetto and when I went to buy they were out of .308 and the 6.5 upper was even cheaper than the .308.

So far I have made 5 shots on deer and have dropped all 5 deer in their tracks. Ranging from 85-175 yard shots.

Not saying I wouldn’t have with a .308 but I’ve been really happy with its accuracy.
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I have a Ruger Predator in 6.5 CM in a Magpul stock and a 4-16 Vortex, that things shoots 143 ELDX so good. Like anything good, the fanboys ruined it. To be honest, with some marketing the 260 Rem (because it is so similar) could of earned that following years ago (308 necked down to 264).
 
7mmremmag said:
I have a Ruger Predator in 6.5 CM in a Magpul stock and a 4-16 Vortex, that things shoots 143 ELDX so good. Like anything good, the fanboys ruined it. To be honest, with some marketing the 260 Rem (because it is so similar) could of earned that following years ago (308 necked down to 264).
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What are the advantages of 260 rem over a 243 win? Asking because you seem like you might know a thing or two about rifles
 
7mmremmag said:
I have a Ruger Predator in 6.5 CM in a Magpul stock and a 4-16 Vortex, that things shoots 143 ELDX so good. Like anything good, the fanboys ruined it. To be honest, with some marketing the 260 Rem (because it is so similar) could of earned that following years ago (308 necked down to 264).
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It's weird like that. My favorite deer caliber is 25-06, but that never caught on either. It's hard to beat for medium sized game, kind of halfway between 243 and 270 with a super flat trajectory.
 
Aaronpaul14 said:
Oh I totally get that. I was going for a .308 ar10 from Palmetto and when I went to buy they were out of .308 and the 6.5 upper was even cheaper than the .308.

So far I have made 5 shots on deer and have dropped all 5 deer in their tracks. Ranging from 85-175 yard shots.

Not saying I wouldn’t have with a .308 but I’ve been really happy with its accuracy.
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Deer are honestly easy animals to kill. Most calibers will do well. Most folks are prejudiced towards one or another for somewhat subjective reasons (guilty).

That said, accuracy is not really high on my list of criteria for a deer rifle. At least not the long range, sub-MOA type accuracy manufacturers like to brag on.

I want a big bullet moving fast enough to land inside a pie plate at 20 to 200 yards for whitetail, and I wanna be able to find bullets for it. I want all common bullet weights/types to perform well on deer.

Honestly, I just don't wanna think about it. Not a gun or bow guy, and don't have a tinkerer's mindset. Honestly probably wouldn't own a gun if I didn't hunt. My buddy is a gun nut, and he's always talking ballistics and reloading info at me. He overthinks it in my mind, but he's happy.
 
Nutterbuster said:
No, you can't. It's obviously working for you and a lot of folks. You are shooting bigger animals further away it seems, and for that I would cede an edge to a 7mm rem mag. But, pit the 7mm mag against a 30 cal mag and I think the tables turn.

I know I did not like a 7mm mag on deer. It seemed to zip through them and never really expand. It was also louder and more expensive to feed. I will say though, you could take a shot on any angle deer and the bullet would come out the other side.

I bought the 7mm because I thought I wanted a gun for deer and maybe elk/moose/etc. I sold it and went back to 06 because I shoot more deer, and I feel like the 06 would not be a handicap if I ever go west or north.

Different strokes I reckon.
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No doubt the 06 has knocked down more game than anything else out there and I wouldn't hesitate to pack one out west if I could afford an elk hunt :tearsofjoy: I think bullet weight and construction has a lot to do with the equation too. You mentioned not liking the .243 caliber either but I've killed a pile of deer with both the .243 and my 6mm. I always waited for a broadside shot and shot them in the ribs though. I also always used the Nosler partions in those and they just disintegrated the lungs on them. I almost think you would be over gunned with the 06 where you hunt and those small southern deer. Maybe I'm wrong on that though cause I have no experience hunting down south. Just curious, whats the biggest deer body wise that you have shot in your region anyways?
 
BTaylor said:
I do not own a single centerfire rifle but have shot several and have killed a few deer with borrowed rifles of different calibers. I do own a ML and have killed a few deer with it but I am far and away a bow hunter. That said, I am a firm believer in the most deadly weapon a person can carry is the one they are most accurate with under all circumstances. The .243 and ML will handle everything you mentioned though I understand the want for a little more horsepower for elk up to 300. I might consider a .270, a 308 and 7-08 in your shoes but see no need for anything bigger to meet your criteria.
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To go along with this, my father-in-law and brother-in-law both took Idaho elk with .270s @ 150g. Both out past 200 yards. Accuracy is the big variable here, if you practice and get the accuracy part down all these calibers will be fine. I have a 7-08 I plan to use sometime on elk in the near future.
 
DroptineKrazy said:
No doubt the 06 has knocked down more game than anything else out there and I wouldn't hesitate to pack one out west if I could afford an elk hunt :tearsofjoy: I think bullet weight and construction has a lot to do with the equation too. You mentioned not liking the .243 caliber either but I've killed a pile of deer with both the .243 and my 6mm. I always waited for a broadside shot and shot them in the ribs though. I also always used the Nosler partions in those and they just disintegrated the lungs on them. I almost think you would be over gunned with the 06 where you hunt and those small southern deer. Maybe I'm wrong on that though cause I have no experience hunting down south. Just curious, whats the biggest deer body wise that you have shot in your region anyways?
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About 200lbs live is the biggest buck I've shot. The 8 i shot earlier this year was weighed and aged by a state biologist at like 186 and 4.5 years or older. And that's a larger than average buck for my county.

Weight and construction is definitely a factor that is increasingly important as you get closer to the margin for what's work for whitetail. That's why I like the 30 06. A $17 box of corelokts in any weight you find them in will be positively lethal. The same is not true for a .243 or I'd imagine a 6.5mm.

Like I said, biggest bullet with the most powder you can stand.
 
Caliber selection opinions are like “you know what”.... everybody has one and some stink. I am not anywhere near being a cartridge expert but I own at least one of almost every common caliber out there. I am a rifle fanatic. I have killed deer with 243 up thru 338 and everything in between. My favorite for whitetail is 270, BUT if I could only have one rifle to hunt all over North America for all sorts of animals, it would be 30-06. Ammo is readily available from 125 gr up thru 220 gr. What is there you can’t kill ethically with that selection?
choose what makes you happy and your comfortable with and you can’t go wrong.
 
Nutterbuster said:
Like I said, biggest bullet with the most powder you can stand.
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Then why not just stick with the ML. That 50 cal hollar point is plenty bigger than the pea out front of the powder in that '06? You know for deer at normal hunting distances in the south, 0-200.
 
fbwguy said:
I should sell you my wife’s Vangaurd. Mrs Daniel Boone has killed 4 deer this year with hers this year and quite frankly it needs to stop. She has put me to shame so I think it needs to leave. She’s a Weatherby snob!
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Appreciate your insight above, and I'll gladly PM you my address if you'd like to just ship it to me directly. I'll take the rifle AND her good hunting juju gladly! :tonguewink:
 
.06, I have some custom 125 grain loads and you can get all the way up to 220 grain off the shelf. Also if you are worried about recoil get a threaded barrel and put a can on it. A can is going to be my next big purchase.
When I hunted in Brown Bear country I would hunt with 150 grain for deer and then when packing out switch to the 220 grain soft tips. Have you ever seen what a 220 grain soft tip .06 does at 10 yards.
 
Nutterbuster said:
No, you can't. It's obviously working for you and a lot of folks. You are shooting bigger animals further away it seems, and for that I would cede an edge to a 7mm rem mag. But, pit the 7mm mag against a 30 cal mag and I think the tables turn.

I know I did not like a 7mm mag on deer. It seemed to zip through them and never really expand. It was also louder and more expensive to feed. I will say though, you could take a shot on any angle deer and the bullet would come out the other side.

I bought the 7mm because I thought I wanted a gun for deer and maybe elk/moose/etc. I sold it and went back to 06 because I shoot more deer, and I feel like the 06 would not be a handicap if I ever go west or north.

Different strokes I reckon.
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I missed this post earlier today. I had the same experience with 7mm with regular 140gr soft nose bullets. When I switched to a bullet designed to rapidly expand ........ WOW. It's nasty. I won't post the pictures on the forum but bullet placement is critical for these bullets at 7mm RM velocities or you're destroying meat but they sure do die quick.

I also had better luck slowing it down a little bit with the 160 HPBT, compared to the 140 SP. To be honest, they are probably a better choice than the ballistic tips for deer due to the meat damage concern but I found a load for them the gun likes and I have them so I'm shooting them. I just try to pick my shots wisely. I'm going to say this knowing it is a divisive comment and I'll get backlash but I will typically only head shoot does and I will wait for the right shot with a dead rest to do it. No meat damage, and the rapidly expanding bullet is perfect for this. There is almost an argument that meat quality is best when the death is an instant CNS shutoff. Although I feel a double lunged archery shot deer is just as good, no adrenaline pumping through it... just pumping out of it.
 
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Hunter260 said:
What are the advantages of 260 rem over a 243 win? Asking because you seem like you might know a thing or two about rifles
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A little slower, a little heavier bullet. At some point down range the 260 will be going faster than the 243 due to the inherent weight/ballistic coefficient advantage but that is way, way, way beyond hunting range. 243 has higher velocity at relevant ranges. Although, there are enough super high BC bullets for 6mm's now that it is kind of mute. The trend has been going towards 6mm in long range, timed competitions due to the slightly lower recoil and higher velocity. Quicker to be back on the next target. For all but the extreme upper echelon of shooters I doubt it makes a difference. Both are great.

Off topic a bit, my grandpa (passed away 18 years ago when I was 15) had a beautiful per 64 Model 70 Winchester that he bought new chambered in 243. He killed a lot of deer and black bear with that gun. My aunt got it when he passed and my heroin addict cousin stole it and sold it for drug money around 6 years ago. That's the most heartbroken I've ever seen my dad when he found out.
 
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