What calibre ?

[angusb1]

Or get a 300PRC if you aren't worried about factory ammo and you want a custom rifle

 

[olliehopes]

Or get a 300PRC if you aren't worried about factory ammo and you want a custom rifle

Or have the money for a fierce....

 

[HonestJohn]

Good friend of mine has 7 rem mag for use on the hill when he's north of the border and for when the fallow won't come within 400 yards. He also has 7-08 for the closer stuff. I've seen him shoot fallow with both and the difference is staggering!

is the difference that with the 7-08 they go down faster as he shoots better with it than the magnum? or does the wrath of the 7's knock 'em to hell better?

 

[olliehopes]

is the difference that with the 7-08 they go down faster as he shoots better with it than the magnum? or does the wrath of the 7's knock 'em to hell better?

His rem mag is in an MDT chassis. It's not a walk and stalk rifle by any means..... The difference I've witnessed is the difference in killing power out to longer ranges.

Had I thought about it before getting my swede I would have just gone straight to a 7mm calibre....

 

[HonestJohn]

His rem mag is in an MDT chassis. It's not a walk and stalk rifle by any means..... The difference I've witnessed is the difference in killing power out to longer ranges.

Had I thought about it before getting my swede I would have just gone straight to a 7mm calibre....

the 7mm is my all time favourite calibre in fact. but, it is the 7x57, NOT any magnums. the 7x57 will handle 130g through 175g, and can handly virtually anything but the large african game species requiring 375 upwards

 

[angusb1]

Or have the money for a fierce....

Or this Bergara B14 Wilderness HMR

 

[SimonDodsworth]

Consider the original bottleneck if you handload - 7x57. Recoils as light as the Swede or CM but sits between 7-08 and 7 rem mag in terms of velocity and will handle the long high bc bullets that everyone seems to want now

 

[Essexsussex]

7mm rm is quite a teeth-clatterer. It’s actually quite a solid reassuring shoulder punch (it’s not snappy) with a muzzle brake, but there are definitely calibres you can shoot more shots with in one session…particularly in a weight you want to carry. I think I’d have been better with the 7x57 but it doesn’t get out too much!

 

[HandB]

I give another vote for .308 - it is maybe regarded as a bit dull but if it was invented today the .308 would be regarded as some kind of wonder cartridge. It is compact, the brass and barrels last way longer than more overbore cartridges like .243 and yet the performance is no slouch. The standard NATO ball 7.62 ammo shoots a 147gr bullet at approx 2,800 fps. The NRA target ammo is even more spectacular: it shoots a 155gr bullet at 3050fps. Plus the ammo is cheap and you can buy it anywhere in the world. It wins on many levels.

 

[Craigsaun]

proper men use 308

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Just looking for people’s views on caliber for variation.
I’d like to get into target shooting in the coming year but …..
Would also like a calibre of rifle to spit some heavier bullets for large stags etc.

It’s not everyday I’d require this for deer but would like the rifle to overlap as I don’t have an endless pot of money and my 25-06 does a good job so far.

Considering either 308, 6.5 creed( concerns bullet weight might not go big enough) or 7mm-08.

This may start something but … any better choices or opinions

Thoughts and advice appreciated.

.308 178gr eld X

 

[njc110381]

How about .280AI? It's quite an efficient chambering I believe? Near magnum performance from a long action sized case?

 

[Mungo]

Just looking for people’s views on caliber for variation.
I’d like to get into target shooting in the coming year but …..
Would also like a calibre of rifle to spit some heavier bullets for large stags etc.

It’s not everyday I’d require this for deer but would like the rifle to overlap as I don’t have an endless pot of money and my 25-06 does a good job so far.

Considering either 308, 6.5 creed( concerns bullet weight might not go big enough) or 7mm-08.

This may start something but … any better choices or opinions

Thoughts and advice appreciated.

Between the 3 you mention, it really doesn’t matter. They are all great, and will all do absolutely everything you need. Really - you could pick one at random, and never notice the difference while stalking.

The only slightly limitation is that ammo for 7-08 can be hard to find.

You’ll get 3-5 pages of responses here, and be none the wiser because there is no right answer.

Personally, I’d rule out the 7-08 because of ammo availability and then toss a coin…

 

[big ears]

proper men use 308

Sorry that should read gentlemen use a .275 Rigby

 

[Utectok]

The real truth is all legal deer calibres will kill all uk deer with the right bullet correctly placed. This heavy enough bullet nonsense is just that. Every time I’ve changed calibre if thought wow that was expensive new reloading gear and all was it worth it to kill the same deer at the same distances?
So I say get what you fancy they all work fine. The biggest uk stag will die just fine with a 100gn bullet out of a non magnum calibre.
Personally I think 6.5mm or 7mm are nice with a decent twist rate for copper bullets.

 

[Skinny78]

The real truth is all legal deer calibres will kill all uk deer with the right bullet correctly placed. This heavy enough bullet nonsense is just that. Every time I’ve changed calibre if thought wow that was expensive new reloading gear and all was it worth it to kill the same deer at the same distances?
So I say get what you fancy they all work fine. The biggest uk stag will die just fine with a 100gn bullet.
Personally I think 6.5mm or 7mm are nice with a decent twist rate for copper bullets.

A 222 will kill all deer in the UK. The problem seems to be the rules that prohibit it.

 

[simgre]

If you’re a “gun guy” then the shooting world is your oyster. Fact is, lots of stalkers/hunters are not.

That said, for a “double duty” rifle in the UK, .308 Win is very, very difficult to beat.

There are a plethora of rifles for sale, from old classics at a couple of hundred quid which will still be very, very capable. To the all singing and dancing chassis system. Bullet weights from 110gn on foxes and vermin up to 190 +, with a suitable twist rate, that will take anything we have in our tiny, over crowded island.

Walk into any Gunshop in the country, and I bet there’s at least a couple ‘o three .308 factory loads in stock, there and then. And if a shop carries reloading components, they’ll have for the .308!

Take it further afield… anywhere in the Western world, Eastern Europe, South America and Africa, you’ll find some sort of fodder for a .308.

Truth is, it does everything well, but has long since lost its bragging rites.

 

[Bowland blades]

308 , lets face facts it has the long barrel life having been developed for use in full auto and semi for the military ! It has all the thump anyone needs , has inherent accuracy if such a thing is real ? A very large range of bullet weights and types 110- 180 grain without going silly
Its a no brainer !
Are there ballistics in others ? Yeah ! Does it matter shooting deer to say 3-400 yards? Not if you really do have the required skill sets in the first place ! ( speaking on the larger deer front) .

 

[Dunwaters]

Caliber isn’t your main problem, the rifle is.
You’re looking to squeeze one rig into two very different roles, target and stalking.
Concentrate on the target side and the rig will be too heavy and cumbersome for stalking.
Lean the other way and you won’t be competitive.
You need another rifle.

If you wish you may use this post as part of your “ good reason to acquire” file.

 

[Utectok]

For what it is worth I shoot targets and deer with one rifle (and yes I have done it with a .308) but a 6.5mm is better just less wind drift and more hits on target. That is a statistically proven fact I think the US military tested exactly that and found a higher percentage of hits with a 6.5vs .308.
I settled on 6.5x55 but I handload and have a beard otherwise I'd get a 6.5 CM. I hear good things about the 7mm PRCW but reamers ammo and dies are hard to get.