Thread: Looking for a good all around rifle

Originally Posted by STC

so why not use a 17hmr?

If you test it and the bullet gets reliably into the vitals and works, I would say go for it.


Evidence would suggest that it won't. External ballistics are a bit unreliable too.


Evidence does however indicate that small-to-moderate centrefire cartridges with good bullets do work, tremendously well, and a heavier cartridge e.g .300WSM as suggested in the post I replied is absolutely not necessary and counterproductive

Just making space in the safe. Have another 7mm08 I already use more and a 280ai that has filled the gap this one was supposed to be in.

Originally Posted by caberslash

Many of those older rifles will have a rusty tube for a barrel or be rooted in some form or the other, be up for silly money at the gunshop as a trade-in or a dreamer price on TardMe, no warranty on that!

Been there done that, bought an L461 which some idiot had reamed from .222 to .223 improperly and it would not close on factory ammo. Sorted in the end but took several tries. Did manage to get a first year 243 Rem Mod 7 for £150 which shoots fine but that's another story.

Sorry you got a lemon.
I've brought 2 Brno 465s, a mod 70 in 300 wsm and a vixen222 in the last 12 months or so and they all shoot bloody great. The hornets are around seventy yrs old and still shoot tight. And they are a pleasure to look at with their wooden stocks.

To be clear I wouldn't recommend that this bloke get a .223 because it is difficult to get good factory ammunition for it that uses decent bullets.

I would strongly recommend a .243, 6mm or 6.5 Creedmoor though.

Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

Sorry you got a lemon.
I've brought 2 Brno 465s, a mod 70 in 300 wsm and a vixen222 in the last 12 months or so and they all shoot bloody great. The hornets are around seventy yrs old and still shoot tight. And they are a pleasure to look at with their wooden stocks.

you beauty we have certainly given this bloke some reading and great discussions - we are all different - but sitting around a camp fire over a few beers I know what I want hauled out to go ohhh ahhh over and its not a new Tikka sorry well not really

Originally Posted by Tim

Just making space in the safe. Have another 7mm08 I already use more and a 280ai that has filled the gap this one was supposed to be in.

@Bagheera - sorry, trying to post off my phone is annoying

Originally Posted by gimp

If you test it and the bullet gets reliably into the vitals and works, I would say go for it.


Evidence would suggest that it won't. External ballistics are a bit unreliable too.


Evidence does however indicate that small-to-moderate centrefire cartridges with good bullets do work, tremendously well, and a heavier cartridge e.g .300WSM as suggested in the post I replied is absolutely not necessary and counterproductive

Aha @gimp in september we will see which of us is the sloppier shot !
Ive had excellent success with less than ideal placements using my 7mm08 and Nosler Ballistic Tips. Shots that drop them in a few paces would have resulted in 30-50m runaways with the 303 and 150gr Sierra Pro Hunter. Bullet choice is very key but you can only do so much experimenting yourself.

Broadly speaking, the volume of tissue disrupted is proportional to the kinetic energy delivered. More ft.lb allows more margin for error which we all need. It occurs to me that the larger volume can include more blood vessels even for a good hilar chest shot, which helps in earlycollapse.

Another point I was trying to make is that kinetic energy falls off quickly specially in the first 200m of flight and this can be more pronounced in medium or light for calibre bullets like say 80gr 6mm due to a lowish ballistic coefficient. Wind error is also more with lighter bullets, and that is hard to overcome.

Schultz and Larsen 6.5x55

Originally Posted by Bagheera

Aha @gimp in september we will see which of us is the sloppier shot !
Ive had excellent success with less than ideal placements using my 7mm08 and Nosler Ballistic Tips. Shots that drop them in a few paces would have resulted in 30-50m runaways with the 303 and 150gr Sierra Pro Hunter. Bullet choice is very key but you can only do so much experimenting yourself.

Broadly speaking, the volume of tissue disrupted is proportional to the kinetic energy delivered. More ft.lb allows more margin for error which we all need. It occurs to me that the larger volume can include more blood vessels even for a good hilar chest shot, which helps in earlycollapse.

Another point I was trying to make is that kinetic energy falls off quickly specially in the first 200m of flight and this can be more pronounced in medium or light for calibre bullets like say 80gr 6mm due to a lowish ballistic coefficient. Wind error is also more with lighter bullets, and that is hard to overcome.

I'd class those(light for calibre) as bad bullets and therefore outside the scope of what I recommend

Thinking about this thread. Why is the 257 Roberts not more popular?
A 120gr Projectile at 2800 fps seems like an almost ideal combination of weight and speed with low recoil. Absolutely perfect for starting out.

Originally Posted by whanahuia

Thinking about this thread. Why is the 257 Roberts not more popular?
A 120gr Projectile at 2800 fps seems like an almost ideal combination of weight and speed with low recoil. Absolutely perfect for starting out.

Gun city lists 1 type of ammunition, and it is $119, and it is out of stock

Faaark,,,,,, I don't half feel sorry for the original poster

Originally Posted by gimp

Gun city lists 1 type of ammunition, and it is $119, and it is out of stock

Yeah Im not sdugesting it as an option. Just that its a really good little cartridge that should be more popular and perfect for the situation described, instead of dying out.

Indeed. 6.5CM with a 120gr would be more or less the same on tye receiving end

Originally Posted by whanahuia

Thinking about this thread. Why is the 257 Roberts not more popular?
A 120gr Projectile at 2800 fps seems like an almost ideal combination of weight and speed with low recoil. Absolutely perfect for starting out.

Thats why I have a 25-08!