Author Topic: Opinions on oddish calibers? Encore whitetail hunting (Read 4567 times)

Gdbyrd · « **on:** September 09, 2011, 06:54:15 PM »

I want to buy a rifle barrel for my encore, but I don't want to go with a mainstream caliber. I plan to hunt white tail with it, up to no more than 350 yards. Our deer here in South Tx are fairly small animals, but the brush is quite thick. So I'd like a caliber that's capable of dropping or at least opening up enough to follow easily.

Reason for an off caliber round is because I have 1 of a lot of the normal stuff and I'd really like an excuse to have to reload. Plus it's always nice to be sitting around the campfire and have someone ask..what do you shoot..gives you another story to tell anyway.

Just looking for direction so I can do some more research.

As a kid I shot a 22-250, then moved up to a 30-06, used that for years. Then went to a custom 6mm I had built on a 700 frame. I used that until this last year wheere I hunted with my encore chambered in 460. In between that I've used everything from a 357 to a 45-70 to play with.

Where I'm going to be hunting this year I need a longer range-capable gun. Recoil doesn't scare me as long as it's a rifle.

Thank you.

Cheesehead · « **Reply #1 on:** September 09, 2011, 07:23:17 PM »

I have an Encore in 6.5x55. It is rare.

Cheese

james · « **Reply #2 on:** September 09, 2011, 07:55:05 PM »

6.5x55 with 120 to 140 bullets works nicely for me. Blood trails are usually short.

Gdbyrd · « **Reply #3 on:** September 09, 2011, 09:04:42 PM »

Thank you guys for the read. It does seem like quite the round.

Anyone else have any suggestions? Keep them coming. Whatever I get I'm probably going to have to have it made, so wildcats are definitely an option.

EDIT: I would like to add that I like a flat trajectory caliber. I want to do as little lobbing as I have to. Range isn't the easiest thing for to me to guesstimate.

yooper77 · « **Reply #4 on:** September 09, 2011, 10:22:52 PM »

I have a 338-06 A-Square standard taper 24" barrel for my Encore, but if I were to get another it would be the 280 Remington Ackley Improved.

Both can be hand loaded using 30-06 Springfield brass if needed.

yooper77

martineta · « **Reply #5 on:** September 10, 2011, 02:02:36 AM »

My dream barrel for the encore is a good old fashioned 7x57 mauser barrel. Since I can't seem to find one used, I am getting MGM to make me one. the 7x57 mauser is not a wildcat caliber. Loaded cartridges can be bought. Nice plus is the 7X57 is a reloaders dream. Lots of different bullets, flat shooting, little recoil, super accurate, and deer killing machine. I guarantee you would be the only one in deer camp with one. Finally since the 7X57 is so rare in encore, should you ever want to sell it, you would have a herd of guys lined up to buy it.

. I need another one to gift my brother.

Slowpoke Slim · « **Reply #6 on:** September 10, 2011, 03:37:33 AM »

Hmmm,

How about a 284 Win? Lots of knock down power, good range, nice selection of bullets.

6.5 Swede would be nice too, or staying in the same bore diameter, how about a 6.5x284? Not really a true wildcat anymore, as factory rifles are being chambered for it now.

Or a 257 Wby mag, or how about a 6.5 WSM, or really go off the deep end with a 244 or 275 H&H (how's that for unique?).

Grumulkin · « **Reply #7 on:** September 10, 2011, 04:06:32 AM »

You aren't afraid of recoil and want a 350 yard range, a good blood trail and something not a lot of people have so consider:

300 H&H Magnum

8mm Remington Magnum

375 Weatherby Magnum

One of SSK Industries' Whisper or JDJ barrels (too many to list)

BBF · « **Reply #8 on:** September 10, 2011, 07:30:16 AM »

There are a whole bunch of metric cartridges to check out. Then there is the 6.5 Norma which I believe is the 284 Win necked down to 6.5 mm

Gdbyrd · « **Reply #9 on:** September 10, 2011, 09:38:16 AM »

The more articles I read the more I see,"X will do everything y will do, but you can but you can buy ammo anywhere."

Like the 6.5x55. It's very similar to a 260 remington, except in the limited reading I did, a lot of people said it was difficult to find solid reloading data for the 6.5x55 at higher case capacities. And if I'm going that far, why not go with a 25/06 which I'm already familiar with.

It all seems so close to me. Comparing apples to apples and it's all a matter of which color you like.

I can understand if I had childhood run-ins with some of these calibers, but all I've shot are the super super common stuff. So picking one over the other is going to be really difficult for me. Are there any calibers that are clearly "better" than others?

Thank you guys for all the calibers. Reading up on the histories and such of them was very informative.

Grumulkin: The more reading I've done the more I think I'll stay with a smaller cartridge. Chuck Hawkes made me feel bad, lol: http://www.chuckhawks.com/cannons_field.htm

Gdbyrd · « **Reply #10 on:** September 10, 2011, 01:09:08 PM »

OK. I think I've settled on a few calibers here. 6.5x47, 6.5x55, 6.5x284, and .260 rem.

The 6.5x47 is kinda on the small side so I'm hesitant to consider it seriously.

I don't have anything to say about the 6.5x55. The people that have em like them.

The 6.5x284 seems very stout. Only downside is a short barrel life, but I'm not going to be target shooting anyway.

The 260 Rem I'm really leaning towards.

Basically the 6.5x284 will do the most, with the x55 following and the 260 hanging right there with it.

Anyone have anything they can add or suggest?

Elwood · « **Reply #11 on:** September 10, 2011, 02:14:31 PM »

Have you concidered the 6.5 Creedmore or the 6.5X47 Lapua?
The 260 rem. seems a little mundane in light of the criteria you stated. The Lapua will give you something to talk about around the campfire plus it will do anything that the 260 can. I would like the Creedmore myself but the Lapua is more obscure. Check this out.
http://demigodllc.com/articles/6.5-shootout-260-6.5x47-6.5-creedmoor/

Grumulkin · « **Reply #12 on:** September 10, 2011, 02:21:34 PM »

For smaller stuff with good range that not a lot of people have you could also consider the 240 & 257 Weatherby Magnums. To step it up a little, there are the 7mm & 270 Weatherby Magnums.

Cheesehead · « **Reply #13 on:** September 10, 2011, 04:31:33 PM »

The 8mm Mauser is not main stream, yet there is surplus ammo available. A great deer cartridge with many good bullet optiions.

Cheese

hillbill · « **Reply #14 on:** September 10, 2011, 04:42:17 PM »

the hardest thing to go wrong with in my opinion is anything that starts with 6.5.yu just never hear of a 6.5 gun shooting bad.i dont know what it is but thats the way it is.

OK hunter · « **Reply #15 on:** September 10, 2011, 05:51:53 PM »

+1 for the 260. A great caliber but you'll want to load for it as factory offerings are slim.

Gdbyrd · « **Reply #16 on:** September 10, 2011, 06:21:39 PM »

I did check out the 240, looks like a very good caliber, super flat shooting. I also thought very seriously about something in a .25 caliber. From reading, a lot of people recommended the 6.5 calibers over them though.

From the article what I gather is the 260 and the Creedmore were the winners, with the 6.5x47 taking quite a bit of work to get to the baseline of the former two.

Ugh decision making sucks.

Maybe i should look at the cons of why I shouldn't go with something. Is there any reason I shouldn't go with a smaller caliber 240-6.5?

yooper77 · « **Reply #17 on:** September 10, 2011, 08:56:39 PM »

6.5mm seams to be the going trend, so I am not sure its very oddish these days. A nice 6.5-06 would be a good choice and you can make the brass from 25-06 Remington brass.

The Weatherby Magnum cartridges are very expensive to purchased factory ammo and find brass too handload. The 240 Weatherby Magnum is the worst of the bunch since its a one of a kind and brass/ammo is very hard to find and over the top expensive. I suggest a 6mm-06 if you feel the need for a .243 caliber and again you can make the brass from 25-06 Remington brass.

yooper77

Grumulkin · « **Reply #18 on:** September 11, 2011, 03:32:49 AM »

Quote from: yooper77 on September 10, 2011, 08:56:39 PM

The Weatherby Magnum cartridges are very expensive to purchased factory ammo and find brass too handload. The 240 Weatherby Magnum is the worst of the bunch since its a one of a kind and brass/ammo is very hard to find and over the top expensive.

yooper77

You're right but if you want exclusivity and performance...

BBF · « **Reply #19 on:** September 11, 2011, 06:15:56 AM »

I had a Ruger# 1 barreled for the 240 Wby. It was a great drop dead load with the 85 gr Nosler PT on deer.

The Missus had a Win 70 with a Douglas barrel in 257 Wby. This is a lot more cartridge then the 25-06. !

yooper77 · « **Reply #20 on:** September 11, 2011, 07:07:28 PM »

Quote from: Grumulkin on September 11, 2011, 03:32:49 AM

Quote from: yooper77 on September 10, 2011, 08:56:39 PM
The Weatherby Magnum cartridges are very expensive to purchased factory ammo and find brass too handload. The 240 Weatherby Magnum is the worst of the bunch since its a one of a kind and brass/ammo is very hard to find and over the top expensive.

yooper77

You're right but if you want exclusivity and performance...

Well if I ever felt the need for a belted magnum cartridge, it would be in the 340 Weatherby Magnum in a Weatherby Mark V not the T/C Encore. I could make the hand loads using 375 H&H Magnum brass, which is much cheaper.

yooper77

abolt-fan · « **Reply #21 on:** September 12, 2011, 01:09:33 AM »

Gdbyrd,

I posted on your eabco barrel thread an opinion that you should consider the 35 Whelen. The one thing I didn't include is the topic of range. 300 yds. would not be a problem and if your in thick cover I can guarantee that anything you shoot would be leaving a quality blood trail.

streak · « **Reply #22 on:** September 12, 2011, 09:56:50 AM »

Might want to take a quick look at the 6.8mmSPC!
Or the 6.5 JDJ, 8mm JDJ( A real neat round)!

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #23 on:** September 12, 2011, 10:07:29 AM »

264 win. mag.
all the other good ones were already mentioned

Ladobe · « **Reply #24 on:** September 12, 2011, 12:12:23 PM »

One of the JDJ's based on either the 444 Marlin or '06 cases would be my choice. My SSK 375JDJ's (444 based) were good to go for anything from mice to mastodons.

According to JD, the JDJ's based on the '06 case "equal the belted magnums ballistically, surpass them in accuracy and case life while doing it with much less powder and far less expensive cases."

no guns here · « **Reply #25 on:** September 12, 2011, 12:29:10 PM »

Well if you want to go with something different... pickup some european cartridge that uses rimmed brass.

6x62 / 6x62R Freres
7x64R
7x57R
.243R

There's a bunch out there. Just gotta search'em out.

NGH

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #26 on:** September 12, 2011, 01:10:28 PM »

Strange but semi common rounds are endless.
For the 350 yards I would look at a magnum only not to have to think about the drop as much.
Small deer I would think about a 257 Wby, 264 Win Mag, or 300 H&H in 26" barrels. These rounds will not have checking your fillings with recoil on the light little rifle. The 257 with 120 grain bullets the 264 with 120 to 140 grain bullets and the 300 H&H with up to 165 grain bullets will reach way out there with 5 to 7" of drop with a 200 yard zero and about 3" high at 100. All put the cross hairs on the body and squeeze the trigger in an off hand shot.
Non mag options - 250 Savage (250 -3000) (they also make hangun barrels for it so you can double down with the same ammo) 30-40 Kraig, 303 Brit, Hand loaded in either of these equal 308 Win and are more than enough for deer. There is always 307Win.
all doing what 308 Win with the same or similar bullets. I think 308 is the perfect all around deer round. 165 grain Boat tails for long range, 180 grain round nose soft pointd for the woods and 150 grain barns for when I have to use lead free ammo. and anything you can do with a one off case to douplicate it would make another perfect deer ctg. The rim of the 30-40K, 303 Brit, or the 307 Win just seem right for a single shot. After all the 303 Brit has killed everything on the planet as the British Empire spread out across the globe and soldiers went hunting and took the 303 Brit with them. But the weak action of the Enfield has not cought on here as a common round. The world record elk was shot with a 30-40 Kraig and again with the weak action of the Kraig rifle and the rim it was popular but the 30-06 eclipsed it as millions came home from both world wars. And only a few who bought the angle eject win 94 have ever heard of 307Win.

Austin from NC · « **Reply #27 on:** September 12, 2011, 01:36:02 PM »

What about the 257 Roberts don't forget it.

Austin

Gdbyrd · « **Reply #28 on:** September 12, 2011, 03:17:49 PM »

The 35 Whelen seems overkill for what I'm doing, plus it dies off so quickly. It certainly is an interesting caliber though.

the 257 Roberts has mixed reviews from my reading. Most people say, when comparing the 260 to the 257, more people tend to vote in favor of the 260 due to its ability to shoot heavier bullets. Plus it has longer range abilities.

I keep going back to the 240 wthby mag. It's kinda similar to the 257 though, light bullets. But it's super super fast, flat shooting. While I'm there, there's the 257 mag.

I went to my local gun store and they had 3 offerings of 260 ammo. It was almost 40$ a box, but they at least had it. 4 boxes of each too.

I'm really at a loss with all of this because I have 0 experience with any of these, so to me all I can look at is paper(ballistics), and endless forums posts, which we all know are pure facts.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #29 on:** September 12, 2011, 06:50:32 PM »

260 and 6.5X55 Sweed are basicly the same round. 260 fits in short action rifles. but hand load the 6.5X55 can do more as it has more space in the case with the same bullets. Besides in your hand the 6.5X55 just looks different. The 260 looks like 243, 7-08 or 308. Nothing else shares the 6.5X55 case.
Seller and Bellot makes a great 139 grain soft point for the 6.5X55 that has little recoil flys flat and is cost effective allowing lots of practice.
I liked them but found a great deal on Win 140 grain soft points and bought a bunch, I think I am down to the last 5 boxes amd once they are gone I will go back to the S&B stuff.
of the two I think 6.5X55 is a little more exotic than a 308 necked to .264 and a whole lot more loaded ammo choices as the 6.5 X55 is very popular in europe. I have a few boxes of Norma made ammo 129 grain plastic tipped and 156 soft point round nose, that did a number on a white tail on the farm. Expensive as I remember, but I think worth it for larger game with the caliber. I had them in case I had a chance at a black bear.