Good thread.
I just bought a 6mm Remington Model 722 from Eddie Harren here on AR. It's a beautiful rifle with excellent Walnut. I tested several different loads and bullets, and the best load, fortunately, is with Nosler's 95 grain Partition bullet. Purpose of Rifle, in addition to collecting old Rem 722's, is for Coyote hunting. No big game with this rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Demonical:
The finest deer hunter in North America is named Bentley Coben, from Tessier Saskatchewan...

Never heard of him. Just how did he acquire such a subjective title?

quote:

Originally posted by Demonical: The people involved in this hunt I believe were hunting over bait, which means close range shots, that are easy to accurately place etc...

You are correct in placing this as a baited hunt, and I agree that it makes sense that close range shots are easy to accurately place. Here's the problem. Every bait camp I've been in and asked the guide to move the bait further from the stand, they do. But I've yet to not hear one state that the baits are close b/c even at these distances, they still have hunters miss and wound bears every year.

Heck, even my bud that went to BC this year missed a large bear in New Brunswick in 2006 at 12 yards. Took the hair right off the sternum. At 12 yards, I thought missing would be impossible.

This hunt was the first big game hunt for the lady and this year was her first time to shoot a firearm. That leaves a wide open door for mistakes regardless of shot distance.

If you are like me, you probably think that missing at such close range is unthinkable. 25 yards and under with a rifle or shotgun seems like a no brainer perfect shot to me. Unfortunately, not everyone who pulls the trigger is that good.

www.bentleycoben.com


Edit:

Doc you are of course correct. My statement Re: Bentley Coben is subjective, it can neither be proven nor disproven, and is therefore an idiotic claim to make.

Thanks.

Ok, I got permission to post pics. Here's Les and his girlfriend with their bears. Les has taken both of his bears with a bow.

By the way, Les told me the bear weights BEFORE he sent pics, and I posted accordingly. After he sent pics I told him the scale wasn't working as there was no way in hell his claim on weights was accurate.

After about 3-4 days of us giving each other crap about it (jokingly), he fessed up. HER bear weighed 320. His weighed in the 200s.

This is really a good thread. For my two cents worth, I started out with a .243 in 1969, and swiftly relegated it to varmint hunting at which it excels and went on a quest for my best deer rifle. Considering how really fragile a Whitetail is, even an Axis for that matter, I shuffled thru the .30-06, .270, 6.5-06, 7x57mm, 7x64mm, .257 Weatherby, .250-3000, .257 Roberts, .260 Rem, 6.5x57mm, 6.5x55mm, and 6.5x54mm.Number one in reliability turns out to be the 6.5x54mm, followed by it's very near relations 6.5x55mm, 6.5x57mm and .260 Remington clone. The 7x57mm with 140 grain or heavier bullets also joins the pack. The .25s were unreliable (except for the .257 WBY which is overkill). The other larger calibers did too much damage and destroyed too much meat, I'm a meat hunter, and my trophies are already on the wall, so I need venison in the freezer first!

However, that is much to be said in favor of slim, long, heavy for caliber bullets, like the 160 grain 6.5mms that set the 6.5mm standard for performance a hundred years ago, and you know what? Ballistics has not changed. A hit with a pencil shaped 6.5mm is still a splat down kill with a well placed shot. Yes, accuracy and hitting the right spot still counts, but when all the energy is channeled into the small cross section of the 6.5mm, it's gonna kill. Interestingly, since I took my first deer with a 6.5mm in 1984, I have never recovered a bullet. They have always blown through. A side benefit of the 6.5mm family is reduced recoil, something of importance to a senior citizen with arthritis too.

My experience with the 6MM's has been so positive it always surprises me that some just won't have em. Personally I wouldn't use mine for bear hunting but deer go down just as fast for me with it as anything else.

I suppose I'd use a 6mm bullet for deer but I'd limit my shots to 200 yards and aim for spine/shoulder. I've seen first hand how far a deer can run with a good bullet from a 243 placed square in the lungs, broadside.

I'd only use a partition or barnes also. That's my preference. To me, the smaller the caliber, the scale leans towards premium bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:
I'd only use a partition or barnes also. That's my preference. To me, the smaller the caliber, the scale leans towards premium bullets.

Amen!!!

Don

I don't see how anyone can compare bullets from different calibers by using bullets with different construction that are made for different uses.
Even the very large bores have bullets for thin skinned game as well as those for large tough animals.
Apples and oranges!

heres my 243 bear,young fella behind the bear weighs in @240.as you can see there was plenty of blood(which is why i hesitated to post earlier)
the shot was around 120 yds and the rifle and reload would put 3 under a dime at 100.
confused about the lung hit bears that don't bleed,every animal i have ever hit in the lungs bleed well out the mouth,
am i looking at this all wrong?

In 2007 saw a giant bull elk shot by a tiny woman named Jody with her .243. She told me that 270s kick to hard, she shot the elk in just the right spot @ 200y and it staggered 10 feet while she plugged it two more times.
If you could see the size of the elk next to the size of the woman, it is like me next to an elephant.

Also in 2007 I saw a woman named Joni that shot a 4x3 Whitetail buck with a single shot from a .243 at close range from a blind, and it dropped in it's tracks.

I was so inspired, that in 2008, I built a .243 [I have had the reamer, barrels, and Mauser actions lying around for years] for the teen age daughter of an Iraq vet. I have it down to less than 8 pounds with scope and sling.

I have heavy varmint .243s for myself, but I may build a light one for big game hunting for myself.