Which would you deer hunt with

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You don't have winter down there. I laugh at Texans reaction to their 'winter'. I lived down there (north DFW area) for 2 1/2 years, every time it got down below 50 the winter jackets came out, at 20 the parkas did . That's +20 F. Y'all freak out when it snows, and shut everything down. Right after I moved down there, in Nov. 1993, there was a bit of snow on Thanksgiving, and I was flying past all the native Texans going 10 MPH with white knuckles on the wheel. It still took me 2 hrs to go from McKinney to Arlington.
There are two seasons in Texas; Green and Brown.

Actually, that wasn't even snow, it was sleet. lol I worked that night and probably handled a dozen wrecks. I work in McKinney but live about twenty miles north. People in this part of Texas definitely freak out whenever there is any amount of frozen precip on the roadways. However, you people can keep all of that cold weather up north. I don't see how y'all handle it. I'm 55 and have yet to shovel one ounce of snow. :D
 
If 6.5 is not any better than .243 why do a lot of people say it beats .308?
 
It would depend on how I had them scoped and on the type of terrain that I was hunting. A high powered scope in the brush can cost you a shot. I had my creedmoor with a 6X18 last year and had to pick up a doe at 30-40 yards in the brush. Even on 6X it was a job. I changed rifles to one with a lower powered scope until the acorns were gone and the deer went to the fields. There is little difference in the ability of either cartridge to take deer cleanly with the proper bullet. I have taken truckloads of deer with both calibers.
 
If 6.5 is not any better than .243 why do a lot of people say it beats .308?
Most are talking about long range shooting and by LONG Range I mean over 500 yards. I like the 6.5's but the Creedmoor doesn't do anything at reasonable hunting ranges that a 260, a Swede, or a dozen other calibers won't do.
 
I like to err on the side of more power for a hunting rifle so I'd go with the 6.5 CM. It's not the caliber I'd pick if I could take anything, but it's my choice between the two.
 
I would have a custom built that uses .253 diameter bullets , around 110 grains, at 2900 to 3000 fps. That splits the difference in diameter and the weight of bullets you want to use at about the speed either would do. I guess you could use 257 bullets just for convenience. Wait , that would be the .257 Roberts with an Accubond. Better get one of those and have the best of both worlds.

Both would be fine. The CM might get the nod if shooting longer at big deer. Then again if bullet construction is good the 243 will shoot all the way through and you don't need more than that.
 
If 6.5 is not any better than .243 why do a lot of people say it beats .308?
6.5 has more power than 243, and does much better at longer ranges due to ballistics, energy retained, and science in general. The 243 is at its best 300 yards and closer, or at least that is as far as I will use it on a deer. Not that I can't hit it further, it's a matter of what the bullet is doing once it gets there. Of course, this isn't a problem where I hunt in Fl or NC, or in most situations since most deer are killed at 100 and closer anyway. Both the 243 and 6.5 CM have very mild recoil, and both do very well on deer. FWIW, I have 2 "traditional hunting rifles"- a RAR in 6.5 and a 700 sporter in 243. That said, the last half dozen or so deer and 1 hog I have killed with a firearm I either used 223 or 300 B-O.
 
With the 6.5 it's all about the ballistic coefficient, more range with less recoil. I'm a grown man, though, and can handle my 7 Rem Mag just fine and most of my shooting is in the woods, so I don't even need THAT. I usually arm up with my .308. Less can work, ya know. I've taken one deer with .223 and my regular hog rifle is a 7.62x39 semi auto with a green laser spotlight. It's all about where you're hunting. Open country like west Texas, I don't take my hog rifle or my AR.

My .308 could do it all, but really, that's no fun!:)
 
The grandkids and I have all shot deer with the .243, but my favorite is the .270 Win and I have two of those. The old Sendero stock is used on the older 700 BDL, not the CDL fluted shown in the Stocky's stock.


270 stocks 2.jpg
 
I have a .243win and a 6.5 creedmoor and I reload so which one would you hunt with and why

6.5 has the edge in ballistics, but probably much more ammo selection for .243 plus cheaper. I've actually been up in the air between .243 and 6.5 myself.....6.5x55 SE that is! I love the old Swede round and I think 6.5mm in general has a kind of magic. However the lightness, practicality and versatility of .243 is hard to beat, and is absolutely fine for deer. With good shot placement, even for larger animals. After all, some people hunt deer with 22-250 which puts them down in a second with a good head or neck shot. 243 has almost twice the bullet weight of 22-250.

While I think 6.5mm rounds in general have some kind of evil juju, as I indicated earlier, I am still hesitant to buy a rifle chambered only that round. Creedmore still seems perched on the fence of "special vs mainstream" and has been teetering there for awhile. I wonder if it will eventually follow the path of the of the old .257 Roberts (another 6.5mm! It had a great life while it lasted. I consider it one of the best North American middle-of-the-road hunting calibers ever. For whatever reason, America always seems to slack off from it's own domestic 6.5mm rounds eventually, and the old Swede still seems to trump the Creedmore in popularity, and in some stores even in availability.

If it were me, I'd probably go with the .243 in this case, since it sounds like you want something popular yet effective. If I reloaded (which I don't as of yet) I would be ALL OVER some kind of 6.5mm though! I've heard the Creed brass aint cheap, and as a reloader you have an unbelievable variety of formulas to play with in 243.
 
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Actually, the .257" is not a 6.5mm. 6.5 is .264". Okay, not a big difference in diameter, but there's a huge difference in the ballistic coefficients of the bullets available. THAT is the big attraction to the 6.5mm I've killed a lot of game with the .257 and it's a great round for the handloader, can give the .25/06 factory loads a run. But, a .257" bullet would have a bit of a problem bouncing down a .264" bore.:uhoh:

The two American .264s I can think of are the .264 Winchester Magnum and the .260 Remington. Neither of these gained a lot of popularity and the .264 is pretty much dead. I've had a hard time figuring out just why the 6.5 Creedmore is the darling and the .260 Remington lags behind considering the ballistics are quite similar. Caliber popularity can be fickle. Might have something to do with OAL of the loads. The .260 was developed for short actions.
 
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I should also add...to my already lengthy post above...that right now I only own two rifles, both in .308/7.62. Since I would like to get into reloading myself, but am slightly restricted by budget, I'd be more likely to get a .243 simply because .308 brass can become .243, and I could play around alot for cheap. I am madly infatuated with 6.5x55 Swede, however...and have spent many hours researching and comparing to Creedmore. It was difficult, but for now I am settled on the Swede in that. If I found the perfect rifle for the perfect price in 6.5 (because I want a perfect package for my magic bullet if knowwhat I mean), only then would I buy that over the .243. Otherwise I think for simply harvesting deer and maybe slightly smaller or larger critters, .243 is just more practical than 6.5CR.
 
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Actually, the .257" is not a 6.5mm. 6.5 is .264". Okay, not a big difference in diameter, but there's a huge difference in the ballistic coefficients of the bullets available. THAT is the big attraction to the 6.5mm I've killed a lot of game with the .257 and it's a great round for the handloader, can give the .25/06 factory loads a run. But, a .257" bullet would have a bit of a problem bouncing down a .264" bore.:uhoh:

The two American .264s I can think of are the .264 Winchester Magnum and the .260 Remington. Neither of these gained a lot of popularity and the .264 is pretty much dead. I've had a hard time figuring out just why the 6.5 Creedmore is the darling and the .260 Remington lags behind considering the ballistics are quite similar. Caliber popularity can be fickle. Might have something to do with OAL of the loads. The .260 was developed for short actions.

I know many times actual vs "notational" sizes have discrepancies, but if you multiply .257 times the 25.4mm in an inch, the math clearly says 6.52mm.

.264 x 25.4 is closer to 6.7.
 
Most are talking about long range shooting and by LONG Range I mean over 500 yards.
Exactly,
And For a lot of hunters that "long range" starts just past 300 yards, and by far for most is at 500 yards.
Remember folks the 6.5 Creedmoor is very popular for long rang shots at enemy soldiers at ever farther distances, while using an AR platform.

LD
 
Exactly,
And For a lot of hunters that "long range" starts just past 300 yards, and by far for most is at 500 yards.
Remember folks the 6.5 Creedmoor is very popular for long rang shots at enemy soldiers at ever farther distances, while using an AR platform.

LD
I don’t know much about the AR platform is it bolt action or semi auto I mean I know AR’s are mostly semi auto but is there a bolt action in a AR platform?
 
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I have a .243win and a 6.5 creedmoor and I reload so which one would you hunt with and why

.243Win. I've seen mine put deer down pretty fast. It's a good choice among good choices.

If nothing bigger than deer flip a coin. But I like the 6.5 a :LOT better. Recoil is virtually the same, but being able to shoot heavier bullets makes the 6.5 versatile enough for most anything in North America. Unless you have a custom 243 that will handle the 105+ gr high BC target bullets the 6.5 makes a much better option as a casual longer range target round too.

At reasonable distances... say, out to 250yds... yeah, flip a coin. At reasonable distances, 6.5's not doing anything .243 won't do.

My Savage has a 1:9.25 twist. My main load is a 100gr SP. I've shot 105gr A-max and they seemed to do fine.
 
I don’t know much about the AR platform is it bolt action or semi auto I mean I know AR’s are mostly semi auto but is there a bolt action in a AR platform?

I recall seeing some crankbolt uppers on AR-15's... maybe AR-10's, too. As I recall, some nut put a crankbolt .50BMG upper on an AR-15 lower. :thumbdown:
 
Too many decisions I’ll just take my .270 lol
Well that ain't gonna work!!!!
If 6.5 is not any better than .243 why do a lot of people say it beats .308?
Ok, soooooo to really break it down, there's a multi pronged point to make, one side is foot lbs of energy in free recoil: in similar rifles the .243 has less than 6.5 less than .308. I love my 7 stw but I promise the .223 and .243 see much more trigger use. For a season of deer and a few sighters? Meh, but in my case the stw sees use year round just not as often as the others, windy longer range outings favor the 162 eld @3000+ fps. On the other hand there is efficiency, the .243's lightest game bullets (excluding monometals) are 85 gr with a SD of .206 and a couple bcs to choose from (speer spbt, Sierra hpbt, and nosler partition) up to the 90 gr tgk with a bc of .49 and SD .218 (also the eldx, b tip and monometals) flying at 3100, and then the heavier 95 and 100 gr offerings from various manufacturers with the 100 SD of .242 (among these, the pro hunter will perform as well on flesh at 500 yds as it does at 30 yds if launched at 2920, but the wind is not a flat base's friend) of course there are heavier weights available and even in game bullets but few factory rifles are twisted to match. Compare these to the numbers put up by the 6.5 100 gr SD of .205 and 120 .246 with their respectable bcs from various manufacturers as well flying at similar speeds (both weights acceptable but many favor a heavier weight?) The 6.5 can run 142s and a 160 if asked, SD .291 on the 142 .328 on the 160 (not aerodynamic by any means but a heavy hitter). Not many .30 cal guys will say that a 150 gr is too small for the average Bambi, it comes in with an SD of .226, pretty close to a 95 gr .243 but (depending on the loading and rifle) many people prefer the recoil of the 95 gr. Similarly a .30 cal 180 is generally deemed acceptable for elk with an SD of .271. And this is the bigger difference, moving longer bullets downrange more efficiently and with less recoil than a .308 is the reason the 6.5 is enjoying the spotlight. For deer at average ranges with a low round count for the average hunter? Doesn't matter much. Lighter framed shooters, longer ranges, higher practice rates? 6 or 6.5 are taking a strong foothold.
 
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