Sub 300 yd Whitetail Cartridge?

[rootacres]

I don't need a new rifle but Michigan gave me an excuse. The straight wall cartridge law for the southern lower peninsula in MI is officially gone. Im considering a new cartridge. I legit will never fire this thing further than 300 yds in the field. Likely much shorter than that most the time. If I plan to shoot further, I have other rifles.

I currently own
350 Legend
6.5 Creed
7 SAUM

Criteria:
No magnum
Short action
No brake (Im an IL resident, so no suppressor either)
Considering a 6mm, 6GT / 6 creed maybe

What say you?

 

[Unclecroc]

6arc is awesome for that criteria

 

[hereinaz]

In this order
223
22 arc
6 arc
Anything more is unnecessary
6 GT
243
6 creed

 

[Luvbowhuntn]

It's hard to argue against a 7mm-08 as the perfect deer caliber. I do use a .223 and 6mm Creed sometimes but if I had to choose only one it'd be a 7mm-08 with 140gr Accubonds or 120gr TTSX

 

[TxxAgg]

A Tikka 6.5x55 would be sweet

 

[SloppyJ]

From a different perspective, with what you describe, it seems like you could be hunting some more densely vegetated areas. There's a ton of good information on this board but context is always important. Deer hunting at home, I deal with shorter distances and much thicker vegetation than what I see mentioned most often here where the focus is more open country.

The .223 works perfectly with the right bullets. There really isn't a need for more. However, the only downside to that is that after around 10 deer, I haven't seen an exit yet. The majority of the time, they go down in sight. When they don't, that little uneasy feeling can creep in. With the conditions I hunt in, an exit is important for me. I'm also not going to compromise and use a mono or controlled expansion bullet because I do believe in the match bullet type wound channel. For that reason alone, I'd recommend a 6mm if your use case is anything close to mine. I've had consistent exits and great blood to follow if needed. Alternatively, a 6.5cm with the 130tmks is an absolute hammer. The last one I shot with that combo I could track at a full pace walk without stopping.

It seems you have a desire for a new cartridge. If I were in your shoes I would weigh the pros and cons of a 6arc vs a 6cm and pick between those. A lot comes into play on rifle availability with the correct bolt face and if you reload or not. I think you'd be set with either one and likely shoot it more than all of your other rifles combined.

 

[Matt5266]

.223

 

[TheGDog]

The other day I watched a vid on YT wherein a gentleman was showing how, for him, 6arc was having the ballistic tips becoming sheered-off when he'd try to eject them from the chamber without shooting them. Might be worth investigating if this was a fluke incident.

BTW ya already got 6.5cm. Why wouldn't you just use that? Like loaded with the 120gr ttsx?

 

[06 SB]

I will go the opposite way to most here. Get a 338Fed or 358Win. These two flatten deer and keep them from running better than most. You will have to reload exclusively for the 338Fed and there are only a couple loadings for the 358Win. The slower/heavy bullets mean any kind of bullet works.

If you do decide to get a 6mm, I think the ARC version is about perfect for a 6mm considering powder vs bullet caliber. I have the 22ARC and it is fantastic out to 1000 yards. It would make a good dual purpose rifle.

 

[coyotekilla]

300 yards and in on whitetail...

243, 257 bob, 6x45, 6arc, 6.5 grendel. 6.5x55 & 7x57.

For cool points... a savage 99 in 250-3000.

 

[Huntnpack 2]

22 Creed
6 Creed

Pick the Best bullet for terminal performance & accuracy.

 

[Cherokeeguide]

You've got it covered with the 6.5 Creedmoor.

 

[SloppyJ]

The other day I watched a vid on YT wherein a gentleman was showing how, for him, 6arc was having the ballistic tips becoming sheered-off when he'd try to eject them from the chamber without shooting them. Might be worth investigating if this was a fluke incident.

BTW ya already got 6.5cm. Why wouldn't you just use that? Like loaded with the 120gr ttsx?

That's a feeding issue with the approach angle of the round as it's being fed out of the mag and into the feed ramps. It's not inherent to the 6arc but more of his system. Either way, at 300yds and in, that's not going to be a determining factor.

 

[One300wsm]

I don't need a new rifle but Michigan gave me an excuse. The straight wall cartridge law for the southern lower peninsula in MI is officially gone. Im considering a new cartridge. I legit will never fire this thing further than 300 yds in the field. Likely much shorter than that most the time. If I plan to shoot further, I have other rifles.

I currently own
350 Legend
6.5 Creed
7 SAUM

Criteria:
No magnum
Short action
No brake (Im an IL resident, so no suppressor either)
Considering a 6mm, 6GT / 6 creed maybe

What say you?

You already have two that fill your needs, spend your money on something you need not something you don’t.