hi Guys,
i am aware that 243 win doesnt kock over rams consistantly, is there a KE minimum that will? would a heaver 243 do it at an achiveable velocity would a blunter bullet make a difference.

what would the HP contingent say was a good weight/ velocity combo be is the 257 roberts a good choice w/ 117grs for instance?

Silhouette 13, This is my 2 cents, I have never shot a 6mm of any kind, but I have spotted for many that have, on paper they look great, on the first three animals they work, but I have seen more rams left standing that any thing else, no matter what bullet weight, and the barrel life is real short. No matter what round you are using, chances are that once in a while a ram is not going to go down, but I would rather take my chances with a 6.5 or up.

I actually shot a .257 Roberts at one time, better left for something else, I was turning pigs and ringing rams like nothing else. When I shot it, there was no match bullet made in a 117-120 grain bullet, after getting tired of leaving rams standing, I went to the range and stood a ram up and hit it 10 times off the bench, and it was still there, shortly after that the gun was wearing a 6.5x55 barrel. I had a friend who shot a 25-06 in his hunter gun and it would ring rams also, not enough bullet.

Another observation is that Tony Tello just posted that he has been shooting this sport for 30 years. Sanchez has won around 20 titles. Tony is not going to put something in his hands that isn't going to work, nor is Sanchez going to want something that isn't going to work, and they both are shooting some sort of 6.5.

We all know silhouette is not a perfect game especially where animals are concerened the weight and the stands, feet all vary wildly. I shoot a smaller caliber...yes it is a compromise but I can live with it...If a 243 is all you have right now...just use it and have fun...if you find that you are not happy with it then you could always have it re-barreled in a 6.5 a 7mm or what ever you fancy latter down the line just get out and do it...to many shooters shy away from the game because they think they do not have a rifle that will do the job. its all about having fun first. I think most of us here will agree.

Thanks,
the 260 seems to be the most popular, i do happen to have a 243 in the safe that doesnt get that much triggertime it is a H&R single shot that i can have rebarreled for short money if i ever need to. there is no place to shoot hp in my area so it would be for fun if i ever get a chance to go to a bigger venue so i dont want to dup a load of cash. i do have a 375JDJ that is fun to shoot but after 40 or 80 shots it would be ouchy! i am not recoil shy at all but i appear to have a intollerance for high pressure noise . i deer hunt with a 375 H&H and can shoot it all day with little problem. but a light 270 makes me flinch a bit .

what would be a nice compromise between power and lower pressure recoil curve?

my jdj puts a 225 gr out at about 2550 it will knock down a steel moose. but it is not so flat.

The guys that I see posting on the forum like the 6.5X47, 260, 708 stuff along that line....I shoot mostly smallbore so I really dont like the hard kicking stuff my self...and you shoot probably over 100 shots eazy in any match so you can see what starts to feel ok at the start can wear you down over the day. For hp I shoot a 6br...an ify round if there was one but I have fun with it and since recoils is nothing I dont think about it. most will not come near a 6br for silhouette but I enjoy the hell of it..and if I lose a target I dont worry about it because that was a choice I made of course if i ever want more punch I can up to a 6.5br or 7mm br and still keep recoil next to nothing or a 260 or 708 for a little more recoil. lots of options..isn,t great.

I like my 6.5x47, even more so now that I see Creedmore and Tubb will make one in that caliber.

A few guys around here were playing with a 6BR, most had them built by Bob Brackney (a BR smith) and they would shoot, put a group at 500m that would have everyone saying gee whiz, but wouldn't take rams, most have dumped the 6 for a 6.5.

A few years back someone was asking Jack Hill about bullets and rams and his reply was too many variables, coming from Jack, I took that as pretty much being in stone, so play around with what you have and if you like it great, if not move on to something else. Just my 2 cents.

I agree with malinois.

If a small caliber gun is all you have, forget about ram performance. Instead focus all your attention on hitting the CPT targets. All the mentioned cartridges should do OK on these. A score of 18 to 25 is still respectible in this game. Use what you got, have fun.

Bob Mc Alice wrote:I agree with malinois.

If a small caliber gun is all you have, forget about ram performance. Instead focus all your attention on hitting the CPT targets. All the mentioned cartridges should do OK on these. A score of 18 to 25 is still respectible in this game. Use what you got, have fun.

Bob, maybe you could sell/lease him one of your many 7-08's

... ....No way Bob. I am attached to them all. As a matter of fact my 788 is next as soon as I score another 7-08 takeoff barrel.

silhouette13....if your range allows it, make yourself a metal swinger to practice on. Scale it for what ever distance is available to you. Get out there and proceed to destroy it.

BTW ...if anyone has or sees a 7-08 Rem. take off barrel for sale, please let me know.

[quote="Bob Mc Alice"]... ....No way Bob. I am attached to them all. As a matter of fact my 788 is next as soon as I score another 7-08 takeoff barrel.

silhouette13....if your range allows it, make yourself a metal swinger to practice on. Scale it for what ever distance is available to you. Get out there and proceed to destroy it.

BTW ...if anyone has or sees a 7-08 Rem. take off barrel for sale, please let me know.[/quote]

Bob
I saw one on gunbroker last week for 35.00, Goforth in gunlist has them frequently, thats where I get mine.

Oh and by the way...Welcome to the dark side...

kevinbear wrote:

Bob Mc Alice wrote:... ....No way Bob. I am attached to them all. As a matter of fact my 788 is next as soon as I score another 7-08 takeoff barrel.

silhouette13....if your range allows it, make yourself a metal swinger to practice on. Scale it for what ever distance is available to you. Get out there and proceed to destroy it.

BTW ...if anyone has or sees a 7-08 Rem. take off barrel for sale, please let me know.

Bob
I saw one on gunbroker last week for 35.00, Goforth in gunlist has them frequently, thats where I get mine.

LOL... but if you lease one out Bob that would pay for the new barrel for the new project rifle

Hi guys.

I shoot a Sako stainless synthetic in .308 that is very accurate, and have never rung anything that I am aware of. Weighs around 9lbs with it's Tasco 6-24 and stainless Hi Sako mounts.

Offhand I have shot 100 rounds a day, which left me a little stiff the next morning,

but it kicks the bejesus out of me prone or on the bench.

I think I would be better suited with a 7mm/08.

Here's a little table I found that gives some ballistic, energy, and recoil data,
posted by Mr Nicholas Papagalos;


http://www.mrpasilhouette.org/papagalos.htm

I did see a table once that rated the popular cartridges, and found 6mm lacking for Rams.
I think 7mmBR just made the grade.

cheers,
Sean in Godzone

thanks from me!

that is just what i was looking for!