From a pure hunting/killing gun standpoint… What functional advantage does a 6 Creed, say shooting 103 ELDX or 108 ELDM, have over a 22 Creedmoor shooting 80 ELDX or 88 ELDM?
Mostly that one is legal to hunt with in my state, the other is not. I guess I should have added I'm a CO resident, and it's my primary hunt state.
To be fair... I never said I couldn't wrap my head around using a 7 for elk. I said this gun build was primarily for deer and speed goats, and for hunts where I don't want to pack my 300wm around. And 22 isn't legal in my state, so there's that...
I don't disagree. But for me, like the OP, it's a state legal thing. In WY a .224 is legal for deer/pronghorn, not elk. 6mm is legal for elk.
Dumb “law” but I get your reasoning and desire to remain “within the rules”.
I think you’ll love a 7mm - it’s a great combination of shootability and game smacking performance. I was a 270 kid, but hunting next to a close family friend and his 7 mag, it didn’t take many years of watching animals fall side by side, that I was borrowing his 7 mag. Anything the 7 mag can do, the 280ai can do one hundred yards closer, and the 7mm-08 can do 200 yards closer (or is it 300?). There is zero chance of 7 Rem Mag ammo ever being at risk of poor availability because there are so many of them out there. Nothing wrong with the PRC, but at 500 yards it’s not doing anything special. Beware of PRC ammo - Hornady has been cut off of RL26 powder, which the PRC was designed around, so right now only Federal ammo will reach full velocity - great Hornady support is not a big selling point.
My 280ai rifles hold enough velocity and fpe to kill elk to 1000 yds.
I’m a big fan of the 280ai - don’t have one yet, but will one of these days. I doubt any animal would be able to tell the difference between it and a 7 mag.
What's your fpe at that range/your cutoff for elk?
+1. I too built a 7prc, put 10 rnds downrange and took it apart. It now wears a 25-6.5 prc barrel. Should put 134g pills downrange at 2950 instead of 180’s. Lose some bc .401 vs .325 but with 30% less recoil.
Where did this guy ask for a 6mm? It’s so obnoxious the need for the clan to jump on every thread and regurgitate what they’ve been sold…
500 yds is a mighty long ways, in 30 years, haven't had the need to shoot at a live animal or a second shot follow up from further than 400. There are two schools of thought, in a general sense setting up for over 500 yards ("long range") or staying under 500 yards ("closer range") by closing the distance. I am an old dog so under 500 yds is where I am at for my hunting and the area I hunt. But in all honesty, if I threw money at a rig to go beyond 500 yds, I have confidence that I'd do the things with cartridge selections and practice to be successful at that range too. Much of this has to do with what folks are brought up doing and so much more is available to us as hunters in making decisions in this era.
That’s old school, when I spot something under 400 I back off a ways just to give it a sporting chance
I’m also old school and conservative with distance. I’ve always limited shots to under 450 - if I could get to 450 the shot is pretty certain shooting over a pack, and in calm conditions 500 has been reliably doable. This year I’ve been working on extending that to 600, but many days and situations are limited by wind, so I’m not willing to let myself think 600 is a new max for normal conditions, but rather a max under calm conditions. It might only be 20% farther, but reliably hitting a 10” paper plate can be more than twice as hard that far out - I’ve had to upgrade the range finder, increase scope magnification from 6x to 8x, and using a rifle a few pounds heavier. Teaching my nephew to understand his max range has been fun - some days I don’t know what that kid is thinking. Lol
My 280AI rifle loves Federal 168 Berger loaded ammo. I'm still at 1800 fps at 940 yards at my typical DA where I hunt. Same parameters with my 7mm PRC shooting the 180 ELDM factory ammo and I'm at 2076 fps at 940 yards. That rifle/bullet hits 1800 fps at 1320 yards. Just information. I prefer the recoil from the 280AI over the 7PRC. The 280AI is a much lighter rifle but I don't lose my sight picture like I do with the 7PRC. I would build another one in each caliber as they are very accurate.
