6.5 Grendel AR. 18" barrel, compact, big enough to handle anything around here and accurate enough for head shots on small game if needed.
6.5 Grendel AR. 18" barrel, compact, big enough to handle anything around here and accurate enough for head shots on small game if needed.
I hunt mostly in the south, mid TN, and like to have the ability to knock off various varmints such as racoons, groundhogs, etc. with my centerfire rifles. I have found the .30-06 to be a good cartridge for white tailed deer using a 165 gr Ballistic Tip, and a 180 gr Partition for mule deer and elk when I am fortunate enough to hunt out west. I also carry along a few 110 gr SP's loaded with SR 4759 to about 1800 f/s for the varmints. If you have a BDC scope you can use one of the other crosshairs for the lower velocity varmint bullet and maintain the zero for the deer bullet. If you hand load, it makes it easy enough to regulate the lighter bullets to a POI either on the BDC or on the lower post of a standard duplex reticle. I also have a .257 Roberts and I do the same with 60 gr .25-20 bullets. It is handy to have a nice range of bullets in a caliber. Cast bullets can also be used for this, if you are able to do so.
Put me in the .270/.30-06 camp. Either cartridge will do what's asked of it and it's easy to find ammo. I think .308 Win and some of the 7mms (.280 Remington/AI, specifically) come real close too.
I've loaded for, shot and hunted pretty much the whole range from 22 Hornet to 470 Nitro and 450 Dakota.
Excluding dangerous game (ie MOST hunting in the lower 48) I have to say 308 or any 30 cal from 308 to 300 Wby.
As soon as you start adding in stuff that can kill you without thinking about it, the answer has to change!
That's probably why there are three 308s in my safe (along with a 300 H&H, a 30-40 Krag, a 30-30 and a 300 Blackout...I guess I like 30 cal).
An AR in 6.8 SPC II loaded with Barnes solids will ruin pretty much anything's day within about 300 yards and still be pretty handy.
My Savage has a 31" 284 Winchester barrel and I'm hoping it will group well at 1,500 yards to a mile or more. It should be able to hit many more things than my 6.8 SPC but it's too long and heavy to really call it handy.
This used to be my favorite in my younger years to keep
in the truck. DL Savage O/U .22 mag on top, 20 gage
below. Traded that for a pre Gettysburg .357 Black Hawk.
Traded that for the .41 Mag Black Hawk which still is in
use. If that is all I had, that would be all I need.
Keeping my bad Karma intact since 1952
My 30-30 Winchester does these for me.When putting together a "Do it all" rifle to meet my needs for just kicking around the woods in and out of trucks, 4 wheelers, tractors, and just leaning in the corner at camp
Bookmarks