Which Caliber?

[Lycanit]

Medium bore, heavy soft lead with reasonable BC and and a decent MV kills anything well. Good expansion and penetration.. a LR of good make.. SIG Kilo, etc. And a solution calculator will help greatly on connection..lol.
Ballistic research? Sorry I'm at work, does a lot of work evaluating cartridges and specific projectiles, I believe it was correctly mentioned previously, and is a fantastic resource.

That stutter finger syndrome has afflicted myself at times whelen.

I am a fan of but don't own a 338/06AI. The biggest issue is some care in selecting bullets as some are designed for very high impact speeds for Winnie and Lapua and the like.

 

[Kmccord]

I am really wanting a rifle in 6.5, 30 and 338 eventually. I have been kicking this idea around for a while on converting the Win M70, the 6.5-284 has always intrigued me and with the L/A, figured that would be the best cartridge to change towards. I also plan on building a 30 caliber, what has always kept me from moving to a 30 Cal has been the BC. You don't see good BC until 215gr or better. I will more than likely build the 30 Cal from the ground up, not sure which one yet, but one to launch the 215gr at 3k, same thing for the 338, I want to launch them with enough velocity to take advantage of the BC. I do enjoy my rifles, I don't sell any, I still have my first 22 and Shotgun that I received when I was 11, those will never be sold or traded, matter of fact none of my collection have been sold, I am not into buying and selling. The Win M70 270 was my first gun I bought on my own after I turned 18, hell now after writing all this I may just keep it and build a 6.5 from the ground up... It will probably be easier that way with stock and bottom metal, just have McMillan or Manners do a full inlet and have Hart do the barrel and receiver work. Now comes which action should I consider, I have a Stiller on my Custom 28N, may use them, I thought of Borden, but they are about the highest of all custom actions. Anybody have any experience with a Gunwerks action? So many variables to look at when building a rifle, got to love all the choices we have.

 

[Michael O'Connor]

Big 30, or 338; I guess you won't be building a mountain rifle. Good luck, Sir.

 

[Alibiiv]

Lycanit,
I see you menchend the 338-06 and the 35 Whelen, I didn't list them as I did not feel it was any thing the OP would consider. Many people think any thing over 30 caliber has to much recoil and is a short range cartridge, but both shoot much flatter, farther, and are much more versatile than they get credit for.

Totally agree with you 35 Whelen. I shoot my 35 Whelens at 300 yards consistently with excellent results (rebored barrel from 30-06) and would shoot further if I had a longer range at my club. I also shoot my .358 Winchesters (lighter recoil) and again the same results. The .358 Winchester really gets bad reviews as a heavy recoil, short range cartridge, it is not a short range cartridge. I like my Whelen and .358 for black bear hunting, however certainly would not opt out the 338-06 for a build if I didn't have the Whelen or the .358 Win, I do like the bullet choices for the .338.

 

[greenejc]

Lycanit,
I see you menchend the 338-06 and the 35 Whelen, I didn't list them as I did not feel it was any thing the OP would consider. Many people think any thing over 30 caliber has to much recoil and is a short range cartridge, but both shoot much flatter, farther, and are much more versatile than they get credit for.

I just finished zeroing my .35 Whelen with both 225 grain Sierras and the 250 grain Hotcors. MV for the Hotcors averaged 2675fps, and the Sierras are loafing along at 2720fps or so. I have a Shepherd 3X10 P-2 scope on the rifle, and shot the 600 yard steel using the 600 yard circle. Both loads center punched the 18" plate. I also verified the loads at 500 yards on paper, and they hit within 3 inches of point of aim at that distance. My rifle is a Remington CDL with a 1 in 16 inch twist 24 inch barrel. I also zeroed both my M77mkII and my 1903A3 with Sierra 200 grain GKs. Velocities were 2635fpsAve for the -03 and 2600fps ave. for the Ruger. Final shots were on steel at 600 yards again. Neither the -06 or the Whelen are particularly short range with proper loads. And the Whelen is just fun to load for and shoot.