Recommend a new rifle caliber for me

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Olympus said:
But does 7.62x39 still make sense for someone just now getting into the caliber? Sure, not long ago it was dirt cheap and I can see why people would have stocked up, but it's not that cheap these days.
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I think it's still feasible. It may not be 17 cents per round now, but I'm seeing the online prices have dropped to 30 to 40 cents per round. Not too bad considering the highway robbery some companies are trying to gouge us with for a brick of .22lr or some other calibers.
 
LonewolfMcquade said:
I think it's still feasible. It may not be 17 cents per round now, but I'm seeing the online prices have dropped to 30 to 40 cents per round. Not too bad considering the highway robbery some companies are trying to gouge us with for a brick of .22lr or some other calibers.
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I guess you're right. Ammoseek has several places selling 7.62x39 for $0.33/round. I did a quick figure on what 300blk rounds would be with me reloading them and it came out to right at $0.50/round. But that's comparing steel cased x39 to brass cased 300blk.
 
I don't have a ton of experience with different calibers, but have shot deer with .270 and .243. My brother has shot many, many deer with several different calibers. He's a big brute so recoil doesn't matter to him. No matter what he shoots, he always comes back to his .243. Me too, I did not like the .270 so I sold it and returned to the .243. I bought a 6.5CM and like it a lot. Why not try a couple of different calibers that have peaked your curiosity? And try different .243s. I have discovered that you can find some really nice used .243s because their are so many out them. Sako makes some great rifles and a fantastic .243 is waiting for you! All that said, I think the 7mm-08 would be just right for you.
 
Olympus said:
Being from the midwest, I will forever be a fan of the 243 Winchester. There's no animal within 500 miles that I can't effectively take with the 243. I have shot this caliber off and on my whole life and I get a LOT more practice time with it because of the mild recoil. That being said, I think I'd like to pick up rifle in another caliber just to have, but I have a few parameters I'd like to stay within.

Firstly is recoil. I prefer a mild recoiling rifle, something that tends to "punch above its weight" so to speak. I'm a reloader, so I can tailor a bullet and powder combination to get the most out of a caliber. Personally, I think the 243 also punches above its weight also. I have a friend that usually helps with the deer cleaning and every year he makes a comment about how devastating the chest cavities are on the deer I shoot with my 243.

I hunt hardwood timber and most shots are under 200 yards. I'm not opposes to a lever gun, but as I get older my vision isn't as good as it used to be so scope is pretty much a must-have now. I could care less about ammo availability since I reload. I'm always drawn to unique, lesser known or lesser seen calibers. I've also gotten to be more of a synthetic stock guy for hunting rifles. My safe is full of blued/walnut rifles, but I have grown fond of the utilitarian synthetic stock for hunting rifles. But I'm always interested in suggestions. Thanks!
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you might enjoy having a M70 .257 Roberts changed to 257 Ackley Improved, RL19 & Hornady 120 grain Interlock bullets ( or Speer ) will give you an honest 3300 fps 22'' barrel, 3400 fps 26" barrel, both chronographed using Oehler M33 & M35P chronographs. Check Speer RL Manual#8. Bullets will have FULL penetration on deer, elk, BIG black bear all DOA. Supremely accurate in my M70 Winchester & my brother's M70 Winchester Rifles. 5 shot groups covered by a nickel.
 
I'll also recommend 7.62x39, but as an owner of a CZ527 and a Ruger American in that caliber I'd recommend the Ruger for a reloader. The CZ *loves* steel case and shoots it flawlessly, but as soon as you move to brass cases you start to have failures to fire - it looks like a good primer strike, but no ignition. I have the same problem with my 527 in .223, but fortunately that one will fire brass reloads as long as I use Federal primers. The 527 in 7.62, not so much. The best explanation I've heard is that the steel cased stuff is made to CIP specs, and the brass is generally made to SAAMI specs, and there are slight differences. Don't know if that's accurate or not, but the only brass 7.62 that fired in my 527 was PPU (Serbian). The Ruger shoots everything, steel or brass, without any issues.
 
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Olympus said:
Being from the midwest, I will forever be a fan of the 243 Winchester. There's no animal within 500 miles that I can't effectively take with the 243. I have shot this caliber off and on my whole life and I get a LOT more practice time with it because of the mild recoil. That being said, I think I'd like to pick up rifle in another caliber just to have, but I have a few parameters I'd like to stay within.

Firstly is recoil. I prefer a mild recoiling rifle, something that tends to "punch above its weight" so to speak. I'm a reloader, so I can tailor a bullet and powder combination to get the most out of a caliber. Personally, I think the 243 also punches above its weight also. I have a friend that usually helps with the deer cleaning and every year he makes a comment about how devastating the chest cavities are on the deer I shoot with my 243.

I hunt hardwood timber and most shots are under 200 yards. I'm not opposes to a lever gun, but as I get older my vision isn't as good as it used to be so scope is pretty much a must-have now. I could care less about ammo availability since I reload. I'm always drawn to unique, lesser known or lesser seen calibers. I've also gotten to be more of a synthetic stock guy for hunting rifles. My safe is full of blued/walnut rifles, but I have grown fond of the utilitarian synthetic stock for hunting rifles. But I'm always interested in suggestions. Thanks!
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To fit your criteria I have a couple of suggestions. If you decide to stick with normal everyday cartridges I would go with either 7mm-08 or 260 rem. If you want something a little different I have always been a huge fan of the 7x57 and the 6.5x55. the 6.5x55 is even still readily available!
 
If you want to go a little bigger than your 243- I am a big fan of the 7mm-08 as some others have mentioned. It just seems to be magical on whitetail sized game. Right now ammo can be hard to come by though.
If you want to consider something a little less powerful than the 243- Like a few others have mentioned, I like the 6.5 Grendel. My son has shot deer with it the past two seasons and I have been very impressed with the results, I would say for something shooting above it's weight class, this definitely fits that bill. The really nice thing with the Grendel is being able to get steel cased ammo at decent prices to be able to practice more.
 
Jackalope 1 said:
you might enjoy having a M70 .257 Roberts changed to 257 Ackley Improved, RL19 & Hornady 120 grain Interlock bullets ( or Speer ) will give you an honest 3300 fps 22'' barrel, 3400 fps 26" barrel, both chronographed using Oehler M33 & M35P chronographs. Check Speer RL Manual#8. Bullets will have FULL penetration on deer, elk, BIG black bear all DOA. Supremely accurate in my M70 Winchester & my brother's M70 Winchester Rifles. 5 shot groups covered by a nickel.
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I kind of want a 257 Roberts Ackley Improved, just to refer to it as a "Quarter Better Bob"
 
I think the real answer is one of each. It going to happen eventually anyway. So many great cartridges out there, so little time (and money).

I really like 7.62x39 in a bolt action, for what it is worth. It gets a bad rap from the inconsistent steel case ammo. There aren't a lot of .311 bullets offered, but there are enough, and it is the parent case for some very accurate cartridges. Not punishing at all to fire from very light handy rifles (Howa mini, Ruger ranch, cz527 carbine).
 
Bolt action 7.62x39's, when used with the right ammo, are damn effective on deer and pigs at reasonable ranges. I.E. the ranges that most newer hunters should be shooting.

I had a Howa Mini in both 7.62x39 and 6.5 Grendel at the same time. I hand loaded for both of them. I took a number of whitetails and pigs with both of them. Over 10 pigs each in fact, and 3-4 deer. There is no doubt the 7.62x39 put down critters faster than the Grendel. I didn't want it to be true, but it was. I wanted to like that Grendel but after about a dozen critters, it just wasn't doing the job well enough for me. The 7.62x39 never failed me though. That dumb round is like my 30-30 - it just puts things down fast.
 
Mycin said:
How about 260 Remington, then? It has been eclipsed by the 6.5CM, but ballistics suggest they're basically equivalent until you start reaching way out there and need the higher BC bullets that the Creedmore supports.
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That’s what I did long before the .260REM was even a commercial cartridge.
Being a reloader and having a pile of .308WIN brass, I was necking em down to take 140gr 6.5mm bullets well before it went commercial.
I had a barrel cut for it and tossed it onto a 700Rem short-action rifle. To this day, it’s still my favorite.
The recoil is about the same as the Creed, ballistics are similar out to about 300-400yds or so.
However, finding one chambered for 260REM today can be tough, but not impossible.
 
Legionnaire said:
7.62x39 is a fine cartridge if you want a .30 caliber. I gave up on .30s a couple years back, which is why I recommended the 7mm-08. But I'm liking the idea of bolt action 6.5 Grendel.
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Been there done that. Went back to my 7mm-08. I sure wanted that Grendel to be great. But I can't say it was.
 
lgjhn said:
That’s what I did long before the .260REM was even a commercial cartridge.
Being a reloader and having a pile of .308WIN brass, I was necking em down to take 140gr 6.5mm bullets well before it went commercial.
I had a barrel cut for it and tossed it onto a 700Rem short-action rifle. To this day, it’s still my favorite.
The recoil is about the same as the Creed, ballistics are similar out to about 300-400yds or so.
However, finding one chambered for 260REM today can be tough, but not impossible.
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IIRC, Savage still chambers some factory barrels in .260 Rem. I've seen a few. But for sure, the 6.5 CM is taking over that bore.
 
ACES&8S said:
I agree with wiscoaster, the 8mm Mauser doesn't make you look like the average penguin in a crowd like a 6.5 or .308.
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Why the 8x57is? Old school cool. If you reload(and you say you do) look up the CFE223 data.
1. You typically shoot under 200 yards, WELL within the capabilities of the ORIGINAL modern rifle cartridge.
2.The best bolt action ever concieved was litterally designed around it. Bubba'ed up military actions are still relatively affordable and you can still get good quality NOS Yugo surplus barrels on FleaBay for around $100.
3. It's hell on wheels for whitetail...
84586.jpg
 
Olympus said:
Definitely will. I'm keeping my eye open for several good options listed here.
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In your original post you mentioned .243 which for many suggests a bolt action, specifically a short action bolt gun. There are a wide palate of choices there, any of the fat 6mm's: 6BR, 6ARC or even 6PPC have established new levels of case volume efficiency. 6ARC is increasingly popular in the AR -15 platform. Sticking with bolt guns, the quarter caliber: .257 Roberts is the next logical step up. Then the 6.5mm's: Creedmoor, .260 Rem, etc.

If reloading is in the picture, I would suggest one of the short, fat cartridges such as the 6 ARC or even something based on the .284, which allow for longer higher BC bullets.

Then there is the other side of the coin, straight walled cases like the .350 Legend or even the long established ..357 Magnum.

Or something in between short, fat and straight such as .300 Black out.

6ARC in an AR-15 and 6.5 Creedmoor in a short action bolt gun are my own recent endeavors.
 
One more thought, you said: "My safe is full of blued/walnut rifles, but I have grown fond of the utilitarian synthetic stock for hunting rifles. But I'm always interested in suggestions."

I was considering parting ways with my Remington Seven which in .308, is more recoil than I enjoy in my post right shoulder rotator cuff repair. While .308 recoil isn't profound in a heavier rifle, the Remy 7 with its pencil barrel is very lightweight, thus easy to carry on a hunt.What changed my mind to keeping it for the time being was dumping the lousy factory trigger and switching to a nice Timney. I think Timney only has one model for the Remy 7, which within its range of adjustment arrives at a ~3 lbs break. I am so pleased that I have no interest in changing that, it's perfect for me, as is.

I once considered rebarreling this rifle to 6.5 Creedmoor, but the cost of that just didn't justify expense. Maybe some other time but for now a Bergara is scratching my 6.5 Creedmoor itch. I'll be following here for other short action options.

Regardless, the Remington Seven in its laminate stock, perhaps even a stainless barrel you be well divergent from the blue/walnut rifles.

My Remy 7:

Rem Seven.aJjpg.JPG
 
Lot of good choices right now. As for the ARs suggestions, I've got ARs coming out my ears and I'm not really interested in adding another one. If I didn't already have too many to shoot, I'd be looking at the 6mm ARC caliber, but will be sticking with bolt guns more than likely.

One a separate note, I've been looking more into the 6.5 Grendel and it seems like the barrel lengths in bolt guns are either short 16" like the Ruger Ranch Rife or all the way out to 24" on the Howas. I know there is quite a bit of velocity loss going to a shorter barrel, but for my purposes, I don't really see the need or benefit of a longer barrel since I'm not going to be shooting at any real distance to speak of. I'm wondering though how much performance loss the 6.5 Grendel has in a 16" barrel.
 
Olympus said:
Lot of good choices right now. As for the ARs suggestions, I've got ARs coming out my ears and I'm not really interested in adding another one. If I didn't already have too many to shoot, I'd be looking at the 6mm ARC caliber, but will be sticking with bolt guns more than likely.

One a separate note, I've been looking more into the 6.5 Grendel and it seems like the barrel lengths in bolt guns are either short 16" like the Ruger Ranch Rife or all the way out to 24" on the Howas. I know there is quite a bit of velocity loss going to a shorter barrel, but for my purposes, I don't really see the need or benefit of a longer barrel since I'm not going to be shooting at any real distance to speak of. I'm wondering though how much performance loss the 6.5 Grendel has in a 16" barrel.
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Howa makes the carbon stalker in 6.5 grendel with a 20" barrel and they say it's only 4.5 lbs. I almost want one myself!
 
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