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Best middle of the road caliber for North American game
- Thread starter ricard13
- Start date
For most hunters taking game at 200 yards, cartridge selection makes zero difference. Even out to 500 or so, majority of center fire can get it done.
The PRC makes a little more sense because it has less recoil. But ammo/components availability are sparse compared to 7RM (think pre covid/election/craziness). Price of factory PRC is very close to 7RM.
I wouldn’t compare a 140 class 7RM to a 140 class PRC. The factory 162 ELDX has a slightly better BC and slightly less MV. So you’ll have similar(ish) wind drift and down range velocity while maintaining more energy.
If you’re a reloader, a 180 class 7RM will shine a bit more at distance as well.
Both will do well at majority of distances that majority of hunters are taking game. BUT most importantly, this is the internet, so I can’t emphasize this enough: I like a 7 rem mag, and if you disagree you’re the worst and don’t know anything
^ You are 100 percent right.
7RM is the way to go.
OP should buy that sweet long range hunter 7mag in the classifieds
www.snipershide.com
7RM is the way to go.
OP should buy that sweet long range hunter 7mag in the classifieds
Firearms - Scar 17, trij 1-8, , AAC 300BLK Leupold 300, GAP 7RM Minox 5-25
Scar 17 in the more accurate black color. Pmag lower, geiselle trigger. Trijicon mil 1-8, Nightforce mag mount. Can switch mount for Larue obr If buyer desires. Original FH included. Have original lower also. Very accurate. Less than 200 rounds fired $4900 shipped.
www.snipershide.com
Haha I have a whole lot of other guns in different calibers. 50 BMG is not one of them though! Never had any interest
There is no gap. Just a guy looking for an excuse to buy something. Not that I haven't done the same a time or two.
I’ve been kicking around the idea of upgrading my All round hunting gun.
I have a 270win & 300win and wanted to land between those two calibers with mild recoil in a medium weight rifle.
A buddy recommended 280ai, it seems to fit everything I wanted. Huge bullet selection, plenty of power for anything (coyote to elk), good available brass.
I have a 270win & 300win and wanted to land between those two calibers with mild recoil in a medium weight rifle.
A buddy recommended 280ai, it seems to fit everything I wanted. Huge bullet selection, plenty of power for anything (coyote to elk), good available brass.
What? The amount of hair splitting going on here is wild. You want something between .270 and .300? Why? .270 is one hair away from .300. If you want a new rifle, I get that, but there's no plausible reason to get something between those two calibers.
Guys in this thread are like "yeah, I have .22, 6.5CM, .308, .260, .270, .280, .300winmag, .300norma, .28nosler, .338lapuamag, but I REEEEALLY need a caliber that fits between my .260 and 6.5cm. It's for deer between the weights of 182 and 183.5 pounds. I don't have anything for that weight range."
@UpSideDown It is splitting hairs.
The goal is upgrading from my ole trusty 270 Ruger m77, which is perfectly fine & has killed tons of game for me since I was 15.....
But I have grown a taste for the finer things in shooting. So I’m gonna get a new (nicer) rifle....need? No, I want a better fit & finish & accuracy rifle.
The caliber thing:
1. I love 270. It is a perfect round for deer sized critters. But it is on the light end in bullet selection for elk. Especially at farther distances.
2. I love 300win. But it’s overkill on deerPeriod.
I neck shot my deer last fall with 180Gn Spitzer @ 2900fps & she was bloodshot to behind the rib cage. Insane.
So I landed on 280ai. It has 270win+P performance with the ability to load up the heavier 7mm pills if i wanted too.
Makes sense to me! Don’t really give a shit if you like it or not.
The goal is upgrading from my ole trusty 270 Ruger m77, which is perfectly fine & has killed tons of game for me since I was 15.....
But I have grown a taste for the finer things in shooting. So I’m gonna get a new (nicer) rifle....need? No, I want a better fit & finish & accuracy rifle.
The caliber thing:
1. I love 270. It is a perfect round for deer sized critters. But it is on the light end in bullet selection for elk. Especially at farther distances.
2. I love 300win. But it’s overkill on deerPeriod.
I neck shot my deer last fall with 180Gn Spitzer @ 2900fps & she was bloodshot to behind the rib cage. Insane.
So I landed on 280ai. It has 270win+P performance with the ability to load up the heavier 7mm pills if i wanted too.
Makes sense to me! Don’t really give a shit if you like it or not.
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Lol. I completely understand what you are saying, but you have to see the humor in the subject. (Well, you don’t have to, but it’s there.)
I swear that I considered posting almost exactly this myself,
Truth is that there always seems room for just one more niche cartridge. Just look at the clutter in the 6 mm arena, especially around the 6 PPC/6 BR area. If people weren’t always searching for just that right thing for Them, then there probably wouldn’t be 6PPC, 6BR, 6BRA, 6BRX, 6XC, 6GT, 6ARC, 6 Grendel...what did I miss?
Just about every body on here can shoot, not everyone can truly hunt (not suggesting that OP cannot). My vote would be for something that will kill with impunity out to 300 yds but is a lot easier to shoot within 150. Something about having a weapon that makes me focus on the stalk. I have a bow, but for a do everything stalking rifle my vote goes to .30-06 or .375H&H. Preferably in a single shot. 
If that’s the tang safety m77, upgrade with another rifle by all means but I encourage you to throw this in your current rifle for 50 bucks
Ruger Replacement Trigger Sear for Centerfire Rifles (RU-T)
Rifle Basix aftermarket / replacement sear for early bold action centerfire Ruger's with a 'Tang' safety. Clean, crisp, light pull operation - fully adjustable. U.S. Manufactured
riflebasix.com
Man I totally get wanting a new rifle. I'm eye banging the FN SPR's right now, and I can't even think of it filling a perfect role, I just want one... Caliber, yeah, there's stuff between .300winmag and .270. I think a 7mmMag sounds fun for what it is, or just go HAM with a 300PRC. Or a 6.5PRC on methamphetamine and speed. At least we have an abundance of market supported options now.
Now if only people could stop buying all the fucking match ammo so I could buy enough to take my class next month, that would be cool.
You hunt annually. You know what you want. I have seen killed and taken a number of deer and Elk with everything from a 5.56 in Nebraska to a .458 Win in Colorado. The caliber is of no relevance. The wound channel is. If you are looking for a light rifle to beat the crap out of get the Tikka in whatever caliber you wish. Light, Tough and a good shooter. Caliber? You sure as hell do not need the magnums. This has been proven time and time again. What an over blown bunch of garbage. Just need to put the bullet somewhere of relevance in the animal. Magnums are not the answer. Your ability is.
The hell you say! 280AI is the real secret!
But really, 6.5 PRC will get it done. Buy whatever the hell tickles your fancy and don't worry about it. Bullet choice and shot placement kill far better than the caliber that pokes the hole. Don't tell the elk with a .257 hole in them it wasn't enough, because they're in my freezer. I could go to my Dad's freezer and interview the .264 killed elk, but they don't talk anymore either.
These will work perfectly for anything we have here. Plus they are light weight rifles and light recoil rifles. Fantastic to carry all day for that one or two shots a season. Great for hunting and general shooting. Pick your bullet for the job. Do not plan on killing Jumbo at 1600 yards. This is just plain stupid.
Most animals are taken inside of 600 yards due to the fact that most hunters are magazine article hunters and not reality. If you are trying to take them at 1000 you are wasting the shot and the animal. Some people think 600 yds is 1000 yds. To much of a possibility of wounding and having to find them if ever. I have seen that in the past as well.
I watched two clowns in a jeep go after 7 deer in an open field. I was on a mountain top and they were in the valley. They got out of their jeep 4 times to shoot at the deer and never hit anything. The deer finally went up a tree line and out of sight. Not the first time seeing this kind of shit. Just the shortest story. They will very likely tell their buddies how they were shooting 900 yards at deer and were unable to hit them. In reality they were less than 100 yards all four times.
I was doing seasonal sight in at a gun range in Golden Colorado. A man had a 300 win mag in a Winchester 70 that a clerk and his ego talked him into purchasing. I sighted it in for him and he went back down the line and shot it. Before long he was back again to redo the settings on the scope. Again he went down to shoot and again brought it back to reset the scope. I asked him to sit down and shoot at this station and he did. He flinched so bad from recoil and before he even pulled the trigger he could not hit anything not even the dirt backstop for the most part. Just one instance? Not at all.
I suggested he take the rifle back and get something he was able to handle. He did not understand what I was asking him to do and left. All I could say was good luck. This is the case with 70% of the people that are "Big Game Hunters" that come here. Don't be one of those. The animals deserve better.
Spent a number of years during the hunting seasons with an outfitter out of Parshall Colorado. Worked the Flattops and then North West of Craig. I have used a number of calibers in rifles and handguns and taken a number of Deer, Elk, Bear and Cats. The seasons have been spring and fall. My favorite caliber is the .375 H&H with a Speer 235 grain soft point. The only real reason for this Sako .375 rifle was to drop things that someone else had screwed up the shot on. Do I still have the rifle? You dammed betcha. Never give it up. However over the past few years I have reverted to the .243 Winchester just for the reasons given earlier. I am in my 70's and it makes things easier all around. Do I have an ego? Certainly but I don't let it rule everything I do.
This is an exit hole in a Nebraska white tail deer.
This is the damage under the hide.
The Caliber of the rifle and bullet? It was from an AR 15 with a 5 round magazine on private property by a river. The caliber was 5.56 and the bullet was a 62 grain soft point. At 100 yards. Do you need more rifle? Hell NO. Just know that the hell you are doing and you are good to go. A .243 is more than enough anywhere around here. Get off the "Magnum bull shit" and "Start Hunting". At least that way most of the general public can hit. The caliber will not make up for lack of hunting ability.
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