custom rifle caliber?

[mjbgalt]

you guys think i should go with:

.300 Savage
.308 Winchester
7x57 Mauser
6.5x55 Mauser

And why? This gun will be used for "all around" uses, anything from plinking to target shooting to big game hunting.

-Matt

[Mikey]

mjbgalt:  You cannot go wrong with the 6.5x55 Swede.  Accurate beyond belief, low recoil and more than sufficient for anything you would hunt with any of the other cailbers listed.  JMTCW.  Mikey.

[Ahab]

You can't go wrong with the 7x57 either.

[Drilling Man]

  What's big game to you??  Does it include big bears??  Moose??  OR, are we just talking about deer and maybe a blk bear??

  DM

[mjbgalt]

big game means deer and maybe an elk or black bear.

so those calibers should do the job. plus they can all put a serious hurting on a coyote or groundhog occasionally.

I chose 6.5x55 for the full-out custom really nice mauser action i have, and the other one i bought was a 93 mauser so i am just going to recrown it and bend the bolt handle and load 7.62 down to where i think it will handle it.

i am also going to send the rifle to Shaw when i get it back from the custom work i want done...it will have a ruger-style bolt handle and drilled and tapped when i get it back. then to shaw for the barreling and then to the range

i am getting married in august and i think that will be my wedding present to me.

-Matt

[jim dab]

Matt my first thought was the 6.5 but I thought that I was only picking it because I'm a big fan of the 6.5's. So with that in mind, and never really looking at the 7 X 57 before, the 57 being a longer case and the bullets being not that great a difference maybe the 57 for velocity. I took a quick glance at Noslers manual, and that is all it took, a very quick glance. There is a reason why I really like 6.5's. Just compare the SD's of the bullets and compare velocitys. HANDS DOWN 6.5 X 55.
Oh yea, Mannlicher stock.

Jim

[mjbgalt]

i looked at the 7x57 and they have very similar ballistics, with the 6.5 hanging onto energy and velocity better at longer ranges.

-Matt

[Drilling Man]

  Of the choices you listed, i'd pick the 7x57....

  I've harvested some nice Caribou ect..  with the 7x57 and it's a great round...   I like the heavier Nosler partition bullets that are available in 7mm, over what is available in 6.5. too..  (yes i've hunted and harvested big game with 6.5's too)

  DM

[quickdtoo]

Matt, ya might check out the 260 Remington if it's an option, I chose to go with it over the 6.5x55, just a bit better down range ballistics, no reason to stand on nostalgia, the 260 just looks like a better choice to me.

Tim

[mjbgalt]

i kind of like the nostalgia, and plus i don't think the case capacity of the .260 will be sufficient to use a 160 grain bullet should i choose to use one- I don't want to lose powder room

the Swede is a cartridge i have liked for a while but never got a chance to own one and it's not something everyone already has, like a .270 or .30-06.

I know, not everyone has a .260 either 

-Matt

[quickdtoo]

Take a look at Hodgdon's 160gr data for both the 260 and 6.5x55, depending on the powder, the 260 will push the 160gr bullets, or any weight for that matter, faster across the board, anywhere from 25-150fps faster. I'm having a custom barrel made for an H&R Ultra using a Shilen match barrel, thought about the Swede, but the 260 looks better to both me and my smith, so that's what I'm going for.

Tim

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

[k3yston3]

The only reason that the .260 will push some bullets faster based on reloading data is that pressures are limited for the 6.5 swede as there are too many old 95,96 mausers runing around chambered for the cartridge.  Load it for a modern action, and you can easily out run the .260. 

[quickdtoo]

Hmmm, that's a good point, and making me rethink the 6.5 vs 260.

Thanks,

Tim

[Mikey]

quickdtoo:  that is some very interesting information on the 260 that Hodgdon's puts out yet k3yston3 is right about the older actions.  Makes for a bit of a quandry I'd say.  I like the older actions but also like some of the newer, stronger actions.  I like the medium length actions too and someone's new 260 in a medium length action sounds like the right basis for a fairly lightweight mountain rifle.

I could easily take a 98 Mauser with a new 6.5 Swede barrel, nice stock, perfect trigger, right scope but I could just as easily take a nice mid-length action in 260, with enough throat for longer, heavier bullets. 

Dang!  Time to go shoppin' again.  You guys are just somethin' else, always causin' guys like me to have to buy something new.  OK, so what's it gonna be??? Mikey.

[flintman]

 .30/06 not on the list?Most versatile smaller caliber there is.Hey,it's not survived this long without good reason.