Short stalking rifle calibre.
- Thread starter Mrmjspice
- Start date
What a lovely set up.
Another resounding vote for .308. It just works, the ultimate all rounder, ammo & components abundant, saleable should you want to trade in. Kills as well as anything-bar really pokey magnums.
As years go on I am learning to despise long rifles, my ‘55 is in for a trim with Ronin as we speak, probably 22” from 26”. Stalking woodland with the big drain pipe + mod was throughly annoying. My .308 is 20”, I suspect it’ll end up in for a trim soon. My rem mag is 26” but now strictly for the hill, where longer shots are the norm.
from the
Do as i say not as i have done files.
buy the cheapest rifle you can lay your hands on preferably one that comes with a horrible scope.
put a few hundred rounds down range, take it stalking.
Very soon you will know what you actually need for your use case.
scope is much more important than rifle, binoculars are more important than scope
personally down south i mainly use an 18” 6.5cm with a super bright kahles that has two hash’s 200 and 300. i spent way to much time and money getting to that choice.
Do as i say not as i have done files.
buy the cheapest rifle you can lay your hands on preferably one that comes with a horrible scope.
put a few hundred rounds down range, take it stalking.
Very soon you will know what you actually need for your use case.
scope is much more important than rifle, binoculars are more important than scope
personally down south i mainly use an 18” 6.5cm with a super bright kahles that has two hash’s 200 and 300. i spent way to much time and money getting to that choice.
I’m a fan of the 308 and Creedmoor cartridges. 308 has the advantage of performing very well in shorter barrels. A good way to look at it is by % of advertised velocity at various barrel lengths. 6.5 cm reaches the 95% mark around 18-20” and 308 reaches 95% velocity around 16”. I’ve been moving more toward lighter cartridges. I just bought a T3x in 6.5 that will be cut down to 18” after this hunting season.
While you may end up spending more on optic than the rifle you don’t have to break the bank either. Even moderately priced scopes made today are better than top of the line were a few decades ago. A Leupold vx3 is very good for a reasonable price and has a lifetime warranty. You could stalk forever with one. Are there better? Yes, but you’ll pay 2-3x more to get there. I admit there’s nothing like high end European glass but personally I couldn’t be happy without sorting the fit feel and balance of a rifle that I’m happy with and suits my purposes perfectly and investing my money in that first. Just a preference thing I guess. (You can say the same thing about dirt cheap modern rifles being more accurate than custom rifles 30 years ago.)
If you become like the rest of us you’re likely to end up spending a lot of money no matter what anyway
is there a table ?
Yes. Hang on. I’m sure there are a number of different interpretations but I’ll share what I was looking at.
The Best Barrel Length for 6.5 Creedmoor (With Ballistics Data)
What's the best barrel length for 6.5 Creedmoor? 18", 20", 22", or 24"? The answer might surprise you. We've got the ballistic data to show what's best.
www.gunbuilders.com
This is where I found the 6.5 and 308 tables. They reference rifle shooter magazine. I’m sure there are different sources out there but this seems in line with all the stuff I’ve seen and read.
enfieldspares
Well-Known Member
I hope you got sorted by now, June 2026? My advice would be a short action rifle using a short cartridge and IMHO the ideal is the distincly unfasionable .308. The .270 Winchester is what the American used to call a "bean field" rifle. It is ideal for lomng range but at short range can be quite damaging. The "loopy trajectory" nonsense is just that. Nonsense. Zero an inch or an inch and a half high at one hundred yards and with a 150 grain bullet your .308 is good out to two hundred yards depending on how high you 'scope is above the axis of the rifle's bore.
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