Short Barrel Ranch Rifle Cartridge Choice

[wind gypsy]

Edit to actually respond to OP - 18" 6 Creedmoor on a tikka shoots factory sig 107 SMKs around 2790. 108 ELDm is in the same ballpark. I bought a few cases of the sig stuff at around $1.35 ea and it has done great. Probably wouldn't be my first choice for terminal performance though, the 108 ELDm or 103 ELDx would probably do a better job but are not on sale as cheap typically.

The minimum barrel length to get 100% powder burn out of a 6.5CM is 21", and the smaller Creedmoor calibers like .25cal, 6mm and 22 cal will need longer barrels. If you want to go shorter than 21", the 308Win will be best if you want maximum energy on target and are okay with a bit of recoil. If you want low recoil and okay with less energy on target, then .223.

100% Powder burn in my opinion is the most under discussed topic in rifle shooting at the moment. If you are not burning 100% of the powder, you are just creating additional recoil for absolutely no benefit. At the same time you have lower accuracy potential and fouling up suppressors more than need be.

Companies are constantly following what the market wants, not needs. Hence the reason you see so many sub 24" magnum rifles out there.

If my 18" 6 Creed only burns 95% of the power and that means 2 grains of powder didn't fully burn, why should I care? It's shooting 0.270+ g7 BC bullets faster than a bigger bore and same/similar case will, with less recoil, plenty adequate precision, and more than adequate terminal performance. I'll take that every day over extra recoil, lesser external ballistics, and a quickload profile that says all my powder burned.

 

[Guns&WhiteWater]

16” 308 with 125 NBT’s is hard to beat. Or 130 Hammers. Or 168 ELDM’s. Take your pick with a 308.

Having said that, I still prefer my 20” 6.5x47 for about everything.

 

[XP1K]

16” 308 with 125 NBT’s is hard to beat. Or 130 Hammers. Or 168 ELDM’s. Take your pick with a 308.

Having said that, I still prefer my 20” 6.5x47 for about everything.

Care to share your load for the 125's ?

 

[RBell24]

Here's some factory ammo from Nosler: https://www.armorally.com/nosler-308-win-125gr-ballistic-tip-hunting-ammunition-20ct/

 

[BurtG]

Hornady makes 110s also

 

[RBell24]

Grind Hard also has some 115 controlled chaos. I've been using it in a 12" 308 and it doesn't group incredibly well, but it has an aimpoint on it and most of the stuff I'm shooting is out of a truck window and within 50 yards or so, where minute of pig is good enough.

 

[Guns&WhiteWater]

Care to share your load for the 125's ?

I can check the exact load when I get home, but I use a max charge of 748 (for speed of reloading), LC brass, and whatever LR primers I have on hand since GM210’s have been scarce. Getting around 2800ish from my factory 16” barrel at +/- one MOA. Never have had to take a follow up shot on a whitetail with the NBT bullet.

 

[TheJeanyus]

I shot my first whitetail with a 125 gr Ballistic Tip from a Remington 700 Classic in 308. 75ish yards, took the top of the heart off, and what was left of the bullet (the jacket) stopped on the hide on the off-side. Since I hunt in fairly thick Alabama woods, I prefer an exit wound generally to get a better blood trail...but it certainly worked.

 

[diggler1833]

The 165gr Nosler BT out of a .308 was my "go-to" deer bullet for several years. I still have zero complaints about it. It went 9 for 9 on whitetails, and four of those were hard angle spine shots. It comes apart for sure, but I usually got an exit from the core at least.

*******

If pigs are on the menu, I've only killed - a lot - with an 18" .308. Pick a cheap 150gr soft point or SST and put it where it needs to be. However, I've had fantastic results with the 165gr and 180gr soft points too... but my sample size is limited to about a dozen hogs each... not exactly enough for me to be 100% confident in.

********

Really, a lot of overthinking is going into this (and I'm guilty of that too on multiple occasions). Any .308 or 6.5 CM, or even 6.5 Grendel based case with an appropriately selected bullet - put into the correct place on an animal - will kill with efficiency. Most of us like arguing though for the sake of it and your choice is obviously inferior to theirs because they spend more time on the forums... beating their peckers and eating cheetos in between schooling us on ballistics... and then they wonder why they have an orange dick.

 

[BurtG]

9

 

[tacoman69]

18-20 in 6cm prefit (108 ELDM 103 eldx) or rebarrel with a 20" 8 twist 243 Tikka take off (95 NBT, 90 ELDX 95 SST)). Spotting shots easier in 6mm vs 308 and everyone shoots less recoil better. The new threaded Tikka takeoffs are already on eBay and JA outdoors.

 

[XP1K]

I can check the exact load when I get home, but I use a max charge of 748 (for speed of reloading), LC brass, and whatever LR primers I have on hand since GM210’s have been scarce. Getting around 2800ish from my factory 16” barrel at +/- one MOA. Never have had to take a follow up shot on a whitetail with the NBT bullet.

I imagine that's a pretty good speed for that bullet and shooting whitetail. A buddy of mine humped up the 110 vmax over 3k and shot a whitetail doe straight on in the chest. Not a shot I'd have taken. It just splashed on impact and she ran to the next county. She was recovered though.

The 110 varmegeddon in a blackout is a deer slayer also. I wouldn't want to shoot it much faster than that though.

 

[Guns&WhiteWater]

Agreed. Pretty much any sensible bullet can take deer size game and down. I just like the 308 for the times when I know I will be losing brass, like when shooting from my tree stand. I don’t have any cheap brass for my x47 or 22 GT unfortunately, and I hate combing through leaves to find Lapua and Alpha OCD

 

[SRPowah]

I had a 16" 6.5CM, stepped up to a 18.5" to get a little extra velocity, and now just placed an order for another 16" 6.5CM barrel for a new light weight build. Over the years, I have had three 20" .308s.

If you aren't reloading and going short short, i think its a toss up between those two. Its easier to find a variety of 308 loads in any store I've been in. I find the 6.5CM easier and more enjoyable to shoot.

Personally I don't think you can go wrong with any of the options you were considering. Just figure out if you want to compromise with lighter weight bullets to get velocity, or go heavy with more of a lob.

 

[Wiley2019]

I placed my order for a 16.5” 6.5CM from preferred. The reasoning that went into it is after all these comments, it became clear that any option would work. Planning to run the 123SST loads but if I’m in a pinch, I’ve got a ton of 140eldm and 143eldx in my ammo stash for other guns. Made more sense than stocking up on another cartridge even if what I have isn’t exactly the bullet I plan to use primarily. As much as I wanted to build something different because I like variety, I kept coming back to the conclusion that the 6.5 just made sense for my goals with the rifle.