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I've got a savage long action, an aftermarket stock, aftermarket trigger, and good glass waiting to be used. What I need to decide is what cartridge to go with. It has to be a good all around caliber, decent barrel life, and at minimum a .257 cal. I plan on using a McGowan prefit.

What cartridge would you choose and why?

P.S. my first thought was 6.5x55 but I just can't make up my mind.

I've never played with the Swede. Lots of good 6.5 bullets out there tho.

You've got approximately 14 billion choices for a long action standard bolt face. Prepare yourself for some serious confusion.

What do you plan on doing with the rifle?

It would be a heavier weight deer rifle for when longer shots are possible. I plan on doing a little more long range shooting too so this would also have to be somewhat of a multi-purpose rig. FYI, the absolute maximum distance shot for where I deer hunt would be 500 yards which is why I tend to favor the 243 cartridge for anything within reasonable range, witch is about 95% of the time. The problem is my little 243 is a little low on horsepower at extended ranges.

I'm hesistant to tell you one round is going to work better than another for what you plan on doing. If I was going to put a long range deer rig together for myself I would lean heavily towards either the 284win or the 280 or 280 AI. Probably the 284 though.

The 284 is enjoying a bit of a comeback right now, Long range benchrest shooters seem to be taking a liking to it. It already has a 30deg shoulder angle. No need to "improve" it. Case capacity is just short of the 06. I've read reports of barrel life exceeding 3000 rounds. If a fellow wants to run premium brass, it's simple enough to neck up 6.5 -284 brass from Norma. There are a ton of vld-type bullets available in 7mm and dies should be pretty reasonably priced.

You might want to consult the Savage gurus to be certain it will feed out of your mag though. It's a rebated rim case. If you're not familiar with the term, It means that the case body is actually larger in diameter than the rim.

Just my 2 cents.

leadbiscuit

Does anyone know about EABCO barrels? I've read some good and some bad things about them.

I would contact them and find out if they are making them in house or buying them from a barrel maker. I would strongly encourage you to go with a shilen or better yet, a Bartlein. I've been around 2 Bartleins now. The one on my Savage and the one on Xdeano's 6mm slr. Both are awesome. I haven't tried every brand. But I've tried a bunch of them.

have a good one
leadbiscuit

Kflan,

Have you gone any farther on this yet? Just wondering what you're up to.

leadbiscuit

Just ordered a Shilen Select Match in 30-06...

Its not your typical long range caliber but I already have the dies, brass, & bullets to get started loading for the thing. If I can get 2900 out of the 26" barrel with any 165ish bullet I'll be happy. Will keep you updated as I go.

Sweet. I've got a couple select match barrels. Damn fine tubes.

I've never owned an -06. Common sense tells us it has a lot to offer.

My limited intellect is at your disposal. If you've got questions, I'll help if I can.

I think about building a custom rifle... but not so custom... I plan on useing a savage action (casue of the floating bolt faces)... and get the head spacing no-go gauges....


BUT I am having issues on trying to make m mind up on what ca. to start with.... might just do a 22-250 in a 1:10 or a 243 in a 1:14 ....

Choosing what to put together can drive a person completely sideways. A few questions that may help:

What are the smallest and largest animals you intend to hunt with the gun?

Do you have a self imposed range limit?

Will you hunt colony varmints with it?

Do you handload?

leadbiscuit wrote:Choosing what to put together can drive a person completely sideways. A few questions that may help:

What are the smallest and largest animals you intend to hunt with the gun?

Do you have a self imposed range limit?

Will you hunt colony varmints with it?

Do you handload?

Good thoughts here, I truly appreciate your input on all of the questions I have asked.

Just an update on my project. I ended up scrapping the 30-06 and changed my barrel order to 6.5x47 lapua and used a short action I had on hand. That was only the 3rd time I had changed my mind. I did end up finshing the project and the gun shoots well with 120 bt's. Super great caliber, kind of like a new school 250 AI or something. I was able to push the 120s to about 2950fps with my 24" barrel but settled on a load that was around 2825 fps. Reloader 15 was my powder but it also shot well with H4350 and 129 SST's. I highly recommend this cartridge. Some of the worst groups while load testing were still around the 1 inch mark and the load I settled on was just under 1/2 inch. That was with a 10x scope so it may do better.

Very cool. Did you get it out and hunt with it this winter?

I shot this guy during deer season but other than that I really haven't hunted much with the rifle.

how far of a shot