Hey yall. Im building me a new rifle and i want either a 300 win mag or 6.5x284. Im going to be shooting it anywhere from 50 yards to 1000 yards. Ill be hunting whitetail deer and shooting steel with it. I would like to see what yall have to say about them compared to each other. this will be much appreciated. Thank you.
- Thread starter TANNER THRASH
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Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
You say you will be shooting it at up to 1000 but will you also plan on learning to hunt with it up to that or will hunting be done at closer ranges? If you were just hunting out to say 500 or so (rough guesstimate) I would go with the 6.5 just for the recoil. There are also many bullets out there for the 6.5 well suited to hunting and target shooting. I personally use a 300 winmag but do not hunt with it yet. If I was to do the build again I would have gone with a 6.5 as that was my original intent but went with the 300 over concern for barrel wear. Don't worry about barrel wear just shoot till your smith says the barrel is toast and get another.
You say you will be shooting it at up to 1000 but will you also plan on learning to hunt with it up to that or will hunting be done at closer ranges? If you were just hunting out to say 500 or so (rough guesstimate) I would go with the 6.5 just for the recoil. There are also many bullets out there for the 6.5 well suited to hunting and target shooting. I personally use a 300 winmag but do not hunt with it yet. If I was to do the build again I would have gone with a 6.5 as that was my original intent but went with the 300 over concern for barrel wear. Don't worry about barrel wear just shoot till your smith says the barrel is toast and get another.
Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
Unless of course you cant afford rebarreling it every so often, or dont want to.
Unless of course you cant afford rebarreling it every so often, or dont want to.
Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
Why that choice? What narrows your selection down to those two? The 300WM is, IMO, overkill for deer. It's more than capable at 1K and with reloads can be awesome.
6.5x284? You're taking a target wildcat and making it a hunting round, a round one could argue is too much for deer. Factory ammo will either be impossible to find or extremely expensive. So you're forced to reload.
If your only goals is to hunt and shoot out to 1K there are many other extremely viable options that are more than capable of meeting those criterion.
BTW, IMO, I wouldn't recommend hunting out past 400 yards.
Why that choice? What narrows your selection down to those two? The 300WM is, IMO, overkill for deer. It's more than capable at 1K and with reloads can be awesome.
6.5x284? You're taking a target wildcat and making it a hunting round, a round one could argue is too much for deer. Factory ammo will either be impossible to find or extremely expensive. So you're forced to reload.
If your only goals is to hunt and shoot out to 1K there are many other extremely viable options that are more than capable of meeting those criterion.
BTW, IMO, I wouldn't recommend hunting out past 400 yards.
Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
Best of both worlds if you don't reload is a 6.5x55 or a 260. Plus you can buy factory ammo. I agree with the above statement about shooting animals at longrange.
I have shot the barrels out of a couple of each of the calibers you were talking about and both are great rounds but I really prefer the 260 or the 6.5x55 for what you want. Plus the barrels will last twice as long as your choices and they are much more pleasant to shoot.
Best of both worlds if you don't reload is a 6.5x55 or a 260. Plus you can buy factory ammo. I agree with the above statement about shooting animals at longrange.
I have shot the barrels out of a couple of each of the calibers you were talking about and both are great rounds but I really prefer the 260 or the 6.5x55 for what you want. Plus the barrels will last twice as long as your choices and they are much more pleasant to shoot.
Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
I'd be inclined to get a .300. If you're hunting at long range, the extra energy will be beneficial. Can you kill a whitetail with less than a .300 win mag? Sure, people do it all the time at all sorts of different ranges. But the .300 gives you a little more room for error. I have yet to see a deer killed too dead. Can you chose the wrong bullets and cause a lot of extra damage to the meat? You bet, but you can do that with any cartridge out there too.
I've got a .264 win mag I deer hunt with and I think it's a great cartridge for whitetails and other similarly built animals, but Im not inclined to push the ranges past 500 yards on game animals. Until I have some more experience with it, I'm not overly inclined to shoot anything heavier than a large hog at extended range. With a .300, if I knew I could make a good shot, I wouldn't be worried about it.
I'd be inclined to get a .300. If you're hunting at long range, the extra energy will be beneficial. Can you kill a whitetail with less than a .300 win mag? Sure, people do it all the time at all sorts of different ranges. But the .300 gives you a little more room for error. I have yet to see a deer killed too dead. Can you chose the wrong bullets and cause a lot of extra damage to the meat? You bet, but you can do that with any cartridge out there too.
I've got a .264 win mag I deer hunt with and I think it's a great cartridge for whitetails and other similarly built animals, but Im not inclined to push the ranges past 500 yards on game animals. Until I have some more experience with it, I'm not overly inclined to shoot anything heavier than a large hog at extended range. With a .300, if I knew I could make a good shot, I wouldn't be worried about it.
Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
Sounds to me like he needs a 338-378 Wby. You can get factory ammo for it, and it is totally baddass. The baddassedest.
Sounds to me like he needs a 338-378 Wby. You can get factory ammo for it, and it is totally baddass. The baddassedest.
Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
I vote for the 300, but I like the RUM better then the Win. And there's no such thing as over kill, there either dead or you missed. So buy a good rifle and only cry once.
I vote for the 300, but I like the RUM better then the Win. And there's no such thing as over kill, there either dead or you missed. So buy a good rifle and only cry once.
Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
Considering what you said youll use it for, Id opt for like a previous poster said and go with the 6.5x55 or the 260. Both are very capable of 1000 yard targets..and lets be honest here, white tail deer are about the easiest game to kill.
Hell, I could hide behind a tree, jump out and scream and scare a white tail to death. Id personally go with the 260 rem. awesome 6.5 bullets but without the extreme price and rarity of the 6.5x284...If you decide on the 65x284 then start reloading if you dont.
Also remember that the 6.5x55 and 260 can be used to bring down much bigger game than white tail. Swedes been taking moose forever with the 6.5x55. I use a 270 for elk
Considering what you said youll use it for, Id opt for like a previous poster said and go with the 6.5x55 or the 260. Both are very capable of 1000 yard targets..and lets be honest here, white tail deer are about the easiest game to kill.
Hell, I could hide behind a tree, jump out and scream and scare a white tail to death. Id personally go with the 260 rem. awesome 6.5 bullets but without the extreme price and rarity of the 6.5x284...If you decide on the 65x284 then start reloading if you dont.
Also remember that the 6.5x55 and 260 can be used to bring down much bigger game than white tail. Swedes been taking moose forever with the 6.5x55. I use a 270 for elk
Re: 300 win mag vs 6.5x284
I went ahead and bought a 300WM, put a good barrel on it, and I'm working on a load for white tail this year. My thinking was, as has aleardy been said, it will give me a larger margin of error at extended range, and I can also use the same rifle to hunt elk and bear so I wont have to buy a new rifle for that. Trying to get the most versatility out of a single package. I dont have any exp with the 6.5, but I just wanted to pass on my opinion as to why 300. as long as it shoots straight, and you like it, you cant possibly go wrong.
I went ahead and bought a 300WM, put a good barrel on it, and I'm working on a load for white tail this year. My thinking was, as has aleardy been said, it will give me a larger margin of error at extended range, and I can also use the same rifle to hunt elk and bear so I wont have to buy a new rifle for that. Trying to get the most versatility out of a single package. I dont have any exp with the 6.5, but I just wanted to pass on my opinion as to why 300. as long as it shoots straight, and you like it, you cant possibly go wrong.
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