Centerfire rifles - your path

Carl

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I’ve dabbled around the firearm world plenty in my life, but centerfire bolt guns have been my focus for decades, they’re just what I’m most interested in.

I’m relaxing on a Sunday, and @brockel's post about his chamberings inspired me to see if I could recall all the rifles & barrels I've had along the way, centerfire bolt gun only. To the best of my recollection:

223 (7x I think)
223 AI
22 BR
22-250
22-250 AI
6BR
6 Dasher (10x I think)
243 (2x)
6 Creedmoor (2x)
25-284
257 Weatherby
6.5x47L (4x)
260
6.5x284 (2x)
6.5 PRC
270
7-08
7-08 AI
284
280 AI (2x)
30-06



I expect I'm forgetting something in there, sometimes I'll go through old posts of mine looking for something and see I bought or sold an item I can't recall owning. Some of the above was churn for certain, and there's a rifle or barrel in there that got sold without being shot for various reasons.

Nothing too crazy on the chambering side, I never did different for the sake of different but I was willing to stray a little off the beaten path for certain attributes. Shooting is my focus so making the logistics as straightforward as possible has been my MO, with an aim at quality brass availability and efficiency.



What I actually use now:

223 - hunting weight

223 - PRS style build

22 BR - hunting weight - as much as I LOVE this rifle I’d consider a slightly faster option (22 GT, 22x47L, or 22 Creed) for increased magazine options, greater range for terminal performance, and less wind drift. When I built it I was trying to split the difference between a 223 practice rifle and a higher performance lower volume chambering, but I ended up with a dedicated light 223 again anyways.

6 Dasher - PRS style build - I often have two of these setup at once, one with my current match barrel and one with an older barrel for practice and play. I have two fresh barrels ready to go and plenty of older ones with some life left.

243 - hunting weight - this is a factory 1-8” Tikka and I haven’t fully wrung out the barrel for accuracy testing. If that barrel doesn’t meet my expectations it’ll get rebarreled as a 6 Creed

6 Creedmoor - NRL Hunter - this is a factory Seekins for competing in NRL’s factory division. I’ve also taken multiple elk with it. Once I get the factory Tikka fully set up I plan to use this just for competition and loaning out.

If it isn’t for dedicated competition use it is probably suppressed. I may dabble with running suppressed for PRS here sometime, I’m undecided.



Setup’s I have some interest in adding at some point (not a ton of urgency on any of these):

223 - mid weight - something in the 13 lb range for a range toy that isn’t as heavy as the PRS style builds with some adjustability.

6 Dasher or 6 Creedmoor - mid weight - same as the 223, I am introducing more people to shooting these days and these two would be exceedingly friendly and adjustable without being as heavy and long as the full PRS builds.

Faster 22 - extra light - my hunting setups are in the 9+ lb range and an extra light build for certain hunts has its appeal. Pretty expensive way to drop overall weight though.

Faster 22 - hunting weight with wooden stock - I haven’t used a wood stock anything in ages, but for some reason I’ve had some interest in doing so in the last year.

6.5x284, 6.5 PRC, 284, 7 PRCW, 7 PRC - mid weight - one of the above chamberings in a 14ish lb setup for dedicated ELR use, and maybe to finally shoot the Nightforce ELR one of these years. I hesitate as I KNOW it wouldn’t get used much.



For everyone else, what path did you take, where’d you end up, and what’s still on the wish list?
 
I often feel like I have too many rifles, but I use them all. I like shooting, and I enjoy being able to select the right tool for any job that I have. Most of what I have is pretty old fashioned.

.223 - In an AR, BCM 16” lightweight upper on FN lower

.22-250 - my first rifle, a Winchester model 70 featherweight

.270 - Model 70 sporter

.308 - Tikka T3X now in a B&C stock

.30-06 - Weatherby vanguard in a B&C stock

.300 WM - Sako Finnlight in a McMillan classic

.338 WM - Ruger 77

My most recent update was sprucing up my AR into something a lot more useful for hunting and plinking steel with a new upper, trigger, and optic. It’s a ton of fun to shoot, short, light, and very accurate. It’s so handy to carry I might pack it around and take a deer or a bear with it, I’ll carry it for wolves and coyotes too.

I’d love a nice .243 at some point but I don’t have plans to any time soon. I’d likely go wood and blued, maybe a Tikka hunter…

The only thing on my to do list still isn’t very pressing, but I’d like to get my old .22-250 rebarreled from the factory 1-14” twist to make it more useful for hunting deer and antelope. I’m currently debating between going with a fast twist 1-7 or 1-8 .22-250 (or .22-250 AI), or just throwing on a .243 barrel instead. Going .243 with good old fashioned 95 gr ballistic tips probably makes the most sense.
 
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243 - hunting weight - this is a factory 1-8” Tikka and I haven’t fully wrung out the barrel for accuracy testing. If that barrel doesn’t meet my expectations it’ll get rebarreled as a 6 Creed

H4350 and 108eldm really made my factory tikka come around
 
The only thing on my to do list still isn’t very pressing, but I’d like to get my old .22-250 rebarreled from the factory 1-14” twist to make it more useful for hunting deer and antelope. I’m currently debating between going with a fast twist 1-7 or 1-8 .22-250 (or .22-250 AI), or just throwing on a .243 barrel instead. Going .243 with good old fashioned 95 gr ballistic tips probably makes the most sense.

I'd have to be going 22 Creed and 88's. Nothing wrong with the 243/95 but there's free performance IMO.

H4350 and 108eldm really made my factory tikka come around

H4350 and 109 ELD's will be my first pitch, would also consider trying out 103's or 108's, and H1000, but if the first few combo's don't impress I probably won't have much patience.
 
I agree with you on bolt actions being the way to go. I'm not anti AR platform, I just can't fall in love with them like bolt action rifles. I did have a 6.5 Grendel that was crazy accurate, but my 223 sits in the safe for the vast majority of the time. In centerfire the ones I'm remembering are 223s, 260s, 25 Creedmoors, 7-08, 6 Dasher, 6.5 PRC, 6.5 SAUM, 7 SAUM, 308s, 7 RemMag, 270s, 270 WSM, 30-06s, 300 RUMs, 375 H&H, about forgot the old 30-30, but then again it's not bolt action.
There was a 243 in the mix a long time ago, but when the trigger weight exceeds the rifle's weight - with a scope, sling, loaded, bipod - I'm not sure I want to count it.
 
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I'd have to be going 22 Creed and 88's. Nothing wrong with the 243/95 but there's free performance IMO.
I’ve thought about that option as well. How do the 88 ELD-M hold up at higher velocity/close range impacts? Most of the hunting I’d do with that rifle would be under 350ish yards, and at closer ranges I’d think the 95 NBT would have an edge on penetration on larger animals.
 
I’ve thought about that option as well. How do the 88 ELD-M hold up at higher velocity/close range impacts? Most of the hunting I’d do with that rifle would be under 350ish yards, and at closer ranges I’d think the 95 NBT would have an edge on penetration on larger animals.
I know multiple people who use that combo without issue, but it's a valid question I can't answer with personal experience as I don't shoot 88's at warp speed currently. I would expect the 95 to penetrate better myself, if that's your primary criteria and the world mostly stops at 350 yds, I get it.
 
I agree with you on bolt actions being the way to go. I'm not anti AR platform, I just can't fall in love with them like bolt action rifles. I did have a 6.5 Grendel that was crazy accurate, but my 223 sits in the safe for the vast majority of the time. In centerfire the ones I'm remembering are 223s, 260s, 25 Creedmoors, 7-08, 6 Dasher, 6.5 PRC, 6.5 SAUM, 7 SAUM, 308s, 7 RemMag, 270s, 270 WSM, 30-06s, 300 RUMs, 375 H&H, about forgot the old 30-30, but then again it's not bolt action.
There was a 243 in the mix a long time ago, but when the trigger weight exceeds the rifle's weight - with a scope, sling, loaded, bipod - I'm not sure I want to count it.
What bolt guns get the nod from you these days?
 
For hunting it's been the 7 SAUM or 300 RUM primarily. For PRS it was the 260s, then 25 Creed (still in use) and the Dasher is the newest, just getting started there.
 
The only thing my dad “biological” ever gave me and my first gun was a Springfield .22. I would wonder off in the mountains of California even in my early teens and it was part of what shaped my attraction to wild places. The only wood stocked rifle I own.

IMG_2114.jpeg

After that I picked up a savage 110 in 30-06. That gun served my hunting needs from just after my 18th birthday till I moved to Montana and “needed” something bigger. I also had multiple m4 variants a Barrett M-82 and a .308.

When I started going after elk a lot I figured I needed “more gun” because that’s what the old guys said. For the next few years I got heavily in to magnums 300 wm a little but really took a liking to the 7rm. We killed a pile of animals with the 7rm. About the same time my girls started hunting big game with me and we got a 7-08 rem 700 youth. That gun was really a pleasure to shoot and carry and truth be told I liked it better than most of the guns I owned at that point to carry around the mountains. It was even more fun to shoot, cheap and easy to load for and knocked down everything up to moose. For whatever reason my next build was a 28 Nosler on a savage action, with a shilen barrel. That gun was a shooter. A few years later I shot my first Wpr match with a 7rm and within a week was on my way to building my first 6cm. The 6cm is hands down the funnest gun I’ve owned. There is zero recoil, it’s cheap to load, and painless to get sub moa loads built. They just shoot. We stacked up a pile of antelope and deer last year with that cartridge and 108 bergers. I’m now on my 3rd barrel. Somewhere along the way I built and bought a couple 6.5 creeds, a cartridge I’ve never been able to get myself to like all that much. More recently I’ve built several 6.5 prcs, a few more 7rm’s, 22 creed, 28 Nosler, and probably a few more I’m forgetting.

Current rigs I’m actively running

Lightweight hunting

Christensen ridge line 7rm
Vx3ilrp
Harris lw bipod

Bighorn Tl3
Proof carbon 24” 6.5 prc
Ag composite alpine hunter
NF nx8 4-32
Nomad 30 supressor

Comp

Bighorn tl3
Proof 26” comp contour 6cm
krg whiskey 3 folder
Kahles 525

Bighorn origin
MDT acc
26” proof 6.5 creed cc
Nightforce nx8

Dinosaur slayer

Origin action
Krg whiskey 3
Proof carbon 26” 28 Nosler
Leupold mark5

Currently I have in the works for this year a 25 creed that will be on a origin action and go in a MDT acc stock I already have that I’m going to run in NRL hunter and another 22 creed that will be fairly short barrel suppressed and go in a McMillan stock.

Might get a 6 dasher barrel in the future and at some point I’m going to put either a 18 or 20” 6.5 prc or 7 saum in my Krg folder to run suppressed. I also want to get a wood stocked 7-08 or 30-06 that looks pretty.

At some point I’m going to get a 338/416/50 but not sure what yet.
 
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Currently I have in the works for this year a 25 creed that will be on a origin action and go in a MDT acc stock I already have that I’m going to run in NRL hunter and another 22 creed that will be fairly short barrel suppressed and go in a McMillan.
I've had good luck with the Proof prefits, and they're decent values too. All of mine are steel but I've shot a pile of the carbon's and not seen a real dog.

Are you taking that 25 to Seth's match next month?
 
I've had good luck with the Proof prefits, and they're decent values too. All of mine are steel but I've shot a pile of the carbon's and not seen a real dog.

Are you taking that 25 to Seth's match next month?

I think I’ve run 5 comp contours (prefits) 6.5/6cm and 3 6.5 prc carbon (prefits) a 26” .284 blank and a 22” .22 blank. All of them have shot.

I’ll be bringing the 25 to Seth’s match if I can find some 133/135 bergers, if not I’m gonna run my 6.5 prc light.
 
My fickle list...bold still own

25-06 #1 (imprudently traded)
25-06 #1
.257 wby mag Wby Accumark
.257 wby Rem 700
.257 wby Rem 700 (son now owns)
.270 WSM Sako 75 (son now owns)
.270 Win Thompson ProHunter (traded for a pre-lok K frame S&W)
7 mag #1
7 Mashburn Rem 700

300 Win Mag Vanguard (SIL now owns)
300 Win Mag Kimber Classic
300 Win Mag Sako 85 (SIL now owns)
300 Wby Mag FiberMark (prudently traded)
300 WSM Custom Rem 700
45-70 1895 SBL Marlin
45-70 Marlin Octagon to Round MIJ

Rem Semi Auto 30-06 (son now owns)
Rem pump 30-06\ (son now owns)
5.56 AR
 
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My list is very short comparatively. In chronological order, I’ve owned (bold are ones I still have):
8mm Mauser German mil-surp - 1st rifle
7.62x39 sks
308 win ruger Gunsite scout
30-06 FN mauser
9mm Luger Hi-Point carbine
30-30 Westerfield (Marlin 336)
5.56 Saiga AK
5.56 Kel-Tec SU-16
308 Win Savage model 11
5.56 AR
243 Win Rossi trifecta
30-30 Marlin 336


I prefer to stick to military cartridges, as they’re the cheapest. Cheap ammo means I shoot more and therefore am more practiced with my rifle. None of my center fires get nearly as many rounds put through them as my 22lrs do, though.
 
Rough order:

270 Win - M700 ADL - first centerfire hunting rifle, grew up slug hunting. (Sold)
556 - basic DMPS flat top AR
300 WSM - Xbolt stainless stalker
223 wylde AR - 20" RRA predator pursuit for steel ringin and varmint shooting (Sold)
6.5 SAUM - m700 jon beanland custom hunting rifle, couple different manners EH stocks, 2 barrels. (Sold)
6.5x47 - Desert Tech SRS A1 (sold)
300 Norma Mag - Conversion for the desert tech platform, 27" med palma barrel (sold)
300 WM - Seekins Havak - rebarreled with bartlein carbon (for sale)
7 SAUM - Tikka custom, first by HCA with 22" carbon barrel, second tube krieger steel by TS customs (for sale)
6.5x47 - Typical "gamer" PRS style rifle, Lone peak fuzion, 28" MTU contour, MPA comp chassis
223 Rem - Tikka - was basically stock rifle in a KRG Bravo, expected a new barrel end of '23 so I sold the factory tube in December but still waiting on that ACE blank. Really freaking missing having a 223 bolt gun!
14.5" BCM 556 AR upper
6 Creedmoor - Tikka action, 18" sporter steel barrel for shooting suppressed full time. Has been in a KRG bravo but currently awaiting a rokstok
6.5 creedmoor - factory barrel from above tikka that is chopped/threaded @ 18" but I haven't even shot it yet. Maybe i'll have another tikka receiver soon to throw it on.

Think i'd be fine with just a 223 and 6 creedmoor for most of my shooting/hunting. The 7 SAUM and 300 WM are currently for sale but not getting a ton of interest. Might refresh the 7 to fit my current desires a little better and have that be my "big" gun if nobody snatches it up.
 
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Well this’ll just make me sad since everything but 2 are gone.

The list goes, in chronological order:

30-30 Win - Marlin 336; my first rifle now owned by @Nicoli7153
6.5 Grendel - DMR build that still holds my longest shot to date
6.5 Creedmoor - Henry Long Ranger
444 Marlin - Marlin 444
5.56x45 - some AR that didn’t stay around long ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
223 wylde - SIG AR that was friggin sick
7mm Rem Mag - Remington 700
308 Win - Winchester Model 70 heavy varmint
25-06 - Ruger m77 MkII VT
25-06 - Sako 85 Bavarian (this one hurts still)
25-06 - first custom. It was a fast twist on a tikka action.
270 Win - Tikka
270 Win - Jarrett Beanfield rifle that I took the action from without knowing its heritage.
280 AI - Tikka custom
280 AI - current full custom on a R700LH.
7mm-08 Rem - Remington Custom Shop
 
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