The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Get a Barret 50cal, one of those will gut them, butcher them and cook them for you all in one go. Failing that I've used a 257 Roberts on whitetails a few times, nice flat shooting cartridge and it doesn't cause a lot of meat damage.

Blu

kennyc wrote:you could always use the K31 :P

If it was the States that would not be a problem

AL8 wrote:If it was the States that would not be a problem

Why is it a problem in the UK? :?

Mine is conditioned for deer and AOLQ

AOLQ?
Have you got a load work up for deer?

Well I've had a few different calibres ..

.243 , .308 , .270 .

I'd say for versatility I'd go .308 , excellent for targets , superb for deer I used 150 gr hunting ballistics ..

.243 is excellent all rounder , deer and Fox .

.270 unless its in a heavy rifle is pretty lively !!

And my new choice 6.5 x 47 lap , looking to do everything with this round , then dumping the .270 which is collecting cobwebs in the cabinet !!

Hope this helps .

mattrem700 wrote:Well I've had a few different calibres ..

.243 , .308 , .270 .

I'd say for versatility I'd go .308 , excellent for targets , superb for deer I used 150 gr hunting ballistics ..

.243 is excellent all rounder , deer and Fox .

.270 unless its in a heavy rifle is pretty lively !!

And my new choice 6.5 x 47 lap , looking to do everything with this round , then dumping the .270 which is collecting cobwebs in the cabinet !!

Hope this helps .

clear as mud :lol:

AL8 wrote:AOLQ?
Have you got a load work up for deer?

ALOQ= any other lawful quarry not at this point, although as I use 150 grn sierra powerpoints in my .308 I suspect any load would include those and VN140 :lol:

I'd recommend the .260 Remington but they may not be easy to find secondhand. Basically the same ballistics as the 6.5x55 but in a shorter case so a shorter bolt throw. If you can't find a 260 then the 6.5x55 is an excellent choice.
The good old 308 would be a good runner up.
Tika T3 or Remington 700 would be my choice and there should be a few of these around.

Can I ask if you have resolved to opt for a "pure" sporting rifle, or will target shooting cloud the issue? As someone has said, any calibre capable of producing 1700 ft lb will do the stalking job, but some are more equal than others. 243 is a fine little calibre, but reloading to 1700 ft lb, there is only 1-200 ft lb's headroom above this. 257 Roberts is a lovely little calibre, especially with the Hornady 117 gr RN. I once had a Sako 25-06 and the Hornady flat base round nose wouldn't go outside a thumbnail at 100 metres. Tikka is made by the same company/factory, I believe and they are as good as things get. Try and choose a sporting rifle for deer and a target rifle for targets. We all have our prejudices.
Zeroveez