Next cartridge to try?

demolitionman

demolitionman

Send’r Bud
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 26, 2013
1,365
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Midwest
#1
I've got a 6.5Creed in a 110Savage, I've got a CBI Barrelled Stevens (savage action) in .243 with a 1:8 twist(it's awesome with a (95smk), and I have a .308 Bull barrelled Savage as well. Here's my thing, I don't really enjoy shooting the .308. Yes it is accurate, and it shoots well, but it likes 175's most and I don't like the recoil. I want to keep the same boltface diameter to keep it a cheap spin on barrel with a go/no go gauge deal. All that to ask what CALIBER reccomendations would you guys reccomend?
I reload and love doing so. I don't however think I want to do any fire forming whatsoever and I don't want to trim case necks either. What caliber reccomendations would you guys suggest? I really like my .243 and 6.5. Love them both actually. I was thinking of spinning on a .223 CBI barrel on my current savage .308 but I'm not sure there are any cheap Stevens actions around to be bought anymore.....so to keep the same boltface maybe I could try something like a 6mmDasher, or 6mmBR, but then I've essentially got an extremely similar cartridge to my 1:8 .243 no?

I'm thrilled Frank brought the site home again. Thanks guys. glad to be back as I left when the Scout debacle went down....
 
#2
Or you could go with a 260 Remington and have an extremely similar case to the 6.5 Creedmoor.

What do you want to do with this gun? Do you want it to do anything that your others don't? Instead of changing the caliber, maybe keep the same caliber but configure this rifle for a different purpose?

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 
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#3
20, start shooting stuff really fast.

Wait, you said caliber in the body and cartridge in the title. So go 204 or 22-250 or something fast since you don't have a screamer cartridge yet.
 
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#7
For something very easy to work with and no recoil.......I'd recommend the 6Br. I have a 6Dasher and when I fireform my brass.......it amazes me how accurate a middle of the road load is and almost no recoil......pushing 105gr bullets. I'm sure the super fast 20 or 22 stuff is a hoot......I like the 6 for long range capability and to buck the wind.

Any of the choices listed would be fun......just enjoyable to experiment with a new round.
 
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#8
Or build a different discipline rifle, f class style or something.

Or a mannlicher stock ruger no 1 with an acog on it for the ultimate most cool impractical thing you can.
 
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#9
You guys are great. I googled the Mannlicher stock. Hehe those things are funny looking with a heavy BBL! Not my cup of tea, although I'd sure love to shoot one. The more I'm thinking about this the more I'm torn. Sendero, you pretty much summed up my reasoning for a new bbl on this savage is simply to experiement on the load bench and punch paper holes but also I want a round to do alot of training with and to use to learn dope and read mill/mill (I'm swittching over from moa this year) But I too will take it out and bang steel out to 600 so long as my local range TVP is still in operation(been out of the game for a few years).

Can I go on a slight TANGENT here, SAVAGE guys, can I take my .308 and convert it for a .223 cartride by simply replacing the boltface and of course ordering a new barrel and gauges? The more I think about this next build the more I think I may want to shoot something that is going to be cheap to reload with little recoil on the bench. AHHH I don't know what I want to do!?!?

A barrel burner woudl be fun(22/250, 22/Creed, 22/243 etc) but it'd be nice to build a slower moving 223 I think and never ever ever worry about burning it out. I think I'm leaning .223 for this.....pleas feel free to talk me out of it.
Once again, I can't believe the HIDE is back! Awesome.
 
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#10
I shoot my 233 more than everything else combined shotguns included. I've probably put 2k on it the past year, looking back through all the different boxes of bullets I've experimented with. For that it is a great platform, infinate tinkerability. Out to 400 is cake and past that you start to really game the wind.
 
#11
Hard to beat a straight .223 for last forever fun... I've been wanting to do a fast twist 22-250 that will scream with 90 VLDs just for the hell of it.
 
#12
My 223 ai gets shot more than any of my other centerfire rifles. I'm still fireforming brass. I'm almost done forming about 1100 lake city. I hope to have brass for a few barrels. Then I want to rebarrel it. Right now it is just a factory 700p 9 twist that I had rechambered. I'm basically shooting a hot 223 now and it is fun and accurate. I can't wait to work up the ai loads. All you need is a barrel set up properly and 223 and 223ai dies. Fun on the cheap!
 
#13
6BR is an awesome little cartridge. Dasher requires fireforming BR brass into Dasher brass. 29.5 grains pushes a 105 bullet at 2850. Easy to load for. Great brass. No trimming. Super accurate. No recoil. Whats not to like? Crushes 223 in the wind. Only hiccup could be feeding from a magazine.
 
#14
Yes you can easily switch from 308 to the 223. New bolt face of course. If you are running aics style mags pick up a couple 223 specific mags and you're set. If you are running factory bottom metal you may have to switch out. I know stock savage 223 with the savage dbm also have a longer bolt stop to keep the bolt from having as long a rearward travel. This is removed if running aics style mags and 223. My son runs 223 and 7mm08 off a savage in an xlr chassis. Doesn't take long to do the switch. It's really quick if you have two bolts.
 
#15
If you want to ring steel, reliably, I think you're going to need more than a .223.....unless you plan on pushing the heaviest 22 cal pills. But as was described.....switching bolt head or having a second bolt along with your barrel and it's done.

i still think you'd be super happy with a 6BR for what you are describing. It's such an efficient little round......and very easy to work with..... Here's more info. from an excellent site:

http://www.6mmbr.com/6mmbr.html

And an excellent forum to ask questions and find more answers:

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/
 
#16
delfuego said:
6BR is an awesome little cartridge. Dasher requires fireforming BR brass into Dasher brass. 29.5 grains pushes a 105 bullet at 2850. Easy to load for. Great brass. No trimming. Super accurate. No recoil. Whats not to like? Crushes 223 in the wind. Only hiccup could be feeding from a magazine.
Click to expand...

On a moderate load how many rounds are you seeing out of your 6br? This round is actually the first one I thought of using for.this rebarrel. I easily shoot 1000 rounds a season....
 
#17
6x47L, 22x47L, 243, 243ai, 22-243, 6slr, 6br, 22br, 20br, 6creedmoor, 22 creedmoor, 6 comp match.... The list goes on and on.
If you're using the br case, I can tell you that in a bolt gun they can be a little pain for not wanting to chamber real nice.

Xdeano
 
#18
Hell man, throw a fast twist 220 Swift barrel on that long action and beat the shit out of coyotes with 80gr bullets and zero recoil. The boltface will work with a 220 Swift.
 
#19
Hell man, throw a fast twist 220 Swift barrel on that long action and beat the shit out of coyotes with 80gr bullets and zero recoil. The boltface will work with a 220 Swift.
 
#20
Hell man, throw a fast twist 220 Swift barrel on that long action and beat the shit out of coyotes with 80gr bullets and zero recoil. The boltface will work with a 220 Swift.
 
#22
demolitionman said:
You guys are great. I googled the Mannlicher stock. Hehe those things are funny looking with a heavy BBL! Not my cup of tea, although I'd sure love to shoot one. The more I'm thinking about this the more I'm torn. Sendero, you pretty much summed up my reasoning for a new bbl on this savage is simply to experiement on the load bench and punch paper holes but also I want a round to do alot of training with and to use to learn dope and read mill/mill (I'm swittching over from moa this year) But I too will take it out and bang steel out to 600 so long as my local range TVP is still in operation(been out of the game for a few years).

Can I go on a slight TANGENT here, SAVAGE guys, can I take my .308 and convert it for a .223 cartride by simply replacing the boltface and of course ordering a new barrel and gauges? The more I think about this next build the more I think I may want to shoot something that is going to be cheap to reload with little recoil on the bench. AHHH I don't know what I want to do!?!?

A barrel burner woudl be fun(22/250, 22/Creed, 22/243 etc) but it'd be nice to build a slower moving 223 I think and never ever ever worry about burning it out. I think I'm leaning .223 for this.....pleas feel free to talk me out of it.
Once again, I can't believe the HIDE is back! Awesome.
Click to expand...

I also loved those Stevens 200 rifles while they were being cleared out. They're like fat girls, you can get them to do anything. It's only awkward taking them in public the first time.

I started with a 6.5CM prefit, progressed through the 7wsm and 300wm and now use them for ELR test mules with 338 Lapua based wildcats.

You can switch bolt faces relatively inexpensively. The bolt head itself and the parts to populate it were ~$40 the last time I did it. With the 223 and 308, you shouldn't have to adjust the firing pin length. You can buy the whole bolt assembly for ~$120.

The one I want to build but haven't is a 223. I'm thinking 26" heavy palma contour 1:7 twist, throated to take the 80 grain Amax at 2.5". The 223 gets a lot closer to 308 trajectories when you let it out of an AR or SAAMI mag length.

I learned a lot about ELR shooting with a 1:9 twist 223 shooting a steel IDPA target at a kilometer. I used the 77smk for that. There were days where it just wasn't going to happen, and others where I would go ~70%. No, you don't want to be competing against a 6.5cm, but for entertainment and education it worked great. Cheap thrills.




 
#23
demolitionman said:
On a moderate load how many rounds are you seeing out of your 6br? This round is actually the first one I thought of using for.this rebarrel. I easily shoot 1000 rounds a season....
Click to expand...

3-4000 rounds should not be achievable, It depends on the load, powder and barrel. Example is H4895 vs Varget; Varget will be a slower load, but easier on the throat.
 
#24
Since you have both 6 and 6.5mm, you need to get a 223 to really have something different. Once fired LC brass, cheap bullets, minimal powder makes it cheap to shoot. I run 75Amax in a 22" barrel at 2950fps, and the trajectory out to 800yd is identical to my 6.5x47. Drop is a bit more out to 1100yd where it falls subsonic. Yea the wind is much tougher which makes it a nice training aid.
 
#25
Another vote for the 22 creed. I have a 6 creed as well. I used the brass from the 6 in one pass to 22. You could do it in two steps from the 6.5 brass. No neck turning. You can use the same trim-to length as well. I've also used Lapua 22-250 brass. Load it up as-is and you'll have very accurate rounds but just slower than a full fledged 22 creed. My 22 barrel has lasted longer than my 6 creed by a couple hundred rounds already and it's still going. You don't have to push it to it's limits and you'll get even better barrel life.
 
#26
CharlieNC said:
Since you have both 6 and 6.5mm, you need to get a 223 to really have something different. Once fired LC brass, cheap bullets, minimal powder makes it cheap to shoot. I run 75Amax in a 22" barrel at 2950fps, and the trajectory out to 800yd is identical to my 6.5x47. Drop is a bit more out to 1100yd where it falls subsonic. Yea the wind is much tougher which makes it a nice training aid.
Click to expand...

Thats kind of what I'm thinking. Get a 223 boltface to convert my bolt then spin on a prefit cbi or Shilen from NSS and work up some moderate handloads for it. Itll be a totally different kind of caliber than anything i currently have without being a bbl burner. I feel id even possibly shoot more because id never really be worried about shooting it out. I guess it would be a great cailber for training. I just need to get an affordable STOCK and bed it. Are guys still bedding with Jb Weld?
 
#27
demolitionman said:
Are guys still bedding with Jb Weld?
Click to expand...

Some are, most use devcon, marinetex or acraglass. Devcon 10110 is more putty like and less runny so its nice to work with and what I have chosen to use (hope my opened container is still good because Ive heard it goes bad afterwhile once exposed to air and not used). Ive heard that marinetex shrinks less than the others though. Really any of them would be a fine choice.
 
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#28
big_matt_duq said:
My 223 ai gets shot more than any of my other centerfire rifles. I'm still fireforming brass. I'm almost done forming about 1100 lake city. I hope to have brass for a few barrels. Then I want to rebarrel it. Right now it is just a factory 700p 9 twist that I had rechambered. I'm basically shooting a hot 223 now and it is fun and accurate. I can't wait to work up the ai loads. All you need is a barrel set up properly and 223 and 223ai dies. Fun on the cheap!
Click to expand...

My .223 AI is super accurate and soooo easy to shoot.
Pushing 75 Hornady HPBT to 3000 FPS and recently 77 SMKs at 2980, it shoots pretty flat for a .223 and with barrel life a bit shorter than .223 should be overall pretty cheap to shoot.
 
#31
22-250 meets all your desires.

308 bolt face. Get a 1:8 twist

you can load dirt cheap: 55gr SP, blue dot and shoot velocitys that are the same as the 223 for pennies on the dollar.

you can load 75gr bullets which are still really quite cheap and load full power loads and bang steel out to 1000yards

22-250 can do anything all in 1 barrel.
 
#32
I've been on The 'Hide since it started, and tried many of the things discussed above. Going from 15 to 20 years, things have started to settle out.

First, my life needs less complexity, so I'm probably only going to buy into maybe one more untried chambering. It will most likely be a .280 Rem, configured for extreme distance shooting here in my new home, the high desert of Arizona. This will be a Savage Prefit from somebody, I know not who yet, probably 28" in length, 8" twist, with a Savage Varmint profile. If I went with an improved chambering it would be the .280 RCBS Improved, but I think I'll stick with the plain vanilla .280 Rem.

I love the .223, shoot it most in a trio of AR Uppers, and for a bolt gun in .223, I can best recommend what I already have; a Savage 11VT .223 from Dick's Sporting Goods. As a factory rifle, it already has all of the features I would desire for a range gun to shoot off a rest and bench. I mounted a Mueller 8-32x44 side focus target dots side focus scope in Vortex 30mm Medium Height 6-screw rings and would suggest an EGW 20MOA base. The 1:9" twist can run HDY 75gr HPBT-Match. I shot this rifle a few weeks back in the Berger SW LR Nationals at 600yd in the F T/R MR matches. For such work, it rides a Harris Type Bipod.

I also have the identical rifle, except it's chambered in .308 Win, I've been shooting the .260 for so long, I got rid of all my .308's back in the early 2000's; so I'll be rediscovering the .308 all over again from scratch. I'll be starting with handloads using IMR-4064, Hornady Brass, and 178gr ELD-X projectiles.

The .260 is a 2001 Savage 10FP, custom built out to the gills. L-W 28" barrel. McM A3 Tactical and a few other additions from way back in the dawn of the 21st Century.

I also have a Savage Scout chambered in 7.62x39. I was going to rebarrel it to a PPC, but the 110gr V-Max handloads all go in one hole. I predict fun in this project as I try to stretch the distance some with 110gr GMX handloads.

There's a few others, including a Savage Axis II .30-'06 and such, that could bear a bit of improvement.

Greg
 
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#33
I built a savage with a CBI 223 and it my favorite gun of all. Get the match chamber and shoot 80 grain SMKs with much better ballistics.
 
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#35
The .22-250 was one of the chamberings I tried. Ruger KM77 MKII, very accurate, easy to shoot. But the .22-250 itself had a bad habit of rapid barrel heating; enough so to make it unsuitable for match style shooting. OK if you slow the cadence down, but to retain accuracy, one needs to slow it down to the point where each COF Stage ends up with 'saved rounds'. Using a heavier barrel only really means it takes longer to cool back down. Otherwise, a very accurate 22 C/F.

Greg
 
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