Thread: Light Varmint/Target Rifle ideas

Originally Posted by Tentman

Hmmm - yes gotta select the round first.

Some interesting thoughts thanks folks.

Which prompted one (a thought) myself . . . I have a very light 250-3000 that is a dedicated "mountain rifle" that shoots 120 grainers.

Maybe I could build a "heavy" 250-3000 to shoot 87 gn projs. That would live nicely between the 6.5's and 6mm/243's and be cool in an "esprit retro" kind of way. (esprit retro = the spirit of yesterday)

Everything else but the 22 250 will seem second rate as You have a 250 savage!

Shithot ideas folks - and no, nothing nerdy about proper analysis @Flyblown ,any chance of a copy of your spreadsheet??

Just now its hard to think beyond the 250-3000 case length, as it works so well in short actions (and of-course includes the "Crudmoor" case as its an improved 250-3000) but on pondering that a 243 or 6mm Rem on a "x57" length action is also not silly eh @nor-west

The 6mm Rem is a 6 x 57. It's the 7x57 necked down.

@Tentman, flick me your email on pm and I’ll dig it out.

Originally Posted by Tentman

Shithot ideas folks - and no, nothing nerdy about proper analysis @Flyblown ,any chance of a copy of your spreadsheet??

Just now its hard to think beyond the 250-3000 case length, as it works so well in short actions (and of-course includes the "Crudmoor" case as its an improved 250-3000) but on pondering that a 243 or 6mm Rem on a "x57" length action is also not silly eh @nor-west

Exactly. My intention is to get a 1-8 twist 6mm barrel fitted to the Majestic. I've already spoken to Hugh Bradley re pricing and availability. I'm thinking of getting the stock and action to down to you for the build @Tentman

If you want an above average accurate cartridge

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....7-lapua-46222/

Or a bigger one.

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....7-lapua-45344/

Or a slightly bigger one.

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....7-lapua-45237/

Or back to a smaller one

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....rminator-5607/

Endless possibilities

Tell you what-I'll take that horrible little 250 off your hands (cheap) so you can sort out a nice 243 lol
Well considering the 250-3000 was such a great performer with the 87ish bullet weight back in the day, as you already have it run with that.
even putting a fat barrel on it certainly wont hurt it.
Mind you along with the 303-25 in OZ the 250-3000 got smashed by the 243 and there is a feckload of options out there for that maybe it is the go to cartridge for you?

Originally Posted by shooternz

There is always the 6mm Remington I have one on a Parker Hale action with a #4 profile 25" 1:10" barrel fired 3500 rounds
before being set back and re-chambered weights 9 pounds with scope favourite bullet is Hornady 87 HPBT will handle 100 gr
ok, Original it was built for shooting NZDA centrefire matches, used it a couple of times loaded with 90 grain Lapua Scenar
to shoot NRA to 900 yards,
It is way better than a .243 has better velocity and barrel life, if I was to build a new one it would have a 1:8" twist the Mauser
action is perfect for it mine will feed empty cases they can be picked up quite cheap just get the later ones without the thumb cutout.

Interesting thread, happen to have a 22" 9 twist Trueflite barrel chambered in .243 on my bench, have considered turning it into a 6mm Rem AI on a long action of some sort. Have access to dies and reamer.

Have had the same dilema.
Ended up going with a rem700 in .243
will shoot 87g vmax into my thumbnail at 100.
If i decide to eventually shoot something for the freezer also shots 87g soft points well.
Added a timney trigger , boyds stock and a waitaki supressor and it fits the bill nicely.



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Going back to the sixty five Creedmoor idea, I see it being used more and more as a light deer cartridge with a bigger range of projectiles than the 6 mm cases.

If looking at the varmint style profiles they get a bit heavier for a carry gun. But if you are looking for something like a CTR with a carbon stock I have one available.

You are a fan of the 250 case, yet no one has mentioned the worthy 6XC. I guess this is being overshadowed by the 6CM going forward. It would be my pick for a light varmint/ dual purpose 6mm.

Originally Posted by johnd

Going back to the sixty five Creedmoor idea, I see it being used more and more as a light deer cartridge with a bigger range of projectiles than the 6 mm cases.

If looking at the varmint style profiles they get a bit heavier for a carry gun. But if you are looking for something like a CTR with a carbon stock I have one available.

The varmint barrelled Howa I have with adjustable Boyds stock is bloody heavy. But with a double sling its fine to trudge around the hills with. The weight works very much to my advantage, as the rifle’s got fantastic stability on a good bipod for target acquisition and a steady aim, its worth every gram. Its rock solid, always the first thing that guys used to light rifles comment on. And the accuracy is deadly. So its a plus, and a minus, the weight. For me, for what that rifle is designed to do (300m-600m+ goat extermination) the stability trumps the carry weight, but for others with different applications it would be the other way round.

So yesterday I spent a bit of time playing with the 6mm Creedmoor idea. I looked at what Berger, Sierra, Hornady have brought out so far in 6mm and concluded that for @Tentman’s application, there’s a lot of potential. The potential problem is at the lower bullet weights, with maybe excessive jump. I’d want to measure a chamber with some 75gr VMax and 85gr GameKings to see how much bullet would be seated in the case if set to a normal jump. Probably not a lot. But if you decided to stick with a one bullet rig instead of messing around with several projectiles, then the 108gr ELD-M or 95gr TMK would be pretty exceptional I reckon. They’d fly a helluva long way very accurately, and deal max damage to all manner of varmints, and deer.

I'm using 110gr SMK's in my 6mm Creedmoor. They have a long nose and short bearing length for their weight (compared to ELD-M's) so they are suitable for a chamber with short freebore (mine is 0.109) and it also means I'm able to run lighter projectiles no problem.

Tbey are predominantly for steel so I might work up another load for rabbits etc with a 95gr tmk as I have a few...

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@The Claw, what make of rifle do you have in 6mm Creedmoor?

@The Claw - and if its a custom who chambered it. Thanks