Trying to Find/Choose the Right Caliber for Me

Good Morning!
I will try and make this short, as I know that their are a lot of threads regarding this and probably some pretty good answers to those questions. But anyway, I shoot left handed so my options are more limited & I am looking at getting a Weatherby Mark V as my kind of "do it all" rifle for out west hunting. I am a huge 7mm Rem Mag guy, so based off of that and that Weatherby does not have any rifles in 7mm Rem Mag in left hand. And after some research, I have narrowed my two choices to 7mm PRC or .270 Weatherby Mag. I haven't ever shot either caliber before. I have a family member who has shot and hunted with a .270 wby mag for years & years and just loves the caliber. I have shot a .300 PRC and 6.5 PRC, so I am somewhat familiar with PRCs. I would prefer to go with the .270 wby mag to be honest, but the only thing holding me back is that how expensive and hard to find the ammo is for that caliber and I don't reload. 7mm prc is less expensive and easier to find. Also, I was somewhat concerned about "barrel life" and how much difference in that is there between the .270 wby mag and 7mm prc. I am probably over thinking it by this point, but I have a hunt in October, and need to make a decision soon and I just want to make the correct one since this is the rifle I will probably be sticking with for years and hunts to come.

All info and wisdom is greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much!!

7 PRC. Easier to find factory ammo and less expensive to shoot. Better long range cartridge with faster twist and high bc factory ammo.

270 WBY mag. Less recoil.

RugerHawg413 said:

And after some research, I have narrowed my two choices to 7mm PRC or .270 Weatherby Mag.

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This depends on your personal preference, intended purpose, bullet choices, what game you will hunt, and how far.

If you do not reload, the 7MM PRC might be a better choice. However, the 7MM RM will give you more factory ammo options over the PRC.

FEENIX said:

This boils down to your personal preference, intended purpose, bullet choices, what game you will hunt, and how far.

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Understood.
Personal Preference- .270 Wby Mag
Intended Purpose- This rifle will just be for hunting, not target shooting.
Bullet Choices-Somewhat tough to answer since Weatherby only offers a couple of different options in .270 Wby Mag
What Game Will you Hunt- From Pronghorn to Elk, maybe Moose but I don't see that in the very near future.
How far-Probably not shooting over 500-600 yards. Maybe in the future, as I get more comfortable 700-800 yards. Not for right now 500-550 yards is my personal limit to shoot.

Thank you for your reply!

RugerHawg413 said:

Understood.
Personal Preference- .270 Wby Mag
Intended Purpose- This rifle will just be for hunting, not target shooting.
Bullet Choices-Somewhat tough to answer since Weatherby only offers a couple of different options in .270 Wby Mag
What Game Will you Hunt- From Pronghorn to Elk, maybe Moose but I don't see that in the very near future.
How far-Probably not shooting over 500-600 yards. Maybe in the future, as I get more comfortable 700-800 yards. Not for right now 500-550 yards is my personal limit to shoot.

Thank you for your reply!

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Yep, that should work. Good luck!

FEENIX said:

Yep, that should work. Good luck!

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Understood. Good to know! Thank you very much!!

If you prefer the 270 Just buy enough ammo to burn out the barrel while it's available.
It's your preference that matters.

akdad said:

If you prefer the 270 Just buy enough ammo to burn out the barrel while it's available.
It's your preference that matters.

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LOL! @RugerHawg413, depending on which WBY ammo offering you go with, a box of 20 will cost $69/$89/$99/$109 + shipping cost unless purchased locally.

Another option is to have a reputable friend or family member show you the ropes so that you can reload yourself using their equipment and just compensate them.

Some companies will do load development for you, i.e., https://coppercreekcartridgeco.com/custom-capabilities/, https://www.unknownmunitions.com/services/load-development/, etc. They are not cheap, though.

Good luck!

FEENIX said:

LOL! @RugerHawg413, depending on which WBY ammo offering you go with, a box of 20 will cost $69/$89/$99/$109 + shipping cost unless purchased locally.

Another option is to have a reputable friend or family member show you the ropes so that you can reload yourself using their equipment and just compensate them.

Some companies will do load development for you, i.e., https://coppercreekcartridgeco.com/custom-capabilities/, https://www.unknownmunitions.com/services/load-development/, etc. They are not cheap, though.

Good luck!

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Understood. Yeah, Weatherby is proud of their ammo, LOL!! Good to know about those companies! Thank you for also for including their site links! Thank you again for the info and knowledge!!

My 270 Weatherby absolutely shines with the factory Weatherby 150g Spire Point, shoots into .75MoA consistently. Works great on all deer I have shot with them.
I handload too, and personally, you can't go wrong with a 150g Partition on all game. Weatherby used to offer this in loaded ammo, unsure if they still do. Check it out.

Cheers.

RugerHawg413 said:

Understood.
Personal Preference- .270 Wby Mag
Intended Purpose- This rifle will just be for hunting, not target shooting.
Bullet Choices-Somewhat tough to answer since Weatherby only offers a couple of different options in .270 Wby Mag
What Game Will you Hunt- From Pronghorn to Elk, maybe Moose but I don't see that in the very near future.
How far-Probably not shooting over 500-600 yards. Maybe in the future, as I get more comfortable 700-800 yards. Not for right now 500-550 yards is my personal limit to shoot.

Thank you for your reply!

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Weatherby now offers factory hammer bullets loaded. That's a one and done bullet for everything.

RugerHawg413 said:

Understood.
Personal Preference- .270 Wby Mag
Intended Purpose- This rifle will just be for hunting, not target shooting.
Bullet Choices-Somewhat tough to answer since Weatherby only offers a couple of different options in .270 Wby Mag
What Game Will you Hunt- From Pronghorn to Elk, maybe Moose but I don't see that in the very near future.
How far-Probably not shooting over 500-600 yards. Maybe in the future, as I get more comfortable 700-800 yards. Not for right now 500-550 yards is my personal limit to shoot.

Thank you for your reply!

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Have a guy that uses the .270 bee with the hammer 130's. Should be fine for every thing on your list. And offered in factory ammo.

If you have a 7mm Mag now that's what you should use. A hunt in October is coming fast.

Buy that which you desire……provided that ammunition or components can be had!

My desire was to get a cartridge with enough bullet diameter and velocity to cleanly take any game that I may encounter at any range that I will consider shooting. I do not think that there is such a thing as "overkill"!

That's my image of a "do it all" rifle/cartridge! I determined my "Holy Grail" in 1989 and received my rifle in 1990. I'm content and comfortable with my decision and have no desire to try anything else!

Obviously this likely will not be possible for this season……but perhaps for the rest of your life. memtb