cartridge for non-reloader

[denton]

Lots of well-based opinions... maybe a couple of additional comments:

Standard cup and core bullets tend to open too much, too fast and shed weight if they impact at more than 2800 FPS. So a 7 Mag is going to be less effective at shorter ranges, unless you shoot premium bullets. Most deer shots are at less than 100 yards.

Switch to premium bullets (Partition for example) at 100 grains, and the 243 is very effective on whitetail deer.

The 260 is a great little cartridge that will topple deer and invert coyotes. The 7mm08 is another excellent choice.

If you get a 30-06, 308, or 7 Mag you won't get much enjoyment out of taking them to the range. After 15-20 rounds, they just aren't fun anymore. 99% of your shooting will be at paper. Get something that will be fun for that 99% of the time.

 

[Kachok]

Well the 308 is not a chore to shoot with the 150gr bullets, but certinly harder kicker then a 260/243 or anything in that range.
I do like the 7mm-08 it is a dandy little cartridge, mine shoots impressive groups with 120-160gr bullets (have not tried 175s yet) a 140gr bullet at 2900fps is basically like a 270 Win in a short action with Big Game handloads, the small 7mms (7x57 and 7mm-08) rank second only to the mid ranged 6.5mms (260, 6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmore) in my book for all around hunting/shooting

 

[jmr40]

shooting a white tail at 300 yards with a .243 is asking for trouble.

A 243 didn't have any trouble with an elk at more than twice that range.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY0w1c-gf18

I still wouldn't want to hunt elk with a 243, but with todays quality bullets it is as big as anyone will ever need for deer or smaller. And at some pretty impressive ranges.

We have all been conditioned to believe that a 30-06 or 270 are middle of the road chambeings. Fact is, for 99% of our hunting they are way more than needed.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Something that is readily available, will shoot flat to 300 meters, and take game from varmint to whitetail deer.

So far the 243, 270, 308 and 30-06 seem to be pretty good choices.

You answered your own question. Nough said.

With the 260, 25-06, 7-08 performing better with hand loads.

Handloads or not, those won't do anything the others won't. I'm talking real world difference. You may see a miniscule difference on paper, but on game performance, no sir. Don't get me wrong, they are excellent whitetail rounds, but saying they perform better than .270 and .30-06 just isn't going to show itself in the woods. Especially inside of 300.
You hit a deer behind the shoulder with a .270 and another in the same spot with a .260 or 7mm-08 and I promise you the deer won't be able to tell a difference and it matters not whether it's handload or factory.

 

[Geno]

Kachok:

Sorry for the delay in answering. I deleted my bookmark of this thread. The powder is: IMR 4350. Check to confirm, but I believe that the powder charge is 62 grains. Don't do it until you confirm it. Art is well familiar with this load too. What fascinates me about a .30-06 Sprg, with a 165 grain projectile at 3,150 fps, is that at 500 yards, it is durned-near identical to a .300 Win Mag in velocity, trajectory and remaining energy, but using a whole lot less powder.

Heck, my Mark V in .300 Win Mag, with Hornady "SuperFormance" 165 GMXs has only 110 fps more muzzle velocity over that .30-06 Sprg load. The projectile departs my .300 WIn Mag at 3,260 fps. Again, by the time the two projectiles arrive to 500 yards, they are nearly identical. Very impressive.

Geno

 

[PabloJ]

I am looking for another hunting rifle cartridge. Something that is readily available, will shoot flat to 300 meters, and take game from varmint to whitetail deer.

Some cartridges seem to have a lot of potential, if you reload them yourself. What I am looking for is something that comes in enough variety from the manufacturer that it doesn't require reloading to reach its potential.

So far the 243, 270, 308 and 30-06 seem to be pretty good choices. With the 260, 25-06, 7-08 performing better with hand loads.

Litmus test used to be go to Walmart and see what WAS available there. NOT good idea now because they sell ammo to "friends and family" only.

 

[Kachok]

Kachok:

Sorry for the delay in answering. I deleted my bookmark of this thread. The powder is: IMR 4350. Check to confirm, but I believe that the powder charge is 62 grains. Don't do it until you confirm it. Art is well familiar with this load too. What fascinates me about a .30-06 Sprg, with a 165 grain projectile at 3,150 fps, is that at 500 yards, it is durned-near identical to a .300 Win Mag in velocity, trajectory and remaining energy, but using a whole lot less powder.

Heck, my Mark V in .300 Win Mag, with Hornady "SuperFormance" 165 GMXs has only 110 fps more muzzle velocity over that .30-06 Sprg load. The projectile departs my .300 WIn Mag at 3,260 fps. Again, by the time the two projectiles arrive to 500 yards, they are nearly identical. Very impressive.

Geno

62gr!!! Good golly! All of my manuals say 57gr is the max load with a 165gr. I am not saying that my 06 could not shoot 62gr since I am not getting any pressure signs at my published loads but that is well over published max. At 3,150fps I would have to switch to some kind of bonded or mono metal bullets my SGKs are not designed for that!

 

[Geno]

Kachok:

Here is some data from a few of my manuals, and a couple of online sites. As I understand the .280 Rem and .30-06 Sprg factory loads, and recommended handloads, they are effectively neutered due to so many people using them in autoloading rifles.

None of these loads exceeds about 55,000 pounds CUP. By and large, the .30-06 Sprg is not loaded to what a modern bolt-action rifle will handle. Nor do most reloading manuals offer-up such loads. Too, if you get your hands on a 40 to 50 years old reloading manual, you will note that the loads were hotter than current manuals suggest. Lawsuit-happy people caused it, is what I believe.

The particular rifle I reference was a Weatherby mark V, 26" barreled Fibermark in .30-06. I believe Art also was using a Mark V, 26", but his was West German, and mine was from Japan. My particular rifle would achieve "only" 3,138 fps, just short of what others were getting with the load. However, even at that, I saw zero signs of excess pressure. Though, it did present a good bit of recoil.

It would be interesting to start a separate thread specific to the .30-06 Sprg handloads, and see what others are getting. Here are some suggested (conservative) loads:

1) Lee Reloading 2nd Ed: 54 grains IMR 4350 = 2,760 fps

2) Hodgdon 26 Ed: 57 grains IMR 4350 = 2,828 fps

3) Speer Number 13: 58 grains IMR 4350 = 2,747 fps

4) Hodgdon (on-line): 60C grains IMR 4350 = 2,934 fps

5) IMR (On-line): 60C grains IMR 4350 = 2,934 fps

Let me know if you want to start a .30-06 Sprg handload thread. I would definitely participate.

Geno

 

[3212]

I'm a .243 fan.I've taken more than 40 deer with this caliber from 20 to 270 yds.Also dozens of groundhogs.

 

[denton]

What fascinates me about a .30-06 Sprg, with a 165 grain projectile at 3,150 fps, is that at 500 yards, it is durned-near identical to a .300 Win Mag in velocity, trajectory and remaining energy, but using a whole lot less powder.

It's your gun, your eyes, and your fingers, so you can do whatever you like with it.

Yes, the 30-06 is rated at 60,000 PSI, a little short of what it's really capable of. The 270 has identical geometry behind the shoulder, and it's rated at 65,000 PSI, though most loads stay respectfully short of this somewhat optimistic spec. You probably won't run into to trouble very often by loading the 06 up to 62,000 PSI. That's maybe 3/4 grain over spec, plus a bit more if you seat the bullet out farther.

62 grains of IMR 4350 is 5.4 grains over what the manufacturer allows, 56.6 grains, at 58,200 PSI/2770 FPS. In the 30-06, a grain of powder is roughly 2500 PSI and 60 FPS. So 62 grains should put you somewhere around 71,000 psi and 3,094 FPS.

Conventional pressure signs kick in around 70,000 PSI, so unless your rifle is instrumented, you probably won't detect how far over the safe limit you are.

Good luck with that.

The shift in load data over the past few decades primarily happened because of improved pressure instrumentation, not because of lawyers.

 

[RPRNY]

30-06. Available in mainstream factory loads from 150 - 220.

.308 is an equally good choice and, within your range parameters, really just as versatile though not factory loaded at the heavyweight end of the spectrum. The issue is that with the ammo shortage - and God only knows how long that will continue - 30-06 is more available because Tommy Tactikewl is buying up all the .308 to stockpile against the Zombie Apocalypse. Also, there are more interesting older rifles available in 30-06 than in .308 - think a sweeeeet Mannlicher-Steyr double trigger butter knife bolt handle in 30-06. :drool

The two cartridges are six of one half a dozen of the other, but 30-06 seems to be much more readily available at the moment.

 

[Kachok]

While I enjoy reloading for the 06 more the 308 enjoys lighter recoil and a short action with less muzzle blast and in factory form there is not enough difference in power to raise much fuss over, especially since the 308 is an overkill on any deer anyways. If 308 were easier to find at the moment it would be a shoe in, given the current circumstances I could make a REAL strong case for the 270 which in all honesty is a hella good choice even when supplys return to normal.

 

[denton]

30-06 is more gun than your really need for most anything in North America. If you standardize on something with less recoil, you'll enjoy spending time at the range with your rifle, and still have plenty of authority when bagging game.

Any of the following will work well on whitetails: 243 with the right bullet, 257 Roberts, 260, 6.5x55, 7x57, 7mm08, 30-30, 308, 270, 30-06, 7mm Mag, plus a few I'm sure I've left out. For a non handloader, the 7mm08 or 260 will do anything from a fun day at the range, to coyotes, to whitetails.

 

[Tommy Medlin]

Looks like I'm in the 243 crowd.I've got nothing but praise o mine.It's a Rem.Mod 7 SS/composite.Shoots a 3 shot cloverleaf at 100 yds. Have taken three deer over 200 yds.with 100 gr.Sierra boattails and one at 200 yds. with 85 gr.HP and didn't even re-sight when changing weights.Hit'em in the shoulder and they are DRT !! "praise FOR mine "

 

[TCB in TN]

Personally I am a fan of several.. grew up on the 3006, 270 & 243. See benefits and draw backs to each. As for performance white tail inside 300 yards, well pick one and you may not be right, but you won't be.wrong.

Personally I Consider the "06" to be a light recoil, 270 slightly lighter, and the 243 is a pc of cake. With the 270 balancing themhe three. Loaded with 130 grain it is flat and still hits with authority.

But with that said I.own 2 3006, 1 308, and a 243. I don't currently own a 270. Any of the three wii tcb if you put it in the wheel house.

Pick the one you like.and.shoot it enough to.learn it and .become.profficient.