I have nothing against a 6.5 caliber. In fact, I had an uncle who swore that the 6.5 Swedish Mauser was the absolute bomb on white tails. Still, for more versatility I'd lean toward a .270 or aught-six. Actually, I'd buy a 6.5, a .270, a 30-06, AND a 7mm mag. It's only money and we aren't taking it with us, right?
OT: Deer Hunting Rifle
- Thread starter Wizard.sixpack
- Start date
There are military sniper units that are adopting the 6.5 so I’m not sure that “fad” would be a good description. A fad within the hunting community maybe but when those guys are using it, there is something to it.
They have access to special bullets,
and other testing advantages,
We will check their progress as it goes.
Like somebody has already said, the 260 Remington has been around for years,
and it's almost identical to the 6.5 CM. (follow the $)
and other testing advantages,
We will check their progress as it goes.
Like somebody has already said, the 260 Remington has been around for years,
and it's almost identical to the 6.5 CM. (follow the $)
Me too! Since 1970, no complaints. Site it in, dead on at 300 yards and you're set!
Not only the scope, but round as well, do tons of reading and research.
Most of the weapons mentioned will work, but you will have to practice, practice, practice at that distance. 400 yards is four football fields, think about that. The number of people who claim to have killed deer at that range is likely much less than the people who have actually killed a deer at that range. I would read a few books written by snipers/long distance marksmen to get down all the mechanics and info needed to be successful at that distance.
Bullets matter more than headstamps.
A hunter expecting 300-yard shots would be well served to focus on practice with a rifle they can shoot well, more than which cartridge they’re shooting.
6.5 CM isn’t anything revolutionary. BUT it has gained enough popularity that factory ammo is abundant, and that’s not a bad thing. I generally feel like a .308 Win rifle that you shoot well is the sweet spot.
A hunter expecting 300-yard shots would be well served to focus on practice with a rifle they can shoot well, more than which cartridge they’re shooting.
6.5 CM isn’t anything revolutionary. BUT it has gained enough popularity that factory ammo is abundant, and that’s not a bad thing. I generally feel like a .308 Win rifle that you shoot well is the sweet spot.
It depends on where you are hunting too. If you are hunting in the woods stick with a shotgun or 30-30. If you are in open hay fields routinely taking 250 yard shots those 2 options are useless. You need to match your gun with your area. Any gun will kill a deer if shot properly but not any gun will be accurate at 250 yards. Also you sure dont want your high dollar 6.5 hitting a small branch as you should thru the trees...lol
Never missed or lost a Deer with my 700 Remington ADL I bought in 1980 using a 150 grain Remington or Federal bullet (which ever one was on sale) sighted 3 inches high at 100 yards. I started with a 165 boat tail spitzer but those few extra dollars did not seem to kill them any better. I do agree the scope is the place to spend the bigger money especially for the longer shooting.
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I inherited a Remington 700 in 25-06 and it would be a good choice for you if you are looking for something with recoil similar to your 30-30. And you can kill deer with it from 1000 yards (not that I’ve ever tried).
if you are only going to have 1 gun--then without question it should be he 30-06. You can shoot a 110 grain bullet up to a 220 grain bullet. It is a great deer rifle and it killed many Japs and Nazis. the ammo is cheap and plentiful. But be sure and put top quality mounts and rings on it with a good scope. you can kill ground hogs to Elk with this bullet.
I have the Browning X-Bolt 3 Stalker in a 6.5 Creedmore and w/the Hornady 143 g ELD-X ammo, I do not believe you will find a more reliable caliber out there other than the .308 which is vastly popular. I was an old 30-30 guy, shot the 7mm-08 for years & killed many deer w/that caliber but I am thoroughly pleased w/the performance of my 6.5 Creedmore. Killed deer from 5 to 500 yds w/it and it is just as reliable as my Remington Model 7, 7mm-08. Either of these calibers for close or long range distance shooting is a HIT! JMHO
I've had a 25-06 rem 700 for 50 years-killed may Bucks. but I had to replace the trigger because of faulty trigger, gun would shoot when clicking off the safety-- Remington 700s have had many lawsuits with this problem. i put in a timney trigger and back to business.
If you're really anticipating shots over 300 yds, the following may not help much. But if you'd like to see how far out you can reasonably push your existing 30-30...the gun you have hunted with all your life, that you probably know like the back of your hand, accustomed to it's weight, balance, etc., then have you considered trying the Hornady LEVERevolution 30-30 ammo in your Marlin?
Per Hornady, "LEVERevolution .30-30 ammunition shoots a 160-grain bullet that is 400 fps faster and has 400 ft.-lbs. more energy at 250 yards than conventional .30-30 ammo, and bullet drop at 300 yards is about 12" with a 200-yard zero".
That's 40% more energy than traditional 30-30 ammo. While it won't morph your rifle into as long a range rifle as others have mentioned, if you're thinking your shots might not need to go the complete distance of your open range, why not buy some rounds of the aforementioned Hornady, take it to a range where you can test it out to 300 yds or more and see what results you get?
A box of ammo will cost a lot less than a new rifle + ammo, and your long familiarity with your Marlin may prove to be a bigger factor than the longer effective reach of a new rifle.
But if you really think you're gonna be taking shots at 350+ yards, you're getting a lot of great suggestions from others here who are more knowledgeable on the subject than I.
P.S. - The Hornady ammo mentioned has a flex-tip that makes it safe for use in your tubular magazine.
P.P.S. - And if you find your Marlin with the Hornady has the reach you need, you could spend the money you'd have spent on a new rifle set-up possibly upgrading your scope, if you need to.
Per Hornady, "LEVERevolution .30-30 ammunition shoots a 160-grain bullet that is 400 fps faster and has 400 ft.-lbs. more energy at 250 yards than conventional .30-30 ammo, and bullet drop at 300 yards is about 12" with a 200-yard zero".
That's 40% more energy than traditional 30-30 ammo. While it won't morph your rifle into as long a range rifle as others have mentioned, if you're thinking your shots might not need to go the complete distance of your open range, why not buy some rounds of the aforementioned Hornady, take it to a range where you can test it out to 300 yds or more and see what results you get?
A box of ammo will cost a lot less than a new rifle + ammo, and your long familiarity with your Marlin may prove to be a bigger factor than the longer effective reach of a new rifle.
But if you really think you're gonna be taking shots at 350+ yards, you're getting a lot of great suggestions from others here who are more knowledgeable on the subject than I.
P.S. - The Hornady ammo mentioned has a flex-tip that makes it safe for use in your tubular magazine.
P.P.S. - And if you find your Marlin with the Hornady has the reach you need, you could spend the money you'd have spent on a new rifle set-up possibly upgrading your scope, if you need to.
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interesting. I'll check into that. I might get some of that ammo for my 30-30 to try even if I get a new rifle. hahaha
I have followed this thread with great interest. It is one of those discussions where are many right answers. The thing to be thankful for is that we live in a part of the Country where there is so much interest in this type of discussion. The South, Southwest, upper Midwest, and the Rocky Mountain States have a lot of good people with similar interest. In many of the other States like minded folks can be hard to find. Can you imagine such a thread on a sports message board in the Northeastern States, or California. Before I retired my business travels carried me all over the Country and while I met a lot of great people, there are countless people out there that only believe the narrative that “high powered” rifles are bad. We have all seen these news broadcast where someone had or used a “high powered rifle”. Hell, the reporters spewing this crap out would not know a .223 from a .460 Holland and Holland. Got myself all worked up again...... the rifles mentioned here are all good and never let anyone tell you otherwise. I was at a business dinner one night and I think there was 8 of us at the table. The conversation turned to shooting and deer hunting pretty quick. There was an outspoken lady at the table who proceeded to tell us what horrible people we were for shooting deer and such. She pointed this out to us while she continued to eat the piece of PRIME RIB that she had ordered. We pointed out to her what happened to that cow in order for it to be on her plate but she was too stupid to comprehend. What the hell is wrong with people these days? There, I feel better, please carry on while I order some extra ammo from Cabelas.
comparing rounds like the 6.5, .270, .30-06, .308, 300 win Mag, 7mag, etc, etc,etc, is a lot like comparing the photos from imissplatinumplus on Wednesday and Friday. No wrong answer, they are all great.
comparing rounds like the 6.5, .270, .30-06, .308, 300 win Mag, 7mag, etc, etc,etc, is a lot like comparing the photos from imissplatinumplus on Wednesday and Friday. No wrong answer, they are all great.
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So much for me trying to purchase that ole trusty marlin 30-30 after he got that new 6.5 Creed...... Thanks BLB****
In all seriousness, great suggestion, may have to try that out myself.
Keep in mind, ballistic tips should increase accuracy & distance, but you don't want to load them in your tube, as recoil is known to possibly force the next round back into the hard point behind it. You don't want a round going off in there of course.
The Hornady's we're talking about have the FTX, flexible tips so you can load them in the tube and not worry about that. Just want to make sure you know not to load hard-tipped pointy ammo in that tube. Could be deadly. If you do decide to try other, ballistic tipped ones, load them one-at-a-time.
The Hornady's we're talking about have the FTX, flexible tips so you can load them in the tube and not worry about that. Just want to make sure you know not to load hard-tipped pointy ammo in that tube. Could be deadly. If you do decide to try other, ballistic tipped ones, load them one-at-a-time.
I think that would be fun. Love to see how far I can effectively stretch the limits.
I'm sure I don't need to mention this, but you'll most likely want to to re-sight your scope while at the range to account for the change you're likely to see from the change in ammo.
If it were me, I'd probably zero it at 100 yds at first for the Hornady, then stretch that out to 200 and see what kind of drop I get at 300 and 350.
Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but I’ve tried the Hornady Leverevolution in a Henry 30-30, a Marlin 30-30, a Henry 44 mag, and Marlin 1894s in .357 mag, .44mag, and .45 colt. (I have a thing for lever guns) I could not get that ammo to consistently group well in any of the guns. I’ve found that federal power shok ammo works best in my Marlins and Fiocchi ammo in my Henry’s.
It may work fine in someone else’s rifles; I just have not had any luck with it. It’s not from lack of trying though.
It may work fine in someone else’s rifles; I just have not had any luck with it. It’s not from lack of trying though.
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No rain. Not uncommon for individual rifles to like different ammo, even within the same make and model. Best bet would be for him to try the Hornaday and a few others to see which his rifle likes best. Of course, the problem is finding ones capable of pushing the distance.
All the calibers discussed will easily kill a Mississippi deer. I also agree with the importance of bullet selection and I have had great success with the Hornady SST but there are many others. In my opinion the most important thing if you are going to shoot at ranges of 350-400 yards is to practice at that range a lot and you have to have a good trigger. My model 700 came off the shelf with 7 pound pull and I was a terrible shoot. I became a much better shot when I had it changed to 3lbs. All guns/calibers listed with the right trigger pull can make a shot 350-400 yards but not all shooters can make that shot. Most guns can out perform the shooter, mine can.
I also shoot a 7 mag. 160 grain federal accubond. Shot a doe last weekend. Broke her front shoulder and blew out her heart. She still ran about 40 yards. Unreal.
The 6.5 creedmore is a range gun, and a very good one. But it’s not made to kill deer. As many have suggested, a 270, 308, or 30-06 are all excellent. If you want something a little less traditional go with a 270 wsm or 300 wsm. There are a lot of good options and just about everyone builds good rifles these days.
The military does not have “special bullets”. Most of what the military uses in a long range role is a Sierra Match King which you, me or anybody else can buy.
The difference between 260 Rem and 6.5 is both minimal and significant at the same time. The 260 was developed as a hunting round to use light for caliber bullets, therefore most 260 Rem factory rifles have a slower barrel twist compared to factory 6.5 Creedmoor rifles. Because of that, most of the older 260 Rem rifles have a difficult time stabilizing the 140 grain bullets that are so popular with the 6.5 CM crowd. The 6.5 CM is not a magic round, but it is extremely effective on deer to elk sized game due to it’s high sectional density. It basically duplicates the performance of the 6.5x55 Swede which has been killing moose for over a hundred years. And, the Creedmoor ammunition is not being neutered by ammo manufacturers like the 6.5x55. Hate to break it to the naysayers, but the 6.5 Creedmoor is here to stay.
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The length of this string and the various opinions is like "what would be the best woman?". It just depends on what you want would be the answer.
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