Still trying to learn

darrindlh said:

I do not want a 6.5 caliber for this application. If I was building a rifle for medium size game Deer, sheep, goats, antelope I would most deffinantly build a 6.5.
Brathany, I love an old 300 win mag. Those 215's out of the winny are leathal! Just looking for something different than the norm. Maybe a 300 mega?
I will only shoot reloads. Barrel life i want is a minimum 1500+ rounds. I will only use the most consistent compnents; Lapua, ADG, Peterson brass.

Darrin

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The 1500+ is going to be the issue.
You will need a smaller case to give you smaller charge weights and less velocity to achieve that.
That doesn't mean less lethality at 500.
A 180-215 pushed at 2700-2850 should get that barrel life and still be a 500 yard elk round.
I would look at the 300 Max, 300SAUM, 300Mega, or 300WSM and run a 200.20x or 215 Berger Hyb. Don't worry about max velocity, keep it in the speeds I mentioned and go shoot. Look at H1000 for cooler/cleaner burning powder to help throat life.

Something to read that may or may not help.
If you are only going to shoot it at 2800fps, buy a new rifle in 30-06. Same performance.....and you'll get your barrel life.....plus waaaay more.

I think you are looking at this correctly. Sticking with 300 cal for elk is what i believe in myself. I have run a handful of 300's. My "I will always have" is 30-06. Good versatility and ammo was still on the shelf 3 years ago. With that, I think 400 yards would be my limit and it's not as easy to build for. My next favorite is the 300 PRC. It's not crazy hot like a RUM or Norma Mag, but totally viable for everything in north America. I like the long throat so you can use hefty monos if you would like to, or even long heavy high BC cup n core etc. I dislike belted cases and the short throat rule out the win mag for me. Also, 300 PRC is very well supported these days. I think the PRC does have a slight edge over the SAUM with its popularity and a bit more velocity without going nuts and burning barrels like firewood.

I'd follow Lance's advice but go 6.5 or 7 (heh heh). Not saying you don't, but a lot of people really have no clue how terminal performance works and go with the mindset that bigger is better. It has merit for sure, but only to a degree. Terminal performance/ballistics is so so much more than absurd arguments about bigger diameter bullets. Having said that I think you may want to hone in the ultimate goal of the rifle and go from there. For example, round count, its not much of a goal overall for a hunter. Build the rifle that brings you the confidence and comfort you desire and use it for hunting. Build another rifle for training and practice and fun factor. Many of us shoot all year and shooting those cannons is costly. Just a .02 cents worth of opinion from a mental midget on the subject. Good luck

Darrin, the 28 Nosler is a very, very good cartridge for your needs, and you are already set up for It!

What load were you using that shot your barrel out so fast?

Just curious. You said you did not want anything less than 30 caliber. Have you considered something larger than 30 caliber? Just curious.

BrentM said:

I'd follow Lance's advice but go 6.5 or 7 (heh heh). Not saying you don't, but a lot of people really have no clue how terminal performance works and go with the mindset that bigger is better. It has merit for sure, but only to a degree. Terminal performance/ballistics is so so much more than absurd arguments about bigger diameter bullets. Having said that I think you may want to hone in the ultimate goal of the rifle and go from there. For example, round count, its not much of a goal overall for a hunter. Build the rifle that brings you the confidence and comfort you desire and use it for hunting. Build another rifle for training and practice and fun factor. Many of us shoot all year and shooting those cannons is costly. Just a .02 cents worth of opinion from a mental midget on the subject. Good luck

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Your 2 cents is good advice. I use the 340 Wby as my go-to big game rifle, it is a light weight #2 barrel. Each year I fire a few rounds to foul barrel and check sight-in and go hunt, clean and back in safe until next year. This gun is 15 years old and should last me and someone else lifetime. I have 223, 243 and 6.5 CM to practice with the rest of the year. I bought a 6.5 Rpm last year that is now my deer rifle here in Va.

Awesome responses, I am grateful for you guys. I here what all ya'll are sayin.
BrentM 100% for sure. I know that a .264 or a .284 with the right bullet brings enough energy to take big game. It realy is just a personal opinion and what I am comfortble with getting behind. I like bringing more energy at the point of impact. 100% no matter what, it boils down to shot placement.
I need to reevaluate,

VinceMule, my load for my 28 is 90.6 grn of 20N29. Velocity is 2883. I shoot this rifle single shot in my savage ultralight as my coal is 3.700.

You guys have um kinda slapped my in the face lol metaforicaly, the rifle that is being rechambered currently to a 338 edge was a 300 weatherby. I have all the components to reload the 300 weatherby. I could leave the 300 weatherby chambered and rechamber the burnt 28 to a 338 edge since my 338 barrel is a blank. Unknown Munitions is going to do the rechamber. That is a thought .

Darrin

6.5 on an elk is nothing to shirk at. As much as I hate to say it, the creedmoor has better external ballistics than .308 win and the 6.5x55 swede has taken MANY MANY moose and several large African game animals. You'd be surprised looking at the external ballistics how much more effective and flatter some of the 6.5 cartridges are than their 30 cal. counterparts.

That being said, I do have two 300 PRCs. Far better in my experience to my old 300 win mag. The only issue for me has been that neither liked factory ammo offerings. That is when all factory ammo was hornady trash. The win mag didn't like much either and is what got me into reloading.

If you want odd, 30 sherman, you can still run regular 300 PRC through it in a pinch. If you want really odd, 7mm-300 PRC. If you want good terminal and availability of ammo, 6.5 PRC isn't a bad choice. You just can't be a hack with your shots. You should never exchange "stopping power" aka heavy large caliber bullets for shot placement anyway. That's just my personal opinion.

darrindlh said:

Awesome responses, I am grateful for you guys. I here what all ya'll are sayin.
BrentM 100% for sure. I know that a .264 or a .284 with the right bullet brings enough energy to take big game. It realy is just a personal opinion and what I am comfortble with getting behind. I like bringing more energy at the point of impact. 100% no matter what, it boils down to shot placement.
I need to reevaluate,

VinceMule, my load for my 28 is 90.6 grn of 20N29. Velocity is 2883. I shoot this rifle single shot in my savage ultralight as my coal is 3.700.

You guys have um kinda slapped my in the face lol metaforicaly, the rifle that is being rechambered currently to a 338 edge was a 300 weatherby. I have all the components to reload the 300 weatherby. I could leave the 300 weatherby chambered and rechamber the burnt 28 to a 338 edge since my 338 barrel is a blank. Unknown Munitions is going to do the rechamber. That is a thought .

Darrin

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Well….now that we have covered all of your options, here's my .02c worth. My head is reeling after all these cartridge recommendations!!! My only suggestion, and question that I pose, would be to check availability for components and then the cost of those components. Right now there are a lot of proprietary cartridges out there that are holding shooters hostage to their products. I'm seeing $100+ for 25 pieces of brass. Then run a check on your cartridge only to find the words "out of stock"!! In my mind this is a viable question to ask oneself when considering a build. Good luck with your build no matter which way you choose.

If you want to shoot it next season I'd reconsider Carbon 6. Lots of folks have been waiting over a year for barrels from them recently.

darrindlh said:

could leave the 300 weatherby chambered and rechamber the burnt 28 to a 338 edge since my 338 barrel is a blank

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This sounds like a good plan to me. Just my two cents worth.

Darrin, H1000 with 180g in the 28 Nosler increases barrel life, stellar accuracy.