My first bolt gun, Looking for advice
- Thread starter bwalker36
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Gtscotty
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I just bought another .308 (had gotten out of them for a little while), but only really because I wanted a lightweight 16.5" barreled semi-auto, and the .308 was the the only chambering option for this rifle.
It sounds like you've made up your mind, but in your situation, I would go with the 6.5 all day and twice on Sunday. It's lighter recoiling, has superior external ballistics at all ranges, and is more than enough for any deer that ever walked at any range you'd use either for.
In my opinion, the sole upside to the .308 for most bolt gun uses is barrel life, but even then, it's really not much of a consideration for most people. I've got about 2,150 rds on one of my 6.5 barrels and it was still smoking clay pigeons at 700 and connecting with the steel torso at 1k just fine today. I'll probably replace that barrel after I burn up the last 300 or so 140 RDFs I have. I'm not really concerned about the barrel cost, I've spent a lot more on powder, cases, bullets (which are usually cheaper in 6.5mm than equivalent .308) etc, I'd rather pay a little extra for the higher performance than save a few cents in barrel life at the expense of everything else.
If you're wanting to learn to shoot for accuracy, cheapo steel cased junk shouldn't even be in the conversation.
It sounds like you've made up your mind, but in your situation, I would go with the 6.5 all day and twice on Sunday. It's lighter recoiling, has superior external ballistics at all ranges, and is more than enough for any deer that ever walked at any range you'd use either for.
In my opinion, the sole upside to the .308 for most bolt gun uses is barrel life, but even then, it's really not much of a consideration for most people. I've got about 2,150 rds on one of my 6.5 barrels and it was still smoking clay pigeons at 700 and connecting with the steel torso at 1k just fine today. I'll probably replace that barrel after I burn up the last 300 or so 140 RDFs I have. I'm not really concerned about the barrel cost, I've spent a lot more on powder, cases, bullets (which are usually cheaper in 6.5mm than equivalent .308) etc, I'd rather pay a little extra for the higher performance than save a few cents in barrel life at the expense of everything else.
If you're wanting to learn to shoot for accuracy, cheapo steel cased junk shouldn't even be in the conversation.
So I got a text from my boss telling me he put me up for award at work that comes with one time $$. The bergara may be back in the picture boys and if I get that i'm going 6.5 CM. ALthough I won't know about that for at least a month so I'm gonna wait it out.
Skeptic13
Member
I shoot .308 because it is cheaper, you can shoot a wider range of bullet weights out of it and the ammo is more plentiful. If you handload there is a massive amount of options in 30 caliber to choose from. And .308 is a proven cartridge that will do just about anything you need it to do.
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