Splatt Report post Posted June 10, 2016 I'm going to stick with a Remington 700, but what cartridge would you choose, and why ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted June 10, 2016 Something Accurate. Long range or all day carry mountain gun? Personally, I would pick something in the .257, .264, .284 range, fairly low recoiling. Not much different than my muley guns. I have a couple. .25-06AI, 6.5 SLR, .260 Rem. If I needed to really stretch it out, I have a 7RM or .300RUM, both pushing heavies at a good clip. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
forepaw Report post Posted June 10, 2016 I wouldn't build anything. I would buy a lightweight box rifle (most likely a Tikka) and then tune it, develop a load for it, and practice with it from field positions, at the range to 600 or 700 yds., and try to gain some skill at reading the wind. Caliber would be just what LTK describes - 6.5 or 7mm in a moderate round, or something in a mag. caliber that could be loaded down to an acceptable recoil level. This varies from shooter to shooter. Standard calibers are easier to work with, and allow you to spend more time shooting, and less time screwing around doing case prep stuff. My experience is limited to '06 sized cartridges (.25-06 and .270 are favorites) but I just ordered a 6.5x55 and am looking forward to seeing what I can do with that. There are other cartridges just as good, and quite a few that are no doubt better. This is a great topic, and always generates a lot of discussion and good info. One shooter, at a 1000 yd. match, had turned in a pretty good score. He told me ". . .oh, I am just using my hunting rifle . . " I looked at his rifle, a tricked-out .280, and thought hmmm. The kind of hunting you do, and the kind that I do must be different. How far do you hike from your vehicle? Anyway, he was a good shooter, and interesting to talk to - but I doubt if he had ever hunted coues deer. forepaw 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted June 10, 2016 I am planning to build a 6.5 SAUM this year. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1denogean Report post Posted June 10, 2016 perfect coues gun, 257 weatherby or a 300WM or a 7 MM my 2 cents 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost85 Report post Posted June 10, 2016 6.5's are hard to beat. i sold my .264 win mag a few months ago and now i am going to have to replace it. Will either get another .264 win mag or 6.5x284. i prefer the 6.5's that you can push a 140 above 3000fps out of. I was shooting 130's out of my .264 at about 3300 fps. They hammered everything they hit. deer, elk, bears, everything. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted June 10, 2016 .257 weatherby or .264 win mag. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duckhunter175 Report post Posted June 10, 2016 Splatt-- Not a lot of Coues experience here but I've killed lots of whitetail in NC, KY and OK. After my trip to AZ I felt my choice of 6.5x284 was spot on. The only thing I might have changed was to go up to a slightly faster version of a 6.5 or maybe even a quarter bore. I think on an animal the size of the Coues deer you can focus on velocity to reduce your drops at range and simplify your shooting equations/hold over, without compromising terminal performance. If I were building a Rem 700 specific to come hunt Coues again it would be one of the fast 6.5s (.264WM, .26Nosler, 6.5SAUM) as fast as I could push a 130gr or .257s (weatherby or a 25-06AI) pushing a 100gr or 110gr AB. Matter of fact I have the 25-06 barreled action right now so that may happen sooner than later. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted June 10, 2016 I must be a little odd, but the way I did it and would do it again and look at the bullet I want, or at least bullet design that I want to shoot and have a Target velocity in mind and then start looking at what cartridges make it to that, giving myself a 100 fps buffer. (Claims 3100, really makes 3000 etc) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted June 10, 2016 6.5-300 weatherby 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted June 10, 2016 7 mag 162 AMAX Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roninflag Report post Posted June 10, 2016 you do not say if you reload. the rifle/barrel is more important than the cartridge. I would pick the one that will shoot a 5" inch group ( or less) at 500 yards. if you are talking about a factory rem 700, since they do not offer a 6.5-284 I would say a 25-06. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roninflag Report post Posted June 10, 2016 a rem 700 sender0 with a Krieger barrel in 6.5-284 or .264 win mag. a weatherby accumark in .257? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Splatt Report post Posted June 11, 2016 Currently I have a 257 weatherby that I'm loading 110gr accubonds for. Switched from 100gr tsx's. Was running them waaaay hot, the little I shot the Vanguard. Going to start over, and switching to 7mm RM resized/formed brass. What's really working for me right now, out to 900 yards, is a rebarreled 700, to 7mm RM with a stainless, fluted, ti barrel. 66.0 grains of rldr 22, under a 160gr accubond. Been tossing around the idea of building a 264 wm, or some 6.5 of some flavor. Not sure how light or heavy yet ? My friend who I'm going with, for my first coues hunt, runs around on a 4 wheeler, and says, ya don't have to carry stuff far from it. I'm fixing to come out of retirement, so my world is going to change to weekends and holidays off, and no vacation til next year. I was gearing up, but now throttled back, because I don't know if I'll get to use my 14 year wait tag !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Splatt Report post Posted June 11, 2016 Oh, and another 257 weatherby is looking awful nice, in a stainless Remington CDL model. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
