Caliber Recommendation

SureShot · Nov 20, 2018

I have the chance to pick up a new Browning X-Bolt Hell's Canyon Long Range rifle in any caliber they sell (6MM Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, 270 WSM, 300 WSM, 26 Nosler, 7mm Rem Mag, 28 Nosler or 300 Win Mag). Which caliber would you recommend and why?

Hunting use will be 80% deer and 20% elk.

Thanks for your input!

Zeke · Nov 20, 2018

.308 caliber, period.

It's possibly the best all around caliber in almost any cartridge configuration.

With that said, I own and use all the cartridges you listed except the 26 Nosler and they all have a purpose.

Zeke

#livelikezac

Zeke · Nov 20, 2018

Oh, and I don't have a 6mm Creedmoor either.

Zeke

#livelikezac

opbuckslayer · Nov 20, 2018

For big game hunting 300 wm or 28 nosler but a 6 creed would be pretty sweet on everything from sod dogs to deer.

muleymaniac81 · Nov 21, 2018

300 win mag. Availability and price for ammo is a big factor for me. I have used a 300 for everything from coyotes (overkill) to elk. Can't go wrong with a 300.

two7D · Nov 21, 2018

Since you mostly hunt deer I would say 270wsm. I've always wanted one but never got around to buying one. It will handle elk in a pinch, as my plain jane 270 win. seems to just fine on elk too.

BIGJOHNT · Nov 21, 2018

I would say the 28 Nosler or the 300 win mag. Maybe leaning towards the 300 win mag because the brass and ammo for the 28 has been hard to find. I would say always error on the larger side of problem. A better choice in bullet and weights on the 30 caliber. After getting your big thumper going. Then maybe pick up a 6.5 for the light side of things.

cbeard · Nov 21, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Nov-21-18 AT 05:37PM (MST)[p].270 WSM. .300 Win Mag or WSM would be a close second.

257Tony · Nov 21, 2018

7mm rem or 300 win will give you most options for ammo, or brass if you hand load. I'd go with a 7 personally since you said 80% deer, with some elk mixed in. Shoot a 160-168 grain bullet around 3000 fps and you're set, with less recoil than the 300.

You're going to love that rifle!

Homer · Nov 22, 2018

...like zeke said.

.308

completesportsman · Nov 23, 2018

7mm Rem Mag

OchocoKid · Nov 23, 2018

28 Nosler if you're a hand loader , 300 win mag if you are or if you're not. the 7 mag will do the job as well, just not as well.

the light calibers with their tiny bullets are not long range game rifles. it's simple physics. unless of course, you're like some of our members here who always make perfect shots at all ranges and all conditions. I'm not one.

Stay Thirsty My Friends

BIGJOHNT · Nov 23, 2018

>
>28 Nosler if you're a hand
>loader , 300 win mag
>if you are or if
>you're not. the 7 mag
>will do the job as
>well, just not as well.
>
>
> the light calibers with their
>tiny bullets are not long
>range game rifles. it's
>simple physics. unless of
>course, you're like some of
>our members here who
>always make perfect shots at
>all ranges and all conditions.
> I'm not one.
>
>
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>
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>
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>
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>Stay Thirsty My Friends

+ 1

NORKALNIMROD · Nov 23, 2018

Stay away from the short mags.
I would go with the 300 Win or the 7mm Rem mag. Ammo is easy to find, options are endless if you reload, you can hunt any game animal in North America with them and that particular rifle is a great match chambered in either of them.

Norkal

"One can take my life but not my faith or my
confidence"
"I fear none and respect all"

NiceRack · Nov 23, 2018

>.308 caliber, period.
>
>It's possibly the best all around
>caliber in almost any cartridge
>configuration.
>
>With that said, I own and
>use all the cartridges you
>listed except the 26 Nosler
>and they all have a
>purpose.
>
>Zeke
>
>#livelikezac

I would offer another opinion.
Here is why....without doubt the .308 is an accurate and efficient caliber out to 300 yards. But combining distance with energy it is sorely lacking compared to the .300wsm. and other magnum calibers. Elk hunting for me in Idaho and Arizona is usually a long distance affair. My cross canyon Idaho bull last month was 454 yards. I think that many Rocky Mountain Elk hunters share the same type of challenging long distance shots. Don't get me wrong, I would much rather shoot closer but sometimes that's just not the option. Cross canyons and open grass country make closing the gap a challenge that is sometimes better dealt with using a long range rifle with a magnum cartridge. I tend to use the old rule of thumb when it comes to long range Elk hunting, "1500 lbs of energy at bullet impact is the minimum". Using a ballistic calculator shows .308 and .300wsm using the same bullet (180 gr. Nosler Partition) at 5000 ft elevation. The .308 will only hold 1500lbs of energy out to 450yds while the .300wsm will hold 1500lbs out to 650yds. While this data might be a moot point for many as shooting even 450 yards just isn't in their tool bag. For me it's quite telling and that is why I have switched to a .338 RUM that with Barnes 250gr LR bullets the magic number 1500lbs is held out to 1100yards. Clearly long distance shooting takes a suitable rifle, practice and confidence. And since the author of this post is shooting Elk and Deer with a "Hells Canyon Long Range Rifle" my assumption he is planning to shoot long distance. That's my opinion, and like all gun aficionados opinions vary.
PB

Homer · Nov 23, 2018

lol.....the question was caliber...not cartridge.

.308 is the same caliber in 308 win, 3006, 300 win mag, 300 ultra....etc etc etc

deadibob · Nov 23, 2018

>lol.....the question was caliber...not cartridge.
>
>.308 is the same caliber in
>308 win, 3006, 300 win
>mag, 300 ultra....etc etc etc
>
>
>
>

Yep, he said .308 CALIBER, not .308 CHAMBERING. Big difference. For 80/20 deer/elk, my first choice would be the .270wsm. Second would probably be .300 win mag. I would stay away from any proprietary chambering such as Nosler. Too often it is hard to source ammo/brass, especially if that particular chambering fails to catch on.

Homer · Nov 23, 2018

amen deadi....80% deer I'd pick the 7mm rem mag.....270 wsm as second choice

NiceRack · Nov 23, 2018

In my 9 lustrum of hunting with big game rifles I have never heard once anyone refer to .300win mag, 300wsm, 30-06, .300 savage, 30-30 etc, etc, etc....as a .308. I perhaps incorrectly assumed his response was referring to the .308 winchester. I agree they all share the same bullet diameter .308. But you must agree the difference is vast when compared to magnum cartridges.
PB

Homer · Nov 23, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Nov-23-18 AT 07:55PM (MST)[p]duh....but "caliber" refers only to the diameter of a projectile....even in 45 years

words mean things....

ELKOHOLIC · Nov 28, 2018

I picked up a Hells Canyon lr in 6.5 Creedmoor this year. What a shooter it is! It's taken One Muley at 400 and two Whitetail in the 500 range this year. I think you will happy with whatever you choose.

projp · Nov 29, 2018

Cartridge and caliber are indeed different but to the non gun nut they are sometimes not differentiated.
The gun manufactures do not help matters.
If you are a hunter instead of a gun enthusiast and read manufactures literature instead of a dictionary it is easy to see why "technical" mistakes are made.
3 of the first 4 manufactures I looked up, (Sako, Winchester, and Savage), refer to cartridges as "caliber"

http://www.winchesterguns.com/produ...ent-Products/model-70-extreme-weather-ss.html

https://choose.sako.fi/sako_85/85-finnlight-ii

https://www.savagearms.com/firearms/centerfire/model-110/110-long-range-hunter

OchocoKid · Nov 30, 2018

Since he listed the chamberings that were his options that pretty much takes care of this debate.

The bigger question might be why that gun..

Stay Thirsty My Friends

BIGJOHNT · Nov 30, 2018

>
>Since he listed the chamberings that
>were his options that pretty
>much takes care of this
>debate.
>
>The bigger question might be why
>that gun..
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>Stay Thirsty My Friends

Once again I agree with Ocho . But we haven't heard one thing from the Sureshot . I think with all of your bickering you scared him off.
Come on now. We knew what he was asking for. We need to all learn to play together before the anti's get a hand up on us.

littlebighorn · Nov 30, 2018

I just had Zeke put together a 28 Nosler for me, specifically for an elk hunt. So his affinity for the .308 caliber would lean more toward elk than deer, in my opinion. Especially after watching which of his 20 rifles he chooses from to hunt deer!

Sureshot, if your 20% elk gun is for a long awaited big bull elk adventure then I'd say the larger caliber rounds are better, but I also think how well you can shoot more recoil should be factored in.
If you are sensitive to butt kicking, which most hunters are, then error more on the light side, or make sure your BIG caliber gun has a muzzle brake!

Choosing a new rifle is so complicated!

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Zeke · Dec 4, 2018

Okay, okay, y'all got me.

You've caught me being an nomenclature snob but I'm still trying to figure out when we'll realize that "caliber" is simply the diameter of the projectile (technically the barrel's groove to groove measurement).

The "cartridge" denotes the ammunition which accurately and appropriately fits the rifle's chamber.

I don't call loaded ammunition "bullets" either since bullets are simply projectiles (the thingy that skids down the barrel), unless I want to say something like "I ain't got no more bullets".

I'm too old to fight about it (jk)... plus I've got coyotes to kill with my little .264 caliber.

I'm sure the OP wasn't scared off by our banter but probably just asked for guidance and then did whatever he wanted anyway...which is exactly what we all do.

Carry on and have a nice day....followed by that ridiculous smiley-face emoji.

Zeke

#livelikezac