Suggestions on Caliber in Light Weight Rifle

[SwiftShot]

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?

Well in your analysis it must be bear spray. You have fun with that. Poor tool in your opinion. All those years of experience.
In my world, it is what I have in my hand already, which is the rifle. What doesnt work is the thing I have to reach for. My encounters that made me nervous have all been upclose and personal under 40 yards. Seeing them past that has not put me on edge. A pissed off brownie can cover that ground in 2 Mississippi. So in those instances dropping my rifle and pulling something else isn't in my thought process at that point. So you go right ahead and do you but I hunt the coast in Alaska and that is up close and personal much of the time. So that will have an impact on my caliber.

 

[gtriple]

Well in your analysis it must be bear spray. You have fun with that. Poor tool in your opinion. All those years of experience.
In my world, it is what I have in my hand already, which is the rifle. What doesnt work is the thing I have to reach for. My encounters that made me nervous have all been upclose and personal under 40 yards. Seeing them past that has not put me on edge. A pissed off brownie can cover that ground in 2 Mississippi. So in those instances dropping my rifle and pulling something else isn't in my thought process at that point. So you go right ahead and do you but I hunt the coast in Alaska and that is up close and personal much of the time. So that will have an impact on my caliber.

Where in any of my posts did I say bear spray? lol.

 

[SwiftShot]

Where in any of my posts did I say bear spray? lol.

Well since a rifle in your opinion is not the choice, and logic would dictate the mildest hunting caliber outperforms just about every pistol caliber. The other option is spray.

 

[grappling_hook]

He didn't write that he won't use a rifle. There are lots of other rifle options besides a bolt action-- semi-auto, lever, pump, even double rifles-- and also shotguns (semi, pump) and other the alternatives, not just bear spray or handguns.

 

[SwiftShot]

He didn't write that he won't use a rifle. There are lots of other rifle options besides a bolt action-- semi-auto, lever, pump, even double rifles-- and also shotguns (semi, pump) and other the alternatives, not just bear spray or handguns.

See original discussion so kind of was.

 

[z987k]

See original discussion so kind of was.

No he didn't. He, like anyone that works around brown bears, would take literally anything in semi-auto or lever over a bolt gun if bears are really a concern. Your choice of a bolt gun says they're not near the concern you're letting on. Or you don't understand what actually stops a bear. It's a CNS hit, not energy or bullet diameter.

This is why it doesn't matter what bolt gun caliber you pick. It's completely irrelevant to stopping a bear.
If the bear is your concern as much as you're making out, get an AR. Lot's a great options in the ARC family, the straight walls or something on a 308 case.
Most stuff in AK is shot under 300 yards, put a lpvo scope on a lever in something like 450 marlin or 460/500S&W.

Or stop worrying about the bears so much and pick a good hunting rifle.

 

[SwiftShot]

No he didn't. He, like anyone that works around brown bears, would take literally anything in semi-auto or lever over a bolt gun if bears are really a concern. Your choice of a bolt gun says they're not near the concern you're letting on. Or you don't understand what actually stops a bear. It's a CNS hit, not energy or bullet diameter.

This is why it doesn't matter what bolt gun caliber you pick. It's completely irrelevant to stopping a bear.
If the bear is your concern as much as you're making out, get an AR. Lot's a great options in the ARC family, the straight walls or something on a 308 case.
Most stuff in AK is shot under 300 yards, put a lpvo scope on a lever in something like 450 marlin or 460/500S&W.

Or stop worrying about the bears so much and pick a good hunting rifle.

The discussion was lightweight hunting rifle and I wanted something that did not make me feel undergunned if I bumped into a bear. His remark was ' 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."

So sorry I felt a bolt in my dawm hand that I would be more confident in was too much to ask for. I did not really start off being a condescending azz hat but here we are. God forbid I do that. So back to the original discussion.

So I guess my next lightweight hunting rifle shoudl be an AR got it.

 

[z987k]

Cayuga and Apex are high bc copper monos. You'll also get better bullet selection the the 6.5 PRC. I would argue anything from 243 up to 300 win mag there are only marginal differences yes. But the 6.5 PRC is a well designed cartridge that has been engineered around all the latest best design practices. It's just silly to buy a 270 win in 2025 for any reason other than nostalgia. It's kind of a dying cartridge. The 6.5 PRC is a better design and it outperforms the 270 with the same recoil, higher SD, better ballistics. There is just not a good reason for a 270 over PRC. 270 is too slow of a twist that is the whole point of the 6.8 Western which does not have great support. I own a 300 win and a 30-06 very outdated but if I had to own one rifle it wouldn't be either of those especially in an ultralight package.

Browning/Winchester twist their 270s 1:8. If you're hand loading it gives you a lot of options, and personally, I'd prefer a fast twist 270 to a 6.5PRC.

 

[z987k]

The discussion was lightweight hunting rifle and I wanted something that did not make me feel undergunned if I bumped into a bear. His remark was ' 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."

So sorry I felt a bolt in my dawm hand that I would be more confident in was too much to ask for. God forbid I do that. So back to the original discussion.

Correct. He's pointing out how you don't want the small calibers(the 6.5PRC you own that is perfect for everything you want to do) because of bears, when the caliber has nothing to do with bears.
But you're picking a bolt gun, and picking the slowest action type has everything do with the bear defense. Your priorities are mixed up for your stated goals. Lightweight and not undergunned for bears?
AR10 in 338Fed. Or a 5.5lb 12ga with slugs in an autoloader with the biggest mag tube they make. Make it a rifled barrel and use sabots, that'll get you some range so you can still take game at 100yards or so.

 

[SwiftShot]

Correct. He's pointing out how you don't want the small calibers(the 6.5PRC you own that is perfect for everything you want to do) because of bears, when the caliber has nothing to do with bears.
But you're picking a bolt gun, and picking the slowest action type has everything do with the bear defense. Your priorities are mixed up for your stated goals. Lightweight and not undergunned for bears?
AR10 in 338Fed. Or a 5.5lb 12ga with slugs in an autoloader with the biggest mag tube they make. Make it a rifled barrel and use sabots, that'll get you some range so you can still take game at 100yards or so.

Thanks next hunting trip to Alaska is the good old 870. No reason for anything else that will be an different sheep hunt.

 

[Southernfried]

I dont have a bear in this fight, but me thinking out of the box, here in TN where all I have to worry about is meth heads coming at ya like a zombie, a wild boar here or there, or some ones pissed off angry bull that has escaped, and no way could I shoot the bull, could not afford to replace it, lol. I would start with what optic I can use to hunt with, be able to shoot at moderate distances with and if something did come at me at a full bore charge, and if that is what I was worried about. Id figure out what can I see them with to hit their cns so I dont get raped in the wild. Like maybe a red dot on top of a scope or a 45° mount on the scope, or a lpvo or maybe a 2x7 and walk around with it on 2x....just my thinking, then figure out what cartridge/platform works best for that.....like an ar10 in 308 .....good luck in your search OP.

 

[sololearn9]

Short Action 308 or 7m-08.

 

[z987k]

Thanks next hunting trip to Alaska is the good old 870. No reason for anything else that will be an different sheep hunt.

You won't get one, but you'll sleep better instead of being terrified of the bears.

 

[gtriple]

Thanks next hunting trip to Alaska is the good old 870. No reason for anything else that will be an different sheep hunt.

Don’t take offense because somebody disagrees with your opinion. I think you’re overthinking this and not relying on the boatloads of data out there.

Is your 6.5prc a Rem700 platform? What’s the details on it?

Personally, I think the 6.5prc is by far the best choice if you aren’t willing to step down to a 6mm (which I’d recommend the 6UM). If you have to use coppers (wouldn’t recommend but it’s your call), then you need as much velocity as possible to have the bullet work reliably.

Don’t buy a new gun. Buy more ammo for your 6.5prc and gain the confidence that it is absolutely capable of killing anything on this continent by a wide margin.

 

[flyboy214]

For bears, other guys have way more experience than I do.

For lightweight rifles with reasonable recoil and primarily copper bullets, speed is your friend. Many of the common copper bullets can fail to expand below 2200 fps regardless of what it says on the box. Some of the newer Hornady CX offerings perform notably better. A bigger caliber is just going require more recoil to keep that velocity up.

For pushing copper, my short list is .257 WBY, 6.5 RPM, 6.5 PRC, and 6.5-300 WBY.
I hunt in places that require copper, and I have seen those fast 6.5 mm bullets do the work. I aim for more center on the shoulder to offer enough resistance for the bullet. if I could shoot lead bullets I would feel fine shooting a 6mm.

When I hit a mule deer with the 6.5-300 127 LRX at 95 yards, the on-side shoulder blade turned into shrapnel, and I found the bone fragments scattered in the lung tissue.

The 6.5 PRC is a decently balanced cartridge for shooting everything. I would try the Hornady Outfitter 130-grain CX load in a 6.5 PRC.

 

[eaglemountainman]

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