The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Reloading accuracy ? 260, 243, 7-08Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| accuracy ? 260, 243, 7-08 | Login/Join |
| one of us |
Can someone give me some REAL hands-on info as to which one of the above calibres are the most inherently accurate? I'm talking about a Thompson Contender (actually their rifle). The single shot version. It seems to me that a single shot rifle with a scope sitting right on top of the barrel could be made to be very accurate. Help me out. folks.  | ||
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| one of us |
What Dave said! In an Encore they all can be exceptional and its more a question of which barrel will shoot better than which cartridge is inherently more accurate. | |||
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| <Gary Rihn> |
Every one of those rounds is capable of more accuracy than the T/C can deliver. Pick the one you want & go with it. You'll be happy with any one of them accuracy-wise. | ||
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| <Reloader66> |
I am not a T/C contender fan but those three cartridges are all good shooters. In a heavy barreled bolt action quality made rifle the 7MM-08 should win that accuracy race. All three cartridges are based on the 308 round. The 308 cartridge is the proven 30 caliber accuracy king out to 600 yards. Few if any cartridges can outperform the 308 to 600 yards. The 7MM bullet with better ballistic numbers will prevail over the 260 or 243. If your shooting a factory rifle all three will be equal in performance as far as accuracy is concerned. If your talking taking deer size game the 7MM-08 will win that race. The 260 is a close second to the great shooting 7MM-08 cartridge. If your talking varmints like wood chucks, and coyotes the 243 is the best choice. The 243 with the 55 or 60 grain bullet will outperform the 22-250 at any practical hunting range. The larger diameter .243 bullet bucks the wind better than any .224 diameter bullet can. It all depends on what purpose you intend using this rifle. Varmint hunting the 243. Deer hunting or knocking over steel plates the 7MM-08 is the ticket. The 260 is close second to the 7MM-08 in all catagories. All three have low recoil, and are easy on the shooter with good accuracy traits. | ||
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| <Reloader66> |
It should also be noted that no action can produce better groups than the bolt action designs now being produced. If your after the very best accuracy possible from any rifle cartridge, then the bolt action design is the only way to go. You will see no other actions in the in the king of accuracy sport Benchrest shooting. All todays accuracy standards are derived from the sport of Benchrest. If you doubt this information take your break open, falling block, lever action, semi auto action, hiwall and any other action to the range and shoot against a Benchrest rifle. The bolt action Benchrest rifle will win every time. | ||
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| one of us |
Reloader66, This is not a flame but.... you will note the poster asked for real hands on experience? I'm sure all that you said is technicaly theoreticaly valid but it does sound rather regurgitated textbook. Maybe you are the textbook but if not it starts to become less meaningful. | |||
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| <Big Stick> |
Seems like diminishing returns to me,to soul search the MOST accurate of the trio,then poke it into anything other than a good bolt action. As mentioned prior,their are inherent mechanical limitations involved. Though an Encore may be made to shoot well,it can't shoot as well as a bolt. As far as actual cartridge selection,that is a very difficult call. All can use very high quality brass available to the 308 family. All can enjoy a high end barrel. All can shoot projectiles of extreme quality/uniformity,that are readily available in all diameters thus far mentioned. I'd allow cartrtidge selection to be discerned via solely your intent for the rifle. All 3 are capable of extreme accuracy and it will come rather easily,assuming a sound rifle and optics platform. If you can live with the trade-offs inherent to the Encore,you will undoubtedly be pleased from an accuracy standpoint,from any one of the trio................ | ||
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one of us |
I hate to tell you guys this, but a properly set-up Encore will shoot right along with nearly any bolt gun. I regularly shoot a COMPETITION Grade XP-100 in 7mmBr against guys with 7mm BR Encores and guess what, they win as often as not. I am taking about real Masters class silohette shooters not wannabe's. These pistols will all shoot less than 1 inch groups at 200 yrds and if they didn't there would not be much point in shooting half size animals at 200 yrds would there. The encore just like a good bolt gun needs a quality barrel, a concentric chamber and a good 11 degree muzzel crown and the headspace must be mechanically zero on a loaded round for optimal accuracy, but make no mistakes about it they will shoot more than well enough. The hot set-up is a 6BR in the Encore, but I've seen some in 6.5X55 or 260 that in the hands of a really good shooter will suprise you.You won't see too many 7mm-08's or .308's in the encore in any shoot-offs so this should tell you something. Hope this helps-Rob | |||
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| one of us |
I'm going to have to agree with Rob on this one. I've never owned an Encore but I do own a Contender with barrels in .222, 7TCU and 35 Remington. That gun will easily outshoot most of the MOA bolt rifles in my safe and what's more none of the barrels required any action/trigger work, special custom barrels, bedding etc. Anyone who claims these guns can't hang with bolt guns doesn't have any experience with them! They are almost always exceptionally accurate out of the box!!! I have a few friends who own these guns and their experience is similar. | |||
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| <Big Stick> |
I've done the "Contender" thing,I aborted them for the XP-100. Done the Ruger Number one "thing" and aborted them,for Browning B-78's. When it is time to roll up your sleeves and extract the mechanical accuracy limitations of a cartridge,there is but a single platform. That is a good bolt gun. The Encore may very well serve the needs of the original poster,I do not have a guess,as he never mentioned his level of expectations. What remains a constant,is that the Holy Grail of accuracy,lies housed within the confines of the bolt gun. Not speculation,nor rhetoric,simply cold hard fact displayed upon a continual basis. The various break action and falling blocks can be quite accurate. However,they can't run with the big dogs,in the courses of fire that are geared towards the ultimate extraction of mechanical accuracy potential. A 200yd reduced course Silhouette pistol,based upon a break action,is about three chapters behind a full tilt 200yd BR rifle regarding mechanical accuracy potential. Those are simply the facts.............. | ||
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| <Gary Rihn> |
I wasn't saying that a T/C is not accurate, but to realize any meaningful or measurable differences between these cartridges, as Big Stick said, you are going to need a precision built bolt gun capable of outstanding accuracy. In just about any factory gun, you won't be able to tell these three apart. | ||
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| one of us |
As usual, the debate in this topic has reduced itself to a level of total absolutes and profound absurdity. Of course if we were interested in ultimate accuracy we would be talking about cartridges more in line with a 22 or 6 PPC. NOT a 260 or a 7-08 or a 308... And we certainly would be talking about $3,000+ custom bench guns not about Contender's or Encore's or even XP100s. Big Stick you are, of course, completely and unquestionable correct in extremis. [This message has been edited by Kentucky Nimrod (edited 03-13-2002).] | |||
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| one of us |
Maybe I should have expounded a bit on what drives my question. My rifle club holds hunter rifle matches each year. This year they will include single shot rifles as quite a few of the guys have and hunt with encores. It is only a theory on my part but it seems that a single shot action (encore)with the scope mounted right over the barrel itself, not the receiver, and a good trigger could be quite accurate. I use bolt guns and do well in the competition but I thought to make up a single shot to see what it could do. I wanted to start out with whichever one offered the most accuracy. Right now, my hunter "match" rifle is a 7-08. I was kinda leaning in that direction as I already have the dies, bullets and experience of match prep rounds for the 7-08. But I have a open mind. | |||
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| <Slamfire> |
I don't believe there is any cartridge that is "inherently" accurate. You can build an accurate gun in any caliber, and an inaccurate one using the same reamer. If there was a cartridge that was inherently accurate every maker would chamber rifles for it, and they'd all be as good as the others. | ||
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| <Big Stick> |
Slamfire, Roll up your sleeves and slide over to Benchrest Central and propose that you are ready to upset the Benchrest World with your pet 6mm-378Wby chambered LV rifle. Beings ALL cartridges are created equally. Be prepared for less than flattering commentary. There certainly are cartridges fielded,that seem to have an edge in mechanical accuracy. You may not like the term "inherent",but despite the descriptive phrase used,there are some rather compelling dominance issues,in more than one discipline. I doubt that ALL the guys using those specific cartridges,are just "luckier" than the rest of the field. While I agree that most anything can be made nicely accurate,I submit that some specific offerings are more condusive than others,to extreme accuracy potential. Your assumption is that ALL Manufacturers employ exact action quality,exact barrel quality,exact chamber dimensions,make exact brass of extreme quality,make exact propellant,make exact projectiles of extreme quality,etc.,when weighed against each other in comparison. I submit that you could take a 30-06 chambered rifle from each and every Manufacturer and there would be a gross difference in accuracy potential,between the most accurate and the least. That too with a just representation of available Factory fodder,in that chambering,from those same Manufacturers. You think they are exactly alike? However,I also think that should every Manufacturer build a rifle chambered in 6PPC,that the average accuracy potential of those rifles,would eclipse that of the prior trial in the 30-06 chambering. I do not believe everything is created equally,regarding raw mechanical accuracy potential Your mileage may vary................... | ||
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| <Gary Rihn> |
quote: Then if it were me, I'd probably go with the 7mm-08. As I said above, all are capable of great accuracy. Since you are set up with 7mm-08 stuff, I'd just go with it. Well, then again, now that I think of it, maybe I'd get one of the others, just to branch out a little. Oh the decisions... [This message has been edited by Gary Rihn (edited 03-13-2002).] | ||
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| one of us |
The well tuned encore will shoot right along side of most factory rifles even if they have custom barrels. Trying to make a comparison with the encore to that of a bench rest rifle built on a nesika action or something of that order,is stupid and requires someone like big stick to dream shit up like that. | |||
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| <eldeguello> |
There are few cartridges that are inherently inaccurate. Most inaccuracy is caused by the gun, followed by poor bullet quality. The three round you list are capable of extremely good accuracy if chambered in a quality rifle and used with excellent ammo. | ||
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| one of us |
Their are many variables in anything we do, but I will say I have seen many 6.5X.308's(essentially the .260) at Highpower matches as across the course rifles(200,300,600,1000M). I have listened to all of the people who tried to make the .243 work(barrel burner) and the 7-08(lacked the speed with the right/good bullets) Accuracy is King! Followed by the ability to make it through a season on a barrel. If you aren't going to get it too hot, or expect it to last too long, as others said any will do!!! I would get a .260 and never look back! And for a hunting rifle I own a .243 but no .260 so I'm not biased just relaying what I have seen and heard! Mike ------------------ | |||
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| one of us |
uh, eldeguello, have you heard of any rifles being chambered for a .225 winchester lately? Thanks a lot for the input guys. I THINK I'll give an encore with a .260 barrel a try. What sort of trigger does an encore have on it? Adjustable? I hope. | |||
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| <Big Stick> |
RMK, You crawled out from underneath your rock just in time,to miss the obvious(again). My contention is that it takes a hyper accurate rifle,to eek the mechanical accuracy limitations of a given cartridge. I never compared the Encore to any high end bolt rifle,because it can't compare and that is so obvious as to not be worthy of mention. The Encore isn't a vehicle that the utmost in accuracy can be extracted from. Further,regarding the 3 excellenet cartridges mentioned,it is a "push" regarding accuracy expectations. Hunter BR matches use a scoring system and many gents favor the .308" projectiles,in hopes of increasing scores. For a rifle twisted up to compete in that discipline,I'd seriously consider the 308Win,for that very reason................... | ||
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