What Is Your Favorite All Around Caliber...And Why????

ScottR

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Feb 3, 2014
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I love it when this thread resurrects itself...just about the time conveniently that everyone is reloading for next year.
 

Colorado Cowboy

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Jun 8, 2011
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Have one sitting in my office, unfired. Its the Vanguard First Lite edition. Waiting for my Talley rings to come back from the Hydrographics place. If I can push my handloads to what I believe I can, It will drive a 140gr Accu-Bond with far more energy than a 7mm mag pushing the same pill so I feel like it will be a great big game cartridge. Yes, its an overbore barrel burner but it will still likely last an average hunter a lifetime. I?ll report once I get my handloads through a chrony.
Even tho it might be considered "overbore", with todays powders you should be able to get a lot more barrel life out of the gun.

I shoot a .220 Ackley Improved Swift that a built about 10 years ago. I don't know for sure how many rounds have gone thru the barrel (Shilen Match SS), probably close to 5,000 and the barrel still looks like new. My loads are all over 4,000 fps. The new slower burning powders are really great .

220 Imp Swift 6 x 20 Leupold.jpg220 Improved Chrono.jpg
 
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dan maule

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Jan 3, 2015
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Have one sitting in my office, unfired. Its the Vanguard First Lite edition. Waiting for my Talley rings to come back from the Hydrographics place. If I can push my handloads to what I believe I can, It will drive a 140gr Accu-Bond with far more energy than a 7mm mag pushing the same pill so I feel like it will be a great big game cartridge. Yes, its an overbore barrel burner but it will still likely last an average hunter a lifetime. I?ll report once I get my handloads through a chrony.
Please keep us posted on this, I am planning on getting one but haven?t been able to decide which gun I want to get it in.
 

archeranthony

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Dec 10, 2018
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My favorite is my 338 Win Mag. In Savage 116 bear hunter. I am more comfortable with this rifle than any of my others. And still flat enough to shoot 300 plus.
 

Timr245

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Jul 21, 2016
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Please keep us posted on this, I am planning on getting one but haven?t been able to decide which gun I want to get it in.
Ahh the classic GMC/Cadillac debate haha. Both of my vanguards, 257 & 300 wbys, shoot about .5 - .75 groups at 100 with my handloads. So Ive always spent my money elsewhere rather than just telling people I have a Mark V. Just my opinion though. In my experiences the Vanguard is a solid action for the investment.
 

dan maule

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Jan 3, 2015
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Ahh the classic GMC/Cadillac debate haha. Both of my vanguards, 257 & 300 wbys, shoot about .5 - .75 groups at 100 with my handloads. So Ive always spent my money elsewhere rather than just telling people I have a Mark V. Just my opinion though. In my experiences the Vanguard is a solid action for the investment.
I had an FFL when Weatherby moved it's manufacturing from Japan back to California. A lot of the wholesalers dropped their prices on Mark Vs dramatically so I picked up a few. Now that I have to pay full price I am looking at the Vanguard but I am not sure which one I want to get as they are offering the 6.5-300 in several models.
 

BAKPAKR

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May 10, 2018
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AKaviator .... Could you neck up the 270 WTBY brass to 300 WTBY ?? Redding must make a die/expander mandrel for that ?

300 WTBY has become very expensive and hard to find at a decent price....

I have always had a running battle with some buddies about the .277 caliber rounds.....they work, it is as simple as that. I have always said the 270's didnt grow up to be the 7mm's just to poke the hornets nest and make the card game more interesting.

So for the purposes of poking the hornets nest in good fun ...7mm's have it all over the 270's!!
You cannot make a 300 Weatherby case from a 270 Weatherby case. The case length spec for the 257/270/7mm is 2.549 inches and the length of the 300/340 case is 2.825 inches.
 

DRUSS

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Jun 22, 2014
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Then you will have to forget the Vanguard since it is made by Howa in Japan. I haven't heard if they plan on bringing the manufacture of them here to the US.
I thought I read that weatherby was moving manufacturing facilities to Sheridan, Wyoming area. I must have misunderstood. If so that would be the Mark V probably?
Sorry about getting off thread guys.....

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Timr245

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Jul 21, 2016
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I thought I read that weatherby was moving manufacturing facilities to Sheridan, Wyoming area. I must have misunderstood. If so that would be the Mark V probably?
Sorry about getting off thread guys.....

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Indeed they are moved to Sheridan. CC that’s also correct, made in Japan and technically produced by Howa. Their 1500 is pretty much the same rifle.
 

kidoggy

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Apr 23, 2016
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I thought I read that weatherby was moving manufacturing facilities to Sheridan, Wyoming area. I must have misunderstood. If so that would be the Mark V probably?
Sorry about getting off thread guys.....

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no big deal . threads tend to wander away but they generally come back on topic. much like B.S around a campfire.
 

Timr245

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Jul 21, 2016
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Well my lack of patience got the best of me today. Had an extra set of Wby bases here so I torqued them up, robbed the VX-3i & QD rings off my 300 Wby and out back the new 6.5-300 & I went. Following the Wby barrel break-in as always, I was a lil distraught about the accuracy until the last group of 3 was finally right at 1”. This was factory ammo and still breaking the barrel in. I have 6 different handload variations now reloaded and ready to put downrange tomorrow. I’ll be mounting my VX-5HD up in some extra rings and getting it zeroed before firing the test loads. All action screws and bases have been re-torqued. I’ve always been skeptical of breaks also and this is the first rifle I’ve shot with one. They change barrel harmonics, period. I may remove if accurany doesn’t imporove.
 

Timr245

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Jul 21, 2016
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682E1602-5820-430A-A60A-CB9CFBE60859.jpg61054CF4-A6EB-4602-ACC4-C9E195B5B274.jpg950712AB-6324-4D2A-B133-7D5FE2722664.jpg

Im elated to update my previous posts regarding my new 6.5-300! After some disgust with how the favtory ammo shot, I was able to get my group of 8 different test loads down range today and now am a happy camper again. Had 1 load with 2 in the same hole & a total of 5/8” spread and 2 other loads with very similar performance. If anyone wants the load info just let me know. These were fired from a Weatherby Vanguard First-Lite w/muzzle brake, using the VX-3i off my 300 Wby.
 

Bonecollector

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Mar 9, 2014
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View attachment 22907View attachment 22908View attachment 22909

Im elated to update my previous posts regarding my new 6.5-300! After some disgust with how the favtory ammo shot, I was able to get my group of 8 different test loads down range today and now am a happy camper again. Had 1 load with 2 in the same hole & a total of 5/8” spread and 2 other loads with very similar performance. If anyone wants the load info just let me know. These were fired from a Weatherby Vanguard First-Lite w/muzzle brake, using the VX-3i off my 300 Wby.
What was bullet weight and speed? Sorry if I missed it.
 

Timr245

Very Active Member
Jul 21, 2016
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Northcentral PA
What was bullet weight and speed? Sorry if I missed it.
140gr Nosler accu-bond, ~3350fps at the muzzle, making ~3490ft/lbs of energy. I’ll have my hydrodipped pieces on Friday, get the VX-5 mounted up & hopefully I get some of those rounds through a chrony to verify the calculations.
 

memtb

Active Member
My wife and I use only one rifle for “all” of our big game hunting. She, a .338 WM....225 TTSX’s @ 2950. Myself, a .375 AI....250 TTSX’s @ 3130.

Both calibers are capable of taking any game animal in North America, and Africa. Though the .338, would not be legal for everything in Africa....but anything we would likely hunt! memtb
 
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DH56

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Jan 17, 2014
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30-06 has Killed the most Big game with me here in the states and in Canada. Also partial to the 7mm STW, but don't use it much except for Hunting out West.