Suggestions on Caliber in Light Weight Rifle

[S.Clancy]

I am looking at the 6.5 PRC. I am just concerned it will not do moose or elk as well. I do love my 6.5 PRC I currently have. It is basically a 270 Win Mag. For some reason I have a hang up about it for elk. I do not know why. It is just not what I pull out for elk. Plus after one Brown Bear encounter I am a little nervous about carrying that in Alaska. I hope to be in Alaska at least every other year.

I've killed elk from 20 yds to 650 yds with copper bullets and a 270 Win. In your list, 6.5 PRC would be my choice

 

[The_Crab_Slayer]

Having spent the last 16 summers in Alaska my first question would be, do you plan on carrying a side arm for bears? Or will the rifle be your main bear defense? Most of the serious hunters I know up there hunt deer with a .300 win mag or bigger for that reason. Personally if I were building one rifle for larger game in grizz country and wanted a light weight short barrel I think a .300 wsm with a barnes lrx would be hard to beat.

 

[The_Crab_Slayer]

The weatherby backcountry is .338 rpm might be worth looking at. I have one in 280AI and its a great rifle. I have heavier 7prc and 6.5prc that handle the longer shoots better but for the weight I think they are hard to beat.

 

[Actionsqueak]

Why isn't .270 on the list?

 

[cuerro viejo]

Why isn't .270 on the list?

Because it’s built a round an antiquated twist offering that results with in an antiquated bullet offering that results in just being old and antiquated

 

[MTWop]

Call it what you want. Hardly antiquated and still very reliably deadly. The 270 Winchester is nearly identical out to 500 yards compared to 6.5 PRC. More than enough velocity with a 145 grain ELDX. Edited to add that 270 win 129 Barnes LRX has an additional 100 fps compared to 127 6.5 PRC bullet. 270 is also cheaper and more widely available. They both work

 

[prm]

6.5 PRC with a 127 LRX is what I read you are asking for.

Contrary to what others suggest, I have had fantastic results with monos (TTSX). I don’t shoot too far so impact speeds remain decent. Friends seem happy with Hammer bullets too.

 

[CJ19]

Looking for a new toy but I only want one toy not 5. I hunt the PNW from Washington to Montana. Mostly I hunt Elk, Black Bear, and Deer. I do every few years do a Pronghorn hunt as well. I will also go up to Alaska for Caribou and looking to add Moose and Sheep to that soon. I have a couple rifles I have used in the past that worked out well.
Those rifles are a 6.5 PRC and a 300 RUM. In the past I have had 300 Win Mag, 7 08 and 25-06. Well about to fully retire and will have a wonderful new toy hauler. I will be doing Summers and Fall in PNW and Alaska. That means border crossing through Canada. I know you can do it alright but it is a hassle at times so trying to make it easier. So that is the thought behind one rifle.
Thought about putting one of my rifles the 300 RUM or the 6.5 PRC in the MDT Hunter 26 stock. That thing is just awesome but runs a little bit of money. I still need to deal with the barrel length as well. So I found the Savage Ultra Lite Elite. Great looking gun and comes in that stock standard. Now the question calibers are 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 308, 7MM PRC, 300 WSM and 300 Win Mag. So the barrels are 20 inches so not too short but you do loose some speed there. The thing will weight if done right complete 7 lbs. with scope. So if I run a can which will complicate the Canada thing. What caliber would you guys pick. The 7 PRC looks promising and I do reload so the price doesn't bother me for ammo. I love my 6.5 PRC but I think it is marginal for elk and moose. I am thinking the 7 PRC, 300 WSM and 300 Win Mag might be a recoil beast in that 7lb rifle. So I am in a weird spot. I don't want to drop 3 grand on a rifle I will not like too shoot. I shoot a lot that is why I reload. I want to be able to stretch out to a reasonable distance and not kill myself with recoil. I like the 7 PRC but have just heard too many stories about it being as bad as the 28 Nosler in a light rifle.
My 300 RUM is in a 8.5 lb. rifle with a Silencer Co 36 M and that doesn't bother me. I know it is a ramble but looking for thoughts on this. Dropping over 3 grand I don't want to really screw this one up. It would be simple if I could go shoot the rifle with most of these calibers but that is not an option. Also 300 PRC is not an option unfortunately.
Thanks in advance.

you forgot 270. its really the only choice. but for real 308 6.5 creed on that list.

 

[gtriple]

The irony in selecting a cartridge based on being afraid that a smaller caliber is not sufficient to stop a grizzly bear, but being totally fine with a bolt action rifle as a self-defense tool is hilarious.

 

[SwiftShot]

The irony in selecting a cartridge based on being afraid that a smaller caliber is not sufficient to stop a grizzly bear, but being totally fine with a bolt action rifle as a self-defense tool is hilarious.

1. Well let me know when you actually see one up close and personal. 2. Never said it was all I carry but it is the one in hand. Never mind the fact that most rifles will out perform the pistols. So let me know when you get up to Alaska and bump into one under 40 yards. Until then its all hilarious talk.

 

[gtriple]

1. Well let me know when you actually see one up close and personal. 2. Never said it was all I carry but it is the one in hand. Never mind the fact that most rifles will out perform the pistols. So let me know when you get up to Alaska and bump into one under 40 yards. Until then it’s all hilarious talk.

I’ve hunted MT Grizz country for 3 years now. Had a close encounter with a mom and 2 cubs 2 years ago. One of the scariest moments of my life.

I’m not downplaying the risk of a grizz attack. They are definitely a legit thing to be worried about. But a bolt action rifle is a really poor tool to protect yourself against them. So bad that I wouldn’t even think about it in selecting a cartridge.

Any centerfire will absolutely kill a charging grizz if you hit it in the brain or spine.

Any centerfire will not immediately stop a charging grizz if you miss the brain or spine.

It’d be like trying to select the perfect fork to eat a bowl of soup… anything you select will be suboptimal anyways, so why not just pick up the right tool in the first place?

 

[Packmansion]

I thought we were talking about lightweight rifles?

 

[Packmansion]

Call it what you want. Hardly antiquated and still very reliably deadly. The 270 Winchester is nearly identical out to 500 yards compared to 6.5 PRC. More than enough velocity with a 145 grain ELDX. Edited to add that 270 win 129 Barnes LRX has an additional 100 fps compared to 127 6.5 PRC bullet. 270 is also cheaper and more widely available. They both work

View attachment 842199

What about wind?

 

[MTWop]

Identical from Barnes data

 

[Packmansion]

Identical from Barnes data

Yes from a Barnes ballistic turd. How bout a Cayuga, Apex, or EldM. Most 270s are 1:10 twist. 270 shoots 145 eldx at 3000 with a g7 of .27. 22 creed smokes that... A 6.5 PRC shoots a 147 grain bullet at 3000 with a g7 of .351... It's not even close. 270 is a great round but comparing it to a 6.5 PRC from a ballistics perspective is kind of silly. 6.5 PRC is a better cartridge in every aspect. 6.5 PRC would be much better for lightweight as well.

 

[MTWop]

OP indicated cooper bullets only. The data is no different for eldx. No doubt the 6.5 PRC shows its edge past 500 yards, which most people have no business doing, especially in a lightweight platform like the OP originally stated. The previous poster said the 270 win was old and antiquated. At the end of the day, the physics show that it’s still the same bullet, same grain (within 2 grains), and same velocity (or faster in the case of the LRX option in 6.5 PRC). Again, hardly antiquated even after 100 years

 

[hrhunter]

Easy answer, anything but a 6.5 creed, 280AI