Thread: Choosing calibre based on ammunition availablitiy

yip the .308 is a doddle to use and doddle to load for,suppressed it is a pussycat to shoot....cheap can be done VERY easily by reloading using cast and trailboss.... I shoot deer with .270 mainly and meat wastage is stuff all even with this cartridge that has always been blamed for meat damage,sure if you shoot through both shoulders you going to loose some meat,if however you tuck projectile neatly behind front leg into "the crease" you will loose less than a cupful of meat.neck shot= similar meat loss... even the classic anchoring both shoulders shot will only see the lesser cuts being left on hill...something like 70% of carcase meat is from 3rd rib back.

mono pills have their place,but its not the b all and end all of choice...cup n core work better when range is longer/projectile is slower and debatable they kill faster because they do cause more damage...and thats the kicker...you WANT/NEED projectile to cause damage,the more the better,monos cause less than cupn core,where you choose that damage to be on carcase is more important than what projectile you use if meat loss is prime consideration.
IM A MEAT HUNTER...I hunt to feed myself,my family and friends,I use monos for deer in the 223 usually,because they work well in the wee cartridge UP CLOSE.... if cup n core bullets were causing me to loose meat I wouldve gone away from them years ago... nope not happening in my lifetime.

Originally Posted by longshot

I can walk you through the reloading process, pretty busy over the next 5-6 weeks but should be able to arrange something for early March

Thats a good offer. Nice of someone to walk you through it and show you the most basic steps and the things they found to be good bad or otherwise.

I would be happy to talk through it by pm

Thanks everyone for the advice. In retrospect, the relative simplicity of Option C should have been a massive hint that getting a .308 was the right choice. I suppose I will just have to pick something else to obsess about until I get licensed.
Also thanks for the good information surrounding lead in the carcass. It sounds like traditional cup and core bullets might be acceptable, which would make it a hell of a lot cheaper. I'll get to on to the missus about it.
Finally, thank you to those who offered to walk me through hand loading. I very much appreciate it.
Thanks, everyone.

Originally Posted by Ben Waimata

I'm going to lower the tone and suggest that while .308 is a far better deer calibre, for all round shoot-everything-cheaply a .223 is hard to beat. Belmont black etc do not cost much, my last purchase from them was $599/1000 (GST incl). Bullet placement is always key, and even a really big calibre will not stop something if you just nick it's tail. 223 is obviously not the best rifle to start deer hunting with, but .223 ammo can be obtained for less than $1/rd so is very economical particularly if you're gong after wallabies, goats etc.

Would be nice if they had the 223 in-stock!

What's the factory supply like for ol 303? Would be fine for general hunting deer/pigs and plenty of rifles out there.

But the 308 would be my first choice if possible.

Now you can pull your hair out on Howa vs Tikka vs Sako haha

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

yip the .308 is a doddle to use and doddle to load for,suppressed it is a pussycat to shoot....cheap can be done VERY easily by reloading using cast and trailboss.... I shoot deer with .270 mainly and meat wastage is stuff all even with this cartridge that has always been blamed for meat damage,sure if you shoot through both shoulders you going to loose some meat,if however you tuck projectile neatly behind front leg into "the crease" you will loose less than a cupful of meat.neck shot= similar meat loss... even the classic anchoring both shoulders shot will only see the lesser cuts being left on hill...something like 70% of carcase meat is from 3rd rib back.

mono pills have their place,but its not the b all and end all of choice...cup n core work better when range is longer/projectile is slower and debatable they kill faster because they do cause more damage...and thats the kicker...you WANT/NEED projectile to cause damage,the more the better,monos cause less than cupn core,where you choose that damage to be on carcase is more important than what projectile you use if meat loss is prime consideration.
IM A MEAT HUNTER...I hunt to feed myself,my family and friends,I use monos for deer in the 223 usually,because they work well in the wee cartridge UP CLOSE.... if cup n core bullets were causing me to loose meat I wouldve gone away from them years ago... nope not happening in my lifetime.

How easy to find factory loaded monolithic ammo in NZ? 308 Sako or GMX are easy to find in most vendors?

.308 can be found anywhere in the world and cheaply

If you do end up using cup and core ammo the .308 will definitely be hard to beat, some others will have slightly better ballistics but any deer won't care.

However if you end up using monos or bonded projectiles that might not be the case.
I'd talk to a few gun shops and see what ammo you can actually get, try and stockpile 40+ (depending on how much shooting your doing) rounds of a few different loads. Keep the one that shoots best and sell the others. Then go and buy a rifle in whatever caliber it is you've actually got ammo for. Of course you won't actually be able to take the ammo home but most shops will hold stuff for you if you pay now. (it's only getting more expensive)

Within 300m anything from a 243 to a 300 mag is going to be fine, suppressed the recoil will be tolerable as well.
Monos do work better when there going quicker so if you end up with options I'd get the faster one.

Of course if you're shooting targets I'd use a cheaper hopefully more available option than the flash ammo. Also an accurate 22 lets you practice and shoot without worrying about using heaps of rounds.

Originally Posted by iambatman

Morena.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

I'm 6 months into what is now slated to be at least a 12 month process of getting a firearms license. This huge wait time has sucked me into a black hole of looking into various calibres and cartridges. The missus isn't too keen on feeding the kids little bits of lead, so I'm leaning towards bonded or monolithic bullets.

I was initially keen to use the 120gr Barnes TTSX bullet in 6.5 Swede. While the Sako Powerhead II used that bullet, I couldn't find it stocked anywhere. I emailed Beretta NZ and was told that Sako are discontinuing that cartridge as they are having problems sourcing the projectiles. Once the worldwide stocks of Powerhead II are gone they will remove that line from their marketing. While a few outfitters have the same bullet in 6.5 Creedmoor, it seems silly to buy a rifle based on ammunition that will disappear soon.

So, I have a few options once I am licensed: A) Buy a 6.5 Swede and use Sako's Powerhead Blade instead; B) Buy a 6.5 Swede and learn to hand load the Barnes TTSX bullet; C) Buy a .308.

With those options in mind:
Does anyone have experience with the Powerhead Blade either in general or specifically the 120gr 6.5 Swede? What is the effect on game in terms of terminal ballistics and speed of kills? I don't plan on hunting long range. 250 - 300 metres would be my maximum, so the bullets do not need to be capable of quick kills at long range and low velocity;
Is there anyone in the Wellington region that hand loads and wouldn't mind me coming and watching them load some ammo? I have Nathan Foster's book on hand loading, but I'm reluctant to get into that art before I can watch someone do it and can gauge whether or not it's something I might be capable of;

Thanks in advance.

@caberslash you better buy it up before its all gone if this is true

3 calibres that you can buy anywhere in the world- 270,308 and 30-06.

Of those 3 stick with dirty old 308.

Take a look at the bergara extreme hunter packages that are available. Would be very hard to beat.

243 is worth considering, varmint to deer, 6mm projectiles still on shelves, on top 3 of calibres sold in US.

Greetings iambatman,
May I echo what many others and cast a vote for the .308W. I asume that this may be your first hunting rifle and everything about the .308W is just so easy as mentioned above. You will purchase other rifles which can be of the flasher calibres but always keep the .308W as no 1 backup in times of ammo and component drought which may be more frequent the way the US is headed at the moment. Do get one with a threaded muzzle and a supressor which makes them a pussy cat to shoot. My first new cantrefire rifle was a .308W purchased in the late 1970's and I still have it. Yes I have other rifles much flasher than the old Remington but it still comes out of the cupboard in my hand often when it is rifle walkies time. The other frequent companion on my mid week gentlemans hours wanders is also a .308W in a little Bergara break open rifle.
Regards Grandpamac.

If it was me, I would buy a second hand rifle off here that is proven to shoot well from someone who will let you shoot it with them and coach you a bit. For a combination of rifle price and ammo it is hard to go past a 270. None of the common calibers mentioned can beat it's combination of flat trajectory combined with knock down imo. American Whitetail ammo which is 140 gr interlock $55 box

Iv only had a 308 for the last 20yrs.Shot a lot of deer with it.Cheap to feed and easy to reload for.Plenty of ammo around for it as well.If you want a flatter shooter with ammo still around,270 been a proven shooter as well.You should be able to buy a good shooter under a k.Moa Hunter above got the right idea for you to follow if possible.What ever you buy,fit a suppresser.