What should my next caliber be?

[BOWLSEYE]

The 25-06 is a great in between caliber. Easy to handload, great trajectory, bullets from 75-120 fills the gap. Low recoil, whats not to like. You can make brass from 30-06 or 270. Ballistics are good enough out to 500 yds.

Second choice would be the 257 Roberts its really mild easy shooting just a little harder to get brass.

They say you can make 257 Weatherby brass from the 7mm Remington Mag, that might be another consideration.

 

[smtippin]

The 25-06 is a great in between caliber. Easy to handload, great trajectory, bullets from 75-120 fills the gap. Low recoil, whats not to like. You can make brass from 30-06 or 270. Ballistics are good enough out to 500 yds.

Second choice would be the 257 Roberts its really mild easy shooting just a little harder to get brass.

They say you can make 257 Weatherby brass from the 7mm Remington Mag, that might be another consideration.

That is good to here. while I like hte idea of the 260 rem, I want to be able to buy box ammo off the shelf in a dire situation (eventhough I reload for all calibers I own). That has forced me to look beyond the 260 at this point. I have been reading up on the 25-06 and trying to compare and contrast it with the .243. the .243 just seems too small or I'd have to get a really fast twist rate to accomodate even a 105 grain projectile. I need to learn more about the ethical limits for range and bullet loads on the 25-06 as well as bullet drop and speed.

Thanks for your opinion,
s

 

[Kennibear]

smtippin

Not to butt back in, but, the 6.5mm's and 25/06 (and other '06 based cases) intrude on the lower end of the 7mm Remmy. Loaded with < 120gr bullets it is screaming flat to 300 yds. Loaded heavy it pounds hard way out there.

The 243 was sold shooting 105gr deer bullets that the 244 Rem couldn't. It will toss Varmint weight bullets (< 85gr) fast and in wind that the 22's won't come out to play in. As soon as you upgrade from 243 you get into 7mm RM turf.

Instead of picking something that the 7mm does, if I was expanding my collection near the 7mm level it would be on the other side. 300WinMag, 338 WinMag, 300 RUM etc.

KB

 

[smtippin]

smtippin

Not to butt back in, but, the 6.5mm's and 25/06 (and other '06 based cases) intrude on the lower end of the 7mm Remmy. Loaded with < 120gr bullets it is screaming flat to 300 yds. Loaded heavy it pounds hard way out there.

The 243 was sold shooting 105gr deer bullets that the 244 Rem couldn't. It will toss Varmint weight bullets (< 85gr) fast and in wind that the 22's won't come out to play in. As soon as you upgrade from 243 you get into 7mm RM turf.

Instead of picking something that the 7mm does, if I was expanding my collection near the 7mm level it would be on the other side. 300WinMag, 338 WinMag, 300 RUM etc.

KB

You have a great argument for going larger than the 7 rem mag, but at this point larger is not in my plan. I can heart shoot a deer or elk out to 500 yards cleanly with the 7 mag and in the great state of Wyoming, I can generally fill my tag with those parameters. Often times my shots are within 200 yards. While larger may be in the future, a softer recoil yet ethical deer/antelope gun would help me get apprehensive family/friends in the sport.

While the 7 rem mag can handle a lower load, the two loads that I go between currently are 140gr Nosler ballistic tips and 168 gr Berger VLD Hunting. Having a dedicated light skinned rifle would be ideal in my mind.

I appreciate your advice and would love to hear more opinions.
Thanks,
s

 

[MudRunner2005]

The 25-06 is a great in between caliber. Easy to handload, great trajectory, bullets from 75-120 fills the gap. Low recoil, whats not to like. You can make brass from 30-06 or 270. Ballistics are good enough out to 500 yds.

Second choice would be the 257 Roberts its really mild easy shooting just a little harder to get brass.

They say you can make 257 Weatherby brass from the 7mm Remington Mag, that might be another consideration.

You most certainly can make .257 Wby brass from a 7mm RM. I have never tried it, but the brass is all based on a shortened .300 H&H case. They are basically the same length (.257 Wby & 7RM), so short of resizing in a FL die and fire-forming, you'd be good to go.

.257 Wby is also a great inbetween caliber, so is the .25-06 A.I.

 

[Sully2]

.243... Antelope, deer and smaller...it will do you fine!

 

[Michael Eichele]

My vote based on what you're looking for is the 308. The only categories the 260 beats it is trajectory and recoil. The 308 offers more energy and more barrel life with equal wind. Assuming heavy for caliber bullets are used. You'll get a lot of flack but many are still stuck on what the 308s capability was 20 years ago. Today, 190 VLDs in the 2700s and 210s in the 2600s is very real. It takes the right barrel and powder but its very achievable. Twice the barrel life but more recoil. Being accustomed to the 7mag, the 308 running the heavies wont hit you any harder and most likely less.

There is a wide variety of match ammo available, dozens of hunting ammo types. It can be used on thin skinned game to 300 yards and thick skinned beyond 300 for that matter. I use the 308 on Alaska/Yukon moose regularly with great results.

There's a good reason you keep looking to it. Easy tuning, mild recoil, longevity, consistent and a million bullet/powder/case choices. Every long range shooter needs a 308 to fall back on when his other calibers cook out!

 

[Semper Fi 10463]

go old school and get a 25-06. with the right load most varmits around 100 yds explode with a red mist. well some anyway. but ive shot a 25-06 and 30-06 for 41 years.