Best his & hers "do it all" calibers

[woods89]

Agreed - my longest shot was 380 yards on a raghorn which the 6.5 CM did just fine. As I spend more time shooting I'd like to be able to stretch this out a bit (to 500 ish) if needed but have no ambitions for the long range hunting game.

@Wrench has a photo of a pair of elk shoulders totally wiped out at 800+ yds using a 260 AI. With a match bullet, no less! ( Oh, the horror!)

 

[S.Clancy]

We both shoot the same caliber (270 win) but in different guns. Her's is a Savage Lightweight 110 (weighs like 7 lbs scoped) mine is a Win Model 70 (about 9.5 lbs scoped). I reload (with help from my buddy) and technically we don't shoot the same load, tho could. I shoot 126gr Hammer hunters @ ~ 3250 fps, I can carry 1500 ft-lbs over 500 yds. She will shoot the hammer hunter 124 gr. She isn't a great shot, so will never really shoot over 200 or 250 yards. We both use the same primers and powder tho. 270 Win is more than capable for everything in the lower 48, and I don't shoot long range so it fits my need.

 

[OXN939]

-oryx
-moose
-bull elk at longer ranges (approaching 500 yards) (More specifically looking at burning preference point hunts in CO in the next few years).

All of these are screaming .30-06 or something in that ballpark. Get a pair of 7mm-08s and if you ever draw an Oryx or Moose tag, that's an excellent justification for an '06.

 

[Formidilosus]

The same caliber for both of us certainly makes alot of sense, and would likely be adequate in most/all possible hunting scenarios. Things that come to mind that give me an itch for something that hits a little harder would be:

-oryx
-moose
-bull elk at longer ranges (approaching 500 yards) (More specifically looking at burning preference point hunts in CO in the next few years).

Again, I think the 6.5 CM could do all of these, but something bigger would give me more confidence in those scenarios/eliminate the variable of being under-gunned (maybe an irrational concern). Maybe I am putting too much weight on the suppressor idea, but the idea of me having a "bigger gun", suppressed, would give the wife the ability to comfortably jump up to something bigger (my gun) if/when needed on one of these more "once in a lifetime"/preference point elk hunts (where she would specifically be targeting a bigger bodied animal).

You are beyond overthinking the “advantage” of a larger cartridge/caliber. A 6mm or 6.5mm- whether a 6ARC, 6cm, 243win, or 6.5cm is absolutely no hinderance whatsoever on any of those animals way past 500 yards. Quite the opposite actually. Killing is about hitting, and hitting is a solid system and buckets of brass spent in purposeful practice.

Terminal ballistics is not determined by “power”. It’s projectile construction and impact velocity.

These two threads, especially the first, have more information on actual terminal ballistics than anywhere on the net, dispensing with all the folk lore nonsense.

.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ 176 PAGES? HERE'S THE CHEAT SHEET. “Bullets matter more than headstamps.” “Spent primers offer the supreme tutorial”. I’ve read it here and elsewhere online. It got my attention. I started digging and asking questions and listened. The 77gr TMK delivered by a .223...

rokslide.com

6.5 Creedmoor/260 for Deer, Elk, and whatever else.....

Seeing that the 223 thread is such a success, I thought maybe I would start one for the Creedmoor/260. Seems like people are asking a lot about using them and various bullets, especially for elk. I've used mine for the last few years almost exclusively. I have some pics of bullet damage, albeit...

rokslide.com

 

[echampion8]

The 308 fits both of your needs. You can get 3k fps with Barnes ttsx 130s. That will be super flat for anything deer on down or elk at closer ranges. Anything in the 160 class bullets will do great out to 500. You can even go up to 175 gr (Norma bondstrike) and have plenty out to 500.

I would not select anything smaller than a 7mm bullet for elk size game. The 7-08 would be a close second in. Short action cartridge. If you aren’t turned off by the 30-06, you should listen to the vortex podcast on it. It’s everything you need or want.


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[keystone112]

The 270 Win should be a great choice for both.

Maybe take a hard look at the 280 AI.

 

[BugleMeTimber]

Wife and I both have Tikka T3X Stainless .270 win rifles. She shoots hers very well and recoil is light with 130 grain bullets. She also has same rifle in 7mm-08 and doesn't see much difference in recoil.

 

[slimC]

here we go again...

 

[SC HUNTER]

I'd buy us both matching tikka t3x in 6.5 creedmoor or 7mm-08 and spend alot of time shooting them. You'll save money buying 1 caliber of ammo vs 2. But that's just me and I like shooting and I'm not rich which sucks.

 

[Duh]

Bought my wife a Sig Cross in 6.5 creedmoor. She loves it and I have no issue adjusting it to fit me. For reference, she’s 5’5 and small framed, I’m 6’0 and 245lbs. Big plus is how light it is, compact, and a threaded barrel. Very little recoil.

The gun shoots 143 eldx great and it’s killed deer out to 450 so far. I’d keep it 400 and in with a elk though.

My friend has a 308 in the Sig Cross and it seems to like a heavier bullet so far. That one shoots factory loads great as well.

Overall, if I was going to buy a similar set up for myself and the wife, I’d have no issues with the Sig Cross.

 

[Unckebob]

With a Dead Air Nomad onto its 20" barrel, my 270 kicks significantly less than my 6.5CM (no brake and no can). I could shoot the 270 all day with the can on it. With fast 140g bullets and no can, it is not punishing and I can download it to 6.5CM velocities if I want.

My picks :

Her: 6.5 CM. Must be threaded out of the box.

Him/Me 270. Must be threaded. Again, the ability to download it is nice for reloaders. It gets the first suppressor. My 270 with a 20" barrel and a can is a joy to shoot.

Plus, the 270 is pretty affordable to shoot lot of rounds downrange.

 

[TxLite]

I got the wife a 6CM. She hasnt shot it yet but I really enjoy shooting it.

This sounds like me everytime I buy a gun “for my wife”

 

[wyosam]

6mm Remington for her. You will have to reload as ammo can be hard to find. Great cartridge though and will do anything the new 6mm Creedmoor will do. Both my son and I have shot elk with the 6mm Remington also! He shot his first with one shot at 350 yards. A really nice big cow elk. I shot a spike bull at about 30 yards in the timber.

25-06 for her. Great cartridge and using good bullets like 120 gr. Partition or 110 gr. Accubond and it will work just fine on elk as well. Taken elk with this one also. It will work.

280AI for you. Tremendous on everything. Light recoil and great ballistics. Used it with ONE shot on my grizzly bear in 2019 at 158 yards.

I’d avoid the 6 Remington- brass has gotten tough to find.


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[wyosam]

All of these are screaming .30-06 or something in that ballpark. Get a pair of 7mm-08s and if you ever draw an Oryx or Moose tag, that's an excellent justification for an '06.

Moose in no way need more gun than bull elk, other way around if anything.


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[CMF]

6.5 for her cause you already have one, less variety of ammo to keep up with and she already has confidence in it.
270 Win because it's got the most knockdown of your choices and you hunt elk and potentially oryx and moose. Shooting lite recoil 120grn or 130gr for practice and deer and antelope won't produce much recoil, my kids have taken several deer with 120/130grn 270. But you can go up to 150 for elk/moose.

 

[EMAZ]

To summarize your goals:
Low recoil
Light weight
Suppressed
Factory ammo (non-hand loading)
Game to include elk out to ~400 yards
Capability for either you/wife to shoot

Would say .308 or 7mm-08…both perform well for hunting and readily available in factory configured shorter threaded barrels (i.e. 18-20” which is important for your goal in keeping weight down when suppressed and not having an excessively long front, which could introduce balance issues). Ammo availability online or in sporting goods stores (.308 has the edge there); both can be shot with lighter or heavy loads more than capable for elk/moose/oryx at given range

Many options available but will come with trade offs such as barrel length (generally factory spec’d longer for added velocity in heavier calibers: 6.5 PRC; .270; .280ai; 7 PRC, 7 Rem Mag etc. most common are 22”-26” barrel lengths); greater recoil; round cost increases (except maybe the .270)…then going the other direction (i.e. lighter than 6.5 CM) becomes questionable at distance for elk and ammo cost/availability (except maybe the .243).

 

[Lou270]

6.5 for her cause you already have one, less variety of ammo to keep up with and she already has confidence in it.
270 Win because it's got the most knockdown of your choices and you hunt elk and potentially oryx and moose. Shooting lite recoil 120grn or 130gr for practice and deer and antelope won't produce much recoil, my kids have taken several deer with 120/130grn 270. But you can go up to 150 for elk/moose.

I agree. 6.5cm for her and 270 for you.

Lou

 

[Lou270]

By the way, I just bought a browning xbolt speed suppressor ready in 6.8W. Not shot it yet, but impressed with it quality/feature wise. Not sure on your budget but these look pretty good and ready for your can out of the box. Comes in the calibers you are lookig at

Lou

 

[SwiftShot]

Make them both 6.5 PRC, go lightweights builds. You could really go 6.5 PRC for hers and 300 WSM for yours. The crazy part is, look at the 6.5 PRC shooting 143 ELDX at 500 yards and then look at the 300 WSM shooting 180 or 200 at 500 yards. 6.5 has like 1600 foot pounds, 300 has 1700 to 1900. Elk and deer will not know the difference.

 

[ElPollo]

I agree. 6.5cm for her and 270 for you.

Lou

I have both. The 6.5 with the right bullets will do everything the 270 will do and with less wind drift. No animal you hit well will know the difference between the two and there are way better bullets and factory loads available for the 6.5 There isn’t any need to have two different calibers unless you just want them.