Best short action cartridge for long range

[Outlaw6.0]

OK. Then why not recommend a .408 Cheytac or a .50 BMG? Hell, why stop there? The ideal rifle for hunting Coues Whitetail at 400 yards and less is a 155mm artillery piece or a 120 mm main gun mounted in an Abrams for you recoil sensitive sissies.

No such thing as needlessly powerful... That is absurd!

No, telling someone what they do or do not need is absurd. Modern sporting arms & their respective chamberings are an astute example of want vs need. If a hunter wants to use a 7mm or 300wsm to shoot a diminutive coues deer, when a .243 will fit the bill, then have at it. I care not, I am far more supportive of the capable hunter using a little more than they need vs a reverse scenario.
There is not such thing as too dead.

I may direct your attention to the Antelope Hunting sub-forum where one of our peers harvested one of the teeny-weeny critters with a .375 RUM. Did it do it's job? yes. Did it waste any part of the animal? no. Was it overkill? No, it did exactly what it was supposed to, cleanly & humanely harvest an animal.

If you have a different opinion, that's fine. Address the different with factual data, actual results and/or useful opinion.

 

[ishootkittens]

No such thing as needlessly powerful... That is absurd!

*facepalm*

Please tell me how you can kill something TOO dead. I admire him for wanting to drop them where they stand. NO pain to the animal and no chase for the hunter. I hunt coyotes with a .30cal too because I dont use the pelt, but I do have respect enough not to shoot them with a .22lr and watch them roll around for 5 minutes before they run off and slowly bleed out. With my .30 cal.. He never blinks before he hits the ground. If its not overkill... its underachievement!

Btw.. the reason I didnt recommend a .50bmg is that he wanted a short action...

 

[jwcrabb]

Hey Guys, Thanks for all the suggestions. I should add that these Deer are not the little Coues. These are South Texas brush Whitetails. The last one we field dressed went 180#. The big issue in South Texas is the thick brush. If you hit one and he gets out of the sendero, he can be very hard to track. Most of the brush you can't walk through. I have hunted and taken over 100 deer with my 25-06. What I am interested in is a caliber that can match its flat shooting, with a heavier bullet in the 120-130 range. The old 7mm mag is just about ideal, just need that performance in a short action. A 130-140g at 3300fps is my target. Thanks

 

[Farmerbeau]

I know the deer you mean. Though, I always used my .270win down near Carrizo Springs, I have a .300 WSM. It's a great, flat shooting rifle with similar ballistics as a 300win mag in a compact little platform. It shoots Black Hills 175 SMK's really well and put an easy one hitter quitter shot on a Colorado bull elk this year with a federal loaded 180gr Barnes TSX at 420yds. It can lob a 150gr projectile around the 3250fps mark.

Since I got my .338 Lapua Mag up and running, I've been looking to get my 300wsm rebarreled (already bought the barrel ) for a .308. If you're interested in trading your 308 action (and maybe some cash or other stuff) for my barreled factory Remington cerakoted, threaded muzzle braked .300wsm action, shoot me a PM. Since we are in Texas and no goofy liberal gun laws have been inplaced, no FFL's need be involved... just a thought.

 

[ishootkittens]

The old 7mm mag is just about ideal, just need that performance in a short action. A 130-140g at 3300fps is my target. Thanks

....a 7wsm? lol


Oh and the trade offer above sounds right up your ally!

 

[MontanaRifleman]

The only thing I'll say is, don't build a WSM in a SA. You can do it and get away with it, but it's a waste of a good cartridge.

6.5 CM sounds like a good choice to me.

 

[ishootkittens]

The only thing I'll say is, don't build a WSM in a SA. You can do it and get away with it, but it's a waste of a good cartridge.

6.5 CM sounds like a good choice to me.

A .300 wsm in a long action... i believe thats called a .300 win mag

 

[benchracer]

*facepalm*

Please tell me how you can kill something TOO dead. I admire him for wanting to drop them where they stand. NO pain to the animal and no chase for the hunter. I hunt coyotes with a .30cal too because I dont use the pelt, but I do have respect enough not to shoot them with a .22lr and watch them roll around for 5 minutes before they run off and slowly bleed out. With my .30 cal.. He never blinks before he hits the ground. If its not overkill... its underachievement!

Btw.. the reason I didnt recommend a .50bmg is that he wanted a short action...

I've got to hand it to you, that last bit is a pretty witty comeback! Given what the OP has since stated about what he is looking for, I have to say I stand corrected!

Look, I killed my first whitetail @ 12 yards with a 375 H&H. It worked beautifully. I had my own reasons for using it, but no way would I try to tell someone that it is the best choice for whitetail. At that distance, I could have killed that deer with a brick just as cleanly.

I am not one to harp on overkill. But, when someone asks for advice, I try to match that advice to the requirments given by the person asking, not my personal favorites.

In general, I consider it to be malpractice of sorts to advise someone to put up with more weight or recoil than they have to in getting the job done. That is the very simple concept of matching one's tool choice to the intended application. I consider pleasantness of use to be far more important than paper ballistics alone. Given what the OP has since stated, a 7mm or 30 caliber magnum does indeed look like an excellent choice.

Is there such a thing as needlessly powerful? Absolutely. The assertion to the contrary is still an absurd assertion. If that were not true, we would all be shooting one rifle in the same chambering for every conceivable purpose. Since that is not the case, I stand by the idea that there is such a thing as an appropriate tool for any given application. You can err on the side of excess if you wish, but not without compromising another aspect.

So yes, Outlaw 6.0, the answer I gave was an opinion that is both useful and carefully considered, whether you think so or not.

 

[roninflag]

JP- i knew you were not talking about the" diminutive coues" bench was mentioned. i doubt he has hunted coues. the remington sendero was offered in 7rsum briefly . i had one. also you could build one off your action easliy. a build takes time. the 264wm and 7mm mag ( offered in the long action sendero ) would be good choices. using lighter bullets like the 123 scenar in the .264; or a 120 balitic tip or 140 berger in the 7mm ; they would do what you want without the build time.

 

[Greyfox]

Im very interested in this thread since i hsve a couple of short sctions thst may soon be ready for a rebarrel.. But every time I take my 308 Milpec out and smack orange size targets out at 700-800 yards with absolute consistency, I defer the question. Has anyone done this with a 300 WSM on a Rem 700 action with the COAL needed to handle the heavier VLD's and feed well. If so can a good smith be recommended to do this work,?

 

[Dirtrock]

243wssm, I have taken it deer hunting the last 3 years here in Nevada. Fired it 3 times. 3 deer down. They never new what hit them! Closest was 130yards, farthest was 340 yards.

 

[ishootkittens]

*scratches head* do u really think the .243 stands up to the 6.5, 7mm and 30 cals at long range?

 

[limige]

6.5 creedmoor and 140 gr Vld's. Be all the gun you'll need, excellent barrel life designed for short action and made to load long or short to tune the load without having problems with magazine length.

 

[roninflag]

*scratches head* do u really think the .243 stands up to the 6.5, 7mm and 30 cals at long range?

i am not sure it has to. -the OP said up to 400 yards. a 243 will do it. i have done it. 17 of 26 deer i have killed were with 243. most in az use something with more power for coues because they are shot even futher than 400 often . in f-class out to 1000 yards even the 6mmbr fairs pretty good. the extra 150fps of wssm over a standard 243, i am sure it will do it if you can get the accuracy needed.