Less Recoil than .308 Win... BUT can still take a Mule Deer @650yds. Which Catridge?

Dswartz

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good on you for being able to do that with iron sights, obviously you were in the service and I want to thank you for serving our country, my point is guns have come a long way, and as far as long range shooter names yours isn't on that list either so lets just let our opinions be opinions!
 
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For all the haters out there on long range, go buy a gun, a good gun, buy the optics, buy a range finder and practice, there are guns out now that 500, 600, 700 are chip shots I own one.

At the range granted. However, in the field, in mountains, with crosswinds, uneven ground, shooting steeply up or down, ect,......it is my contention that only 5% of us should be taking shots that long in the field. We have to agree to disagree on that one.
 

Dswartz

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At the range granted. However, in the field, in mountains, with crosswinds, uneven ground, ect,......it is my contention that only 5% of us should be taking shots that long in the field. We have to agree to disagree on that one.
I agree with you on the wind 100% that is the hardest part about long range shooting
 
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TheGDog

TheGDog

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OK... cool... I know this isn't the same projectiles I'll have at my disposal, but yeah... this proves enough for me that in the rare instance of I get a chance on a Muley at 650yds, in this very particular spot I'm thinking of which is protected from a lot of wind... the .243 should be just fine.

243 Win - Cow elk - 688 yards
 

Lawnboi

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OK... cool... I know this isn't the same projectiles I'll have at my disposal, but yeah... this proves enough for me that in the rare instance of I get a chance on a Muley at 650yds, in this very particular spot I'm thinking of which is protected from a lot of wind... the .243 should be just fine.

243 Win - Cow elk - 688 yards

I think you will be happy with a 243. Most are 10 twists that will shoot that Barnes ammo fine. I personally wouldn’t shoot one at 500+ with one with a mono or the 90eldx that I ran through my 243. The gun shot though.
 
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SteveCNJ

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I've got a little Sako .308 with a 20 inch barrel and mannlicher stock and I don't think it weighs 6 lbs and I could shoot it all day.

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Sobrbiker

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Man... a brother really has to dump some serious duckets to get a lighter-weight rifle offering now doesn't he? The few rifles I've browsed thru that raised my eyebrow in terms of their nice carrying weight, boy they have a nice healthy price! Ouch! Get what you pay for I guess.

Low recoil with enough ass to kill a deer at 650, and now lightweight?
Y’all know this is a give and take right?
 
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TheGDog

TheGDog

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Low recoil with enough ass to kill a deer at 650, and now lightweight?
Y’all know this is a give and take right?
Yes sir.. Physics can be tricky to achieve the best balance of all those. But I've already conceded that the one which will likely have to give will be the distance. So I'm Ok with that.

At first my thought process wasn't putting so much emphasis on it about a rifle for the boy. But as the discussion grew and my looking up data grew... I soon realized, taking into consideration the boy in all of this... it'd have to be .243 Win. And that's fine, I'm Ok with that.
 
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TheGDog

TheGDog

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I think you will be happy with a 243. Most are 10 twists that will shoot that Barnes ammo fine. I personally wouldn’t shoot one at 500+ with one with a mono or the 90eldx that I ran through my 243. The gun shot though.

The only reason I didn't go for a .243 Win initially was because most generally poo-poo'd it for black bear. And since that is on my checkoff list for animals. I thought "Oh well.. Ok... Guess I'll go with .308 then to ensure I have enough of a gun for a black bear." But now with more time in the field... and having observed the size of black bears out here in SoCal in Angeles. I now believe a .243 Win would have been just fine. Biggest I've seen looked about *maybe* 250-300 Lbs tops. And a .243 already makes more energy than a .30-30, so I'm fine with that for my purposes.
 

jscheil

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Anyone with experience using hand-loaded 6.5 Creedmoor for larger game (elk in particular). The 143 grain eldx appears to be everything I need in 95%+ of hunts I’ll be on..


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tommy1005

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I’ve shot a lot of animals with my 6.5 Creedmoor, but nothing elk sized. My elk I shot with a bow. I can’t imagine that if you kept the ranges decent the 6.5 wouldn’t do everything you need it to. I shoot the 143 ELDX in handloads around 2750 out of a 22” barrel.
 

bgbuck153

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6.5 PRC . I got one for My 14 year old daughter and shoots the 140 partitions. Without a break for hunting.
 
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TheGDog

TheGDog

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.270 win , 130 grain nosler ballistic tip yellows
Just asking here... because all the charts I've seen put the .270's recoil very close to .308

1.) Is this one of Nosler's lead-free projectiles?
2.) How much does the 130gr drop it down to?

EDIT: Suppose the next logical question on my end would be how much does a 130gr drop it down for a .308?
 

MattB

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I try and buy local when I can, but this search engine for ammo helps me find ammo when local shops don’t carry

It lists in stock ammo. And you can do a narrow search by brand name, bullet size etc

The OP lives in CA.
 
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TheGDog

TheGDog

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The OP lives in CA.
How sad and Un-American is that.... that when you make that statement of "The OP lives in CA", that in my mind, and probably in the minds of most here who read this... it sounds more like "Oh, Sorry boys, Johnny can't come out to play right now."

To the other poster being helpful and posting up .25-06 prices... I thank you brother, it's the thought that counts!
 

Raypo

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In my opinion, a .243 is not an option. I’m also not in the fat boat of “shot placement“. OF COURSE, if the right bullet hits the right spot, then any bullet will work. HOWEVER, these same guys that say this are the same ones that says, “anyone have a dog“ after a day of looking for a deer. I know for 100% certainty my shots are not always ideal and therefore, no way I’m shooting big game with a .243.

I do have 3 boys and the youngest is 12. He can handle a 6.5PRC, 6.5CM, Dasher, and a 08 pretty good. I will admit that the rifle are a little heavy and that helps. My recommendation is to stay away from one size fits all. Using the same rifle for bear and coyotes is a stretch. To me these are totally different setups.

Coyotes: A .243 would be fine but modern technology has some cool options. I would try a 6GT or a 6CM for coyotes. Both of these could cross over into a whitetail rifle.

Bear: My recommendation would be 6.5CM at a minimum. .308 isn’t a bad choice. When my boys were younger they hunted bear with a cross bow, for this exact delima.

Happy hunting.
 
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