Light, flat & fast...What round should I choose?

quandary said:
My Berger 133EH load out of my 25-06AI is 3,250fps. The BC on that bullet is high enough that I carry 2,000 fps out to over 900 yards 4.78 MIL drop, drift in 5mph wind is only .6 MIL. That's a mordernized 25-06AI, 7.5 twist and a longer free bore. To be honest I find the recoil shooting suppressed much less to be very light.

But then again there is nothing wrong with a 270!
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Quandary,

Well played sir! Indeed your set up is designed to extract maximum sparkle from the ol' 25-06. And it doesn't take a vivid imagination to recognize the serious edge of lightweight but heavy-for-caliber bullets pushed fast. And shooting suppressed is a wholly different paradigm altogether! The 35-year-younger me definitely approves! But alas, back then the wonderful high BC bullets just didn't exist for the .25 cal and suppressors were as unwieldy as they were out of reach.

Back then, "flat" meant light-for-caliber and driven hard. It also meant that you'd better know how to throw a curveball into the wind. But most of all it made one second guess (and for good reason) how well a light bullet would get-er-done when it got there... and at what today is barely considered extended range. lol
 
With an appropriate zero, all modern cartridges are pretty flat out to around 300 yards.

Zeroed at 200 yards, there's only about 4" - 5" of difference at 300 yards between a 95 gr TSX fired at 3500 out of a 270 vs a garden variety 180 gr fired from a 308 at a modest 2550.

Especially with modern optics and external adjustments, flat-shooting has completely lost meaning for ordinary hunting distances.
 
sgt_zim said:
With an appropriate zero, all modern cartridges are pretty flat out to around 300 yards.

Zeroed at 200 yards, there's only about 4" - 5" of difference at 300 yards between a 95 gr TSX fired at 3500 out of a 270 vs a garden variety 180 gr fired from a 308 at a modest 2550.

Especially with modern optics and external adjustments, flat-shooting has completely lost meaning for ordinary hunting distances.
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Sometimes that is the difference between "bottom of the lungs" and "brisket hair."
 
Bob’s favorite:

.243 vs Roan.

IMG_2630.jpeg

IMG_3127.jpeg



He’ll say it doesn’t count because Roan only get to 600lbs!
 
Roan’s on my list for my next trip. Will either be a 300 WM or a 280 AI. I’ve got a 6.5 PRC and 6.5 CM but they’re not even coming to Africa. Nothing wrong with the 6.5 and 6 mm on game, but if you can shoot larger, heavier cartridges you should for game bigger than impala, deer, pronghorn etc.

That said, I think it is often a combination of marginal shooting AND a marginal cartridge AND bigger, tougher game that leads to problems as does extending the range.

In fact, when I go to a DG area, I’m considering using a 416 RM for DG and a 375 H&H with 250 or 270 gr bullets for PG rather than a 300 WM so I have definitely begun preferring more gun than less.
 
There are several good choices as the aforementioned gallery indicates. My vote is for the 6.5 PRC in 143 grain load. Flirting with 3000 fps, it has the speed and weight to effectively take animals up to elk size at impressive distance. Easy and relatively inexpensive to reload, right or left-handed. This is an easy buy and has relatively good availability in several quality manufacturers. Good hunting and tell us what you chose and how it worked out for you!
 
What you are describing is called the .257 Weatherby. A proven round and extremely versatile. I have shot lots of critters w mine, including a huge elk in west Texas, and none required more than 1 shot. Fun to shoot and flat out to 400 yds. Mild recoil compared to .300s.
 
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