Best all around rifle caliber advice
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Geo_Erudite
New member
hodaka said:
We never debated the merits of the 6.5x55 SE loaded in a modern action. Using Vihtavuori N560 you can get 2,800+ fps with a 140 grain bullet. We are also forgetting the beloved .264 Winchester Magnum! Which has less recoil than the venerable 30-06. It can hurl a 160 grain bullet at 2,850+ fps. Woodleigh makes the perfect bullet for the .264 Winchester Magnum, a 160 grain bullet with a BC of .509 and a SD of .328. A .264 Winchester Magnum loaded with said bullet @ 2,850 fps have enough energy (1,000 ft-lbs) to kill whitetails out to 700 yards and enough energy (1,500 ft-lbs) to kill elk out to 450 yards. This conversation has progressed past WalMart availability, and is why I mentioned it.
The 264 Mag is a tough caliber to find ammo for and I dont think reloading is a option for the OP. That may eliminate it from the herd. The OP would have to chime in for that one. Generally all the calibers mentioned can be purchased most anywhere even if its a standard soft point load. Heck, last time I looked at Walmart they were carrying Federal Fusion in about all the calibers. That's a pretty good bonded bullet. They seem to have a good field report on game. My 270 will stack 4 rounds on top of each other at 100 yards with Fusion and I can get them for under $20 a box. I bought them for affordable practice not expecting much but I may use them hunting.
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Geo_Erudite
New member
Nosler, Norma, and Winchester all make brass for the .264 Winchester Magnum, and Retumbo would probably be the powder of choice. Load the .264 Winchester Magnum with a 140 grain Berger Hunting VLD and 63.5 grains of Retumbo you get 3,026 fps and a whitetail range of 850 yards and an elk range of 550 yards.
4runnerman
New member
I did get to shoot my friends 264 mag many years ago. That was a very nice shooting rifle. If I remember right the only draw back is they are barrel burners. For hunting you would probebly never shoot it out in your life time.
NEO Hunter
Inactive
After doing some more ballistics research and reading all the responses I have realized that 1 rifle for all the different needs may be more than I need right now(and who wants just one rifle anyway?) As one person pointed out if I ever get the money together for an elk hunt I should have the money for a bigger rifle. A 270 or bigger for coyotes or deer is more gun than needed in most cases. It will be nice having a lower recoil rifle anyway once my kids get older and move up to a center fire from rim fires. So I am going to go with something for deer size or smaller. On paper it appears the 25-06 is a better choice than a .243 and a few people pointed out some states require .25 or larger. So in the real world is the 25-06 a better choice? Thanks again for helping me through this process.
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Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
There are states with a .25 cal minimum on deer?
.25-06 is a fine round. Probably be my third or fourth choice if I were buying factory ammo.
.243Win
7mm-08
.25-06
Honestly, pick the one you like and buy it. Make your bullets go where they belong and it won't matter if you're shooting a .243Win or a .300 Win Mag.
.25-06 is a fine round. Probably be my third or fourth choice if I were buying factory ammo.
.243Win
7mm-08
.25-06
Honestly, pick the one you like and buy it. Make your bullets go where they belong and it won't matter if you're shooting a .243Win or a .300 Win Mag.
Geo_Erudite
New member
.25-06 is an excellent round. My brother in-law used to have one I really enjoyed shooting it. Light kicking, 3,000+ fps on whitetail loads, and still reasonable for varmint/predator hunting. I don't think you could go wrong, but if you noticed the underlying opinion, you couldn't go wrong with any of the cartridges mentioned. All the banter was about our personal preferences, not yours.
850 yards?
Get real: even if you had the exact range, and could read the the wind perfectly all the way to the target, and had the trajectory, including up/downhill adjustments down cold ...... you have no way of being certain the animal won't move during the 1 second flight time of the round.
Yes, Such shots are done, and yes, there are videos of them all over the place ..... what there are not videos of are all the wounded and lost game where the shooter did not take some small variable into account.
You should take shots you are reasonably sure of making.
Get real: even if you had the exact range, and could read the the wind perfectly all the way to the target, and had the trajectory, including up/downhill adjustments down cold ...... you have no way of being certain the animal won't move during the 1 second flight time of the round.
Yes, Such shots are done, and yes, there are videos of them all over the place ..... what there are not videos of are all the wounded and lost game where the shooter did not take some small variable into account.
You should take shots you are reasonably sure of making.
Geo_Erudite
New member
jimbob86 said:
That was a statement on the performance of that cartridge load, not a statement on the performance/ability of the shooter.
I have owned or still owned all three of the last ones mentioned. I had a Rem 7oo BDL in .25-06, great rifle stone cold killer a little more "fuss boom and kick" but all around a terriffic performer that will do quite well for white-tails, pronghorns, and mulies as well as many other critters, I even shot prairie dogs with mine, a 100 grain Ballistic tip makes quite a spectacle when it hits a prairie dog. The .243 Win, my wife has one in a Ruger 77 Compact, a super nice little package that if she ever divorces me will be the one thing she will go to court over trying to keep, shoots wonderfully kills deer stone cold dead with no problems all with a mild bark and bite. The 7mm-08 Rem. I currently have one in a Rem Mdl 7 Stainless Synthetic and it is by far my favorite rifle. The 7-08 is easy to load for, easy to shoot and performs wonderfully, nice and short, light weight, balances perfectly for me, what else is there to know. For deer sized game and under all three are solid gold.
A .270 loaded with a 150 grain Nosler Accubond 'Long range' loaded, to a completely reasonable 2900fps has enough energy to put down a whitetail @ 880 yards (1014ft/lbs) and elk out to 560yrds (1500ft/lbs)
at least on paper. I am not condoning hunting at those ranges though.
Conditions used were sea level, zero elevation, and a temp of 65 degrees F. I used Nosler's listed G1 BC of .625
Revoltella
Moderator
Since nobody else has mentioned it.... .257. Weatherby Magnum.
120gr Nosler Partition should take that Elk nicely.
120gr Nosler Partition should take that Elk nicely.
If you want to keep elk on the menu, your best option would likely be a 7mm/.280 size bullet.
7mm-08, 7x57mm Mauser, or 280 Rem would be ideal rounds for "all purpose" hunting. They can be loaded to different weights to fit any need.
If you take elk off the books, then your best option would probably be a 25 caliber bullet. The 25-06 and the .257 Bob would both treat you nicely.
7mm-08, 7x57mm Mauser, or 280 Rem would be ideal rounds for "all purpose" hunting. They can be loaded to different weights to fit any need.
If you take elk off the books, then your best option would probably be a 25 caliber bullet. The 25-06 and the .257 Bob would both treat you nicely.
30-06 for sure as stated above for two big reasons, cost of rifle and cost of round. Can buy a decent used rifle (after a real gun smith checks it out) on the cheap. Split the cost of the smitty. You do want to buy it, but they also want to sell it. Buy their ammo at 1/2 price. Ask to look at their log book if they reload to tell what kind of rounds they have been shooting that you can also show to the smitty. Try to get one from some one that doesn't reload to eliminate several potential problem factors. Check out the storage location and what they carry it around in. If it is in good shape, the gun is probably also in good shape. If it is beat up, and the gun has dings, skip the buy.
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ps: start looking at estate sales.
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ps: start looking at estate sales.
Caliber
Yeah, very probably the best all around cartridge choice is .30-06. Similarly, the best all around caliber is .308 inch. There are an almost bewildering number of .308 caliber cartridges as well as more bullet weights and types than any other caliber - from 110 grains to 250 grains.
Pete
Yeah, very probably the best all around cartridge choice is .30-06. Similarly, the best all around caliber is .308 inch. There are an almost bewildering number of .308 caliber cartridges as well as more bullet weights and types than any other caliber - from 110 grains to 250 grains.
Pete
jersurf101
New member
The one round I have always been able to get in the "panic" is .270 win. My .270 win has been a deer slayer. All of the calibers mentioned are good. The only bad thing is not being able to shoot if and if you don't reload you rely on factory ammo. .270 win is my choice
Since we are talking readily available ammo I'll skip the usual speech about the 6.5mms and the virtues of the 25-06. Here is what we have at the local Wal-Mart.
30-06: Very versatile medium and big game cartridge, unfortunately excessive recoil makes it unsuitable for regular target use or high volume varmint hunting.
270: Faster and flatter then the 06 with a tad less recoil though still a bit high for extended range sessions or varmint blasting. Considerable less versatility on large game vs the 30-06 which is capable of using much heavier bullets.
243: Dandy little dual purpose varmint/deer cartridge, if you are not hunting in elk country this one wins hands down, recoil is light and downright enjoyable. Fast flat and accurate enough even for small varmints, great for getting the kids out shooting too.
308: Highly efficient 30 caliber making nearly the power of the 30-06 in a short action package burning less powder making for less recoil and muzzle blast, a solid all around choice if you are not extra recoil shy. Does not shoot very flat but if you can account for a little drop it is a great cartridge.
7mm Rem Mag: A very high intensity cartridge capable of 30-06 killing power and 270 Win trajectory. Great for medium/big game at long range but it is a little excessive for anything else, too much barrel wear for high volume shooting. Recoil is sharp and no fun at all in light rifles.
300 Win Mag: Big Game masterpiece 180gr bullets with the trajectory of the 243, crazy excessive on deer I don't care what anyone says but if you need to take a moose on the next ridge you could do no better.
30-30: a very different cartridge, instead of focusing on being light/fast the 30-30 is heavy/slow, sound old hat but those slow flat point bullets kill deer as fast as anything inside woods range and it does not blow up all your deer meat at close range like a high powered magnum would. Recoil is reasonable but trajectory is lacking for varmint work. The best part of the 30-30 is the compact handy lever action rifles it comes in.
7mm-08: This is my pick given the criteria, the 7mm-08 shoots reasonably flat, rivals the 270 for energy and killing power while functioning in a short action and all that for a very mild level of recoil and near zero muzzle blast even in 22" tubes. Try as you might you cannot find anything bad to say about the 7mm-08 it is darn near perfect.
30-06: Very versatile medium and big game cartridge, unfortunately excessive recoil makes it unsuitable for regular target use or high volume varmint hunting.
270: Faster and flatter then the 06 with a tad less recoil though still a bit high for extended range sessions or varmint blasting. Considerable less versatility on large game vs the 30-06 which is capable of using much heavier bullets.
243: Dandy little dual purpose varmint/deer cartridge, if you are not hunting in elk country this one wins hands down, recoil is light and downright enjoyable. Fast flat and accurate enough even for small varmints, great for getting the kids out shooting too.
308: Highly efficient 30 caliber making nearly the power of the 30-06 in a short action package burning less powder making for less recoil and muzzle blast, a solid all around choice if you are not extra recoil shy. Does not shoot very flat but if you can account for a little drop it is a great cartridge.
7mm Rem Mag: A very high intensity cartridge capable of 30-06 killing power and 270 Win trajectory. Great for medium/big game at long range but it is a little excessive for anything else, too much barrel wear for high volume shooting. Recoil is sharp and no fun at all in light rifles.
300 Win Mag: Big Game masterpiece 180gr bullets with the trajectory of the 243, crazy excessive on deer I don't care what anyone says but if you need to take a moose on the next ridge you could do no better.
30-30: a very different cartridge, instead of focusing on being light/fast the 30-30 is heavy/slow, sound old hat but those slow flat point bullets kill deer as fast as anything inside woods range and it does not blow up all your deer meat at close range like a high powered magnum would. Recoil is reasonable but trajectory is lacking for varmint work. The best part of the 30-30 is the compact handy lever action rifles it comes in.
7mm-08: This is my pick given the criteria, the 7mm-08 shoots reasonably flat, rivals the 270 for energy and killing power while functioning in a short action and all that for a very mild level of recoil and near zero muzzle blast even in 22" tubes. Try as you might you cannot find anything bad to say about the 7mm-08 it is darn near perfect.
Been there
New member
The .243 best suits your stated needs for everything other than Elk.
7mm08 if you want to include elk.
Ammo is not hard to find & if you get into reloading in the future, as both are based on the .308 shell, brass is cheap & ubiqutious.
7mm08 if you want to include elk.
Ammo is not hard to find & if you get into reloading in the future, as both are based on the .308 shell, brass is cheap & ubiqutious.