Struggling with cartridge selection.

I picked up a Tikka T3x 243win youth last year with the intention of pulling the barrel and rechambering in something.

I’ve been struggling with what that new cartridge would be. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the purpose of this rifle? I’ve narrowed it down to a short barreled lightweight brush stalker running heavies for whitetail. Looking for a good chance for bang flops.

I’ve tossed around the 308win running 200-220s, 358win and even the 450 BM as options.

I have a 30cal can but wouldn’t be opposed to a larger one down the road. I do reload so ammo selection isn’t a worry. Bullet selection could be.

The 358win is winning the fight so far. Thoughts?
Being a 308 guy, that would be my choice. It can handle anything on the continent except for the big bears and the ammo selection is almost endless, whether factory loads, or re-loading.

The recoil is light, and it lends itself to short barreled, compact rigs very well.
 
This is why I switched to monos. Pulled a chunk of lead out of some sausage we had made. If I were to go 358 not sure if I’d still go monos. Even looks at bullet selection hard yet.

Which 75gr bullet are you using?
Big/slow and monos don’t tend to pair well together due to inconsistent expansion from lack of velocity based on my experience.

I think a 208eld out of a short barrel 308 would be fun. I personally would be in the 105-140 grain realm and shoot it suppressed if your state allows but I’m just a stranger on the internet. Build what makes you happy and share your results.
 
This is why I switched to monos. Pulled a chunk of lead out of some sausage we had made. If I were to go 358 not sure if I’d still go monos. Even looks at bullet selection hard yet.

Which 75gr bullet are you using?
Running 75gr Tipped Hammer Hunter with either Varget or N540. Both the Savage Model 16 and the Sako 85 are 10 twist.
 
358 win sounds awesome! Go with what makes you happy. You’ll get plenty of opinions but you know what they say about opinions! 😜
Having several 35 cal rifles and having now taken deer from 40-150 yards with them, they work. The down side of 35 cal is low bc bullet choices and higher recoil. If I had a 473 bolt face needed a new barrel, I would go smaller, either 6mm or 25 cal, probably creedmore. Factory ammo and lots of range with less recoil. A 25 cm with 134 eldm’s is 2800 fps and a .645 g1. IMHO better than a 200g with a .3-.4 going 2500 ish.
 
Recoil from a 358 in a light hunting rifle can be a bit buckish it's true but you are not going to use it for long strings at the bench. When shooting at game I never notice recoil, hardly notice muzzle blast. The main reason I say if I were doing it now is that .338 diameter bullets do have slightly higher bC numbers but more choices in both factory ammo and aftermarket bullet choices. A Speer Hotcor 200 gr. Bullet has a BC of .426 and can be pushed faster than 2600 fps. This at least matches the famous 77 gr. TMK in a 223. I see 1800 fps or better out to 400 yards and a trajectory that is well within reason.

 
Being a 308 guy, that would be my choice. It can handle anything on the continent except for the big bears and the ammo selection is almost endless, whether factory loads, or re-loading.

The recoil is light, and it lends itself to short barreled, compact rigs very well.
I agree recoil in a 308 is very reasonable, Many on this forum would not feel the same way.
 
Being a 308 guy, that would be my choice. It can handle anything on the continent including the big bears and the ammo selection is almost endless, whether factory loads, or re-loading.

Fixed it for you.

I agree recoil in a 308 is very reasonable, Many on this forum would not feel the same way.

There you go making wild generalizations again. Many of us are NOT saying that recoil from a .308 is unreasonable. What we are saying is that 1) increased recoil leads to decreased accuracy, so 2) if you can get the same (or better) terminal performance from a cartridge that recoils less than a .308, why would you not do that?
 
Fixed it for you.



There you go making wild generalizations again. Many of us are NOT saying that recoil from a .308 is unreasonable. What we are saying is that 1) increased recoil leads to decreased accuracy, so 2) if you can get the same (or better) terminal performance from a cartridge that recoils less than a .308, why would you not do that?
Stop trying to create arguments to justify your beliefs.
 
I picked up a Tikka T3x 243win youth last year with the intention of pulling the barrel and rechambering in something.

I’ve been struggling with what that new cartridge would be. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the purpose of this rifle? I’ve narrowed it down to a short barreled lightweight brush stalker running heavies for whitetail. Looking for a good chance for bang flops.

I’ve tossed around the 308win running 200-220s, 358win and even the 450 BM as options.

I have a 30cal can but wouldn’t be opposed to a larger one down the road. I do reload so ammo selection isn’t a worry. Bullet selection could be.

The 358win is winning the fight so far. Thoughts?
.35 whelen is a cool option if you want something bigger than a .30 cal. There are some decent factory ammunition options available as well at reasonable prices so you could pretty easily get brass. It's very popular in Mississippi and Louisiana due to some regulations they have in primitive weapon season that allow using it in break-action rifles so it is not likely to die off in the foreseeable future. It has noticeable felt recoil, but it is a slower, blunt recoil vs the fast and snappy recoil that some cartridges have.

As far as bang flops, I am pretty convinced that has more to do with shot placement than cartridge, but the only bang flop I have ever had was with the .35 whelen so take that for whatever it is worth.
 
.35 whelen is a cool option if you want something bigger than a .30 cal. There are some decent factory ammunition options available as well at reasonable prices so you could pretty easily get brass. It's very popular in Mississippi and Louisiana due to some regulations they have in primitive weapon season that allow using it in break-action rifles so it is not likely to die off in the foreseeable future. It has noticeable felt recoil, but it is a slower, blunt recoil vs the fast and snappy recoil that some cartridges have.

As far as bang flops, I am pretty convinced that has more to do with shot placement than cartridge, but the only bang flop I have ever had was with the .35 whelen so take that for whatever it is worth.
I thought the same thing. Probably the easy button with the 35 whelen.
 
Fixed it for you.



There you go making wild generalizations again. Many of us are NOT saying that recoil from a .308 is unreasonable. What we are saying is that 1) increased recoil leads to decreased accuracy, so 2) if you can get the same (or better) terminal performance from a cartridge that recoils less than a .308, why would you not do that?
Recoil within reasonable levels does not lead to decreased accuracy under hunting conditions. I do not consider a bullet that flies into fragments the same or better performance than a bullet that betters double diameter expansion, maintains 70% of its weight and travels along the line of travel it was aimed. In a hunting rifle for me at least recoil is a minor factor. I still have areas I hunt that are slug only and have never missed a shot due to recoil and 12 gauge slugs from a medium weight shotgun are absolutely no fun to shoot from the bench. There is no negative to exit holes or deep penetration.
 
Stop trying to create arguments to justify your beliefs.

You use the word "belief" when what you are implying is "faith". Faith is based on believing something without sufficient evidence to prove it. What I have (and many others here have) is a position based on actual results and a firm understanding of physics rather than conjecture and misunderstood physics.
 
Recoil within reasonable levels does not lead to decreased accuracy under hunting conditions. I do not consider a bullet that flies into fragments the same or better performance than a bullet that betters double diameter expansion, maintains 70% of its weight and travels along the line of travel it was aimed. In a hunting rifle for me at least recoil is a minor factor. I still have areas I hunt that are slug only and have never missed a shot due to recoil and 12 gauge slugs from a medium weight shotgun are absolutely no fun to shoot from the bench. There is no negative to exit holes or deep penetration.

You seem to put more stock in what the bullet looks like when it is done rather than how quickly the animal dies. Got it.
 
.35 whelen is a cool option if you want something bigger than a .30 cal.

As far as bang flops, I am pretty convinced that has more to do with shot placement than cartridge, but the only bang flop I have ever had was with the .35 whelen so take that for whatever it is worth.
I have only had one bang flop in about 10 deer I have taken with 35 cal rifles. That one was a spine shot and he didn’t move, just dropped. The rest all ran as would be expected for a non cns shot. This is what started me down the rabbit hole of how animals die and why I now believe that any caliber can work with the right bullet delivered at the right speed. Do 35 cal rifles work, yes, quite well, but I would use a 6mm or 25 cal if I was allowed to. I shoot better with lower recoil.
 
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