Y'all don't have to worry, Doc Dao is making a great decision on his build…
What rifle would you build?
- Thread starter haisardao
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I think Alex hit the head on the easy button choice with a 300 WSM & 185gr.
If I wanted to stay with standard case brass with 18" etc I think that would be my choice as well. It's the easy button for sure.
The 18" 185 @2900-3k has plenty for 600 yds on that game, even more. It's milder recoil than the 200+. great tough adg brass. The 18" makes for a very handy length. Have some authority in terminail perf is sure better than watching your buck hit solid and watch it crash wide open into countless acres of solid wall thick huisache and every thorny sticker weed wound in. That can get a guy cus'n quick.
If I wanted to stay with standard case brass with 18" etc I think that would be my choice as well. It's the easy button for sure.
The 18" 185 @2900-3k has plenty for 600 yds on that game, even more. It's milder recoil than the 200+. great tough adg brass. The 18" makes for a very handy length. Have some authority in terminail perf is sure better than watching your buck hit solid and watch it crash wide open into countless acres of solid wall thick huisache and every thorny sticker weed wound in. That can get a guy cus'n quick.
His parameters (original post, 8 pages ago) were 18" barrel, whitetail, pronghorn, 600 yds. The post I replied to regarding energy, the gentleman recommended light 6mm cartridges that can't get thr with an 18" barrel. A couple would with a 24" barrel. This thread is so long that we're all kinda getting off track from the original question lol.
going 300wsm with 18-22" barrels I think best weight per range is between 175-195. bc's are a choice and not always the best option for hunting. 600 and under it's not going to make that big of difference when knowing optic adjustments for each! i have a 7-08rem w/22" barrel on an ar10 using barnes 171mb's. it's getting 1k of energy (just over 1,600fps) @ ~900+ yards. no, it's not a hunting rifle. couldn't have just 1 28cal, so i have a saum to match caliber.
akmtnhnt
Well-Known Member
No, and it also won't get you to 600y.
slickyboyboo
Well-Known Member
22 Creedmoor, twisted for 80 cup & core (ELD-Ms) or 70 and up monos (Hammer HHTs are bad news) it checks all of your boxes except for the velocity, it might be a little faster, but with an 18" barrel if won't be by much. The Horizon folks have been hammering muleys, whitetail, and pronghorns out past 600 yds with it for a while now in an 18" barrel config. I went with a 20" barrel, and I love it!
Love me some Kelbly actions. Have 6 now. Great action and priced appropriately.
Short Case
Well-Known Member
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- Oct 10, 2012
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The rifle I have been thinking about is a 6.5/300 Norma, I really like the 6.5 bullets.
I have 200-130g. 200-140g. 300-150g. and 400-160g so with these bullets I'm good for
White Tail Deer, Mule Deer, Prong Horn, and Elk, it should be a good flat shooting round.
I have a 7mm/300 Norma bushing dies and reamer and all I would have to do is have it
reground to 6.5.
I have 200-130g. 200-140g. 300-150g. and 400-160g so with these bullets I'm good for
White Tail Deer, Mule Deer, Prong Horn, and Elk, it should be a good flat shooting round.
I have a 7mm/300 Norma bushing dies and reamer and all I would have to do is have it
reground to 6.5.
Hondo64d
Well-Known Member
I use my .22GT for exactly what you describe. Very light recoil makes spotting your impacts a breeze. Shoots tiny groups and 88gr ELDs launched at 3014 are deadly on deer, coyotes and pigs. Wind fighting son of a gun too…
John
For those of you Poo-pooing on the heavy 22 cal cartridges, here is verified data on my 22-250AI shooting 90 grain ATip bullets at 1250' elevation.
Supersonic to almost a mile, and for those the subscribe to the outdated energy theories, carries 1000# past 600 yards.
The new CM has risen!
I understand both the original ask and the post you responded to. In the post you responded to, the 6mm Creedmoor was referenced. Getting 2900 fps from an 18" barrel with 108 grain bullets is very achievable. I used the 108 grain ELD-M in my calculations at 2900 fps, which would result in over 1900 fps at 600 yards. That bullet at that speed would stone any whitetail or antelope walking this planet.
for a 22 cal bullet of questionable construction, I assume only perfect broadside shots should be attempted?
I'm asking because I have zero experience shooting big game with anything less than .257
And zero desire to tempt fate.
I'm asking because I have zero experience shooting big game with anything less than .257
And zero desire to tempt fate.
Phil, not at all. The heavy for caliber bullets in both 22 and 6mm caliber perform exceptionally well, even when hitting heavy bone or having to travel into the chest cavity. There are plenty of posts on various forums of necropsy photos taken by people who have shot animals up to and including elk with 22 and 6mm bullets at various impact speeds and angles. I highly encourage you to check them out. I have taken quite a few animals (whitetails, axis, blackbuck, hogs, black bears) with a 105 grain 6.5 mm bullet out of a 6.5 Grendel case. Distances were from 20 to 525 yards. Angles from perfect broadside to heavily quartering towards and away. Every one of them died quickly.
Bullets have come a very long way, even since the 90s, so some of the "absolute truths" out there no longer apply.
Not to say I don't like the thumpers. I just built and am having a blast shooting my 338 Mega. But I fully realize it isn't necessary for the type of hunting that I do. It doesn't make it less fun though.
It also isn't the gun I am pulling out if I want to shoot a whitetail, pronghorn, or black bear.
