No I am not set on the Creedmoore, I legitimately asked a question and thus far I have received no better answer then the 6.5, My issue with the Creedmoore is that few rifles chamber it in contrast to the 308 of 7mm-08 which are also good choices. If only Browning chambered it in the X-Bolt or Winchester in their 70, or Kimber in their Montana.....Ah I guess I will have to wait. In the mean time I have a 6.5x55 and 7mm-08 which have served me very well.
King of deer calibers?
- Thread starter Kachok
- Start date
Pathfinder45
New member
Cartridges like 270 Winchester, 6mm Remington and 300 H&H typically feed more smoothly from the magazine than those that are more like an Ackley or WSM in their profile.
reynolds357
New member
Pathfinder, you can make almost anything feed well from a magazine if you have it designed correctly. About the only thing I have never been able to work out to my satisfaction is the WSSM's.
I fully admit to not reading through all 7 pages of this, but I did read through several and thought I would throw in on it.
In your initial post, based upon the table you presented I would choose the 25-06. The reasons are several. In my case I have a ton of once fired '06 cases in which to neck down. This makes things cheaper to keep on hand, and it is VERY easy to distinguish between the two should they all end up mixed in the bottom of my ammo box. Next it has a very mild recoil for a caliber which can use close to 60gr of powder. Even with top loads my daughter at 9yrs old, and my oldest grandson when he was that age had no issues putting it to task on thier bucks. For me it has reached out to over 400yds and put everything I took aim on, down with no issues. Accuracy has been phenonimal with the one we have. I have used a 115gr Partition as the general load for 20 something years. It leaves the barrel at around 3150fps and the drop at 400yds is around 18-19", and fits the Leupold duplex retical almost perfectly at that range. Simply put the top of the bottom post where you want the bullet to go and let her fly.
As to the efficiency, well I think that is somewhat of a broad comparrison. Not that by using 30grs of powder to get the same basic performance as using 50 isn't efficient, but just like some who prefer a 38 over the 357, it simply is to me a personal thing. I'm not, at least at this time in my life, overly concerned with the added powder to get where I want to be. In the recoil aspect, yes I CAN see where less is better with everything else being similar. There again though, to some recoil is an issue where to others it isn't.
Ok so I am a bit biased towards the 25, in fact I built the Ackley version for myself and passed the standard one over to my daughter. Still though I am running the 120gr bullets in it, and again my oldest grandson just recently used it to drop his first 10pt buck at just over 300yds. It is using a LOT of Ramshot Magnum along with a 28" barrel to make a VERY flat shooting rifle. Yes it WAS built to reach out and touch things a fer piece out, but I have also laid waste to a bunch of hogs up as close as 30' with it. (I thought they were pretty dumb to stick around under the fallen tree, but took full advantage of it.)
Before I built it I looked over a LOT of things, one of which was the 6.5x55 and the .26-08 before it was the .260. I thought of going with a short action, and something which would work with a 120-140gr bullet, and around 40grs of powder. The bullet selection is huge in this caliber, but after listing everything out I simply couldn't justify it due to already having a M96 in 6.5 and the .308. So, I looked at the .257's and decided that the Roy was simply too expensive for my taste anyway, and that I wanted just a touch more than the standard version 25-06. I had the breech cut longer to allow it to be set back should i toast the throat, or possibly want to rechamber to the standard version.
All this said though, I fully believe as mentioned that choosing a "best" among the long list of main, and sub calibers derived from them is about as easy as picking THE best vehicle that would suit everyones needs. While gas milage might be wonderful in a sub compact, pulling my tractor down the road with a Hyundai is a whole differnt thing. My 1 ton might not get the best milage, but it is the tool I need for the job. After all, choosing the proper tool for the intended job IS what we are talking about in the long run, right?
In your initial post, based upon the table you presented I would choose the 25-06. The reasons are several. In my case I have a ton of once fired '06 cases in which to neck down. This makes things cheaper to keep on hand, and it is VERY easy to distinguish between the two should they all end up mixed in the bottom of my ammo box. Next it has a very mild recoil for a caliber which can use close to 60gr of powder. Even with top loads my daughter at 9yrs old, and my oldest grandson when he was that age had no issues putting it to task on thier bucks. For me it has reached out to over 400yds and put everything I took aim on, down with no issues. Accuracy has been phenonimal with the one we have. I have used a 115gr Partition as the general load for 20 something years. It leaves the barrel at around 3150fps and the drop at 400yds is around 18-19", and fits the Leupold duplex retical almost perfectly at that range. Simply put the top of the bottom post where you want the bullet to go and let her fly.
As to the efficiency, well I think that is somewhat of a broad comparrison. Not that by using 30grs of powder to get the same basic performance as using 50 isn't efficient, but just like some who prefer a 38 over the 357, it simply is to me a personal thing. I'm not, at least at this time in my life, overly concerned with the added powder to get where I want to be. In the recoil aspect, yes I CAN see where less is better with everything else being similar. There again though, to some recoil is an issue where to others it isn't.
Ok so I am a bit biased towards the 25, in fact I built the Ackley version for myself and passed the standard one over to my daughter. Still though I am running the 120gr bullets in it, and again my oldest grandson just recently used it to drop his first 10pt buck at just over 300yds. It is using a LOT of Ramshot Magnum along with a 28" barrel to make a VERY flat shooting rifle. Yes it WAS built to reach out and touch things a fer piece out, but I have also laid waste to a bunch of hogs up as close as 30' with it. (I thought they were pretty dumb to stick around under the fallen tree, but took full advantage of it.)
Before I built it I looked over a LOT of things, one of which was the 6.5x55 and the .26-08 before it was the .260. I thought of going with a short action, and something which would work with a 120-140gr bullet, and around 40grs of powder. The bullet selection is huge in this caliber, but after listing everything out I simply couldn't justify it due to already having a M96 in 6.5 and the .308. So, I looked at the .257's and decided that the Roy was simply too expensive for my taste anyway, and that I wanted just a touch more than the standard version 25-06. I had the breech cut longer to allow it to be set back should i toast the throat, or possibly want to rechamber to the standard version.
All this said though, I fully believe as mentioned that choosing a "best" among the long list of main, and sub calibers derived from them is about as easy as picking THE best vehicle that would suit everyones needs. While gas milage might be wonderful in a sub compact, pulling my tractor down the road with a Hyundai is a whole differnt thing. My 1 ton might not get the best milage, but it is the tool I need for the job. After all, choosing the proper tool for the intended job IS what we are talking about in the long run, right?
Kachok
Actually, a .50 BMG does exactly what your ""magic" caliber" smiting insinuates. The damage to any tissue (or 8" thick granite even more so) is impressive. Blood trail? More like an extended high volume pool with the prize very close by. High risk for what's behind the target, but an extremity hit is often as good as a head or vital organ or COM shot.
And 500 yards for many high power shooters is very doable. Ammo is relatively affordable (particularly compared to Lapua and other 'precision' rounds.
If "king" is the number of hunters using a particular round, you're back to a 30-30 or 30.06 as far as North America goes. If it's "smite everything" you left out the BMG. If you're trying to justify a Creedmore, just go buy it.
Actually, a .50 BMG does exactly what your ""magic" caliber" smiting insinuates. The damage to any tissue (or 8" thick granite even more so) is impressive. Blood trail? More like an extended high volume pool with the prize very close by. High risk for what's behind the target, but an extremity hit is often as good as a head or vital organ or COM shot.
And 500 yards for many high power shooters is very doable. Ammo is relatively affordable (particularly compared to Lapua and other 'precision' rounds.
If "king" is the number of hunters using a particular round, you're back to a 30-30 or 30.06 as far as North America goes. If it's "smite everything" you left out the BMG. If you're trying to justify a Creedmore, just go buy it.
Reasons NOT to buy a 50 BMG.
1. Nothing screams I anger management issues like using an anti armor round on a freaking deer.
2. 50lbs hunting rifle.
3. 4 foot long hunting rifle.
4. 200+gr of powder per shot.
5. Cannot fit the brass into my reloading press.
6. 750gr bullets won't even slow down on deer sized game, likely to hit someones house next state over.
7. Cannot take a shot over the hood in open pasture, darn muzzle blast off one of those spade bits will crack a windshield, don't ask me how I know.
Guess am not cool enough to hunt with a 50, or maybe the memory of having to tote around a M2 Browning on foot has left me scared for life, don't want a 50 cal and sure don't need one, I leave that to the hardcore preppers, anti government militias and mall ninjas.
Oh and BTW I have seen a deer run off after a solid hit by a 50 BMG, they are no magic pill either, made it about 200 yards before bedding down hardly the dramatic result you expect form 13,000 fpe.
1. Nothing screams I anger management issues like using an anti armor round on a freaking deer.
2. 50lbs hunting rifle.
3. 4 foot long hunting rifle.
4. 200+gr of powder per shot.
5. Cannot fit the brass into my reloading press.
6. 750gr bullets won't even slow down on deer sized game, likely to hit someones house next state over.
7. Cannot take a shot over the hood in open pasture, darn muzzle blast off one of those spade bits will crack a windshield, don't ask me how I know.
Guess am not cool enough to hunt with a 50, or maybe the memory of having to tote around a M2 Browning on foot has left me scared for life, don't want a 50 cal and sure don't need one, I leave that to the hardcore preppers, anti government militias and mall ninjas.
Oh and BTW I have seen a deer run off after a solid hit by a 50 BMG, they are no magic pill either, made it about 200 yards before bedding down hardly the dramatic result you expect form 13,000 fpe.
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