Sheep rifle

[Racemike]

I would take 300wsm, many years ago I had a friend that went to Alaska and Canada for sheep hunt. He ask me to work up a load and bullet for his 300mag. I did made him 40. He used 2 bullets total one on each animal. If you compare 300wsm it is almost identical to 300wm. I personally have a kimber 300wsm and love it it's lite, comfortable rifle to shot. I had a muzzle break added. Trigger easy to adjust, and if I didn't take it I would take the 270 with a 150 or 160 nosler. Good hunting

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

okay guys here we go. Got my first and only sheep tag for Brooks Range in Alaska. I have a 270,30.06 and a 300wsm. I would like to build a 6.5x284 Norma for the hunt as this will be my only sheep hunt ever. Would like to do it with a better suited caliber for the job. Am I being foolish ? If not component ideas please.

 

[Stokesrjsr]

I built a sheep specific rifle many years ago and don't regret it one bit. This was before the days of laser range finders and wanted as flat a shooting caliber as I could get and as light a rifle as practical and consistent with easily shot. I went with a 6.5-300 weatherby and a Prairie Gun Works 18 Ti titanium action McMillan Ulttalight Edge hunter stock and 24" fluted PACNOR barrel. I have long ago finished my grand slam of sheep and will never again hunt sheep. If you are interested in an experienced sheep rifle send me a PM.

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

do a lot of sheep hunting all your cals will work but do to Alaska I would look at your 300wsm do to bears and maybe need for a long range shot if you want to build a sheep and goat rifle I would look to light weight and stay with the 300wsm or a 300 win mag for uo here for easy reloading something like the proof Glacier at 5.75 lbs or the summit at a little over 6lbs

 

[jackthebear]

here's my 6.5-284 built on a Kimber Montana 84M (short action)
22" #1 Benchmark barrel, hand made brake, I can only seat my bullets out to 2.900" with the short action, my gunsmith lengthened the mag box as much as he could.3"






The very first 3 shot group out of my 6.5-284 using Nosler Trophy Grade 130gr Accubonds

Who does all your blueprinting work?

 

[ronstone09]

okay guys here we go. Got my first and only sheep tag for Brooks Range in Alaska. I have a 270,30.06 and a 300wsm. I would like to build a 6.5x284 Norma for the hunt as this will be my only sheep hunt ever. Would like to do it with a better suited caliber for the job. Am I being foolish ? If not component ideas please.

all 3 would work, the 270 with 130 grain ,ifyou built a 6.5x284 i have great accuracy with thehornady elt in 143 !

 

[jackthebear]

Because this is the one and only time I will ever get to do this and want the right equipment for it. I can make more money don't want to short myself and regret it.

What the guys are saying about lead times on a new rig are right. The timing will be tight! If I were you I'd be looking at a good used custom in a 6.5 SAUM or 6.5 PRC or even a 6.5-284 with a #3 or #4 contour barrel. Both the SAUM and PRC are short actions and no need to fireform brass. These will easily get the job done with 140 grain projectiles.

 

[Harold Barrows]

I read where someone said most good smiths have at least a 4 month wait. However, this is not completely true! I acquired some of my components for my rifle build and scheduled an appointment with LRI in Sturgis, SD. Granted I had to pre-pay via cashiers check, but I showed up at 8am on the scheduled Saturday and they built my rifle while I watched!
Their service is top notch and the quality of their work is second to none!
I must say that I'm not getting anything for recommending this. I just appreciate it so much that I wanna help others know about it and hopefully give Chad Dixon and his crew the notoriety they deserve.

 

[North61]

The laser range finder has been a game changer. It is no longer as important to have a super flat shooting rifle, just one that can handle bullets with a great b.c. Light rifle weight is also great. Is one of your existing rifles light?

I use a plain jane, Tikka Light Weight in 30-06. Loaded with 220 Nosler Partitions on the way in (Bears) and out and 155 Bergers or 165 Speer spitzer boat-tails for the actual sheep. Use either a ballistic dot system (I love the Leupold Boone and Crockett) or a good repeatable turret and spend your time practicing with your chosen load. This is a better use of time than waiting for a custom build. I am getting 4" groups at 500 meters with my Tikka when the wind isn't blowing. I like the 06 so much that I have a Forbes 24B in 30-06 coming my way. If it shoots as well as the Tikka I will have lost almost 3/4 of a pound off my pack weight. I feel a lot more comfortable in Grizzly country with 220 Noslers in my rifle, than I do with 140 grain Noslers in my 6.5 Rem Mag.

 

[dougduey]

All the rifles you currently own will work just fine. That being said, I understand that you may NEED a new rifle for this hunt. I think just about everyone on this site has that addiction and I'm no different. I purchased a Christensen Arms Classic in 338 Lapua for my mountain goat hunt this past October. Love the rifle and it performed flawlessly. You may want to look at their line of rifles. Mine only weighs 7.1 lbs bare. If you want a 6.5 cal, they have the Creed, 6.5-284 Norma and the PRC. Jeff Brozovich (who is very well respected in the shooting world) has been giving high praise to the 6.5 PRC. He has one in their Ridgeline models. I personally asked him how he likes the rifle/cartridge, and he stated it's been the easiest rifle to dial in that he's ever had. He hasn't even gone to hand loading for it yet, because it shoots the Hornady ammo (ELDX & ELDM)so well. I read a recent post from someone that had a friend that worked for Christensen, and he said that the Mesa LR models were consistently the most accurate of all the models they produce. So, food for thought.
I personally own a 6.5-284 Norma. It's a tack driver and recoil is like my .243. Gives your more velocity, energy, and distance than the Creed. The PRC is it's ballistic twin.
Now, I have a friend that just booked a sheep hunt in Canada with Steve from Steve's Outdoor Adventures TV show. He's hunted with him in the past, and this was a cancellation hunt. Steve has sent my buddy his personal Begara rifle chambered in 6.5 Creed to practice with and use on this hunt. Again, food for thought.
Choices, like yours, are first world problems. Figure out if you want a new rifle or not. Look at the ballistics of the different cartridges, and make the best choice for you. If you go the 6.5-284 Norma route, look at Cooper and Christensen. The load data for the 6.5-284 are severely low since it has been a wildcat cartridge for some time before Norma standardized it. With a 140/143 gr bullet, you should be in the 2950-3000 fps with a 24-26" barrel with a near max load.
If you're going to buy factory ammo only, then the Creed or the PRC are your best choices.
One last bit of advice. Train your *** off for this hunt. I thought I was ready for my mountain goat hunt, only to learn I was very wrong. Go to the local high school football stadium and do the stairs. Once you feel good with that, add a backpack with weight. Then do interval training where you go as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then normalpace for 2 minutes, the fast, etc. It's the only way to really get prepared. You can't prepare for altitude, so you just have to be in the best shape you can be. I had a brutal 7 hour hike in and 6 hour hike out. It's a grind!!
Good luck.

 

[Weatherby Fan]

Who does all your blueprinting work?

My Gunsmith Gary Flach, CRF actions are kind of his specialty or a favourite of his to work with.

 

[35 Whelen]

I'm not going to tell you not to get another rifle, as a new rifle is always so much fun. But I would not stress about it for a once in a life time hunt. Any of the 3 rifles you have will do a grate job. The 6.5-284 is in the same basic category for the ones you have (that doesn't mean you should not get it), just don't over look what you have and not get full prepared for the hunt. In other words I'd make shore if I went with a new rifle I'd make shore I'd have time to have it ready and that I'd be confident with it and be in good shape and have all the other gear I would need ready. Have a good hunt.

 

[blaser270mag]

My pick would be:

Sako 85 Finnlight 2 in 300 WSM
Sako 85 Carbonlight in 300 WSM or 260 Rem.

With a Swarovski Z6i 5-30x50mm

And start shooting with it asap!!

Good luck

 

[Sflutes]

My Brother Killed a Ram last year with a .30-06 and 150 grain Barnes X bullets.

He also killed a small grizz with it.