Lightweight Hunting rifle caliber for shorter barrels

[DFWshooter]

Hi!
I’m fairly new to hunting and would like to set up a backcountry rifle that’s suppressed so I’d like to keep the barrel in the 20-22” size. I’ve hunted with a lightweight 300wm but I’d like to come down a bit in recoil if possible. I’m thinking 7prc, 7mm mag, 280AI possibly 6.5 prc. I’m not really looking to get into reloading atm and the 280AI doesn’t seem to have the facrory ammo availability so it’s kinda at the back, but the ballistics data is compelling. Which caliber would be best coming out of a shorter barrel but still able to kill elk out to 400 yds? 7mm backcountry is interesting but not sure how the recoil will be and I’d like to be able to little more mainstream to start. Thoughts

 

[NorthIdahoDude]

Considered 7mm-08? With 150 ELD-X factory ammo, it would still have the jam at 500-600 yards, and be fairly mild on the recoil compared to a bigger boomer in a light gun.

And if you get into reloading, 7mm-08 is one the best things going, IMHO.

 

[huntnful]

Pretty much anything for killing elk out to 400. Of your listed choices I’d do 6.5 PRC and most any of the 140-156gr. Target bullets.

 

[hereinaz]

Go as small as you think, then go smaller. More recoil means harder to shoot accurately.

For reference, a 16” 6 Creedmoor has shown to be devestatingly effective on elk, caribou, moose out to 600 yards. Even the .223 with 77 tipped match kings could be effective to 400 in the right environmental conditions. The reduced recoil makes smaller calibers popular with many Roksliders.

Pretty much anything for killing elk out to 400. Of your listed choices I’d do 6.5 PRC and most any of the 140-156gr. Target bullets.

I agree, of yours listed 6.5 PRC, least recoil and factory ammo availability. A friend has a 280ai Savage ultralight and it has killed elk out to 680.

 

[MuleyFever]

From your list, the 6.5PRC.

 

[mlevimadden]

As someone who built a 6.5 PRC two years ago, and used it as my sole hunting rifle the last two years, I'm building a 6mm for next season. If I didn't need to hunt CO and WY elk, I would've considered a 22 creedmoor, but have to meet the 6mm minimum.

I killed 4 elk the last two seasons with the 6.5 PRC and 147 ELDM and have zero reservations about stepping down to a 6mm projectile.

A 6 creedmoor with match bullets will meet all your requirements and be half the recoil of the 7mm variants you are considering.

 

[Chris in TN]

Which caliber would be best coming out of a shorter barrel but still able to kill elk out to 400 yds?

If you're serious about the 400 yard limitation, especially at western elevations, anything larger than a 6gt is probably just wasted recoil. Even with an 18" barrel you can very easily retain way north of the 1800' most people here suggest for a floor with match bullets. I prefer 2000' and, again, you can very easily retain that out way past 400 yards with a 6gt. Heck, at higher elevations you could even do it with a 6ARC.

Signed, guy who built a .280ai and doesn't use it anymore.

 

[NorthIdahoDude]

One other thought, as a guy who's owned a couple rifles over the years that burn 60+/- grains of powder in a shorter barrel. Muzzle blast on those is STUPID loud, to the point you can feel it in your sternum and you feel like the hearing protection just isn't quite getting it done. You also loose more of the velocity the bigger cartridge is capable of producing for every inch of barrel you go shorter vs something that burns less powder. It'll still make more FPS than the smaller cartridge, but the gap starts to narrow. Even my humble 30-06 with a 20" barrel, was nasty loud, and could only exceed my 308 with a 22.4 inch barrel in velocity by maybe 80 FPS, and I burned around 60 grains of H4350 to do it vs 46.5 grains of Varget in my 308 (was shooting 150 Accubond's at the time), and my 24 inch 308 would straight up hang with it for velocity +/- 5 FPS.

IMHO, if you're gonna burn north of 50 grains of powder per trigger pull, get you a long-ish barrel so you can make real use of the powder you're burning, and not hurt yourself even through the hearing protection. Conversely, if you're gonna get a short barrel, I'd say get you something that burns 40-45 ish grains of powder and call it day (7mm-08, 6.5 Creedmoor, even a humble 308 has plenty of jam to 400 yards and beyond - I run 165 Accubond's in my wife's Howa Super-Lite - 5.5lbs ready to rock, 2700 FPS, and it'd smack an elk out to 400 yards like a boss).

 

[SDHNTR]

To 400, 6.5 creed or .308 is plenty.

 

[Trogon]

Im in the same boat and going with 25 creedmoor and the 133 berger.

 

[DFWshooter]

Thanks guys. My plan is to build/buy something i'm able to practice with regularly and not get beat up. I'm pretty good with the 300WM but I can't spot my impacts so I shoot with a buddy at the range. The 400 yd limitation is based on what I think I can realistically expect with my current skill level and advice from "YT experts" but if i get better I'm not against stretching it out either. 6.5 prc seems like a happy medium and I can have long range fun as well at the range. But I'll look at the &mm-08 too.

 

[DFWshooter]

Considered 7mm-08? With 150 ELD-X factory ammo, it would still have the jam at 500-600 yards, and be fairly mild on the recoil compared to a bigger boomer in a light gun.

And if you get into reloading, 7mm-08 is one the best things going, IMHO.

Why do you like reloading the 7-08 so much?

 

[Ajsomp]

mentally the easiest transition is 6.5 PRC. great shooters, still shoot close to 2800 in a 20” barrel with 143.

If you want a backcountry rifle with a suppressor go 18” and a 6 creed. Buy a 223 trainer rifle and you’ll be good to go. Even if you shoot 200 rounds per year in the 6 and 2000 in the 223, that’s 10 years of barrel life.

- a former 300wm/300 PRC shooter.

 

[NorthIdahoDude]

Why do you like reloading the 7-08 so much?

Several reasons:

1) Because I can use 308 Win brass just by simply running it through the 7-08 sizing die like any other brass (308 brass being the 2nd most common rifle brass on the planet after 5.56/223, I haven't bought any in decades, just range pickups work great, sort by headstamp, get lots and lots of FC brass from FGMM that's very consistent). I've literally never bought a piece of 7-08 brass in my life.

2) Suitable for the goldilocks powder range, from about as fast as 8208XBR and Varget to about as slow as IMR4831 and friends, you can use anything in that ballpark - at least one of which should be in stock at the local shop any day of the week, even during hard times (unless we reach the '0 powder in stock' point again).

3) I dispense a lot (I mean a LOT) of Varget in my reloading room. I only load for 1 cartridge currently that it doesn't work great in (280AI). Everything else, 223/5.56, 308, 30-06, 7x57, etc, all get their fair share of Varget. 42 grains of Varget under a 140 grain 7mm-08 load just happens to be near-magic (possibly the best use of Varget ever), and produces more/less the same recoil and ballistics as a 6.5 Creedmoor.

4) So on the low end (see 3), I have a 6.5 Creedmoor ish thing that will do 100% of everything a CM will do. But, unlike the Creedmoor, I can also ramp it up and huck 160 or 175 (or more) grain bullets, that will do everything a 7 mag will do, just at 200 less yards than a 7 mag will do it (which still gets me out to the 500-ish yard mark, which is plenty).

For example - something like a 162 ELD-X, at even modest muzzle velocity, will outrun/outclass most 30-06 loads of comparable bullet weight by the time you hit 400/500 yards, for a LOT less recoil, and still be inside Hornady's published expansion window well past 600 or so.

5) 7mm has the widest selection of bullets I like of any bullet diameter out there. 7mm is the best mm, IMHO.

So yeah, IMHO - 7mm-08 is one of the best Goldilocks cartridges going, IMHO.

 

[kswaterfowl]

My vote would be a 6mm variant. Very little recoil and plenty capable at 400 yds.

 

[Dave Thomas]

There are plenty of cartridges that will do what you want. One of the creedmoors. The 6.5 prc and pretty much anything based on the 308 case.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

Hi!
I’m fairly new to hunting and would like to set up a backcountry rifle that’s suppressed so I’d like to keep the barrel in the 20-22” size. I’ve hunted with a lightweight 300wm but I’d like to come down a bit in recoil if possible. I’m thinking 7prc, 7mm mag, 280AI possibly 6.5 prc. I’m not really looking to get into reloading atm and the 280AI doesn’t seem to have the facrory ammo availability so it’s kinda at the back, but the ballistics data is compelling. Which caliber would be best coming out of a shorter barrel but still able to kill elk out to 400 yds? 7mm backcountry is interesting but not sure how the recoil will be and I’d like to be able to little more mainstream to start. Thoughts

6.5CM. I shoot a 16” suppressed 6.5CM and that rifle has now taken 4 elk and a bear. Ammo is ubiquitous, recoil is light, and it will do what you’re asking no problem.

 

[TradLife406]

6 UM 20"
22 Creed 16"

Don't need a bullet bigger than 6mm to do anything in North America.