Which cartridge to buy....

C

CoyoteHunter5

New member
Hey guys, so the opportunity has come up for me to do some traveling to Alberta Canada to go Coyote hunting, and to South Dakota and North Dakota to take down a few Pronghorn and prairie dogs (which is a bucketlist item of mine). Now, I currently have a Savage Axis XP with a boyds gun stock and a customized trigger with a 3 lbs. pull, in .22-250. I do my own reloading, and I have even bought new brass and created my own loads. I used to own a Mossberg 100 ATR in .308 because I was on a budget. Now, I am not on as on a tight budget, and would be willing to spend up to $800 for a nice rifle. My question is what rifle do I buy in what cartridge? I need power to reach and take down possibly a Pronhorn in the Dakota's or an Elk up in Michigan, and I also need the distance. I've considered an FN Sporterized 8mm Mauser, but I am not familiar with the cartridge. Once again, I do my own loads so cartridge price isn't a factor. Thank you!
 
There are a few that would be acceptable, but they are all Winchester model 70's with the large, Mauser-style extractor for Controlled-Round-Feeding: The classic Sporter or Featherweight in 270 Winchester, and the Alaskan in 30-'06 Springfield. The Alaskan is a nice rifle but only comes in heavy magnum calibers and 30-'06. The 270 Winchester is probably a better choice for your listed needs, but a 30-'06 is never a handicap either. Big game hunters that occasionally shoot varmints would be well served to use their main hunting rifle for the job as it will keep them in excellent readiness for the bigger stuff too. Oh, I almost forgot, Walnut stocks will do, guys. Life is too short to be dragging all the plastic-fantastic stuff everywhere. When we go to the wilderness to hunt, we have a wonderful opportunity to leave the modern world behind, even if only for a little while. Don't waste it. Hunt like it's 1940. Well, pre-'64, anyway.
 
Well in North Dakota your .22-250 is legal, in South Dakota you're only required to have a rifle that has 1000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. So guess what your .22-250 is legal again. I'm not trying to stop you from buying another rifle, but I don't think if you have a good shooting .22-250 your handicapped by using it.
 
A 243 will be big enough for any of the game listed. If you want to go bigger the 6.5 Creedmore is really coming on strong right now. It'll take anything from elk on down out to 300-400 yards with trajectory that will match a 300 WM and with very little recoil. Of course the 308 is a valid option, just bigger than really needed.

I haven't hunted with a wood stocked rifle since 1983. Got tired of all of the issues.
 
If you want to shoot distance, an 8Mauser is definitely not Ideal.
.25-06
.270 Win or WSM
6.5 Creed
6.5 X 284
.280 Remington
7 Rem Mag or WSM
.243 Winchester or WSSM

.22-250 that you have shooting a Gilding metal bullet.
 
If I go with a .270, or a .25-06, which would get me the flatter trajectory. I have a fetish for long range varmint kills. I also did some looking into the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 6.5-284. Interesting.... What about those rounds?
 
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You should plan to do ALL your loading if you select the 6.5C or 6.5/284. The 6.5/284 is a real rocket BUT 90+% of the time you won't need or use all that power. I'm a 25/06 fan for both coyotes and deer and I've seen it kill a couple of elk. In my opinion, the 25/06 is far better as an all-round cartridge than a .270.
 
You have expanded your original requirements a bit, since you are now including elk. What is your actual chance of getting a Michigan elk tag? You've also included a budget now, is that $800 for just the rifle or does it include optics as well?

I'd say hunt the Dakotas with your .22-250 since it is perfectly capable of killing pronghorn as well as any deer you'll come across. If elk is a real possibility in the near future then focus on that rifle, if it's not then work on your long range varmint rifle. I'd focus on the more common varmint cartridges, for the simple fact you won't easily find a 6.5-284 within your budget.

While most cartridges will cleanly kill an elk, I'd focus on the tried and true standards like the .270 Win, .308 Win, .30-06, or a 7mm Rem Mag. These will get the job done on elk time after time and you'll have a hard time finding anything that will work better. For long range varmints I'd look at the .243 Win, .260 Rem, and the 6.5 Creedmoor before I went for something like the 6.5-284. Though simply adding a faster twist barrel to your .22-250 will take care of the LR varmints just as well.
 
The 270 carries more weight with velocity than the 25-06. The 270 has more available ammo choices at better prices, but both are better with good handloads. The 25-05 is perhaps preferred by some long range varmint hunters, while the 270 will be preferred to the 25-06 by more big game hunters. For the intended purpose, they both will work with the correct bullets for the job. I'm thinking the 270 should be a better choice for Elk......
 
I noted that you're from Ohio. The odds of receiving non-resident antelope licenses for both of the Dakotas is quite amazing to me. Very few non-resident licenses available for this species within these states. Elk in Michigan is another amazing license to receive. With luck like this you should buy a lottery ticket.

Jack
 
I guess I didn't do very much research into it. The elk in Michigan was just a for instance. But there is a good chance I'll be able to go to Alberta Canada to hunt there but not sure of what at this point. As for the pronghorn, I understood it would be expensive to buy a license, I didn't know there was an application process or something for that. But at this point, I for sure am going to South Dakota for prairie dogs and coyotes. As for the rifle, $800 is without optics. I found a nice Weatherby Vanguard in .25-06 that may take the ticket.
 
Long range speed goats: .243 win and .25'-06 rem are a couple of best bets. (perhaps a smidge more ethical / effective than the .22-250, depending on twist rate and bullet selection)

But a .270 win is perfect for all that PLUS elk. .270 win or .280 rem are the two ideal ones if you're trying to cover all those bases. Me, I like .280 a bit more but they're almost the same.

Rifle...there's lots of good ones, but yeah, does $800 include optics or not?

.25-06 is enough for elk, yes, in my view, but check state regs - there *may* be a couple states that require a minimum bigger than .25 cal.
 
Prairie dogs and coyotes screams .204 Ruger or .223, I would not go up to a .25-06 if prairie dogs are on the menu. You want a light recoiling round like the two I mentioned above, the .25-06 will cause shooter fatigue to set in quickly and will ruin your day in a prairie dog town. .25-06 is okay for the occasional vermin, but it isn't an all day shooter like the .204 and .223.

If small varmints are the main target of choice add a good rimfire like the .17 HMR to the mix as well. I've spent a lot of time in prairie dog towns over the years and wouldn't go without taking one of my rimfire rifles, a .223, and possibly my .243. The .243 only gets used on the dogs waayyy out there, but it could easily be substituted for a .22-250.
 
That's all exactly right. Bottom line, building on that, you're better off doing one of the following:

1. Dedicated "elk and larger" rig, of .270 win or bigger, and stick with the .22-250 for all other purposes described, or
2. Better yet, get that .25-'06 you like for pronghorn, AND a larger elk rifle later on, and keep the .22-250.

But I wanted to add - if you want the .204 ruger, by all means, get a .204 Ruger! IMO, it *does* add something to the mix - it has a real niche that is substantially justified - essentially, you get the trajectory of a .22-250 but with the same or less recoil than the .223 rem. Or another way to look at it is, almost the laser-ness of a .17 Rem, without so much bore fouling.

The tradeoff is ammo cost, which can be eliminated with handloading. The .223 rem is always a good choice for what you describe, but many report that they are ecstatic with their .204 Rugers, particularly in the area of 'being able to see the hit through the scope before recoil knocks your view off', which is reportedly better with .204 than .223 rem - just due to using a 30 grainer instead of a 50 grainer, let's say.
 
"...able to go to Alberta, Canada..." That'll require a bit of pre-planning. And $25 plus the cost of an AB non-resident hunting licence.
And:
"Non-resident Alien hunters of big game, wolf and coyote must be accompanied by a licensed guide or a Hunter Host."
"Wildlife Identification Number) and a Wildlife Certificate, which costs $28.22."
And $12.40 plus 5% tax for the actual non-resident wolf/coyote hunting licence.
Go here. http://www.albertaregulations.ca/huntingregs/
And here. http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/visit-visite-eng.htm
 
Yeah I would be accompanied in Canada by one of my dad's business friends. They actually offered my dad to take him and I at some point. And I think I will go for that Weatherby in .25-06 but I would like something with a heavy barrel if at all possible. The $800 is before optics. I don't care how much I spend on optics to be honest
 
I'm trying to follow this. Let's see if I have it right. You currently have a 22-250 and a .308 that you don't sound to fond of. You are looking for a new gun to hunt a variety from prarie dogs to elk.

Are you selling the ones you now have to buy this new rifle?

It seems to me you would be better suited to keep the 22-250 for varmints and mid size, sell the .308, and then get something you like that is suitable for deer up to elk or bear like 270, 308, 30-06, 7mm Mag, etc.
 
TimSr. No I had a Mossberg in .308 and it sucked, so I traded it straight up for the Savage axis I currently have in .22-250 and at this point I make enough money where I could literally buy a Browning X-Bolt in one paycheck. So cost isn't much of a factor
 
IMO the .25-06 is never the best choice for long range shooting and I love quarter bores. I figure long range as anything beyond 600 yards. I own a .25-06 as well as two .250 Savages and they are at home with shorter to mid ranges. There really aren't the best bullets for the .25-06 to reach beyond 600 yards, that doesn't mean you can't use it for longer range work. I'm just saying there are better choices for of bullets in the 6, 6.5, and 7mm's if you're truly thinking long range.
 
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