New gun Advice needed

[Coldhill]

I am thinking about investing in a new gun, I want something that shoots reletivly flat out to 400 yrds. Primary use will be fore yoties, but it needs to be good for deer antelope exc. Any suggestions on a good calibre?
Also it needs to be something I can buy ammo for in MOST places. Eg. small country stores and small towns ect.

Ch

[Scott N]

A 25-06 would be worth looking at.

[Dick284]

x2 on the 25'06

[honda450]

You know when I first bought my 25.06 in 1980 or so guys would ask me what I was using. I would say 25.06 and most response's were WHAT? Seems to be very widely known now------must mean something.

One more for the .25-06.

[Salvelinus]

25-06 with 243 a not-too-distant second

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Salvelinus

25-06 with 243 a not-too-distant second

The 243 falls way out of favor when the range of 400yds is mentioned. IMO

[honda450]

The 25.06 was originally called the 25 Niedner, by the man who developed it. (1920) It was nothing outstanding in the form of ballistics at that time. Once powders like 4350 and 4831 were developed The ballistics were vastly improved. Just history.

[Salvelinus]

Originally Posted by Dick284

The 243 falls way out of favor when the range of 400yds is mentioned. IMO

If the 400 yd range is for deer, then yes. A 100gr bullet will sink too much at that distance, but if the long shots are only being taken at coyotes, a 55 gr bullet is still very flat at 400 yds

[Dick284]

Thanks Honda, that is indeed very informative, and enlightening.
I run 75gr. V Maxs over a stiff load of Varget, which cranks out at 3775fps from a 25" bbl.
100gr. pills leave at 3440fps using RL22, again 25" barrel
Now don't expect these sorts of speeds from a factory 24" bbl, since mine is a wonderful RKS gain twist pipe which starts out with a 1 in 22.5 twist and goes up to 1 in 11.5 twist, coupled with 25"'s of length and moly coated bullets, I think coming within 100 to 150fps of these speeds is likely the norm.
I know Devils_Righthand's factory Ruger with a 24" pipe does close to 3000fps with 117gr bullets and H1000.
The only fly I see in the equation is even with the 75's it can have tendancy to be tough on yote pelts.
But of course trying to choose one calibre for this broad of use will leave one side of the equation a bit wanting.

Has anyone on here actually shot 55 grainers out of a .243. At 4,000fps you are getting better performance than a 204 or 22-250.....especially if you can believe published BCs. I just wonder how it actually shoots.

[Dick284]

I know Rugersingle tried the 65gr. V maxs out of his Rem 700 VLS with a 26" bbl. and topped out 100fps shy of published #'s accuracy was top notch, but it could'nt live up to published #'s even with 2"'s more pipe.
In a 22" bbl I think the chrony would show a bit of a let down .

[VerySavage]

From my experience 400 yard shots are a rarity, only a few licensed ranges allow you to practice at that range, you require better than average optics, which adds alot of weight. I had a good varment rifle in .22-250 with a 26" barrel & 6-18x50mm scope that could consistently do good 400 yard shots, but it was not a legal Deer caliber and it was far too heavy to pack around as a Deer Gun anyway.
Sounds like another pipe dream kinda wepon, light enough to carry for Deer Hunting, yet accurate enough for consistent 400 yard shots.
You might want to spend some cash on a rangefinder for christmass & use it to range stuff you would be comfortable shooting at, to tell the truth on coyote hunting, the difference between a 400 yard shot and a 200 yard shot is about 15 minutes of calling/waiting, that 15 minutes of anticipation is the best part of the hunt for me, and a consistent 250 yard Deer/Coyote combination Gun is much more realistic to find & use.
Just my 2 bits worth...
--Ken

[honda450]

Those ballistics blow my mind.

The 25-06 would be a great choice.

[Stinky Coyote]

.270 for my vote for your criteria, a little strong for coyotes but perfect for deer and pretty dang flat for a non-magnum cartridge with readily findable ammo...i'm guessing more findable than 25-06?, the more i shoot my .270 the more i love it...the perfect amount of recoil, not too little not too much...just perfect to let you know you touched off something that can kill things like elk or moose no problems also but not enough to scare you from shooting it well and .243 is good choice but probably a little shy of ft/lbs energy at 400 for big game stuff imo...

270 is your caliber

Also it needs to be something I can buy ammo for in MOST places. Eg. small country stores and small towns ect.

i'd guess you'd find .270 more readily than .243?...not sure on the 25-06?

[sbtennex]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Has anyone on here actually shot 55 grainers out of a .243. At 4,000fps you are getting better performance than a 204 or 22-250.....especially if you can believe published BCs. I just wonder how it actually shoots.

Yes, I have. Weatherby SubMOA 24" bbl, 3-9X40 Elite 4200 scope. Winchester Supreme 55gr shoots exactly 9 clicks high and 4 clicks left @ 100 yds (1/4"MOA) from where my 100 gr Nosler Federal hunting load shoots. Chrono'd the 55's @ avg of 4090 fps, and they'll group around .65" (5-shot group) very consistently, at least as good as my Winchester .22-250. More comfortable than the Win as well, and it'll be 55's and the .243 I'll pack this winter - there's an extraordinary number of wolves in this area and they definitely affected the moose hunting this fall. Need thinning. Also noticed an unusual number of cows without calves this hunting season

Wow, that's great performance...thanks!

[Faststeel]

Was at P&D yesterday and they have a nice selection of Tikka Hunters that have a clearance price tag on them. Hunter model is a blued steel with a walnut stock. There were some very nice Sako rifles there with scope packages on them at well below what normal retail is for these rifles. FS

[nof60]

7mm-08 would do everything you want it to and it just so happens I am selling one. PM me if interested.

My experience with any of the larger calibres/heavier bullets is that they are pretty hard on coyote hides. If you are just looking to shoot them...great choice but if you want to do anything with the hides...small pills are typically better.

I'm not a big .243 fan but man the 55-grainer sounds interesting.

[AB2506]

I use a 22-250 for coyotes, but, if I called where wolves were common, or a bear or cougar might respond, I would go to a 243, or use one of my 25-06. As for a deer/antelope cartridge to 400, the 25-06 is the way to go. 243 is about a 300yd gun on deer. IMHO.

[Cordur]

I'm surprised no one has said .257 yet.

[Wrongside]

Another vote for the 25-06. Fast, flat and easy to shoot well. Great for deer and hard on coyotes. Ammunition might not be everywhere, as mentioned.

I've only been shooting the quarter ought six for 3 years now, but I like it so much I went out and had a AI version built. Just for fun.

75 Vmax, 110 Accubond, 117 Hornady BTSP have worked well for me................. you should take up hand-loading.

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by Cordur

I'm surprised no one has said .257 yet.

Likely because there aint but a pitance of rifles now chambered from the factory in the all mighty "Bob".

[Rugersingle]

I checked my log and as dick mentioned the 65v's in the 243 were 100 short of the published 3600. That was using Varget. In the 6mm the same bullet over 4064 produced 3500 in a 24" bbl. The accuracy was very good... in both cases.
As it turns out I have two 257Mg's to load for this winter..we'll see what kinda run they can do against the Devils 25-06
For ease of finding cartridges..and if you handload a very good selection of bullets...I would say the 25-06 would make the grade.

[sbtennex]

Originally Posted by Coldhill

I am thinking about investing in a new gun, I want something that shoots reletivly flat out to 400 yrds. Primary use will be fore yoties, but it needs to be good for deer antelope exc. Any suggestions on a good calibre?
Also it needs to be something I can buy ammo for in MOST places. Eg. small country stores and small towns ect.

Ch

.243 Winchester, hands down. Most out of the box mid to upper models are plenty accurate, but I have a weakness for Tikka. The 55gr Winchester Supreme in .243 is devastating on coyotes, wolves and most anything else you point them at, and at 4050 fps can shame a .22-250. Modern ammo has made the .243 an honest to God 400 yard deer gun e.g. 95gr Supreme, 100gr Nosler Partition, and a whole slew of dandy handloads are there for the building. A .25-06 is a fine caliber, but blasting at coyotes and gophers is a bit intimidating after a couple of dozen rounds - lots of noise.

[Salvelinus]

Originally Posted by Faststeel

Was at P&D yesterday and they have a nice selection of Tikka Hunters that have a clearance price tag on them. Hunter model is a blued steel with a walnut stock. There were some very nice Sako rifles there with scope packages on them at well below what normal retail is for these rifles. FS

What/where is P&D? Any idea what they were charging? I shoot a T3 hunter and I couldn't be happier with the gun....... If the price is right I may have to get another one.

Gun shop in Edmonton.

[altaberg]

Originally Posted by Salvelinus

What/where is P&D? Any idea what they were charging? I shoot a T3 hunter and I couldn't be happier with the gun....... If the price is right I may have to get another one.

http://www.p-d-ent.com/

come nice deals in the list on the web Sako 85 $1275