Best round

[wisconsinteacher]

What would you concider to be the best round to reload for fun shooting off the bench out to 300 yards? Think of cost and ease of shooting/reloading please.

 

[RogueRiver]

You just opened yourself for a lot of remarks- everyone has their favorites- a lot of us like the odd balls 6.5's and 35 calibers. More info is needed like; if you hunt and if so what kind of game, R you target shooting for tiny groups, what action of rifles you prefer, what will your typical shooting distance will be. Those are all factors that I like to consider before I recommend a caliber to someone.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

Bolt action rifle shooting at the range for fun from 100-300 yards. It would be used for hunting based on the cal. I am looking for a center fire rifle to shoot and reload that will be a joy to reload for and easy to shoot at the range.

 

[widgeon]

If you plan on hunting more than varmints with this gun, I would suggest something in 6mm/.243. The components are relatively inexpensive and the recoil light enough to shoot all day.

 

[JD338]

Bolt action rifle shooting at the range for fun from 100-300 yards. It would be used for hunting based on the cal. I am looking for a center fire rifle to shoot and reload that will be a joy to reload for and easy to shoot at the range.

Varmint or big game hunting?
Easy on the shoulder, ears, wallet?

JD338

 

[SJB358]

Any of the smaller 6.5's would be a sweet set up I think. They have alot of great match style bullets, use very little powder for the amount of performance they give. Plus, there is a huge resurgence of them lately, so I think it would be a sound pick. Plus, they would easily double as a nice WT rig...

 

[wisconsinteacher]

Varmint, easy on wallet, easy on shoulder/light recoil.

 

[Guy Miner]

Seems like you want something mild, easy to shoot, easy to load and satisfyingly accurate.

Up for a custom barrel job, or do you want an off-the-shelf rifle?

Given what you've stated, I'd look real hard at the Savage, already set up for benchrest shooting, in 6mmBR. Excellent accuracy, mild, good barrel life, good brass life. Should you decide to use it for hunting, it's very capable on varmints, and could also be used for whitetail deer.

Savage Model 12 Benchrest in 6mm Norma BR. Has a 1:8 twist rate, so long bullets for longer ranges could be used. Total weight is 12.75 pounds, so there will be very little recoil, leading to good accuracy. The Savage lists at $1505, but I usually see them around $1200 or so in this area. This is a serious target rifle that will produce excellent accuracy.

If you don't want the 6mmNorma BR version, it's also avail in .308 Win and 6.5x284 (which is not a mild cartridge).

For more info on the wonderful little 6mm BR cartridge: http://www.6mmbr.com/6mmbr.html

Regards, Guy

 

[widgeon]

Varmint, easy on wallet, easy on shoulder/light recoil.

Sounds like a .223.

 

[Guy Miner]

That would also be an excellent cartridge choice. It's hard to load anything much less expensive than a .223 cartridge.

About a zillion used .223 rifles floating around out there too - often at very good prices.

 

[JD338]

Varmint, easy on wallet, easy on shoulder/light recoil.

I would look at the 223 Rem and 243 Win.

JD338

 

[6mm Remington]

6mm Remington but the 243 would work in a pinch also! :mrgreen:

 

[Woodycreek]

6mm Remington but the 243 would work in a pinch also! :mrgreen:

Guess something was wrong with David's computer? He was trying to say the 243 Win would be a great pick!

 

[BK]

Fast twist in something like a .223 or .243. If the brass were cheaper and/or better, I might throw a 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x47 Lapua, or .260 Remington in there, once again, if you have a fast twist.

 

[CatskillCrawler]

I would look at the .222 Rem or .223.

 

[wildgene]

What would you concider to be the best round to reload for fun shooting off the bench out to 300 yards? Think of cost and ease of shooting/reloading please.

...perfect???, no, but the .223 would be pretty hard to beat w/ these requirements...

...the .204 might be more fun, lots of esoteric options in 6/6.5/7mm/.30, but they're all going to be more spendy for components, & you'll be investing quite a bit in reloading equip/ rifle to take advantage of the improved ballistics, which @ 300yds isn't going to be very significant. There's a myriad of .224 bullet/ powder combinations to try, & "predator" type rifles are available from a lot of companies @ reasonable prices...

 

[FOTIS]

223 243/6mm 25-06 270 .....

 

[jmad_81]

I really like my Savage 12 .243 ( very similar to the one Guy posted). Shoots lights out, doesn't kick much, and is a bunch of fun out to 1000 yrds. If your only shooting 2-300 yards I see nothing wrong with a good .223. Less recoil than a .243, and about half as much $ to shoot.

 

[muleman]

+1 on the .223 or.243 for value and availibility. I was looking at doing a .22 K Hornet for the absolute lowest expense in center fire shooting but by the time I would have completed the gun modifications those same costs would have kept me in componets for years!
Scott

 

[IdahoCTD]

I like the 6BR as well. It has less recoil than a .243 and isn't that far behind it in velocity. I have a Sendero contour barrel on mine plus a muzzle brake and I can watch hits on varmints at any distance. The recoil, even with 105gr bullets, is about the same as my .22lr Anschutz. I've shot rock chucks past 600yds with it so if you want to stretch your target distance it will do it fairly easy.

If you want the cheapest to shoot go with a .223.