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  1. #31
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    Default Re: Advise on plains rifle, 7x64 vs 308 vs

    I am a firm believer in my .308W and its 250M + capabilities. Shot plenty of Blesbuck at 300- 350 M and Bwb at 270M @ Rhino lodge in Standerton. Impala at 330M in Pongola (Leeukop)
    I am shooting a 165gr SST at 2600 f/s and the Bwb was shot with a 168 Barnes TTSX at 2540 f/s.
    Know your trajectory and the shooting distance, regardless if it is a 300WM, .338 WM 7x64 or .308W.....

  2. #32
    Member Andrew Leigh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Advise on plains rifle, 7x64 vs 308 vs

    While the 7x57 would not considered a classic plain rifle .......... ask the Britsh army. The boers used the 7x57 rather effectively on the plains of the Transvaal Highveld and in the Free State .

    My dad, who is a boer war expert (in my opinion) told me that whenever possible that at night the boers would pace out the battlefield and place markers every 100yds. This allowed them to be real lethal as they were always on point.
    One too many wasted sunsets and one too many for the road .........

  3. #33
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    Default Re: Advise on plains rifle, 7x64 vs 308 vs

    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Leigh View Post
    While the 7x57 would not considered a classic plain rifle .......... ask the Britsh army. The boers used the 7x57 rather effectively on the plains of the Transvaal Highveld and in the Free State .

    My dad, who is a boer war expert (in my opinion) told me that whenever possible that at night the boers would pace out the battlefield and place markers every 100yds. This allowed them to be real lethal as they were always on point.
    Andrew
    Dont be fooled by the capability of the 7x57.
    I have played around with various loads recently in mine.
    A 600mm barrel (like my ZKK600) can comfortably launch a 140 grain Nosler ballistic tip or Barnes TTSX at 2850 fps.
    This is where my accuracy node is and pressure is at 49000 psi with a hot batch of S365.
    This combination allows you to nip at the heels of a 270 for the same bullet weight, but generally the 7mm bullets have slightly better BC'S.
    The SAAMI max pressure for this caliber is definitely understated at 51000 psi to accommodate those 125 year old Mausers.

  4. #34
    Member Andrew Leigh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Advise on plains rifle, 7x64 vs 308 vs

    My comment was tongue in cheek and more anecdotal. In context of the Boer War though they were shooting ammo of the day, commonly 173gr @ 2 200fps or 50" drop at 500yds, hence the reason for markers.

    Not taking anything away from one of the worlds most revered calibre's, the 7X57 will seldom come up first when the question of plains calibres is raised.
    One too many wasted sunsets and one too many for the road .........

  5. #35
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    Default Re: Advise on plains rifle, 7x64 vs 308 vs

    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Leigh View Post
    My comment was tongue in cheek and more anecdotal. In context of the Boer War though they were shooting ammo of the day, commonly 173gr @ 2 200fps or 50" drop at 500yds, hence the reason for markers.

    Not taking anything away from one of the worlds most revered calibre's, the 7X57 will seldom come up first when the question of plains calibres is raised.
    I understood it as such.
    Unfortunately you are correct in terms of not many people see it as a plains rifle.
    Very sad as it really is an incredibly underrated all rounder.

  6. #36
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    Default Re: Advise on plains rifle, 7x64 vs 308 vs

    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Leigh View Post
    While the 7x57 would not considered a classic plain rifle .......... ask the Britsh army. The boers used the 7x57 rather effectively on the plains of the Transvaal Highveld and in the Free State .

    My dad, who is a boer war expert (in my opinion) told me that whenever possible that at night the boers would pace out the battlefield and place markers every 100yds. This allowed them to be real lethal as they were always on point.
    Haha. Yes the Tommies did notice. What many failed to notice, is that the majority of British casualties were inflicted with captured 303 rifles, simply because the Boer's 7mm ammo supply dried up fairly early in the war. Does that make the old Lee Metford 303 a plains rifle too?

    The thing is, that most calibres can be used at long range, provided the shooter can make the needed preparations. (In the first ABW, Genl. Colley was appently shot from around 900yds with a mere 8mm Guedes.)

    If you load the 7 x 57 to the max pressure a modern rifle like a CZ550 can handle, which is more than SAAMI and CIP specs, and use a high BC bullet, you have a formiddable medium to long range combo.

  7. #37

    Default Re: Advise on plains rifle, 7x64 vs 308 vs

    Hi, you have a 6.5x55.

    All the re-loaders i know load a 140gr bullet up to 2700ft/s easy and this is more then sufficient to shoot a Kudu humanly up to 350m taking kenetic energy into consideration. It has about 5% less then energy of most loaded 308 bullets at 300 meters.

    What matters most is accuracy, with the 6.5mm you should have this sorted so i won't bother getting something else unless you go above 350 meters potentially.

    PS. I have a Sako 7mm Rem Mag with NF optics, prefer it when i know ill shoot +250 meters (Kalahari) on gemsbok and kudu though.

  8. #38
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    Default Re: Advise on plains rifle, 7x64 vs 308 vs

    I think one of the lessons learned from this discussion, is to ignore the "calibre" question, and focus on what bullet design, speed, weight and diameter you want to do the job. So lets say you like a Barnes TTSX 140gr in 7mm. For plains game this bullet leaving the barrel at 2850ft/s will do the job nicely, and will drop about 15cm at 300m, which means that even without a range finder, a heart lung shot at 300m on a big animal will still be a kill shot. Once you settle on that, then comes the delivery system. A 7mm rem mag will get you to that speed and beyond easily. A 7x64 will also get you to those speeds without too much fuss, and with a 7x57 /7mm-08 you need to do some skillful reloading and make sure you have a long enough barrel and that your action can handle the pressure to get to those speeds.

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