Help me choose a round

[Surgikill]

Alright guys, I'm looking to build a new rifle. I'm debating what round to get it chambered in. I want to use it for varmint hunting out to 1k, as well as some target shooting. I also want decent barrel life (~4.5k). The rounds I am considering are: 6mmbr, 280ai, 7mm-08, .284 win, .308 win, .260 rem. Tell me what you would prefer and any disadvantages/advantages of each round.

 

[Xshot]

I'm very happy with my 7mm-08 AI. It sports a Stiller Predator SA and a 23" Rock Creek #4 fluted barrel (heavy sport contour). It sits in a bedded B & C Alaskan II stock with a Wyatt extended mag box and Remy bottom metal.

It consistently shoots factory Winchester 140 grain ammo under MOA. My pet load is 49 grains of CFE-223, BBR2 primer and 120 grain Nosler BT. Average FPS is 3223 and has proven to be completely devastating on Whitetail deer. Rifle weighs in at just under 8.5 pounds (scoped) and is well balanced. It's primary use is for hunting, but it's very capable as a precision rifle too.

 

[Surgikill]

Anybody else?

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[shovelstrokeed]

How big a varmint at 1K?

 

[Surgikill]

I'm thinking coyote.

 

[Jig Stick]

6 dasher. 6.5x47, 6br, 6 ackley

 

[Notso]

Of those you list, I would think .260 Rem for ease of factory ammo and/or components as well as longer barrel life. I think most of the others listed are barrel burners. Another one to consider is 6.5 Creedmore.

 

[Joebill]

260 is great and if you don't reload the 7-08 would be another great choice. I have been noticing good ammo that is affordable in my area for that chamber.

 

[lash]

Of those you list, I would think .260 Rem for ease of factory ammo and/or components as well as longer barrel life. I think most of the others listed are barrel burners. Another one to consider is 6.5 Creedmore.

Is anyone getting 4500 rounds through a .260? I ask, since the OP specifically stated that's what he was looking for. I'm also interested since I just bought my first .260 in October and had always read/expected deterioration of accuracy before that (not knowing any better due to lack of personal experience).

 

[Joebill]

Good point lash I didn't clue in on that I haven't replaced my barrel yet but plan too at 3000 rds. Not sure about 7-08 but would plan on getting 4000 out of it.

 

[ChemE1975]

I was pretty set on 308 mostly because of the information available for both rifle and reloading. The resources for this caliber are unparreleled. I finally settled on 6.5 creedmoor for better ballistics and minimal recoil.

 

[Surgikill]

I reload everything. Only buy factory ammo for foulers. I want reasonable barrel life, which, from what I've read, doesn't come from popular 6mm or 6.5 mm cartridges.

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[GlockBlock]

.260 REM barrel life is great given the performance of the round. I've no personal experience but all the research I've done points to barrel life just short of what a .308 does. I'd expect something in the neighborhood of 4-5k rounds through a .260 before accuracy became unacceptable.

 

[Surgikill]

From what I've read you get about 2500 to 3k out of a 260 and about 7k out of a 308

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[GlockBlock]

This article is full of good information.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

I shot 1000yd F Open for several years with a .260 Rem, and felt some disadvantage against the 6.5-284. Doing it again, the .260 would not be my choice for comp, but would be very adequate for paper, steel, or varmints such as you describe.

If I were going for 1000yd comp, I would up the ante somewhat and go with a Plain Jane .280 Rem. It's going to handle the distance and the terminal requirements with a very respectable performance margin. The chambering will handle up to 168gr length bullets with the more common 1:9" twist, and anything heavier/longer would benefit from a 1:8" twist.

My hunting load is the Hornady 139gr SST Superformance offering, and it can handle anything I might choose to harvest, being that distances over 500yd are not going to be very abundant in my hunting range. I like it that high quality factory hunting ammo is available in the chambering, since I consider doing load development for hunting ammo to be more stress on the system than I believe is warranted by my limited hunting opportunities.

Keep the barrels longer to keep the muzzle pressures reasonable, otherwise that sucker is gonna howl like a banshee. Loud, no doubt about it. I would consider the 150 Nosler bullets to be marginally adequate for 1000yd, and would not go beyond 168gr for reasons of recoil and sound levels.

The recoil of such a round should be tolerable without a brake, and I don't see any significant advantage to a bigger projectile. The .280 chambering makes a lighter projectile work where a heavier (and harder recoiling) projectile might be needed with its parent, the .30-'06.

With the .280, there will be a performance reserve that could make the chambering fully adequate for something more substantial than varmints if the occasion should arise; yet the stress of sustained firing will be considerably less than it would be with the .30-'06.

For a full bore factory round, it approaches the lower limits of being overbore. I think that bore life will be slightly limited as opposed to the .30-'06, but not enough so as to disqualify it as a primary firearm.

Greg

 

[Surgikill]

Greg, what do you think of a 7mm 08? Same bullets as a 280, but slower. In your experience how would this perform at 1000?

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[Greg Langelius *]

I think it would be in very much the same performance zone as the .260.

Since I concluded that the .260 was superior to the .308, it would also be superior to the 7-08, but by a whole lot less.

When I inherited a pair of .280 Rem's, I forgot about the 7-08 because the .280 is in an entirely more effective niche.

If I was constrained to use a short action, the 7-08 would be a good choice, but the .260 would be a better one.

Greg

 

[bohem]

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...-caliber-choices-comparison-applications.html

This thread has been contributed over about 3.5 years to include a pretty good list of calibers and information about them.

In terms of trajectory the 7-08 and 260 are effectively twins, for an extended range shot the difference in wind and elevation is so small that if you put 142 SMK 260 DOPE onto 162 Amax 7-08 rifle you're still extremely likely to hit the target.

The benefit of 7-08 vs. 260 is longer barrel life, some say as high as 4500-5000rds compared to about 3000 for the 260 whereas the 260 has less recoil than the 7-08 because the moving mass is 15-17% lower and going out at pretty much the same speed.

There's not a lot you can't realistically hunt on this continent with a 260.

Another option which I prefer over the 260 is the 6.5 Creedmoor and my preference is based on the fact that I get identical exterior ballistic performance and about 800rds more barrel life on average.

 

[Surgikill]

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...-caliber-choices-comparison-applications.html

This thread has been contributed over about 3.5 years to include a pretty good list of calibers and information about them.

In terms of trajectory the 7-08 and 260 are effectively twins, for an extended range shot the difference in wind and elevation is so small that if you put 142 SMK 260 DOPE onto 162 Amax 7-08 rifle you're still extremely likely to hit the target.

The benefit of 7-08 vs. 260 is longer barrel life, some say as high as 4500-5000rds compared to about 3000 for the 260 whereas the 260 has less recoil than the 7-08 because the moving mass is 15-17% lower and going out at pretty much the same speed.

There's not a lot you can't realistically hunt on this continent with a 260.

Another option which I prefer over the 260 is the 6.5 Creedmoor and my preference is based on the fact that I get identical exterior ballistic performance and about 800rds more barrel life on average.

So that about summed it up. I would get the 260, but I already have one in an ar10, so not really needed. I will most likely choose the 7-08. Thank you.

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[dwkuska]

If its not too late I have a few thoughts. Since you are only using it for varmint and targets have you considered .223/5.56 or 22-250? Both are good varmint rounds, the rifles are en mass and atleast the .223 is relatively cheap to shoot. Also there is tons of reloading data on them and they only need 20-25grains of powder vs 40ish for a 308. 22-250 is basically a souped up .223 but will but a nice clean hole throught whatever your shooting. Other then that if I had to pick from your list .308... Ammo at this point and time is not terribly priced, as stated before tons of reload data, and you can hunt larger game later if thats your fancy.