New Highland Calibre - What to go For

[Pazza89]

Hi all. I have been stalking with a .243 for a long time, and have found it to be a fantastic calibre throughout, having taken many highland red stags to roe does, with fantastic results. I am now considering a new rifle with better long distance ballistics, more suited to consistent highland stalking and would like some comments / views. I am currently considering 6.5 x 55 or .308. Realstically i will not be shooting beyond 200m - 250m (absolute max) highland open hill stag and hinds. Any comments and useful advise to best calibres would be much apreciated. Appreciate this could be an opinionated question, though i am open to all views.

 

[User00040]

If you want to be really trendy, 6mm Creedmoor (modern .243? but good luck getting factory ammo!).

If you want to be boring (but effective), .270 Winchester.

A .308 is fine but if you really want a 6.5 then it pains me to say get a Creedmoor, the 6.5 Swede is a relic.

 

[sako85708]

Go in between like I did and got a 7mm08 great calibre

 

[John Gryphon]

Just jump straight into a .300 win mag,no ifs no buts.

 

[User00033]

And it’s lights out, and away we go!

Almost all the responses you will get to this question will simply state what the poster owns himself.

The thread will degenerate into an argument between old versus new, big versus small, European versus American. Pretty much every deer legal cartridge south of the .500 Nitro Express will be mentioned and very few sensible reasons will support any of the nominations. One side of the debate will decry the word Creedmoor as if it implies some sort of contagious hard left transgenderism. The other side of the debate will regard anything that has an “x” or “-“ in its name as proof that the poster is an octogenarian antiquarian who attends Boer War reenactments. (Another small group will insist you need a Magnum but you can disregard them as they are unduly influenced by their unfortunately sized appendages.)

All the cartridges mentioned in the thread prior to this post will do the job just nicely, including the .243 you already have. All the cartridges that are yet to be mentioned, but surely will, will also do the job. Being a Yorkshireman, you doubtless have a strong affinity with humble beginnings, child labour in’t pit and proletarian revolution, so I would caution against getting anything too flash. But at the same time you don’t want to encourage the capitalist gentry by getting something classic that suggests you have been reading Country Life. You need something that says Ford Cortina rather than Jaguar XJ12.

Finally may I ask you to please be man enough to actually tell us what you end up buying. 99% of posters of this question, which comes up at least once a week, are scared off by the ensuing venomous argument and we never hear from them again...

 

[Muir]

And it’s lights out, and away we go!

Almost all the responses you will get to this question will simply state what the poster owns himself.

How true. I own all of them and would vote for the 7-08 if a handloader, and 6.5 Creedmoor if not. With bullets in the 140 grain class they are hard to beat.~Muir

 

[Roestalker39]

I like the 7-08 but the 270 6.5x55 or 308 will do the job just as well

 

[Coddy]

.270”.
It is “The Highland Round” after all.

 

[Nkawu]

I am planning on having a rifle built in 6.5x55 for the same purposes. I have never owned a 6.5x55 but I feel it should serve my needs nicely. Good luck!

 

[gixer1]

Well, just to f-up DK’s opinion....I’d say 6.5x55....or a 25.06 (there is a cracking 202 for sale in 25.06 in the for sale section - I don’t know the guy before anyone asks!) and I don’t own either of these calibers! I was considering one though.

I have a 243 and have shot most things with it. I had a 30.06 and sold it a while back and regretted it so bought another a few months ago, my reasoning is I can shoot anything from 110 to 220 gr and load it up fast or slow but my main reason is I wanted a heavy hitting slow round for the area I’m stalking in and it’s working perfectly for that.

I still think a swede would be a good compromise between the 243 and 30.06 and matey get a variation for one and look for a barrel.

the 25.06 is also a 202 so you could change the barrel to another caliber if it took your fancy.

Regards,
Gixer.

 

[User00033]

@gixer1

It ain’t a “.”
It’s a “-“

Purgatory awaits those that make such errors. See you in hell then!

 

[big ears]

If it were me now Id put in a variation for a 6.5 calibre. You then get to choose form which ever you want. The 6.5 bullet is particularly good in the wind and at the ranges you are shooting at will be easy to calculate. For many years I’ve shot a Tikka in 6.5x55 and it is an easy calibre. I homeload as I found trouble getting good 140gr loads but that might be different now. Recently I have moved to 7x57 and do rate the 7mm bullet as it does seem to have a bit more knock down power. Low numbers so cannot say for sure bet my next one runs for miles
Both of the above are not a huge step up from 243 but enough to make a difference once you start to get into the -06 family or 30cal then the perceived recoil does start to increase and to combat this many increase the rifle weight. Which is not ideal on a long day in the hills.
For highland stalking a nice light 6.5mm or 7mm would be my choice. Like this one in 275 Rigby!!

 

[cjm1066]

Isn't the 275 Rigby (7x57) the highland round, or for more fun a David Lloyd in 244 H&H?

 

[Tim.243]

And it’s lights out, and away we go!

Almost all the responses you will get to this question will simply state what the poster owns himself.

The thread will degenerate into an argument between old versus new, big versus small, European versus American. Pretty much every deer legal cartridge south of the .500 Nitro Express will be mentioned and very few sensible reasons will support any of the nominations. One side of the debate will decry the word Creedmoor as if it implies some sort of contagious hard left transgenderism. The other side of the debate will regard anything that has an “x” or “-“ in its name as proof that the poster is an octogenarian antiquarian who attends Boer War reenactments. (Another small group will insist you need a Magnum but you can disregard them as they are unduly influenced by their unfortunately sized appendages.)

All the cartridges mentioned in the thread prior to this post will do the job just nicely, including the .243 you already have. All the cartridges that are yet to be mentioned, but surely will, will also do the job. Being a Yorkshireman, you doubtless have a strong affinity with humble beginnings, child labour in’t pit and proletarian revolution, so I would caution against getting anything too flash. But at the same time you don’t want to encourage the capitalist gentry by getting something classic that suggests you have been reading Country Life. You need something that says Ford Cortina rather than Jaguar XJ12.

Finally may I ask you to please be man enough to actually tell us what you end up buying. 99% of posters of this question, which comes up at least once a week, are scared off by the ensuing venomous argument and we never hear from them again...

In fact there is no " best calibre for the hill" there are a good number that are not, I use a Rem 700 in .270 with a home load Sieria Game King 150 head with a T8....SW Z6 2.5-15x56. Not going to get into distances as it is pointless.
Examples for reference of distance shooting are.

Tony Gillaham is a 7mm fan who explains things well also makes a good video.

Also a 300 wsm


Clarke Brothers in NZ I think they use a 300 wsm



also this guy with a .308

 

[Dalua]

Isn't the 275 Rigby (7x57) the highland round, or for more fun a David Lloyd in 244 H&H?

I think those are among the top persons' Highland rounds.

Mine is .270, which offers the flexibilty that if I want to get similar performance to the 6.5x55 or CM, I can simply add less powder.

The effect of wind on one's bullets is important to consider in the field, but in practice I limit the consideration to whether it's too windy to shoot, or not - depending, of course, on the range of the shot.
If it's not too windy, I might hold off a bit for wind.
If I had to think about calculating anything, it would be too windy to shoot.

As an aside, I think the top persons' .270 might be 7x64 - so that might be an option?

 

[John Gryphon]

Almost all the responses you will get to this question will simply state what the poster owns himself.

Oh so wrong in my case Davey Boi!

Yes in this case for the OP I have a 25-06 as a starting point,great flat,fast calibre.
I ran a few crackers through ammo guide,that mild recoiling 25 cal is a sweet little round.
These details are based on averages.




I

 

[Tom D]

308- huge bullet choice, easily found factory ammo, boring? Not as flat shooting as some of the other options.
270- flatter shooting than 308, easily found factory ammo, poor choice of bullets, can be messy at close range.
6.5x55- decent bullet choice, factory ammo can be expensive, flatter than 308,
7-08 huge bullet choice, factory ammo can be expensive/ hard to find Flatter than 308

there’s loads more options I’d go 308 is I was relying on factory ammo and 7-08 if I was reloading..

 

[Utectok]

I think your right to up from a 243 which can get some unkind words from a highland stalker. Other than that 6.5 to 30cal will do the job however I’d be inclined towards larger more common rounds in case or when lead gets banned and you may struggle to feed the smaller and or more unusual cals

 

[Sakoodin1]

If you want to just go into any shop and buy ammo then a .270 is definitely the way forward I think,I have a .25.06 and love the thing to bits but getting ammo if you don’t home load can be a pain. I also love the 7mm rem mag which I have also but you have the same challenge there in buying factory but it is easier to get hold of than .25.06 for sure. It doesn’t effect me as I home load but just something to think about. The .308 is the daddy of them all to be honest for stopping power!!! It’s Just like chucking a brick at 2800fpsand from zero to 200 ish it is a great bullet but beyond that you will need to really start thinking about bullet drop. Just my thoughts and each to their own,good luck deciding.
Ps-As for the Creedmoor or w***moor as it’s named by a few they recon it’s a good roundbut I have heard of a few lads saying why buy one you may as well get a .243(to which you have already,I do also).

 

[JabaliHunter]

Honestly, out to 250m I don’t think it really matters which cartridge you pick. Any of the ones mentioned will work fine.

.243, .270, .308, .30-06, and .300 are world standards and you should be able to find ammo without too much difficulty.

The others are fine if you accept that ammo will likely be harder to find if you need it.

If you are going to reload, pay attention to the bullet you want to use and make sure that the barrel twist is suitable.

For what it’s worth, I’d probably pick a .270 for a highland stalking rifle. For a few years it’s been fashionable to knock it because it needs a long action and high BC bullets choices weren’t available, but the .270 has such a global following that this is changing.

The CEB Lazer 150gr bullet for example is copper and with a G1 BC of .620 but does require a 1:8” twist ( just like many good 6.5mm bullets do).

Yes a .270 is a’traditional’ choice, but if you’re worried about it becoming obsolete, I really wouldn’t!