Bridging the gap: .223 to 7mm Rem Mag

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beatledog7

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It's time to think about acquiring a bolt gun to bridge the gap between .223 and 7mm Rem Mag. Specifically, I'm looking to cover a range of bullet weights that my current rifles won't shoot, that is, about 80 grains to about 120 grains.

My purpose is to be able to humanely take eastern whitetail and other CPX2 game, varmints, and paper critters at 250-300 yards in states where .24 is minimum deer caliber but without the recoil of the 7mm. I could load the 7mm down but prefer to reserve my brass and reloading time for heavier loads.

So far my research is telling me to go for something that takes bullets of .257" since that diameter is available in those weights. Staying away from anything overly rare or exotic, that would make the candidates 25-06, .257 Roberts, .257 Weatherby Magnum, and 250 Savage. I plan to buy some good factory ammo (100 rounds or so) then reload.

No doubt there's a lot of experience here with these calibers. Any suggestions what else I should add to my list of criteria in choosing one? Once I do, choosing a rifle will be since some are not available easier.
 
I think 25-06 is probably the most widely available. Plenty flat shooting. I think I would go with that. 243 is not a 25, but pretty darn close and even more available.
 
I would go with the .243 Win

probably the most versatile of the CPX2 class rounds...can be loaded light and fast for varmint or heavier for everything up to elk even...my sister killed 2 whitetails with 1 100 grain remington core Lokt, through and through on both....DRT
 
Anything in that class should do. 6.5mm - class rifles would work, too. Really, anything from a 6mm up to 7mm-08 would fill that gap. If you want to be able to find ammo and/or brass easily, then you want to stick with .243, .25-06, .260, 6.5x55, 7-08, and so forth - the common ones.
 
I chose the .243, and .30-06 to fill my between needs. When the .243 needs a new tube (ive got some 600rnds thru it already), Im going to put a .260 or 7mm-08 barrel on it tho. I like the .243 round, but i still prefer heavier bullets for deer.
If you like the quarter bores then by all means chose one of them, they work wonderfully out to 300yds and recoil has never been an issue with even the .257wby.
Powder usage for the 257wby isnt a great deal behind the 7mm and its likely to chew up its barrel quite a bit faster. So id probably chose either the Bob, the .25-06, or step up the 6.5creedmoor or .260. Or since you reload if you feel like it do a .25-08.
 
I have always shied away from the quarter bores because of poor ballistics. Not a terribly big consideration in a deer rifle, but the .25s are supposed to bridge the gap between the varmint and medium game cartridges, so it helps to have a favorable BC. The .260Rem. (or alternatively the 6.5mmCreedmoor) would top my list, shortly followed by the 6mmRem. (which is arguably a bit better for varmints, but not quite as good for deer sized game), and for the non-handloader the .243Win. All of these are very versatile with proper load/components selection.

:)
 
Numerically, the dead-center caliber between the .223 and the .284 is the .257. I suggest a .25-06 Rem. Load it with 100 grain spire point boat tail projectiles, and you have a vicious caliber. Want more high octane, get a 26" barreled .257 Wea Mag. Just saying, and per my experience owning both...vicious!

Geno
 
I'll be a little different and say .25 WSSM, .260 Rem, or 6.5mm Creedmore. I'd also take a .257 Roberts+P or a .25-06.
 
i would have to go with the .25-06 or the .257 roberts. i have taken deer with both. i enjoy shooting the roberts more but i think the .25-06 may offer more options for you.
 
What about a rifle in 7mm-08? If you've already got a 7mm RemMag that you are reloading for you can share bullets to at least a degree between them. Aids in cutting down the required stock. And the 7mm-08 is a much softer round to shoot but still with the velocity for a nice flat trajectory out to the 300 yards that you want.
 
Thanks to all for the great information. I have to say I'm leaning towards 25-06 or .257 Roberts, and what I'm reading here supports that. Does anyone have any negative experience with either? Nobody seems to have any love for the 250 Savage. Is that because you've just never used it?
 
Its nearly impossible to find .250 savage ammo out here, and guns are nonexistent aswell. Im actually hoping to runacross some ones old one who cant get ammo anymore LOL. Its a little on the slow side compared to other rounds nowdays, but if you wanted to be off beat it would work fine for what you want. The only "bad" thing i can see with the quarter bores, is the BC of most of the bullets is on the lower side. The 115 berger is only .466 or so. The .243 will drive a 95grn berger .486 or similar to around the same velocity as the .25-06 will drive the 115, and use less powder doing it. That said, inside of 300yds you wont notice much of anything. Any of the rounds youve listed will have a MPBR on an 8" target of some 300+yds.

115 berger at .466
savage 2650
bob 2800 (tho hodgdon list hyb 100v at 3k)
.25-06 3100

A bullet of .390 BC affects the drop a bit, but not bad.
 
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You can find Cooper M54's chambered in .250-3000 Savage, but you can also get them in .257 Roberts. Either way we're not talking about an inexpensive rifle.
 
A very very NICE rifle tho :D.....its on my wish list. Likely never to be purchased, be its on there.
 
.25-06 is the most common quarterbore and really unsurpassed as a deer and pronghorn rifle. The .257 Weatherby will push a little faster, but it much more expensive to shoot-even for the handloader.

Available bullets cover your "gap" perfectly, from 75 to 120 grain.
 
I sold my 257 Roberts. I have not seen 270 mentioned? Almost universal availability of ammo.

Personally, I would look for a nice used bolt gun in 6.5x55 (Swede). The BC and availability of bullets to cover a large range of shooting conditions make this a fine general purpose "in-between-er" :)

Although I do see the merit in 7mm-08 too. The ability to stock bullets common to your existing rifle is not bad.
 
Good points about the .243 and 7mm-08, but if I'm gonna buy and shoot, say, 100gr bullets, it makes sense to me to buy these in the diameter that shoots them well but can also shoot bullets 20gr lighter and 20gr heavier. The 100gr bullet falls right in the sweet spot for .257 shooters, but it's top end for .243s (while I grant these have a slightly higher BC), and low end for .284s (and possibly less easy to find).

The 6.5mms are apparently great shooters, but they don't shoot bullets lighter than about 90gr. I want to be able to shoot 75-85gr. My .223 can't reliably stabilize bullets heavier than 70gr.

I'm not so much focused on ultimate accuracy potential or hitting power. I'm interested in a caliber that can do a lot of things across the noted range of bullet weights. Sort of the Honda Accord of calibers. To extend the analogy, I already have a motorcycle caliber and an SUV caliber.

25-06 is starting to stand out as the best choice. It's even affordable off the shelf, so I can reasonably buy my 100 rounds if I decide to go that way.
 
25-06 is starting to stand out as the best choice.
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention, but you can also load down to 60 gr. JSP bullets at around 2,300 FPS for small game. Those 60 grainers are meant for .25-20 and .25-35, though, so don't try to put them on top of a full charge in a .25-06 case; At over 4,000 FPS, they'll blow up before they even get to the target.

I've used my .25-06 on everything from praire rats with 75 grain HP's scorching out of the barrel at 3,760 FPS to 117 BTSP at 3,195 FPS for Elk. A nice mid-weight load was a Barnes 100 gr. TSX-BT over 57 grs. 4831; This left my 24" 700 barrel at 3,585 FPS for 2,855 ft/lbs. Faster than expected, but no signs of overpressure. It was also a very accurate load.

The .25-06 is almost overbore, but one helluva good flat-shooting, general purpose round for anything from varmints to game weighing as much as 500-600 pounds.
 
Have to agree with the various people who have recommended:

243/6mm
257/25'06
6.5x55/260

Inside of 300 yards I wouldn't worry too much about BC's.

The 6mm's might be a little light for what you want, and the 6.5's too close to what you currently have.

Since you reload, I'd Goldilocks it and get a .257 Roberts. I'd feel ok about setting one up as a lightweight with a 22" barrel. With the 25'06 I'd probably lean towards a 24" and a heavier setup.
 
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