What Caliber

[Captain C]

6.5X284 but that wouldn't fit the bill for ammo being available. ha ha

[poisonivie]

I do all your talking about with a cheap azz ruger 308. And hit the target!!!!

[tommy1005]

don't do an AR10.....way to heavy to actually be of use in the field. If all you're doing is sitting in a deer blind, maybe. My dad wanted something with less recoil than his 30.06 so he bought one this year and took it to the blind once and said never again. You're talking about a gun that weighs in the 15 pound range with 20 rounds of ammo and a scope/bipod. If I were doing an AR long range gun I'd do a 6.5 Grendel which is an AR15 platform gun. Much more useable with a 20" barrel than the AR10 platform offerings and significantly less weight.

[BTGuard]

Kill it. 300 Win Mag to me doesn't kick any worse than a 30-06. You could always have a brake added if it was too much recoil.

The brake would work... But Iowa seems to dislike those if I remember correctly

[BTGuard]

don't do an AR10.....way to heavy to actually be of use in the field. If all you're doing is sitting in a deer blind, maybe. My dad wanted something with less recoil than his 30.06 so he bought one this year and took it to the blind once and said never again. You're talking about a gun that weighs in the 15 pound range with 20 rounds of ammo and a scope/bipod. If I were doing an AR long range gun I'd do a 6.5 Grendel which is an AR15 platform gun. Much more useable with a 20" barrel than the AR10 platform offerings and significantly less weight.

What kind of ammo options are there for 6.5 Grendel? And where would be a good place to start as far as building/buying one and checking prices?

[huntindude]

What kind of ammo options are there for 6.5 Grendel? And where would be a good place to start as far as building/buying one and checking prices?

Ive been seeing hornady 123gr sst pretty regularly

[BTGuard]

Ive been seeing hornady 123gr sst pretty regularly

Good to know. I may even use this as an excuse to get into reloading so this isn't my first worry, but still a consideration. I'll do some looking tonight as far as price points on this. I really want to do the research to get this right the first time.

[tommy1005]

you should be able to build one for under $1000 depending on what parts you choose. However, you can easily make it a $2000 rifle very quickly. I would start with Alexander Arms.....you can get a 16" upper from them for around $750, then get a lower from somewhere local. A stripped lower should be $100-$150 unless you jump up to the billet lowers. Then a lower parts kit with the junk trigger is about $80 or $40 without a trigger. If you go for the parts kit without the trigger, then a good trigger is in the $200 range. I would opt for the aftermarket trigger options since long distance is in your thought process. That puts you about $1100 plus glass. You can probably find a used upper to save some money there. If you're going to shoot long distance, the best investment you can make no matter what is quality glass and learn to reload.

[BTGuard]

you should be able to build one for under $1000 depending on what parts you choose. However, you can easily make it a $2000 rifle very quickly. I would start with Alexander Arms.....you can get a 16" upper from them for around $750, then get a lower from somewhere local. A stripped lower should be $100-$150 unless you jump up to the billet lowers. Then a lower parts kit with the junk trigger is about $80 or $40 without a trigger. If you go for the parts kit without the trigger, then a good trigger is in the $200 range. I would opt for the aftermarket trigger options since long distance is in your thought process. That puts you about $1100 plus glass. You can probably find a used upper to save some money there. If you're going to shoot long distance, the best investment you can make no matter what is quality glass and learn to reload.

Thanks a lot for the information. This will probably be an extremely drawn out build, slowly aquiring what I woukd need when funds are there. At least now u know what to look for if this is a route I decide to go

[ted_kennedys_liver]

7mag or 300 win mag. Overkill? You bet but flat shooting. The overkill aspect will also help makeup for a shot that may be off a tad whereas one of the smaller calibers may not. I rather have too much than not enough. The damage done to a deer with a 7mag or 300 is nowhere like one imagines or like many rumors out there (you won't be blowing off half the deer or an entire shoulder ). Sure some of the smaller calibers shoot pretty flat but don't have as good of power behind it that the 300 or 7mag has.

I have a 308 and shot a 30-06 forever. My go to rifle is the 6.8 for shots up to 250yds, which is all but one stand.

Had it to do over again I would have went with a rem 700 7mag read of the 308. Lots of customization options available for the 700s. I wouldn't trade my bison 6.8 for anything though

[DirtyDave]

Bolt gun or AR10 in 260 Remington.
or AR15 in 6.5 Grendel

[RogueSamurai]

Given the info you gave above............308. 100 times out of 100 no questions asked.

Or....Listen to LWD.....some of the other advise givers on here need to stick to bows....

[Pullersboy]

Well, many of you may have seen my post about .308 rifles earlier this week. I got lots of good replies, and it got me thinking. What's actually going to be the best caliber for me?
I want to be able to shoot a coyote, hogs, and get some long(er). Range shooting. I'm not going to plan on killing much past a few hundred yards, but to poke paper at 7-800 would be fun. The more available the ammo the better . Would a 30/06 or .270 be better then a .308? I think a .300 win mag might be a little more gun then I want to shoot all day. What say you?

Yes, the .308 will be better than 30/06 or the .270. Terminal ballistics on the 30/06 & .308 are nearly identical. The are very similar in accuracy inside 500 yards too. Beyond 500, the .308 will hold tighter groups. This difference is negligible within 500 unless you are a sniper precision marksman of some sort. The .300 is definately a lot of gun. It will handle all that you listed (as will all of the other rounds). However, it's gonna cost you more shoot too. Of the options you listed my personal preference would be
1 .308
2. 30/06
3. .300 WM
4. .270

I'm not an expert, so take it for what it's worth go ya. Good luck.

[RogueSamurai]

Ok, I need to retract a bit. My comment may have come across as a little bit snarky. For that I apologize.

It's just that I've noticed, a lot lately, on the Green Screen, when someone asks a Caliber question, multiple folks pile on with advise on calibers that were not asked about and if you did shoot those calibers, you'd better be one hell of a re-loader. Most people are not.

It's sort of like: "Does anyone know where I can get a good steak"?

Answer: "You want pork chops".

Actually, "what's the best caliber?" questions are part of the reason I quit going to other hunting sites, because it started to sound like the gun counter at Academy. A whole lot of advice without a filter.

So, for my comment above, I apologize if I seemed crass.

[Mike D]

Given the info you gave above............308. 100 times out of 100 no questions asked.



Or....Listen to LWD.....some of the other advise givers on here need to stick to bows....

^^^^^^ This is spot on. You will not find any other caliber that will
Be as versatile as a .308. You can find ammo from 110 grains up to 220 grains. In a quality rifle they are **** accurate and will shoot just fine with a competent shooter to 800 yards.

.308 in a Remington or Savage bolt gun would be a perfect choice and well within your budget.