Is the best of both world possible?

U

Uncleeggbuster

Inactive
Ok I'm really new here in the forums so if this already has a thread somewhere someone please let me know. But here's what I'm hoping to get opinions on:
I like to hunt deer, a lot, and I like to shoot from the bench, a lot. I've decided that for my purposes a 6.5 Creedmoor might just be the ticket. I know, I've read all the arguments of pros/cons and how much it resembles the 260 and such, but something a bit different is always fun too. Does such a rifle exist, that would be decent off the bench, yet not be so cumbersome out in the field, AND cost $1500 or less? Decent off the bench would be at least 1/2 to 1" at 100 yards or more out of the box and not cumbersome in the field would be a 26" barrel or less and no more than ten pounds tops. I realize it wouldn't be exactly the best of both worlds, I'd have to give up a little of the best of each one to find a compromise. Am I just pipe dreaming here or is there something off the shelf out there somewhere?
 
I'm trying to understand what your are asking sir. It appears that you are looking to spend less than $1,500 (not including glass I would assume) and are wanting a cartridge that can shoot long range for bench rest shooting and also has enough whomp for hunting.

The answer to your question is yes, there are several platforms that will fit your needs. You threw out a .260 and the 6.5 Creedmore. Both are great long range calibers and are both excellent for hunting. If you decide you want one of those and are looking for an off the shelf gun ready to go, I would look at the Ruger Precision Rifle. MSRP is $1,399 but you can find them as low as $1,200 if you have a good LGS. This platform is chambered in .308, 6.5CM and .243. Personally, I have shot all three calibers to long range with great success. the 6.5CM and the .243 both have excellent long range ballistics and if you keep your shots to under 300yds, the .243 will take most things albeit some argue that it is under powered for anything larger than a deer or hog.

If you are looking for semi-auto in an AR platform, your options increase even more. Personally I run an Alexander Arms 6.5 Grendel with an 18" barrel and I've had excellent results for both long range shooting and for hunting. I've never felt undergunned.

Let me know if I can answer anything for you sir.
 
Ruger American Varmint in 6.5 Creedmoor. It's not as "sexy" as the RPR, but it should meet the 1" or under criteria quite nicely.

For an AR-10 style variant, try DPMS.

Jimro
 
Sure. The 6.5 CM and .260 is a great cartridge, and I would not be afraid to hunt anything in North America with it except big bears (and I wouldn't hunt those anyway).

The rifle, however will be where you need to make a compromise.

Generally speaking, a hunting (think "deer rifle") rifle has a lighter weight barrel, and is nice to carry all day. Usually you want a scope that tops out around 10X, the 3X9 is a long time favorite.

Generally speaking, a rifle intended to be shot from a bench, or a Long Range target rifle will have a heavier barrel (possibly longer as well), because normally you only have to carry it from the car to the bench. Stocks on bench guns are also often designed differently, a little fatter and maybe some adjustability that adds weight you don't want or need in a hunting rifle. Target rifle scopes tend to have higher magnification, and target turrets for easy adjustment and return to zero, both of which also adds weight. A benchrest rifle would also tend to have a lighter trigger, maybe without a safety, that probably wouldn't be a good choice for carrying around in the woods.

A really nice traditional deer hunting rifle can be used for shooting from the bench, but it won't be as easy to shoot as a dedicated target rig. Accuracy will probably be a little looser, and long strings with a light barrel will contribute to that.

A bench/target rig can be used to hunt with, but it usually pretty heavy to be carrying through the woods all day. My LR rig weighs about 16 lbs with the bipod.

You can certainly compromise features, to try and find a sweet spot, but it won't be ideal for either application.

You "like to hunt deer a lot", what are you using to hunt them with now? If you already have a deer rifle, then it seems like a compromise isn't really necessary....:)
 
There are many choices in rifles that will meet or exceed your criteria. Almost any modern sporter weight barrel is capable of 1/2"-1" groups at 100 yards, you don't need a heavy bull barreled target gun to accomplish that.

I have this rifle in 308, my brother has the 6.5 Creedmoor. Both easily meet your accuracy criteria. Mine weighs 7 lbs ready to hunt. My brothers has a longer barrel and heavier scope and it still comes in under 7.5 lbs.

http://ruger.com/products/americanRiflePredator/models.html

These aren't fancy high end rifles, they just shoot. There are nicer options available if you want to spend all of the $1500 budget. Savage also has some 6.5 options that are well thought of.

The 260 and 6.5 are almost ballistic twins, especially if you handload. But most 260's have barrels twisted for lighter bullets whereas most 6.5's are made to shoot heavier bullets. This is an advantage for longer range target shooting or hunting.
 
Uncleeggbuster said:
I like to hunt deer, a lot, and I like to shoot from the bench, a lot.

Does such a rifle exist, that would be decent off the bench, yet not be so cumbersome out in the field, AND cost $1500 or less? Decent off the bench would be at least 1/2 to 1" at 100 yards or more out of the box and not cumbersome in the field would be a 26" barrel or less and no more than ten pounds tops.
Click to expand...

I don't see anything in your post that suggests you want a bona fide long range target rifle with which you want to formally compete, in which case, I'd say, sure, there are quite a few rifles fitting your description.

In my case, my Tikka CTR in .260 Remington is easily a sub-MOA rifle (with my handloads), and makes a terrific deer rifle. With a 20" barrel, it's more of a mid-range (to 500-600 yards) tactical rifle, so it doesn't sport an enormous scope, which keeps the weight down, and makes it very handy in the field. I'm sure there are 6.5CM rifles that'll fit your bill.
 
jmr40 said:
The 260 and 6.5 are almost ballistic twins, especially if you handload. But most 260's have barrels twisted for lighter bullets whereas most 6.5's are made to shoot heavier bullets. This is an advantage for longer range target shooting or hunting.
Click to expand...

Twist rates are the same, 1:8, which will work with up to 160 grain round nose bullets. They both have roughly the same twist as the Swedish Mausers had 122 years ago (200mm, or 1 in 7.87 in). Pretty funny f you think about it, the "new" .260 and 6.5 CM are only slight improvements (only ~150fps faster) over a round introduced in 1891, with a bullet introduced in 1941.

Most folks seem to think the 6.5CM to be suited better for heavier bullets because the case and OAL is shorter, allowing you to seat long to get close to the rifling, and still fit in the short action magazine.

And yeah, pretty much any modern rifle can get 1 MOA accuracy, often better with handloads. If you keep your strings short, a sporter weight barrel will work fine from the bench.

But a heavy barreled rifle will be as or more accurate, and stay that way longer as it heats up.
 
If you are looking for the best of both worlds between target shooting and hunting, I honestly would suggest a quality 6.5cm AR15. 20" heavy barrel. It will be lightweight enough to hunt with, yet plenty accurate enough for serious target shooting.

I built a target/hunting rifle a few years ago... But I leaned toward the target. Its heavy at about 17 lbs. Very accurate, handles stout-loaded 270 recoil very well, and is a dream to shoot. Actually hunting with it gets old though. I'm a big guy and I can carry it... But it does get old.
 
"I honestly would suggest a quality 6.5cm AR15."

Would be a little hard to do in an AR-15 type rifle, need to go to the larger .308 AR type rifles...

T.
 
I picked up a Weatherby Vanguard in 6.5 CM (No. 2 barrel) for right around $500 new in the box. I have no problem banging 12 inch steel plates at 600 yards. Shoots well below one MOA with the old Hornady 140 AMAX ammo. I've killed a bunch of deer with it too. I started out with a SWFA 12X scope on it but now I've added a Burris XTRII...which cost nearly twice as much as the rifle!! I have friends with a whole lot more $$$ in their LR rigs and they all want to buy it. So, for around $800 (before the Burris) I have absolutely no complaints. :cool:
 
I like emcon5 answer. Read that. Totally different guns.

If I had to choose, I would get a best, no compromise, bolt action deer rifle and make do with that on the bench. If you only compete against yourself any good rifle will do. Maybe a Tikka? Not a varmint.

If it was a Ruger, then IMHO try a youth model American with an adult module. Try to keep the bare rifle under 6 pounds with a absolute max 20" barrel. If serious about shooting off the bench or long range consider another gun. Same caliber would be convenient. Does not matter, since you don't need to reload for hunting. You can burn a lot of ammo at a club and then reloading more appropriate. Maybe for accuracy too.

The OP did say bench, not sniper rifle?
 
I have a rifle similar to what MrBorland described. I had a gunsmith rebarrel a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless in 260 with a #4 contour Brux barrel, and it is a marvelously accurate rifle. I went with a 20 inch barrel for ease of handling. Cost was about $1200. I expect that buying the Tikka CTR would be cheaper, but don't really know that. But what I do know is that Tikka rifles are so very accurate, the triggers are good as-is, and the bolt is as slick as that of my Sako.

As for caliber, the 260 and the 6.5 Creedmore are ballistically identical, though if you reload, the 6.5 case is preferred by the long distance guys.
 
Thanks guys very much for the replies, been very helpful. And I guess I should have given a little more information but it's hard to think of everything all at once.
I liked emcon5's post too, I agree they are totally different animals, that's why I'm wondering what the best (if any) compromises are out there. I currently hunt with a Browning A Bolt Medallion in .300 WSM. It has knocked down every deer I've taken with it, but honestly, it is just plain no fun for me to shoot off the bench for more than a few rounds at a time (read as big recoil vs whimpy shoulder
 
Thanks guys very much for the replies, been very helpful. And I guess I should have given a little more information but it's hard to think of everything all at once.
I liked emcon5's post too, I agree they are totally different animals, that's why I'm wondering what the best (if any) compromises are out there. I currently hunt with a Browning A Bolt Medallion in .300 WSM. It has knocked down every deer I've taken with it, but honestly, it is just plain no fun for me to shoot off the bench for more than a few rounds at a time (read as big recoil vs whimpy shoulder
 
What you could do is keep your current deer rifle for hunting deer, and buy a 6.5-something for long range bench work. You could do it for under your $1500 budget, even with glass.

Or are you wanting to sell your current rifle and only have one to do both?
 
Lightweight barrels can be amazingly accurate. The one caveat is that you really need to keep the barrel cool. I have a Savage 30-06 with lightweight barrel that will stack bullets in the same hole at 100 yards if you keep the barrel cool but let it warm up and the POI starts walking. My model 12, on the other hand, doesn't care what the barrel temp is. It will put 40 rounds under a dime.

For what you are wanting and with your budget, I would probably look for a used rifle and have it rebarreled with a high end barrel in a magnum contour. Something a little bit heavier than a true sporter but certainly not as heavy as a varmint barrel.
 
"...is there something off the shelf..." There's actually hordes of 'em. Kimber, Ruger, Browning, Howa, somebody called Chri$ten$en Arm$(their prices are waaay higher than your budget.) and Savage all make a 6.5 with and without a heavy barreled hunting rifle.
 
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