"difficult" calibers

[Jesupojk]

I wouldn't complicate things.

1. Find a hunting bullet you believe in that's intended for long range hunting.
2. Dedicate your build around this bullet.

Personally I'd probably stay with the 7mm rem. Rebarrel for Berger bullets 195 gr EOL hunting bullet.

Reasons (plus/minus):
1 bullet intended for hunting and long range shooting gives time and money to work out load and minimize confusion at range or in the woods hunting.

2 staying with the 7mm rem. Minimizes changes on the rifle to new quality barrel with appropriate twist.

3. Can use ordinary reloading tools. Can use good brass, cheap.

Minus 1. Boaring

Minus 2. Finding that bullet you believe in. Is that Berger 195 gr. good on meat?

 

[Don A Parsons]

Yuppers,,, if I owned a 7 Mag,,, I'd hate to change what it is.
JE and a few others threw out your cost saving options.

"""If""" rifle building costs are part of the plan,,, your already half way there.
The window of shooting distance is well with in the capabilities of that cartridge.

And you get to build off a action and firearm you like.

You folks are lucky down there,,,, the cost of a re-barrel is not that bad,,, up here above the 49th would darn near be twice those costs.

A new barrel will get things happening,,, you probably have the reloading stuff on hand or some once fired brass that adds to more savings on top of that.

Kind of like me and the 308,,, it ain't worth my while to change things up since the massive collection of everything including the 2 rifles,,, 5 stocks that fit them along with 12 optic scopes of my choosing are all bought and paided for.

The most important factor in my hunting needs along with target shooting activities are covered.

Up close and personal critter getter, predator control on the farm,,, and targets I can't see with a naked eye to tinker with in the off season.

Good luck going forward,,, please keep us up to date on the adventures you choose,,, that's what really counts on this awesome forum.

Feed back rules you know.

Cheers from the frozen North Lands beyond.

 

[longrangedude]

Sounds like you should seriously consider the 6.5 PRC. Especially if you plan on doing a lot of target and also want it to be a good elk round for 500 yards.

6.5 "anything" is just too marginal for elk. I've seen too many wounded with less than optimal shots. Get a 7 magnum or good 300 and you'll be using enough gun.

 

[Barrelnut]

6.5 "anything" is just too marginal for elk. I've seen too many wounded with less than optimal shots. Get a 7 magnum or good 300 and you'll be using enough gun.

Member is in Tennessee. Elk is more of a maybe. Rifle primary use will be target and deer second, with lower recoil wanted for longer shooting sessions. Besides, I think a 140 partition would work just fine at a realistic distance.

 

[Triggerhead Ed]

This rifle is currently a 7mm Rem. Accuracy started out bearable. It has grown worse. I've ordered new rings/bases and plan on re torquing everything once more. It has left a bad taste in my mouth and I'll take TINY groups for me to stay with this factory rifle / 7mm REM.

 

[Triggerhead Ed]

I was having trouble with my Tikka magnum The accuracy went down the toilet
Replaced the aluminum recoil lug with a $15 steel one
That fixed the problem
Shooting 3/4 inch at 100 yards now with 7mm Rem mag

 

[35 Whelen]

There's a lot more to wrap my head around now than I would've expected when I started this.

I have a 7mm rem mag right now. The plan is to rebarrel and I originally had full intentions going something other than 7mm rem mag. I'm open.

I'm not a competitive bench shooter but not a bad shot. Apparently I said minimum 500 yard elk capable... I meant maximum. Greed will never impede by better judgement when it comes to pulling the trigger.

I have a 30-06 I'm completely comfortable carrying and hunting elk with. The new rifle will be primarily deer and more so target. I know you shouldn't compromise but I want it to also be ethical elk capable. This will not be my last rifle. I will one day have one of the LARGE cartridges. I'm essentially looking for a cartridge to fit this bill that isn't a PITA to load. AGAIN, I am NEW to reloading.

Some suggest finding a good smith... if you have a recc. for this type build, please send me some contact info.

Maybe I should have been more specific from the go. My bad. Thanks for all inquiries.

The 7mm Rem. Mag. is not a favorite cartridge of mine but it is a good one and very affective. I have only ben reloading myself a few years and some rifles can take some time to find the right bullet, powder, ect. combination to get the right load to give the accuracy you want. A different barrel with a faster twist may help if you want to try some of the new long range bullets. If you want to take the time to work with load development I think you can get it to do what you are looking for. Just take your time look at all the options so you can pick the one that feels right to you. Remember we only give our onions based on our experiences and that of what we have seen, mix that with your experiences and you will come to the right chose for you.

 

[Michael O'Connor]

7mm blaser mag runs flawlessly in a long action mag bolt Tikka, has same or better performance as wsm & rem mag, it's vastly different and is a great design, no idea why it never caught on. Norma sells brass, redding has dies. PTG has reamers.

The 7mm Blaser Magnum is ideal for 3.340 COAL SAAMI Magazine length, especially for long 180 grain Berger Hybrids or 151 grain Warner Flatline solids. This leaves the boattail at the optimum shoulder and neck junction. The long neck and 30° shoulder also give efficiency and longer barrel life. It would be better if RWS or Lapua made brass for these well thought-out Blaser designs, but Norma is sufficient for moderate pressure.

 

[Michael O'Connor]

I'd go 6.5 saum over 6.5 prc any day.

I would go with a 6.5 Short Sherman 40° or 6.5 Short Sherman Tactical 30° over both of those cartridges. The Sherman is ideal for true short action magazines with long bullets and will outperform the 6.5 PRC by 50 fps and match the SAUM velocity.

 

[WildRose]

Consider this my intro to the forum. Long time outdoorsman, Grandpa's rifle shooter with core-lokts, gun loving Tennesseean. I grew up under the impression shooting a paper plate was OK for accuracy at 100. Things have changed and quite frankly, I'm never content accuracy wise. I've shot some GREAT groups at 400 and less with factory ammo and rifles.

I've shot some competition pistol. This led to a press and the whole 9. Life happened, time was lost and said press was sold. Only thing I learned was resale SUCKS..

I've got a rifle that doesnt fulfill my itch but I feel like something good can come from it, the action?

I'm looking to build off a Tikka magnum action.
I "feel" a press is needed for the new round. I'm willing to try loading again and this time I feel confident I'll perform.

Question is : What makes a caliber "hard to load"?This will be my first. I'm a hunter and target shooter who has gained respect for lightweight rifles in that order.

I love the 30-06. I looked at building a 6.5prc but have opened to others minus CM. I'll entertain a 7 minus Rem, 260, 280 and 300 peak interest as well in all of their variances.

A) What makes it difficult to load? / B) Examples of difficult vs easy within these parameters?

Two threads in one : I'm looking for elk killing kinetic energy at 500ish (more is better), inherently accurate, reasonable cost to shoot, easy to load, fair bench gun (easy to kill any given weekend without killing my shoulder) at a lower weight. I'm not against using my long action for a short. Unicorn, right?

To me the only "difficult" to load cartridges are wildcats and orphans with a very small following like the 7LRM or 6.5LRM that I shoot.

The difficulty with them is very limited availability and expensive brass, the need for expensive custom dies etc.

Other than that pick one and run with it. The 6.5 PRC is nice, I'd rather have a .264wm though if gas is what you're looking for.

Less gas, go with the .260Rem or 6.5CM and you'll have all the gun 90% of hunters and long range shooters will ever need.

The 30.06, great round, but I prefer the .300wm and .300Rum for "more gas".

You can't pick a "bad round" if it has been around for 20 years or more and has a large following. When you jump on the latest, greatest, newest fad there's always a good chance that five or ten years down the road you'll find yourself with one of those orphans I spoke about above.

I'm a buy it, keep it, and shoot it forever guy so my way of thinking is somewhat different than a lot of guys.

 

[Jacobs]

Read about the 264 Winchester. You might find it interesting. Just a recent discovery of mine.

 

[86bowhunter]

There's several ways of looking at what you're asking and what you're trying to do.

First I would say in general build a rifle out of the best parts you can afford. Put the best glass on it you can afford and learn to reload and you will get accurate results within your capabilities as a shooter and within the perspective task you are asking any particular caliber to do.

There is no one caliber that's harder to reload for than the rest. Assuming you have all the components necessary to make a complete round. Put the learned reloading knowledge and develope a load that brings out the maximum capability of the rifle you're loading for. The steps are all the same whether it's a 243 or a 338. That being said there are also certain calibers that tend to seem "easier" to load for. 308 win for example it's hard to not find a decent load.

I like the 6.5 prc but if you're wanting to lob bullets at elk across a canyon a 6.5 would not be something I'd reach for if I had other options. I'm a firm believer in mass kills. Pick a bullet designed for what you want to do and shoot the biggest one you can get to shoot accurately. I'm also of firm believer in task specific rifles. If go elk hunting I take my 338 or 28 nosler and leave my 6.5 in the safe.

If you're wanting a do all cartridge pick any of the large 7mm's or 300s. Build one with a little meat to it not a lightweight job. Put a break on it. Shoot good bullets and you can take anything in North America.

 

[Jeeper48]

I was having trouble with my Tikka magnum The accuracy went down the toilet
Replaced the aluminum recoil lug with a $15 steel one
That fixed the problem
Shooting 3/4 inch at 100 yards now with 7mm Rem mag

This, if you are having troubles with your 7 Rem Mag its worth the time to take it apart and check the recoil lug

If you do actually have an elk trip planned, 300 WSM. If you just may go on an elk hunt but will mostly shoot paper/deer I'd go 6.5 PRC

 

[Alibiiv]

There's a lot more to wrap my head around now than I would've expected when I started this.

I have a 7mm rem mag right now. The plan is to rebarrel and I originally had full intentions going something other than 7mm rem mag. I'm open.

I'm not a competitive bench shooter but not a bad shot. Apparently I said minimum 500 yard elk capable... I meant maximum. Greed will never impede by better judgement when it comes to pulling the trigger.

I have a 30-06 I'm completely comfortable carrying and hunting elk with. The new rifle will be primarily deer and more so target. I know you shouldn't compromise but I want it to also be ethical elk capable. This will not be my last rifle. I will one day have one of the LARGE cartridges. I'm essentially looking for a cartridge to fit this bill that isn't a PITA to load. AGAIN, I am NEW to reloading.

Some suggest finding a good smith... if you have a recc. for this type build, please send me some contact info.

Maybe I should have been more specific from the go. My bad. Thanks for all inquiries.

I know that after reading so many of the responses here, things can get a bit muddled to say the least. There's lots of opinions and a number of answers to your post here, and I am sure that all were meant to be helpful and to address your question/posting. We all have Chevy's, Fords and Dodges, and we all know that what we own is the best! Over the years I have had quite a few 7mm RemMags and have always found (IMO) them to be easy to reload for, quite accurate, and again "for me" a relatively long-range cartridge. I have an Encore, 28 inch, Pro Hunter barrel in 7mm RemMag that will interchange with my muzzle loader barrel that will consistently shoot bug-holes. No special load, no special bullets, it just simply shoots. I probably will never use the barrel for hunting, however I feel that it would be a good, second rifle to take along on a long-range hunt if I go on one and will never sell it. You wrote, "I have a 30-06 I'm completely comfortable carrying and hunting elk with," and with that if you compare the total ballistics between the two cartridges, unless you have to eek out every potential "FPS" and "the best/flattest trajectory", what you already have is quite comparable to the 30-06. Yup there's differences, however not enough to make that much difference to warrant a change in calibers, unless that is what you want to do. If you are invested in this rifle, and want to keep it, go for the rebarrel; and, if not maybe it's time to consider trading/selling the rifle and pick up a rifle/caliber combination that fits your wants/needs. If you choose to do either, it will cost you as much out of pocket to do it. I have been shooting, hunting, reloading for a very long time, what I have written is what I would suggest to my closest relative or best friend. I'm posting #99 (got some mileage out of this thread) and I'm sure that you have enough stuff to consider. Good luck with your choice and straight shooting.