Shorty Hunting Rifle Chambering?

[Rivisondali]

I'm building an ultra light weight hunting rifle (targeting 3.5-4lb pre-scoping) and am trying to decide on the caliber to chamber it in. The action is a Rem 700 TI short action with a standard bolt face and I'm planning on a 16" barrel to keep the weight down to a minimum (no suppressor because Canada) and will likely brake it. My current frontrunners are 308 or 338 fed and am looking for input on which of these two cartridges, or any other SA, standard bolt face, that would maximize my elk hunting range. With a 308 I'm expecting approximately 300 yards to stay above the 1500ftlb and 2000fps threshold. With a 338 fed I believe the velocity range would be similar with more energy so not sure if its worth the extra recoil.

Was also looking at the 375 Raptor but it looks like the website is gone and its virtually impossible to find dies, gauges and reamers for it let alone get them into Canada. 358 Win was also considered but seems like the range just isnt there due to the low BC of the bullets and limited bullet availability in Canada.

Thanks everyone!

Edit: 338 fed sounds like a destroyer at 5lb. The more likely options are 308, 708 or 6.5cm

 

[Marble]

I would consider a few more options for caliber. Since the creation of some bullets that hold together really well, the smaller, fast moving calibers now offer some other options. A few that come to mind, 6 and 7 SAUM. If you only have a 300 yard range you want, you could choose dang near anything. Even the 7-08, 6.5 CM and PRC.

Smaller diameter bullet, I suspect would be a slightly smaller diameter barrel also.

Just throwing out some more options. Sounds like a pretty cool build!

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[TaperPin]

284

 

[Castmaster]

You can’t go wrong with the trusty 308, another good option would be 7mm08.

 

[gbflyer]

I’d have a hard time looking beyond 7-08 or 308. Either will work great. I am a real fan of the .338 Federal too, however factory ammo is an issue.

 

[Swamppirate]

25-06

 

[30338]

We use 6.5x47 lapua and 6.5 creedmoor for that with short barreled rifles.

 

[Jon Boy]

My kimber 338 fed absolute eats my lunch and destroyed a maven rs.2 in regards to recoil..


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[Rivisondali]

I would consider a few more options for caliber. Since the creation of some bullets that hold together really well, the smaller, fast moving calibers now offer some other options. A few that come to mind, 6 and 7 SAUM. If you only have a 300 yard range you want, you could choose dang near anything. Even the 7-08, 6.5 CM and PRC.

Smaller diameter bullet, I suspect would be a slightly smaller diameter barrel also.

Just throwing out some more options. Sounds like a pretty cool build!

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input Marble, my action has a standard bolt face so the SAUMs ans PRCs are off the table unfortunately. The bolt is has custom carbon fibre shank too so it cant easily be switched out. 7-08 and 6.5cm are definitely in contention though!

 

[Rivisondali]

My kimber 338 fed absolute eats my lunch and destroyed a maven rs.2 in regards to recoil..


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Hahaha, this made me laugh pretty hard. I figured the 338 fed would be pretty punchy even with a brake at this weight so Ill probably take that off the table too. 308 is looking like a winner so far with 708 being in close contention.

 

[Rivisondali]

25-06

Short action, unfortunately.

 

[prm]

My light-ish 338 Fed (Kimber 84M) is rather snappy. It has eaten a few scopes. But it is also my favorite hunting rifle.

 

[Qholum37]

Another vote here for 7-08!

 

[7mm-08]

I have a fairly large handful of 7mm-08's and one 6.5 Creedmoor. I find their performance very similar on animals. That being said, I'd probably go with a 6.5 Creedmoor (as much as it goes against my grain to say it). The recoil is very manageable (even more so than the 7mm-08, a real pussycat in the recoil department) and the number of bullet selections far exceeds the 7mm-08's factory offerings. Downrange performance is a little better with the 7mm-08 carrying 1,500 ft/lbs of energy past 400 yards and the 6.5 Creedmoor carrying about 100 ft/lbs of energy less. If you ever had the opportunity to shoot a really light <6 pound .338 Federal, you'd probably veer away from that cartridge - they punish.

 

[Rivisondali]

I have a fairly large handful of 7mm-08's and one 6.5 Creedmoor. I find their performance very similar on animals. That being said, I'd probably go with a 6.5 Creedmoor (as much as it goes against my grain to say it). The recoil is very manageable (even more so than the 7mm-08, a real pussycat in the recoil department) and the number of bullet selections far exceeds the 7mm-08's factory offerings. Downrange performance is a little better with the 7mm-08 carrying 1,500 ft/lbs of energy past 400 yards and the 6.5 Creedmoor carrying about 100 ft/lbs of energy less. If you ever had the opportunity to shoot a really light <6 pound .338 Federal, you'd probably veer away from that cartridge - they punish.

Thanks for the info, what is the shortest barrel profile that you use with the 708? Would 16" severely handcuff its range?

 

[IdahoElk]

Thanks for the info, what is the shortest barrel profile that you use with the 708? Would 16" severely handcuff its range?

How far out are you planning to shoot, I have a 16" barrel on my .308 and 300yrds is where I stop.

 

[7mm-08]

Thanks for the info, what is the shortest barrel profile that you use with the 708? Would 16" severely handcuff its range?

Good question. I have a 20" version and that is my shortest 7mm-08. I have no information regarding 16" barrels in 7mm-08. I saw a good write-up somewhere on the Internet regarding a guy doing velocity checks with a 6.5 Creedmoor. He started with a 24" barrel and checked velocities as he shortened the barrel by one inch to 16 inches. My recollection is that he found that the cartridge was very forgiving when losing barrel length (from a velocity perspective). No idea if anyone has ever done this with a 7mm-08.

 

[Amos Keeto]

To produce a lightweight rifle, I went with an AR15.
In the recoil department, the AR is a gentle shooter and a 6.8mm Rem SPC cartridge will do anything I want done out to +/- 250 yards.

 

[Rivisondali]

How far out are you planning to shoot, I have a 16" barrel on my .308 and 300yrds is where I stop.

Id like to maximize the effective range. I agree, 308 from what Ive seen is effective up to about 300 in this barrel length but if a 708 or 6.5 can push an extra 50yds or more Id probably go with that. If theyre all relatively similar efdective range wise, Ill start going down in caliber for recoil minimization.

Beautiful rig by the way!

 

[Rivisondali]

To produce a lightweight rifle, I went with an AR15.
In the recoil department, the AR is a gentle shooter and a 6.8mm Rem SPC cartridge will do anything I want done out to +/- 250 yards.

Sadly I live in the Communist Republic of Canada and AR 15s are banned...

Although a straight pull copium platform could be a possibility, I find it unlikely that I could get one below the 3.5lb mark that Im anticipating with the bolt action.