Speed kills... game or barrels?
In the absolute, I totally agree with Beema:
Fact of the matter is speed kills...your barrel.
In fact, most experienced people would say that the mild .308, for example, retains match accuracy for ~5,000 rounds, and the hot .22o Swift, for example, retains varmint accuracy for ~1,000 rounds, with people who shoot them reasonably (i.e do not shoot rapid fire 10 rounds strings). Hunting accuracy lasts a little longer, likely, say ~7,000 rounds for the .308 and maybe ~1,500 rounds for the hot rods.
In the hunting context, what does this mean?
We are talking hunting here, right?, which I would define in most cases as 1 round, and occasionally 2 or 3 rounds in a row, right?, maybe half a dozen to a dozen times per year (who gets more tags than that annually these days, right?), not rapid sustained fire like in military applications, or possibly varmint shooting, every week, right?
So, in the hunting (key word: hunting) context, what does 1,000 rounds life mean?
Assuming you shoot in your hunting rifle in your country of residence, say 2 boxes of ammo per year, which is a whole lot more than most hunters do, a 1,000 rounds barrel life equates to ... 25 years.
Say you are going to Africa once every few years and burn 50 rounds there, maybe the life of your barrel drops to 20 years...
Allow me to horrify the fraternity here, but I really, truly could not possibly care less if my hunting (key word: hunting) rifles do not have a 5,000 rounds life (= 100 years @ 50 rounds/year). I am entirely happy with 20 years, hence the 1,000 rounds life of the .26 Nosler, for example, is just fine and dandy with me
To each his own, but I don't see the real benefit of hunting with the "faster" 6.5's
To me, there is very little that is more precious in a hunting (again, key operating word: hunting) rifle - assuming decent hunting accuracy - than a 300 yards MPBR (Maximum Point Blank Range). We are talking PG rifles here, this obviously does not apply to DG rifles! What this means is that from 0 to 300 yards, I just put the cross hair on the center of the vital zone and I fire.
- The .270 Win launching a 130 gr bullet at 3,140 fps has a 300 yards MPBR. I like this.
- The .257 Wby launching a 100 gr bullet at 3,600 fps has a 340 yards MPBR. This makes hunting shots easier for another 40 additional yards.
- A modern 6.5x55 load sending a 140 gr bullet at 2,600 fps has a 260 yards MPBR. From 260 to 300 yards, or say around 350 yards, which is a reasonable maximum range for hunting (key operating word: hunting), you need "Kentucky windage" or clicking the scope turret, which you may or may not have the time, or more commonly the presence of mind, to do...
So, to me, the advantage of living with the short barrel life of 1,000 rounds is that I essentially have an almost 100 yards of additional MPBR. It is well worth considering a new barrel every 20 or 25 years
If one of
Tra3's objectives is "Montana antelope", I tend to think longer shots, hence longer MPBR, which I why I was therefore thinking speed...