What calibre do you use for stalking?

9.3 every time for pigs! They're big fat buggers, so the bigger the hole the better! Forget .30-06, military calibre restrictions will limit your options. You may not want to shoot france etc now, but what about the future? That's why I went for a win mag instead of a .30-06. The '06 is plenty for me, but you never know when you may want to go somewhere that wont allow it.
 
6ppc, .243, 6.5x55

I use the ppc on foxes and roe

6.5x55 on red and roe

.243 is only used when I take out clients for my mate. I personally dont like it that much and only bought it for clients use.
 
I use my 243 remmington cdl, with hornady 100g for roe & fallow prickets & most of my wood land stalking. :-D
For the larger species of deer 308 remmimgton sps with federal fusion 150g. :-D
I like the remmy's they look good can do a lot with them, they are trust worthy shoot really tiny groups in both caliber's. They are not badly prised either.
I'm taking the 308 on the hill in October for the first time really looking forward to it. Culled my first beast of a fallow buck couple of weeks ago & having it trophy mounted. :-D
 
Here is a VERY good question...I wonder how many factory 100gr rounds will actually make the 1700ft/lbs minimum energy out of a short .243 stalking rifle barrel. To achieve this you need to get it flying at least 2767 feet per second.....has anyone measured it on a chrono yet? I will put money on it a lot of us are well below this legal limit......I'm still buying a .243 Blaser this week though!!! Any comments gents............
 
308

308 Win, shorter bolt throw, smaller lighter action, more efficient round. Perfect general purpose calibre.
 
I've got a Krico 308 in South Africa which I use when i go back (originally from SA) and here in the UK I have a CZ 550 in 7x57mm (7mm mauser).

Both are awesome calibres.

forgot to add i've also got a CZ 452 in .17hmr
 
I used to use an old BSA Monarch in .270, but since moving up north i now use a Steyr SSG in 308 win or occassionally a CZ527 in .223 for the light stuff.

I'm still experimenting with loads and bullet weights for the .223 but for the .308, i only use 168gr bullets.
 
.308 (125 b-tip) for stalking
.243 (55 b-tip) for foxing or shooting deer on my own permission for my freezer
.223 (50 b-tip) as truck gun for having a look around in daylight or tending the pens near the village - shoot rabbits, foxes, winged vermin :twisted: , and even the odd muntjac.
 
308,243,22.250, as it is mainly roe and munty l stalk its usually the 243 that l use but have taken woodland red very succesfully with it, l have taken fallow, roe and munty's with the 308 but never a red, l also sometimes stalk munty's with the 22.250 and roe in scotland.
 
I have been giving this one a lot of thought and, thankfully, can't come up with an answer. I carry a CZ .22 Hornet anf a .22 Ruger bolt action almost all the time, but after that it depends on terain and game. I will be carrying an 8x57J with lead bullets in a November hunt and maybe a 30-40 Krag for a river hunt next month. A staple for my hunting is a BRNO actioned 308 and I'd like to have some stalking time with that one as well. At least one weekend this fall I will hunt with handgun. ~Muir
 
I have used a Rigby .275 (7x57) for a long time. Very happy with it and always use Federal 140grn. The rifle hated Norma rounds and sprayed them everywhere.

I had a .240 for ten years and loved it, although it struggled with stags in the rut. The final straw was when Holland and Holland put the price of ammo through the roof.

I started with a Sako .270 but found it too noisy on the hill, especially in August and early September. It had a very heavy barrel too which you knew you had carried round all day!
 
finnbear270 said:
AAhhh!, but think of the quality you were hauling! :lol: Steve.

Very true, and a cracking rifle using Sako 155grn ammo (once again a rifle that was not happy with Norma). It was a Finnbear too!
 
my main rifle now is a finlite 6.5*55 should have had one 10 years ago tame with factory loads my handloads match a 2506.
also have a 7mm rem mag like this also.
had 308 2506 243 used 7mm08 7*57 3006 270 among others but for me its the sweede.
regards john.
 
the rifles that i use are as follows
.308w Blr 81 Browning lever action with 150 grs and a
.444 Marlin under lever with 265gr hornady reloads for woodland around here and stalking out to 200Meters which is long range around here

And for a bit of classic stalking i go old school with a 1908 SMLE sporter in good old .303 with 1.5-5 X 20 scope fitted.
101years old and it is still doing its job!!! putting meat on the table.

Bob.
 
Steyr Mannlicher proffesional model m in 270 + T8 my main rifle
BSA hunter in 7x57 beautifull British made rifle, shoots 1" at 200 yds with 140 B tips or1.5 with partitions
Sako A1 243, my first rifle shot reds sika roe and muntjac with speer 105 round nose bullets, now no longer made still have 100 looking for more if their out there.
22lr and 17hr for bunnies.
If I could only keep one, it would be the 7x57, dropped everything on the spot except a roe walked 3 steps once! only 70 yds away didn't dump all the energy with a BT in scotland once. 43 hinds and one roe in a week, only the roe moved off the spot. Only drawback is probaly the hardest one of the above to source shop bought rounds, as I reload no problem, these old miliatry rounds were built to do the job lives depended on it. Carried it in S/Africa past boar war sangers that felt and shot the round 115 years ago. deerwarden :roll:
 
Blaser R93 Professional in 25-06 & .300 Win Mag shooting 100 Grain and 180 grain Barnes TSX respectively.
Mainly use the 25-06 as I find the 300 does not knock down the big deer any quicker. The 300 is, however, fantastic on african game. Probably because most plainsgame is that much bigger than British deer.
Use a winchester mod 70 in .416 Rem for Buff and elephant. Also had a few zebra with it.
 
I have a Tikka 595 in .243 with a Khales 8x56, a .270 Heym SR20 stuzen with an 8x56 and a Blaser R93 Pro with a T8 and a Meopta 3-13x56, this is also in .270 and is mainly for foresty commision stalking.
Then the usual .22lr for vermin etc (Sako finfire).
 
250 Savage Ackley, 257 Ackley, 257 W/Mag, 7.08 Ackley, 280 Ackley, 308 & 300W/Mag.

I think thats it :-P :lol:

Max
 
I recently got myself a slot for a .300 (whatever type I decide to go for). That was before I'd fired one. I had a go on a fairly light sporter on the weekend which had a hard plastic butt pad and I can't lie, it actually hurt a bit. After the 20 rounds of 6.5x55 and trying to sight in a mates new .308 too it was most unwelcome!

I'm looking into light loads for it so I can sell my 6.5x55. I know it may sound daft to have a .300 if you don't need the power but sometimes I will, and it's easier to load down a .300 than it is to stoke up a .308. I found some good youth loads on the Hodgdon website. 135grn bullets at anything from 2500fps, sounds perfect! Should take a Deer ok, although I need to check the energy is legal first. I think it should be?

EDIT.. That works out at 1870ft-lbs, so fine :)
 
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