suitable calibres?

[gossy 3]

hi all.

 

some advice would be really appreciated.

 

soon to be purchasing a deer calibred rifle.this rifles only purpose will be for deerstalking and therfore maximum range will be 200 yards.although a flat shooting round with good balistics would be nice for target shooting. i have experience shooting 243,25.06,270 and 30.06 on deer and would like something bigger than the 243. my reason for putting this on this page is that i will be reloading my own ammunition for it and was wondering about best calibres and cost effectiveness of reloading each.

 

although i know iam asking alot of it i have always wanted to shoot foreign game and could see this gun being used for this in the distant future.

 

is there a calibre that meets this criteria??

 

thankyou in advance for any answers.

 

gossy

[HUnter_zero 58]

Simple, .308 for over all cheapness.

 

John

[waidmann 105]

if you are thinking of shooting in france then 30 06 and .308 will not be allowed(i believe transit is a problem through france,as with ALL war calibers).

 

i have shot sika with the .270 and was very pleased with the results

 

anything above 6.5mm and over 2000 joule is ok for all "high game" (all deer except roe, and boar) in germany.

roe need 5.5 mm and 1000 joule.

 

as an overall the .270 would be the one for me(unless i have missed it being used in a war?).

 

i have always shot 30 06 for all game (185 gr silvertip) and been very impressed with the results,roe hardly any damage(soft shoulder shot being my preferance)

fallow/red the same.

pigs have always been stopped NEAR the "poi", those that have run on have left good sign.

 

fox doesn't like them at all

 

 

waidmann

[gossy 3]

thank you for the advice.

 

clearly a 308 is worth looking into and considering.

 

thankyou waidmann i have used a 270 before and have also found it a really nice calibre!

 

anyone any ideas about homeloading this round?

 

gossy

[provarmint 25]

For me it would be the .308 Win, but an alternative is the 7mm08, similar weights but better ballistics of 7mm bullets

[flytie 1]

For me it would be the .308 Win, but an alternative is the 7mm08, similar weights but better ballistics of 7mm bullets

 

:stupid:

 

I have just applied for a variation so i can buy a 7mm-08.

 

If you want something with more oomph for plainsgame in africa the 30-06 is popular. But as has been said some european countries will not allow military calibres, so you could try a 7mm Win Mag or one of the Weatherby's. Maybe the 300 Weatherby Magnum, if your shoulder is up to it.

 

ft

[coldweld 65]

I was looking for a better deer caliber a couple of years ago, I have a .308 but the rifle is very heavy and not pleasent for walked woodland shooting.

I was advised to try 6.5 x 08 and can say i am so glad that i did.

My other choices were 6.5 x 55 or 25.06 both exelent rounds with IMO the 6.5 has the edge but i prefer the short action of .308 family i also use .22-250 .

I would also have tried 7 x 08 but had the chance to try one and never got on with the bark and bite of the .270.

 

ATB coldweld

[quicksilver 0]

Excellent topic and answers some of my questions as well. Is it exceptable to shoot boar with a 6.5 x55. I am torn between 308 and 6.5x55 at the moment, I would like a single rifle for deer etc and boar if I ever get the chance, so I sm tending towards the 308

[flytie 1]

Excellent topic and answers some of my questions as well. Is it exceptable to shoot boar with a 6.5 x55. I am torn between 308 and 6.5x55 at the moment, I would like a single rifle for deer etc and boar if I ever get the chance, so I sm tending towards the 308

 

QS, If you want to shoot boar in England you are unlikely to be granted boar on your FAC if you have a 6.5x55, the Defra wallah's have deemed .270 to be the minimum calibre and unfortunately the police FEO's tend to follow their advice.

 

I can tell you that a 156gn Oryx will drop a boar, hundreds of boar are shot on the continent using 6.5's, but we can't A .308 is a good choice, as would a 30-06, but you might find problems taking a "military" calibre to some european countries.

 

7mm is regarded as the minimum in some countries, meaning the 7mm-08 is a good choice as it is a non military calibre.

 

ft

[gossy 3]

hi all thanks again for your inputs.

 

this 7mmo8 certainly seems to be a good option.

 

my only worry about this calibre is that i have always been told to get a long lasting popular calibre such as 270 308 or 3006. i may well be wrong here but the 7mmo8 just seems a more modern cartridge that could just as easy go out of fashion. how is bullet availability with this calibre??

 

gossy

[provarmint 25]

7mm brass is available to buy, or you can neck down .308 brass, big selection of bullets from all major manufacturers.

[gossy 3]

7mm brass is available to buy, or you can neck down .308 brass, big selection of bullets from all major manufacturers.

 

brilliant!! thankyou.

[danebrewer10 6]

if you are going to be home loading then i'd go with something like the 6.5x55, as you can load as light as 60 or so grains and go as heavy as 150 or more, I have a friend who shoots 120gn norma ballistic tips through his sako and he say they are the business for everything here in the southeast, as you're homeloading you can get so much versatility out of the calibre, plus I think that .308 and .30-06 really are a bit much for the smaller deer species, even with fallow, and you're not going to be able to shoot far enough with the .25-06 for the flat shooting characteristics to shine through...

or as others have said the 7mm-08 would be a good choice plus you're always going to be able to get 7mm bullets as the big 7mm magnum calibers are popular in the states, or you could take a peek at the .260 remington, or 6.5-08 or whatever you want to call it, great selection of bullets, plus mild recoil from what I hear and will do the business at all of the ranges you say....

 

still the decision is up to you!

DB

[bobblehat 0]

For plenty of knock down power, flat shooting, low recoil, excellent ballistics, cheap(ish) to re-load, good for all uk deer species and fox..................7mil-08

[allydog 4]

I love my .243 but .270 all the way for what your after