WHAT CALIBER???

[charliewhisky]

I just bought an .30 cal hc carbon barrel blank from elk hunter in the classifieds to build a 800 yard light weight hunting rifle. Im not quite sure what caliber I should chamber it in.

I DO NOT RELOAD SO FACTORY AMMO IS A BIG CONSIDERATION

THANKS
RGVT4

After reading three pages of replies I wondered, why not 30-06? It will handle anything in North America and most of the world.

 

[Dragster]

Being you are not reloading yourself the above calibers mentioned are great
I personally would go with the RUM, starting with ELD-X 178. Good BC and a ton of FPS
You could increase the bullet weight, which in some cases improve the BC
Just my 2 cents

 

[Mickey D]

I just bought an .30 cal hc carbon barrel blank from elk hunter in the classifieds to build a 800 yard light weight hunting rifle. Im not quite sure what caliber I should chamber it in.

I DO NOT RELOAD SO FACTORY AMMO IS A BIG CONSIDERATION

THANKS
RGVT4

 

[Mickey D]

300 wm. Will kill anything in the America's and you can find Ammo for it anywhere.
If you don't think that is important get out in the middle of Nowhere NewMexico and realizing you left all your 300xyz at home and the closest is in Dallas Texas.
It has happened.

 

[7mmTikkaShooter]

I just bought an .30 cal hc carbon barrel blank from elk hunter in the classifieds to build a 800 yard light weight hunting rifle. Im not quite sure what caliber I should chamber it in.

I DO NOT RELOAD SO FACTORY AMMO IS A BIG CONSIDERATION

THANKS
RGVT4

Going to throw in my vote for 300WM. Just so much available for factory ammo virtually everywhere.

 

[DeadmansPoint]

...no sniper uses factory ammo; it's all hand loaded. The exact weight of powder in every round (I'm talking plus or minus one speck of powder) is what gives you consistent FPS which translates to trajectory. My hand loads usually have a 10 FPS max spread with some repeat exact fps vs sometimes 80 fps with premier factory stuff, out of ten shots. At 100 yards the hand loads hit exactly in a horizontal line while the factory stuff printed up and down on the target.

We're all snipers here counting our specks of powder with a 0 - 10 fps max variance.

 

[thwatson2]

300 WM

 

[Chopaka81]

I just bought an .30 cal hc carbon barrel blank from elk hunter in the classifieds to build a 800 yard light weight hunting rifle. Im not quite sure what caliber I should chamber it in.

I DO NOT RELOAD SO FACTORY AMMO IS A BIG CONSIDERATION

THANKS
RGVT4

My only advise on a lite weight 300 mag of any flavor is get a muzzle break too. All of the recommendations have good merits.
For a long action the 300 Win is very good, with lots of over the counter ammunition available.

 

[robiebrown]

If the question is purely a factory ammo question the PRC and 30 Nosler are odd suggestions. I'm sure they are great bullets that pack a punch but not for someone that doesn't reload.

I've pulled a list of all the Rifle Ammunition available at Midway and the number of available different options. I filtered it down to just 30 caliber for this conversation and sorted by highest count. Midway may not carry every options but I'm sure they aren't lacking that many.

308 wins by a large margin followed by 30-06 then 300 WM, after that it falls off quickly. You can see 30 Nosler has 4 options and 300 PRC has 2. Not exactly a plethora to choose from if for some reason your gun doesn't love one of those.

I was in your position wanting a new .30 cal gun and went 300WM based on available factory ammo and don't regret my decision. I tried 6 different boxes of ammo and my gun liked 180gr Nosler Accubond and loved the Berger 215 factory ammo.

All Departments
Ammunition
Rifle Ammunition - Count
308 Winchester - 128
30-06 Springfield - 101
300 Winchester Magnum - 68
300 AAC Blackout - 38
300 Winchester Short Magnum - 35
30-30 Winchester - 28
300 Weatherby Magnum - 25
300 Remington Ultra Magnum - 21
30-378 Weatherby Magnum - 12
30 Carbine - 11
7.62x51mm NATO - 11
300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum - 10
300 H&H Magnum - 9
7.62x54mm Rimmed Russian - 7
300 Savage - 4
300 Norma Magnum - 4
30 Nosler - 4
300 Ruger Compact Magnum - 3
300 Whisper - 2
30-40 Krag - 2
300 PRC - 2
308 Norma Magnum - 2
308 Marlin Express - 1
30 TC - 1

 

[Swamplord]

No brainer

if short action = 300 WSM
long action = 300 RUM

or start reloading and = 300 Norma Mag

 

[PT1967]

180 TO 215 GR AMMO ITS A 9.5 TWIST BARREL

According to this months Shooting Times article on the 300PRC, it requires 8.5 twist.

 

[charliewhisky]

If the question is purely a factory ammo question the PRC and 30 Nosler are odd suggestions. I'm sure they are great bullets that pack a punch but not for someone that doesn't reload.

I've pulled a list of all the Rifle Ammunition available at Midway and the number of available different options. I filtered it down to just 30 caliber for this conversation and sorted by highest count. Midway may not carry every options but I'm sure they aren't lacking that many.

308 wins by a large margin followed by 30-06 then 300 WM, after that it falls off quickly. You can see 30 Nosler has 4 options and 300 PRC has 2. Not exactly a plethora to choose from if for some reason your gun doesn't love one of those.

I was in your position wanting a new .30 cal gun and went 300WM based on available factory ammo and don't regret my decision. I tried 6 different boxes of ammo and my gun liked 180gr Nosler Accubond and loved the Berger 215 factory ammo.

All Departments
Ammunition
Rifle Ammunition - Count
308 Winchester - 128
30-06 Springfield - 101
300 Winchester Magnum - 68
300 AAC Blackout - 38
300 Winchester Short Magnum - 35
30-30 Winchester - 28
300 Weatherby Magnum - 25
300 Remington Ultra Magnum - 21
30-378 Weatherby Magnum - 12
30 Carbine - 11
7.62x51mm NATO - 11
300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum - 10
300 H&H Magnum - 9
7.62x54mm Rimmed Russian - 7
300 Savage - 4
300 Norma Magnum - 4
30 Nosler - 4
300 Ruger Compact Magnum - 3
300 Whisper - 2
30-40 Krag - 2
300 PRC - 2
308 Norma Magnum - 2
308 Marlin Express - 1
30 TC - 1[/QUOTE

 

[charliewhisky]

The 30-06 will probably provide a wider range of bullet weights and more latitude in game specific choices.

 

[Swamplord]

If the question is purely a factory ammo question the PRC and 30 Nosler are odd suggestions. I'm sure they are great bullets
1

There you have it .... face palm of the day .... logging off