Well I have custom shop barrels in .270win & .338win. Looking to add a small bore barrel. Looking for 22"-24" (depending on caliber), in a standard taper (.7 at muzzle)
Calibers in mind:
.243win
6mm Rem
.257 Roberts
.25-06 rem

Will be mostly used for Eastern whitetail at sub 200 yard range. (and Occational Ground hogs)
Will be shooting factory ammo, for a while.
Any recomendations??

my choice would be the 243.its a commen round and lots of bullets for it and at 200 or less cant go wrong, next would be the 257 rob but i dont now whats out there for factory ammo so id reload from the get go. im a fan of the 25's and for the 25/06 you have a 270 witch there perry close toghether and its alot of gun for under 200 yards and the 6mm rem is nice round my dad has one and ive shot chucks with it its kinda a odd ball to for factory ammo and for what youll gain over 243 i would say its worth it but what ever you decide on is what what nomater what any one says. i now how it fells to try to decide what to choose for a chambering. jason

If you're stuck with factory ammo, you're best option of the four presented is the .243. The .257 is a wonderful little cartridge, but I think you're limited to 120 grain big game loads from the factory. .243 ammo comes is wide variety of factory options, from 55 grain v-maxes for varmints to 100 grain premiums for deer. It would be hard to go wrong with it.

DesertRam, Accutally Hornady makes factory Ammo for the .257Robers in 117gr BTSP, in there Custom & Light Magnum (2780 & 2940 fps respectivly) ammo. In addition to the Remington offering in 117gr.
They also load for the 6mm Rem.

I also know an armor who sells some suprisingly accurate reloads at gun shows. I have gotten MOA groups with his .300win & .338Win ammo.

So ammo availibility is not a huge problem. You just have to know where to look. I ussually order ammo in bulk anyway, so I don't care if they sell it at the corner store or not.

[ 08-26-2003, 23:10: Message edited by: Mark G ]

Mark;
I suggest the .221 Rem Fireball! I have a 26" FB barrel on my Encore and I love it!
It is on the Encore, year 'round, except during the Muzzle Loading season. Then it wears the 209X50 Mag barrel.
I suggest leaving the barrel the full 26" length. On the Encore, 26" doesn't seem like it is unnecessarily long and it will give you a little extra speed!
Chuck

Since your a custom man, I like the 257 wby. It handles anything from rockchucks to Elk. The price of brass is expensive, but with it being offered in the vanguard now, I suspect cheaper brass will soon be available.