Weatherby Mark 5 7mmSTW

.264 Win Mag

I agree .264 win mag

I am retired and do nothing but shoot and hunt. Varmints, Hogs and Deer.
I have used a .270WSM, .243 and now a .308. Without a question the .308 with a 150 gr. hollow point has more knockdown power and flat shooting for
all game out to 250 yards.

I do like the .270WSM and after finding the right load, my accuracy has improved. Most factory loads are very HOT and my grouping was bad.

My new Browning BAR in .308 is a excellent woods gun. All weather and function reliable and smooth.

The topic of this thread was long range,and many of us do not consider 250 yards long range.

Ditto!

I havn't seen much mention of the 260 remington or 6.5mm Swedish. these calibers are deadly accurate in 140 grain loads and don't kick like mules. There must be a reason that many of the bench rest shooters are going to 6.5mm. Blazing speed isn't needed for long range shots, besides you don't get much meat form an animal shot with a 140 grain bullet going 3300fps, as with the various 7mm mag loads.

Bullet placement is far more of a factor than velocity where meat damage is concerned.You get more meat from adeer shot behind the shoulders with a 7mmremmag than you get from a deer shot through the shoulders with a 308win.

You are right about the 260 and 6.5x55. They are excellent deer cartridges and while they are not considered long range deer rifles, they should be. 300 yards is no trick for either of these 6.5 cartridges. While I may get blasted by the 600 yard gang, I consider 300 yards a long range shot at animals and not many hunters can pull off a 300 yard shot consistantly. Just the mechanics involved to make shots past 300 yards hard to pull off on a regular basis. Practice helps but all conditions can not be duplicated to practice effects of wind, elevation and decent range estimation on the part of the hunter. While guiding hunters for many years, not one in ten could make a 300 yard clean kill consistantly.

I can't argue that bullet placement is the most important factor. My point was that if you have 2 shots in the same place you will get more damage to meat with a 140gr bullet travelling 3000fps plus, than you would with the same weight bullet going 2500fps. I once shot a deer at 200 yards with a 80gr bullet out of a 250 savage, just behind shoulder. I didn't get any meat from the whole front end of that deer.