Air Rifle Experience Counted Towards Fac

[charlie caller 3,654]

Yes the rifle cabinet will hold shotguns mate, Alsone on the subject of calibres, a 6.5x55 is quite a versatile calibre, as it can shoot 100-160grain bullets, my mate the seeker has one and I cant fault it, I would not have one as in performance terms it is simply too close to a .243 which I prefer for its flat shooting/high velocity, if I have another deer rifle it will be the .25-06 which as you know is a .30-06 necked down also, .30-06 is a good round but it is by no means the most powerful, I have a mate that uses a .338 win mag, and another who uses a 7mm rem mag, and if you want to start getting silly have a look at the ballistics for a .30-378 weatherby mag makes a .30-06 look like a popgun.

[The Seeker 3,048]

Yes we do seem to ave drifted off topic a tad

I don't know what it is about the.17 HMR when I first got it I thought it was great probably because I was used to .22 rimmys and the distance was superb. In reality the farm/s I shoot over when the .17HMR was used it scattered the rabbits to the four corners of the ground, I also found when the wind was up the HMR round was all over. I had to question how many times I needed to shoot a rabbit over 100yards and if I'm honest not many, just get closer and as ie dsaid enforce its a no no for fox. I seriously haven't had the rifle out of the cabinet for a year now as the most used is the .22

 

I considered the .270 when looking at the 6.5 But what swayed it is the 6.5 is an incredibly accurate and versitile round From gr up to 165 gr.

 

Below taken from wikipedia

 

 

Because 6.5 mm (.264") bullets have relatively high ballistic coefficients, the 6.5×55mm has seen success in long range target matches of 300 m (328 yd) – 1,000 m (1,094 yd). The 6.5×55mm cartridge was widely used in biathlon competition until 1975 (when it was replaced by the .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR) rimfire cartridge), because of its inherent accuracy and historical popularity with the Scandinavian nations who have dominated this sport.The 6.5×55mm was and is used for 1,000 yd (914.4 m) target shooting disciplines like F class. The cartridge is also used by Scandinavian target shooters that use the Sauer 200 STR (Scandinavian Target Rifle) as their competition rifle.

[Alsone 789]

Yes the rifle cabinet will hold shotguns mate, Alsone on the subject of calibres, a 6.5x55 is quite a versatile calibre, as it can shoot 100-160grain bullets, my mate the seeker has one and I cant fault it, I would not have one as in performance terms it is simply too close to a .243 which I prefer for its flat shooting/high velocity, if I have another deer rifle it will be the .25-06 which as you know is a .30-06 necked down also, .30-06 is a good round but it is by no means the most powerful, I have a mate that uses a .338 win mag, and another who uses a 7mm rem mag, and if you want to start getting silly have a look at the ballistics for a .30-378 weatherby mag makes a .30-06 look like a popgun.

 

At the end of the day, I'm not saying that its the ultimate calibre. Its just one of the fastest deer calibres. Opinions always differ and yes there are more powerful cartridges out there, although some you mention eg .338 is classified Big Game Only for Good Reason in UK so not available to deer shooters; https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117797/HO-Firearms-Guidance.pdf

 

Although .30-378 WM isn't listed in the guidance, given its energy, I'd be very surprised again if it wasn't on the big game category at over 6,000 joules.

 

As for 7mm Magnum, almost identical to .30-06 in performance, only slightly more energy. I certainly wouldn't discount 7mm Magnum if permitted for deer.

 

Horses for courses and nothing wrong with 6.55 per se, its certainly very accurate.

 

I've also heard a lot of good stuff about .270.

 

.30-06 is just good, fast and cheap and available being a NATO cartidge.

 

As for the HMR, guess you either love it or hate it. However, there are plenty of videos out there where rabbits don't scatter under HMR fire. Maybe they have a better mod on or maybe the rabbits just aren't as skittish. Again I guess it comes down to how and where you shoot. Close range, with skittish prey, or next to housing then yep .22. Longer range or where supersonic noise isn't an issue, hmr for me as I'd rather have the greater destructive power.

Edited September 7, 2013 by Alsone

[danw 1,748]

I guess the flo made a mistake then when he conditioned my 300 rem ultra mag for fox, deer, boar and aolq but then the ho guidance is just that guidance and not law

 

P.s it really makes a mess of fox when 125 grains of nosler hit it at 3900fps

[Its_grim_up_norf 577]

Yes the rifle cabinet will hold shotguns mate, Alsone on the subject of calibres, a 6.5x55 is quite a versatile calibre, as it can shoot 100-160grain bullets, my mate the seeker has one and I cant fault it, I would not have one as in performance terms it is simply too close to a .243 which I prefer for its flat shooting/high velocity, if I have another deer rifle it will be the .25-06 which as you know is a .30-06 necked down also, .30-06 is a good round but it is by no means the most powerful, I have a mate that uses a .338 win mag, and another who uses a 7mm rem mag, and if you want to start getting silly have a look at the ballistics for a .30-378 weatherby mag makes a .30-06 look like a popgun.

 

thanks very much C-C

[charlie caller 3,654]

Alsone I can assure you my friend uses his .338 on deer, yes a .30-06 is a powerful cartridge but it is not a "fast" cartridge as such, plenty of people use bigger or more powerful cartridges on deer in the uk, quite a few guys on SD use .300 win mag so as Danw says it is only guidance NOT law.

[Alsone 789]

Ok. I didn't realise that calibres in the Big Game category were being licensed for deer by some forces. Certainly the 7mm mag is hotter than I thought, albeit very similar to .30-06.

 

Must admit, if could get a bigger calibre licensed I'd be leaning towards a .338 Lapua magnum.

[Deker 3,455]

Ok. I didn't realise that calibres in the Big Game category were being licensed for deer by some forces. Certainly the 7mm mag is hotter than I thought, albeit very similar to .30-06.

 

Must admit, if could get a bigger calibre licensed I'd be leaning towards a .338 Lapua magnum.

 

 

WHY?

 

It doesn't seem that long ago to all us old timers that the Hornet was regularly used to knock down deer, and poachers still commonly use a moderated .22lr to do the same job?

[Alsone 789]

Depends how you're going to use it but .338 Lapua is one of the most accurate cartridges out there and has one of the very longest accurate ranges. Longest confirmed kill in Afganistan 1.54 miles (2,707 yards): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Harrison_%28sniper%29

 

..and there are people on Youtube regulary making shots at small dinner plate sized targets at 1,700 metres.

 

Now its probably irrepsonsible to shoot an animal at anything like that range (although it obviously has the stopping power given in Afganistan it killed men at 2,700 yards), but I would imagine it certainly brings in the prospect of very accurate long range kills in the 800-1,000 metre range if deer stalking on large estates such as in Scotland, provided you have the skils and knowledge to make the shot at those ranges of course.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Alsone

[paulus 26]

Depends how you're going to use it but .338 Lapua is one of the most accurate cartridges out there and has one of the very longest accurate ranges. Longest confirmed kill in Afganistan 1.54 miles (2,707 yards): http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2010/05/brit-sniper-makes-double-kill-at-1-54-miles-with-338-lapua-mag/...and there are people on Youtube regularly making shots at small dinner plate sized targets at ranges of up to 1,850 metres.

 

Now its probably irrepsonsible to shoot an animal at anything like that range (although it obviously has the stopping power given in Afganistan it killed men at 2,700 yards), but I would imagine it certainly brings in the prospect of very accurate long range kills in the 800-1,000 metre range if deer stalking on large estates such as in Scotland, provided you have the skils and knowledge to make the shot at those ranges of course.

the clue is in the name Deer Stalking. not Deer Snipping

[Alsone 789]

Thought you needed scissors as a weapon for deer snipping.

 

That would be an achievement the 1.54 mile vasectomy!

Edited September 8, 2013 by Alsone

[charlie caller 3,654]

The fact is that it does not matter what calibre you are using, no stalker on the hill is going to suggest you take shots at over 300 yards, and then quite rarely, it simply is not cricket old boy and rightly so, the truth is that ANY deer legal calibre available to us as stalkers, will kill deer humanely at those ranges and beyond, provided the shot is good,

[The Seeker 3,048]

The fact is that it does not matter what calibre you are using, no stalker on the hill is going to suggest you take shots at over 300 yards, and then quite rarely, it simply is not cricket old boy and rightly so, the truth is that ANY deer legal calibre available to us as stalkers, will kill deer humanely at those ranges and beyond, provided the shot is good,

 

Exactly this ^

 

Suggesting you may even need to take deer above these ranges will be very frowned upon. I could not see any possible reason to shoot a deer at 800 let alone 1000 yards no matter how big the estate. There is just too much of a chance to wound the animal.

 

The name is in the hunting Deer STALKING. get closer

[Alsone 789]

Well never been deer stalking so I guess I've just learnt something about UK fair play. Very different to the US where you see live quarry shots at huge ranges on Youtube. Don't get me wrong I don't condone long range shooting unless its done with a calibre that is capable of a clean kill and accuracy at the distances involved.

 

 

There is just too much of a chance to wound the animal.

 

I still think that depends on the calibre used - at 1,300 yards .338 Lapua Magnum still has 1,400 ftlbs energy (!) with a 250 grain bullet, and also it depends on the skill of the shooter but yes point taken, its just not cricket.

[danw 1,748]

At guess the bullet flight time to 1300yds would be 3-4 seconds a lot can happen in that time those of experience will tell of missed fox etc that moved at the critical time and caused a miss and that is at acceptable range it should be remembered dinner plates don't move deer do if the shot went wrong could a follow up be taken and just how easy would it be to mark the exact point of impact should a wounded deer need following up all being considered I couldnt ever condone nor accept any reason to take a shot at an animal at such range.