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Thread: Perfect cartridge for lightweight rifle

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Perfect cartridge for lightweight rifle

    Looking over rifles for giggles and saw that there have been numerous new lightweight (flyweight?) hunting rifles being produced. Examples I was looking at were the Kimber mountain series of rifles.

    What would be the optimum cartridge for such a rifle for shots at game in the lower 48 such as Elk, mulies, white tails, pronghorn etc out to say 350-400 yards? The 6.5 CM seems to be popular but what about the 7mm-08 or others such as the tried and true 308 Win? Looking at short actions to keep overall weight down.

    What scope and magnification?

    Just kicking around ideas in our collective think tank.

  2. #2
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    Texas by God's Avatar
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    No flies on the .308, but I would select the 7mm-08 and not look back. The Creedmore is the lowest horsepower of the three you mentioned.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    Ditto, but only because the Kimber short action isn't large enough for the 7x57mm or 6.5mm Swede, two of my favorites. For the absolute best you can do with a five-pound, short action rifle, I'd suggest the 260 Remington (aka 6.5-08). Load it with the 140 gr Sierra SPT and you'll be ready.

  4. #4
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    I have a Winchester M70 Featherweight in 270 Win. Not a short action, but it's plenty of gun for the wide open places I hunt. It's flat shooting, accurate, and pleasant to carry compared to my Ruger 77 300 Win Mag. Recoil is tolerable too. It wears a Leupold VX2 3x9 scope.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master




    EMC45's Avatar
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    7-08 is a great round.
    You can miss fast & you can miss a lot, but only hits count.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    The shorter the barrel the more bore size becomes important. 308 is perfect for this type rifle.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    I vote for the 308.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master

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    The problem with short actions. . .

    You decrease bore size in the hope of gaining ballistic coefficient and sectional density with similar weight bullets, but you end up making the bullet longer and running out of space at the front of the magazine. The "short" action length standardized around the .308 was cooked up in the 1950's before the advent of longer, high-BC bullets, and I've noted that modern solid coppers and plastic-nosed options tend to complicate matters of maximizing the use of space.

    My own two cents - save the short actions for reasonable-distance deer rifles, keep them in .308, and top them with a Leupold 2.5-8x36mm.

    For the issue of elk, you're going to nearly kill yourself hauling out the 600+ pound carcass, so what's another couple pounds of rifle? To cover that and the pronghorn, a stripped and skinny .280 Remington would be an excellent choice - provided you get the throat stretched out and the appropriate twist to take longer/heavier bullets. If you don't have those options, a lighter weight .30-06 is never an error. Leupold 4.5-14x40 for this launch platform.
    WWJMBD?

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  9. #9
    Boolit Master

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    My choice is the classic 7x57. I have been using it for 40 years and still like it very much. Matter of fact, I’m building a Euro-style Carbine on a split bridge Portuguese Mauser that I had rebarreled to 7x57.

    You can’t go wrong with one.
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    Mike

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  10. #10
    Boolit Bub
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    Another vote for the 7/08

  11. #11
    In Remembrance Reverend Al's Avatar
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    When I built myself a custom rifle along the same guidelines years ago I started with a Remington 600 action, dropped it into a Browns Kevlar stock, and then took a used Remington 40X target barrel in .308 Winchester that I had on hand and we turned it down to a slim featherweight contour, and added a 2x7 Leupold to top it off. It shoots great and is a pleasure to carry at 6 pounds all up. The fact that it has a "blind" magazine has never bothered me a bit since an accurate rifle gets the job done in one or two well placed shots anyway ...

    I may have passed my "Best Before" date, but I haven't reached my "Expiry" date!

  12. #12
    Boolit Master

    lefty o's Avatar
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    lots of great choices, but the 7mm-08 is hard to beat for what your looking to do.

  13. #13
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    308 would be my first choice. I have one in a stainless model 7 and one in a Kimber montana. the montana is feather light for a 22 inch gun. lighter then the 7 by quite a bit. that said the rem was about have the price and shoots better. Kimbers are cool guns but many of them are accuracy challenged. At least considering the price they get for them. Mine will do its best with 130 sierras at about an inch and a 1/4 at a 100 yards. Ive tried MANY 150s and 165s and have given up on the fact that its a 2 inch gun at best with any of them. My model 7 on the other hand shoots moa with 150s or 165s with a bit of load development. Id never sell the Kimber. Its is a very cool gun and shoots plenty good enough for 200 yard deer hunting which is about 5 times the average shot around here but it wouldn't be my first choice for a farm field.

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master

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    So I’m looking at the Kimber Subalpine and Adirondack models. How can the Subalpine weight in at the same weight of 4/13 as the Adirondack with a 22” barrel on the subalpine vs the 18” barrel of the Adirondack?

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master


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    .308W

    I also wouldn't skimp on barrel length ....... 22" minimum.
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
    ― Nikola Tesla

  16. #16
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    7mm-08 can do just about everything required in an all-around cartridge, is plentifully available at any remote gas-station-gunshop you may drop into needing a few rounds, and is easy on the shoulder. Pair it with a nice 3-9x40 or 3-9x50 scope and get out there and enjoy!
    Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory ... lasts forever.
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  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    Including elk changes the conversation. I think a short-barreled (20") .308 is about as light as I would care to use on elk. A rifle is a combustion engine (like in your vehicle), bore (case capacity, caliber) and stroke (barrel length), compression ratio (pressure) provide the power comparison. The 7mm and smaller bores need longer barrels and larger cases to match the larger bores. Under 400 yards the ballistic coefficient of the fancy bullet does not add enough to make up for the lighter smaller bullet. A 300 pound muley(BIG) is easier to kill than a 600 pound bull (average). Anything works when everything is 'JUST RIGHT'. Misjudge the shot angle, the wind, whatever and the little bullets may not get the job done with a bigger bullet MAYBE preventing a wounded critter.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Texas by God View Post
    No flies on the .308, but I would select the 7mm-08 and not look back. The Creedmore is the lowest horsepower of the three you mentioned.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

    Excellent advice above. The 7mm 08 is the cartridge that the 308 should have been in any event. An excellent choice. Big fan of the Swede, but for elk at 400 yards, prefer the heavier bullets of the 27 - 28 caliber rounds.

    And if shaving 5 oz off rifle weight matters, and presumably it may in a high altitude mountain rifle, then choosing a "short" action may be a good choice. But don't buy into marketing hype: a standard action is about 5 oz heavier and bolt throw is maximum 1/2" longer, while impact on bullet length can be significant. The 270 Win, for example, will throw a 150 grs or 160 grs Nosler Partition 200 fps faster than the 7mm 08. For the ranges you are talking about, if the 5 oz of weight matters, the 7mm 08 is nigh on absolutely perfect. I hunt elk in the high Rockies with 30-06 and 180 grs. Save weight everywhere else but hunt with enough rifle is my preference.

    In my opinion, a hunting scope need not magnify beyond 9x and, at the ranges I believe are ethical for me, 4x - 5x is the most magnification I want. The best quality, lightest weight 3-9x or 2-7x would be the scope for a high altitude mountain rifle.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    338 Federal does it all and then some.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ramjet-SS View Post
    338 Federal does it all and then some.
    You have a point.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

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