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Target Rifle Caliber

Bballhunter11
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Bballhunter11 Newbie

Bballhunter11

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Ok probably going to get a hundred different answers here but thats kind of what im looking for. If you had to pick a caliber to have a target rifle in what would it be and why? Im considering bolt action rifle chamberings right now and am just comparing differences in cartridges such as 204 ruger, 223, 260, 7mm-08, 308, 25-06 ect. Any opinions or research is welcome thanks alot

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ny hunter Collaborator

ny hunter

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I bought a 243 after shooting one at the range one day.When Ihave time I love to grab that rifle and go shooting.The nice thing is I can also use that caliber for anything up to deer.It is nice to shoot and very little recoil.

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Bballhunter11 Newbie

Bballhunter11

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Thanks for all the quick answers. I am getting into reloading currently, i have to in order to shoot 222 magnum at all it isnt commercially available and brass is 40.00 per hundred so anything i choose to shoot along with it will be close in price a little less or little more. Culver just for fun currently but we are shooting clay pigeons at 200+ yards currently (a competition will no doubt develop soon in the group) and looking at the possibility of entering F-class or high power in the future, some shoots are held very close to where i live. Competitions in my area i think are 300 yards, simulation 600. I really like the 7mm-08 cartridge from hunting experience because of the accuracy of the 7mm bullet and the low recoil from the 308 case. 

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Fantail Newbie

Fantail

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I'd agree with ny hunter, I'm also a .243 fan. Wouldn't mind a go with a 25-06 though, something about the quarter bore fasinates me. I wouldn't overlook the 22mag, alot of fun to shoot and 50 rounds a box. You can get ammo for it almost anywhere.

Friend of mine at work has a Rem tripple duce 788 that's a sweet shooter. He absolutly refuses to part with it.

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jkzfixme Newbie

jkzfixme

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I am particularly fond of the C & R military guns especially for target practice. A Mosin Nagant 91/30 will cost you around a hundred bucks and is good out to 1000 yards. Ammo is dirt cheap around 90 bucks for 440 rounds, and you can really drive tacks with just a trigger job. I also like the swedish mauser for its light recoil and legendary accuracy.

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HUNT6246 Newbie

HUNT6246

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If you can get your hands on the latest 'Handloader' magazine, there are two very interesting articles about .260/ 6.5 mm caliber guns with very high ballistic coefficients.  Other than the .260 Rem though it sounds like strictly a handloading proposition.  I don't have any experience with these calibers, but it's good reading.  The articles do mention the 7mm-08.  If you already have a .222, and are serious about long range work and possibly hunting applications, I'd think you'd want to look at one of the calibers great than .22.  I have a 7mm Rem. which I am very fond of but recoil (and cost) can become an issue for casual shooting.

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WNYBuckHunter Experienced

WNYBuckHunter

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If you can get your hands on the latest 'Handloader' magazine, there are two very interesting articles about .260/ 6.5 mm caliber guns with very high ballistic coefficients.  Other than the .260 Rem though it sounds like strictly a handloading proposition.  I don't have any experience with these calibers, but it's good reading.  The articles do mention the 7mm-08.  If you already have a .222, and are serious about long range work and possibly hunting applications, I'd think you'd want to look at one of the calibers great than .22.  I have a 7mm Rem. which I am very fond of but recoil (and cost) can become an issue for casual shooting.

260 is a great round, but the selection of factory ammo is slim. I have a TC Encore pistol chambered in 260, as does one of my friends. If you really want to get the best out of it, and really any other caliber, hand loading is the way to go. Btw, I get very nice groups at 200 yards with my handgun with factory loads.

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Bballhunter11 Newbie

Bballhunter11

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Any outdoor shops around me are carrying such a small selection of ammo recently i cant find anything i like there any way which is why i began handloading. Hunt ill try and get ahold of that magizene and take a look. The 7-08 is a joy to shoot all day compared to its other 7mm cousins lol handloading will probably  be my only source of ammo from now on

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Bballhunter11 Newbie

Bballhunter11

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my younger brother has used it on deer here for 3-4 years and i have taken a couple deer with it and was quite impressed with it. We bought a second one to have before last deer season. Havent shot anything bigger than deer with it yet but it is going on a bear hunt in two weeks. I dont have anything negative to say about it except ammo scarcity, so if u reload or just order a good amount to keep in stock its a great round. Have you ever shot one ny?

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

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Ok guys...some one clue me in. Am I missing something. I have two friends that swear by their 7mm-08. They hunt deer and bear with it and have never conveyed any problems with it. I asked them why they opted for that rather than a good old fashioned .308 and could not get a good response other than they both like the next new coolest thing.

In my view the ammo for a .308 is more readily available, cheaper and I really can't see a recoil or ballistic difference to justify the choice. The one thing the 7mm does have is a much wider selection of bullets under 150 grains. If this was a varmit/predator/deer/black bear gun I could see the sizing down option. If I was taeget shooting and mainly hunting deer and bear I would probably go with the .308.

The .308 I believe is the 7.62 NATO wich does give an option for surplus ammo.

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steve863 Community Regular

steve863

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I would completely agree with Culver.  If you are going to be doing a lot of shooting and will be using factory ammo than the 7mm-08 and any of the other choices mentioned here will be considerably more expensive than a .308.  If you want to shoot a lot and for as little money as possible than the 3 least expensive choices are the .22LR, .223 and the .308.  You will have a slew of ammo available for these calibers.

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

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Didn't mean it to sound angry or with a chip on my shoulder guys. I don't have a dog in this fight. I shoot an .06...lol Just conveying my discussion with my buddies and was hoping someone had a justification they couldn't come up with. They are gadget guys....surprised one of them hasn't bought a 50 cal. yet due to all the internet videos :)

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Bballhunter11 Newbie

Bballhunter11

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Same here culver my main hunting round is an 30-06,  a 7-08 i think has a considerable amount of less recoil than a 308. It takes less energy to push a 7mm bullet to same or high velocitys than it does an 30 caliber round thus producing less recoil. Not much of a difference for you and me but for my younger brother and girlfriend who are less than 150 pounds it makes it a manageable round for them to hunt with. 7mm is a little cheaper to reload than 308 but factory like you said 308 has surplus. 7mm also has a small ballistic advantage. So 7mm uses less powder, produces less recoil and still hits just as hard at a 30 caliber are the reasons i am looking at it

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

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LOL......Bball...you hit one of my other pet peeves. recoil. now if we just look at a ballistic chart and muzzle energy values. It has been years and years since physics class so bare with me. The muzzle energy is directly proportional to the felt recoil. a gun shooting 2 different powder charges with the same weight bullet will have a higher muzzle energy for the higher powder charge....and a higher felt recoil. but if we take any caliber, any powder charge and any bullet ....if the energy at the muzzle is the same.....the felt recoil should be the same....Right?

assuming the same style (bolt, auto loader) and weight gun.

so we have 2 bolt actions of the same weight..... if a .308 of a given combination ....and a 7mm-.08 of another combination have the same muzzle energy.....the recoil should feel the same.....

There are several 7mm-.08 and .308 rounds that have the same muzzle energy so recoil should be similiar. The benefit of the 7mm is the much lighter bullets are more available than they are for the .308 so the two people you talked about  might be shooting like a 125 gr round. I know I can feel the difference in the 165's and the 180's i shoot out of my .06. Hard to believe 15 grains can make a difference....or maybe it is just in my head ;)

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