Originally Posted by
stapher1
My 6br would be perfect round for them (imo) but it's 17lbs and getting the laminate stock messed up, makes me nervous.
Get some vinyl or cloth tape, cover up your stock. Get a bipod and a good sling. Screw holding up a 17lb'er all day. Honestly, I don't like holding up a 5lber all day, haha. Shoulder it to the stand, prop it up on the bipod while you're seated.
(My wife is 5'3" and 125lbs, and she uses a 17lb Savage 12 Varminter in .223rem, surely you can manage to slug your 6br to your set as long as you have sticks or a pod to set it on).
As far as the .223rem goes, I've knocked down dogs with 50grn pills (A-max, V-max, BST's, BTHP's, and JHP's) out to 700yrds with a .223rem. Shorter barrels lose velocity compared to longer tubes, but they're heavier to haul around. Personally, I haven't seen any reason to use anything heavier except a little better BC, but you're still sacrificing velocity, so at the end of the day, the effective range is about the same.