garyb Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 The Muntjac and Fallow I've shot with my 308 (150grn) didn't look like they'd been hit by a bus either, but it is a slow load with a decent deer / non varmint bullet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 I have seen (IMO) far too much meat damage using fast bullets from say a 243, compared to a 30 cal using 160 grn bullets for example. Which is one of the main reasons i went for a larger cal. We all have a choice to choose whatever cal we are lucky enough to be granted permision for. Hey! just imagine if we all had just the one choice be a boring forum would'nt it. We would all have the ultimate rifle for all occasions. But we dont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 I have seen (IMO) far too much meat damage using fast bullets from say a 243, thats the issue and it could be sorted, i'm not quite sure why people do it but lots do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 Al4x - You and me both know that I am a bit of a collector. I don't deny that. I get half of my enjoyment of the sport from trying new things. All Deer calibres will kill a Deer or a Fox with ease. I bought the .243 for the exact reason you pointed out - flat trajectory. But I find you pay for that with meat damage. I tried some heavy Prvi and they too made more mess than I'm used to. They put the Deer down well but I have lost a few far shoulders because the angle wasn't ideal. Now with my 6.5 I put shots through shoulders a few times and yes it did damage, but nothing like this. I only need a small excuse to change something, and to be fair I really do like the slightly larger calibres for Deer. Maybe one day I'll settle down but I don't have to so maybe I won't? I don't take shots at anything over 250ish yards anyway and any calibre shoots well enough to be accurate at that range. At the end of the day I can sit back and think to myself that in four years I've had a .17HMR, .17 Hornet, .22lr both semi and bolt, .22 Hornet, .223, .243, 6.5x55, 7x57R, .338 Win Mag and .375H&H. I've shot most quarry that I lawfully could with all of them and have a vague idea how they perform. That means a lot to me, I like to try new things but once I settle and have experienced them I get bored. The 7-08 will be a new area for me, but kind of a comfort zone because I know the bullet performance that I get from my 7x57R. That's just not a long range tool, but it does the job very neatly like the 6.5 did. Out of all of those calibres if I could only have one gun it would be the 6.5x55. Who knows, when/if I finish messing with lots of different kit that's probably what I'll end up with. If nobody asked questions on here, what would we talk about?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 Its a catch 22 people seem to say its lacking knock down power yet on the other side it does too much damage That's just it though. You can either use explosive bullets that smash the **** out of what they hit, or use a controlled premium bullet and not make a very big hole at all. What the bigger guns seem to do is make quite a large but at the same time clean hole. So the animal bleeds out quickly but damage is limited to the shot zone and not surrounding tissue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 don't get me wrong I'm just the voice of reason we all know you like a change of guns which is fair enough and I don't know how many deer you've shot with the .243 sounds like a fair few to have got that sick of it. For such a popular caliber lots of people find it fine which is where the reason comes in but for a lot of us its predominantly a fox gun we also use for deer which is where it takes a lot of beating. Assuming you want the 7-08 as much for a change as anything what has caught your eye gun wise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 I've not shot that many Deer with the .243 because it's made such a mess of the ones I have hit! I recon about ten, mix of Munty and Roe. None have been pretty, although the ones shot with the Prvi were slightly better than those shot with the 85gr Speer SP. Rifle wise I was after an old Tikka - pre T3 days. I've got one on hold for me pending transfer/payment. It's the posh wood stocked 595 with the rosewood plate under the grip etc and comes in at under £500 which is what I tend to budget at while I'm chopping and changing all the time. I never spend too much on a rifle because I never keep them long. I do hope one day (once I've run out of things to try) that I'll settle on a nice calibre and invest in something special. I don't know what yet, but it will have to be unusual. Looking through my list I've never had a .30. I'd like to try a .30-06 at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 your RFD must love you still its a nice rifle that presumably would be a good base to rebarrel at a later stage if wanted. I have to say its nice to spend a bit more on one to keep I took that view with my sako I wanted something to keep that was nice to use and look at but I knew it would be staying. So far I've not had issues with damage but we shall see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 I have read that the old Tikka actions are very popular for having customs built around them. Supposedly it's a very good action but I don't know, I just shoot them! I remember the day I tumbled 20 feet or so down a steep muddy bank and into a large ditch with my Beretta Silver Pigeon in hand. It was a very worrying time and the gun had to be completely stripped to get the water and mud out. Luckily nothing was broken and all I got for my troubles was a very small mark on the stock but it did make me think.... I'll never stretch myself to buy a gun now, they spend too much time in harsh weather and places to risk buying something that I couldn't afford to ruin! That's why I have mainly CZ's and Baikals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Well I put some money down on the Tikka today so it's definately mine. I'm well chuffed, the guy recons it's in mint condition and has seen about 200 rounds. So all I have to do is wait for my FAC to come back from the .223 variation and I can send it back in to do the 7-08! My RFD loves me... Not so sure the firearms department will think of me in such a fond manner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_R Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Just got the variation, so need to find the right outfit now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 There's nothing on Guntrader that catches my eye at the moment. When I went for mine I wasn't sure I even wanted a 7-08, rather I was going to wait for something to appeal to me then put a deposit on it and then go for the variation. You don't seem to see many around, or .260's which was the other option I would have bought had the right gun came along. Having said that two of us have picked up nice old school Tikka's in 7-08 recently so they do come along. Do you want new or used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_R Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 New, used, custom or semi... not sure yet, I will see what is about and what prices are like. I want to be able to shoot at Bisley on the 1000yd range as well as take it into the field, so I suppose a bit of a compromise in a way. Nothing on Gun Trader appealed to me. I have shot a couple of the club's guns at those extended ranges, and had fun doing it, getting V-bulls enough to feel happy to carry on. One of those gun's is just a Savage .308 stalking rifle but I hate shooting it. The other is a high end 6.5x55 Nemesis which is gorgeous but I really liked the 7mm-08 that another guy let me try (albeit only at 100yd). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Not cheap but that PGM would do the trick! A lot of money though, and in my opinion rather ugly with it! http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/091103174346591 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_R Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) Yes, saw that, it has been on for ages. There was a nice looking second hand RPA Quadlite a few months back, before I had finally decided 7mm-08 was the direction to go. Edited June 24, 2011 by john_r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 don't get me wrong I'm just the voice of reason we all know you like a change of guns which is fair enough and I don't know how many deer you've shot with the .243 sounds like a fair few to have got that sick of it. For such a popular caliber lots of people find it fine which is where the reason comes in but for a lot of us its predominantly a fox gun we also use for deer which is where it takes a lot of beating. Assuming you want the 7-08 as much for a change as anything what has caught your eye gun wise? I think you almost hit it on the head then with the .243" Fox bullets and deer bullets are different and you realy need two loads one for each, deer bullets on Fox are genrally less than great on cavity shots and the best compromise one load for both is the 95 grn Nosler b/tip (maybee i have shot 100 of each with this load). The 7-08 can be terrible also if you put fast hight fragmenting varmint bullets into deer it will be quite messy. Generally i found the 7-08 too much gun for Roe but great for big deer optimised with 140 grn Gamekings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 I think you do need two bullets for Fox and Deer in the .243. And I don't have time to mess about with all that. It's a rule I always abide by - if a gun needs two bullets to do the jobs required of it, I buy another gun to do one of those jobs! So, goodbye .243, hello 7-08 and .223! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activeviii Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 dont forget to clain you free knife NJC. Link sent on msn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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