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Got Tikka in 6.5x55 wanting something with longer legs. Not out hunting as much as I want and not out to squeeze the last 30 fps or wanting to try and take anything at ridiculous long ranges.
Reckon 7mm Rem Mag will do the trick. Any views on factory remington Sendero vs sako 85 (laminated stock) over custom build given it seems everything needs bloody work. Being a wirey bigger (65kg) hoping I can keep the whole system simple - no brakes or cans.
Have a look at my thread a few topics down.......I wouldn't mind a 6.5
Stick with the swede
Dr Watson has a very good article in latest Rod and Rifle on custom vs factory. Confirmed what I sort of thought. Well worth a read.
7mm remmag is awesome, you don't need a brake or suppressor but if your running hot loads your shoulder will like it.
I wouldn't recommend a sender of unless your hunting from a quad.
It's not the weight but the bulk of the stock makes them very annoying and difficult to carry well.
T3 with a limbsaver will work well 162amax around 2850 will be good with still being soft on the shoulder
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But what are you calling a long way?, especially if you don't get out much, 6.5 Swede kills well with the 140Amax/Berger VLD out at 400 yds, and that is further than a lot should be shooting at animals!Quote:
Originally Posted by dombo3
I've got 140 Amax at 2700 and killed out to 350 prior to recent scope upgrade. Only at fallow and Sika so far. Want to be confident to 600 odd once I've put in more range time and add bigger reds to the mix. Swede hasn't let me down yet and not planning to ditch it.Quote:
Originally Posted by 257weatherby
2506 very under rated shoots flatter then 6.5x55 and has longer range
Go AI with your sweed, you ll be close to 6.5-284 and your bullets will be more efficient than a 25-06.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Friwi
What about opening your swede up to 264 Win Mag?
Thats what I did and never looked back. Same ballistics as the 7RM but less recoil which suits if you don't want a can / brake.
3600 with 90gr
3500 with 120gr mono (barnes, GMX)
3200 with 140gr Berger
3100 with 155gr SMK
Only downside is you will have to reload unless you want to spend $$$ per packet of Nosler Trophy.
Yep .264 mag are nice but you need a longer barrel at least 24", 26 even better, mine is suppressed it's like shooting a .223.
so how far can you get out to with the swede and get the 1000lbs of delivered energy with the best longrange bullets available ?
i would like to say go the Ackley Improved way ( i would ) but it probably doesn't stack up unless your a reloader with a sense of adventure bugger the cost deal.
7mm RM would be the easy smart option
good luck
Two easy tricks.
1. Custom rifles seldom are what you want. Factory is so much easier
2. Walk closer. It solves so many long range issues.
As others have said either stick with your 6.5 or if you go to a 7mm mag just buy a Tikka.
Don't bother with a custom unless you do your homework or don't sell it. Or if you pick one up cheap as the resale for custom is way less than you put into them.
You will probably find with a bit of shooting practice that the 6.5 will do everything you want it to.
I see you are from palmy Pm me and I could take you to a property that you can shoot some longer distance.
If i was you i would track down a post on here from @R93 and read his signature :D
7 RM is easy peasy a sweede eater on game. Id say sweede taps out at 5-600 and the RM at 7-900 for an effective kill. You can of course kill beyond that with both but you will need to spend plenty of time practising. Getting on the gong after 5 shots and a spotter is not good enough when trying to take an animal, you owe it to the deer to be confident of a first round kill. My 10 cents anyway
How about .270, 280, 284 or 3006?
The other thing to note is a lot of the time now a factory rifle will do 90% of what a custum will do especially the barrel, action and trigger a simple stock replacement will get rid of the plastic stock and thats as far as you have to go generally.
this coming from a guy who is contemplating 3 different builds currently i guess some of us are slow learners
What accuracy are you getting with your current rifle?
Do you have a rangefinder and know how to apply the readings to shooting conditions in the field using your current setup?
Your current rifle is capable of killing deer out to around 600m with the right ammunition, dependent on your shooting skill.
Improving your marksmanship will make a much bigger difference than changing rifle!
Guys are shooting steel reliably at over a mile with 6.5's with less muzzle velocity than your swede has.
I'm not trying to put you off getting a new rifle, but I suggest you explore the capabilities of your current one before dismissing it for what you have stated that you require of it.
keep the 6.5 and get some high end optics like nf ziess diavari or v8.
once you get your ability to shoot past 600 with the 6.5 then go bigger faster.
a lot of people make the mistake of going big before they are ready.
master what you've got.
I have shot a lot of animals at around 600 with my 6.5 but only when the right time right place and it works well!
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Lots of good advice here the 6.5 is slowly getting more recognised as a very capable calibre for nz hunting :)
You could always buy my custom .260AI cheaper than building one yourself.
Slowly? For the last 5 years if you didn't have one you were a weirdo :PQuote:
Originally Posted by northdude
I've been using the same one for 33 years now when I first use to talk about it I use to always get wtf is a 6.5x55
Lol yep I got the first t3 in taihape and just screwed the 3rd new barrel on!Quote:
Originally Posted by northdude
my kids started shooting it from 7 years old and still going strong.
put it this way I have corrupted a few people to the mighty 6.5!
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Thanks guys. Few responses: I have range finder and drop charts. Got VX6 3-18x44 on it recently. supressor is older gunworks and a bit like walking through bush with a car aerial. I sub MOA if I do my bit. Alan from Ashhurst does my loads. Thanks for offer of longer range practice - away from Palmy for a few days so will follow up when back.
Custom sounds like it's unnecessary for my purposes, but modified factory of some description.
I've been between jobs for 8 months so when things come good I intend to shout myself something memorable. Why not a new rifle!
Ninety percent of people that I know who upgraded to a new (read larger or mag) caliber to shoot animals further away have still shot the animals at the same distances.
The idea of a custom rifle is to not sell them! Well that's my opinion anyway.
Semi-Custom is always the best way to go.
Nothing wrong with a sendero, bed it. Lap the bolt lugs, replace the trigger. Work up an amax load. You won't need a brake or suppressor because of the extra weight. Just get some electronic earmuffs instead. The sendero is good because it's a 26 inch heavy barrel. Which is fairly hard to find in a factory rifle. Or was when I looked.
Also depends on type of hunting and country u be intending be in. my 2c worth - as others have said the 6.5 swede is going to have realistic LR limit of ~500 yds. 7mm RM will get u out past 800 yds easy. But you will have to hand load .... pretty much true for ANY LR shooting options. The Sendero is more like a piece of field artillery than a hunting rifle (i have owned one) - especially if you want to cover everything from bush to alpine hunting & a lot of vertical metres in a day. Plenty of good 2nd hand 7mmRM deals available if you are patient. And if you go with a rem 700 platform you can pick up after market stocks and parts pretty easy & lower cost than others. Tikka probably not the best option from 7mmRM due to mag length restrictions vs COAL you'll need. But given you're going to have to hand load suggest u think about some other options ... eg a wsm 7/300 or 300wsm - about same recoil as 7mmRM but cos its short action you can build (or buy) a lighter/shorter rifle. And a 22 or 23 in bbl is also going to be feasible if u want to. Another one would be 280 AI or SAUM - about 100 fps slower than 7mmRM but still get you to 800 yds.
KiwiGreg had a 6.5wsm for sale recently - this might also tick a few boxes for you. But personally I'd go for 7mm or 30 cal for long range hunting on big animals.
tikka t3 in 7RM
I went to the effort of converting one from 7mm08 to 280Rem to do exactly what you are asking and it works perfectly, its just a bit of messing round to get it there with parts and gunsmiths
I wanted 0-600m ability so coupled it with a march 2.5-25x50 scope
since sold the scope tho
can be done cheeply with a tikka if you like them