quote:

Smaller- the .280 Remington. Larger-the .338/'06!

DITTO!

I like the 25-06 and 35 Whelen; however the Hawk variations are appealing. Lou.

Just another vote for the 280/338-06.

The Howell cartridges have got to be the wierdest idea ever. They're longer than standard 06 brass and, therefore, not able to be made by 06 brass.

They don't belong in this discussion...

270 Win & 338-06

.25-06 and .35 Whelen--and the only reason I don't have a .280 is due to an A**Hole who used to be on our lease who shot one. Anything he had I won't have -- guess that qualifies as cutting off your nose to spite your face? At any rate, when he was asked to leave, we had a bigger celebration 'round the fire than when the doctor shot the big buck!!!

That's easy - the two that I have: 25-06 and 338-06. Oddly enough, I have no desire to own a 30-06, but I really like these two that are based on it.

brad...i think they might be able to be made from 06 basic brass...help me out here can anyone confirm? i know the 411 express is 2.65" long and made fron 06 basic brass

vapo...have you tried the two 6.5 bullets from north fork???

I have a 280AI & a 338-06 & without thinking about too hard that would be my answer.
A couple of other cartridges that come to mind also are the 25-06 & the 6.5-06.

I gotta go with the 35 whelen and the 280.
Two damn fine cartridges.

6.5/06 and .35 Whelan

I have several variations of the 06 cartridge. Lets start with the small one in .270 Win. I've taken a couple of Pronghorn, couple of Pigs, and one Elk. I like this cartridge it shoots very well for me. I've taken one elk with the .30-06 love the rifle it can do it all. I recently purchased a .280, 8mm-06, and 35 Whelen this year. I've yet to shoot the .280 and 8mm-06 as both needed some TLC with the gunsmith. I also own a .338-06 I haven't taken a beast with this one yet but I'm taking it Elk hunting this fall and hopefully some day on a Moose adventure. I might just use the Whelen instead this fall though. Parker Hale .270, Savage 110 .280, VZ-24 Mauser 8mm-06, 1903 Springfield .30-06, .338-06, & 35 Whelen. I'm looking to purchase a .25-06 in the next couple of years and if the price is right any one of the previouly mentioned calibers. I can't just pick two when they are all so good, can I pick two of each?

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
vapo...have you tried the two 6.5 bullets from north fork???

only the 120 grain so far.....extremely accurate!!!...Haven't punched any holes in hide yet however.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
brad...i think they might be able to be made from 06 basic brass...help me out here can anyone confirm?

Nope. They're a completely proprietary cartridge. Utterly stupid cartridges...

Another vote for a .270 Win on the smaller end, and the venerable .35 Whelen on the bigger end.

brad...

what is the longest wildcat you can do on 30-06 basic brass?

the 411 express is 2.65"

i think a max length 375 cal would be great...or is the 375 hawk the max?

vapo...your good taste in bullets goes on...how flat does it shoot?

Since BoomStick bought up the .375 Hawk I thought I'd shed some light on it


here's some data using the 220 flatnose intended for deer at .375 Winchester velocities:

220 Hornady Alliant RL-15 62.0 2,776
Remarks: OAL: 2.953
220 Hornady Alliant RL-15 63.0 2,763

With Speer's 235 grainer

235 Speer Hodgdon H-4895 59.0 2,715
Remarks: OAL: 3.153
235 Speer Hodgdon H-4895 60.0 2,791
Remarks: OAL: 3.153
235 Speer Hodgdon H-4895 61.0 2,836
Remarks: OAL: 3.153
235 Speer Hodgdon H-4895 61.5 2,782

Like an A-Frame at nearly 2,700???


Remarks: OAL: 3.10
250 Swift A-Frame IMR IMR-4320 58.0 2,690

Here's some 260 Nosler Partition loads...

260 Nosler Partition Accurate Arms AAC-2015 56.0 2,677
Remarks: OAL: 3.185; hot
260 Nosler Partition Accurate Arms AAC-2495 57.0 2,531
Remarks: OAL: 3.100
260 Nosler Partition Hodgdon H-4895 57.0 2,603
Remarks: OAL: 3.100
260 Nosler Partition Alliant RL-15 57.0 2,554

and some 270 grain loads.....

270 Hawk Accurate Arms AAC-2015 56.0 2,584
Remarks: OAL: 3.185; near maximum



270 Hawk Alliant RL-15 58.0 2,505
Remarks: OAL: 3.185;
270 Hornady roundnose Hodgdon H-4895 57.0 2,529
Remarks: OAL: 3.180
270 Hornady roundnose Hodgdon H-4895 58.0 2,540 to 2,585
Remarks: OAL: 3.180

270 Hornady SS Hodgdon H-4895 58.0 2,552
Remarks: OAL: 3.240

270 Hornady SS Alliant RL-15 58.0 2,515

and if one chooses a 300 grain bullet it does that too!!!

300 Hornady Hodgdon H-4895 56.0 2,385 to 2,420
Remarks: OAL: 3.162
300 Hornady Accurate Arms AAC-2495 55.0 2,358
Remarks: OAL: 3.162
300 Hornady IMR IMR-4320 55.0 2,346
Remarks: OAL: 3.162
300 Hornady Accurate Arms AAC-2015 53.5 2,380
Remarks: OAL: 3.162
300 Hornady Alliant RL-15 56.0 2,397

It's a toss up between the 280 and 6.5-06 on the small end, and 35 Whelen on the big. Lou

quote:

vapo...your good taste in bullets goes on...how flat does it shoot?

Not sure about the actual trajectory but in my 21" barreled VZ-24 it's clocking 3,045'/sec in 6.5 X 55

That should yield a fairly flat curve.

boy the .30-06 is about as perfect as it gets, I like both the .25-06 and .270 for there intended purposes. Sheep and caribou and an occasional moose. The flip side would be the .338-06

Well I made a decision some years back to stock the gun cabinet with all the USofA '06 case calibers, preferably on pre 64 actions. Well, I got all the calibers but so far not enough pre 64 actions to convert all as yet. Favorites have got to be the 280/338-06. Makes reloading all the calibers much easier for me with the same shell holders, etc as well.

If I couldn't have a 30'06 then I'd choose the 270 and the 338'06. If I could keep an '06 to cover the middle ground then I'd go with a 25'06 and 35 Whelen (with a 1:12 twist).

Well, on the large side, the .35 Whelen, absolutely. On the small side, It'e a three way tie between the 25-06, 270 Win. and .280 Rem. So far, I've only taken game with the .270. The others have only killed paper. Resons? Well the .25-05 is a very recent purchase that I'm still working up a load for, and the .280 is a bit heavier than I like to carry out in the hills at 7,000 plus feet MSL. The .35 Whelen sits unblooded because I can't seem to draw a tag for elk. As far as antelope goes, I've been putting in for a tag for the last 28 years and I have not draw yet. Didn't get elk again this year and drew for deer in my last choice area. I guess I should be thankful I got that much or I'd be forced to stay at home.
Paul B.

Well it has been over a year since I posted on this topic. I found a couple of things out in that time.

1. Never tell your gunsmith you are not in a hurry for your rifle. I dropped the action and stock off last October and the rifle still isn't done. I wanted a .25-06 built for long range coyotes and pronghorn. I still can't report on this caliber yet.

2. The .280 Rem I bought just didn't do anything better than my .270 Win. So the .280 found a new home with my brother-in-lay and it is now his favorite caliber. I liked the caliber but just not as well as my .270.

My 8mm-06 is showing promise whith 175 grain Sierra bullets. I don't have any 5 round groups less than 2" yet but plenty of sub moa groups with 3 of the 5 shots. Been having neck tension problems when reloading haven't quite worked that out yet.

.338-06 and .35 Whelen still haven't been bloodied yet. Hope to remedy that soon, probably shouldn't have passed on taking one of them to AK to get my bear. I took the good old .30-06 and it didn't let me down.

Still will not pick which two I would keep over the others. I just know my .270 would probably be the last to go if I had to part with some of them.

I have my pick: 270 win and 35 whelen

280 Rem and 35 Whelen, no contest.