Thread: Can of worms - Calibre suggestions

Hey Team,
Looking to pick up a new rifle as I'm moving south.
Currently running a Tikka T3X lite in 6.5 Creed but looking to get something heavier for reds etc.

Been looking at a 7PRC but not too many options, anybody had issues using this in a lighter rifle like a T3X?
Any other suggested calibres, ideally I want just one rifle I can take out for reds and then Tahr etc if I get adventerous.

A caliber/rifle combo would be ideal. I'm not tied to a particular brand.

Thanks for the help brains trust!

For reds what you have is perfect and for Tahr you if you keep your ranges within your ability.


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7mmrem mag might suit and rounds easy to get for it or 300WSM

Originally Posted by kinal762

Hey Team,
Looking to pick up a new rifle as I'm moving south.
Currently running a Tikka T3X lite in 6.5 Creed but looking to get something heavier for reds etc.

Been looking at a 7PRC but not too many options, anybody had issues using this in a lighter rifle like a T3X?
Any other suggested calibres, ideally I want just one rifle I can take out for reds and then Tahr etc if I get adventerous.

A caliber/rifle combo would be ideal. I'm not tied to a particular brand.

Thanks for the help brains trust!

I have just set one up in tikka blackout 7prc.
If I was looking for a long ranger down south that wasn't to heavy this would be my new pjck.
It didn't even kick to bad with a can on it for the power of the ammo and weight of thd rifle.
The weight of thd Atac-r probably helped!

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Tikka T3

7mmrem mag

162g projectiles

Leupold vx5


Send them to the chiller

I like magnum 30 cal cartridges. My pick would be 300 Win Mag if you don't mind the recoil. Good rifle and ammo availability and the cartridge has the legs for when stalking closer aint possible.

Originally Posted by kinal762

Hey Team,
Looking to pick up a new rifle as I'm moving south.
Currently running a Tikka T3X lite in 6.5 Creed but looking to get something heavier for reds etc.

Been looking at a 7PRC but not too many options, anybody had issues using this in a lighter rifle like a T3X?
Any other suggested calibres, ideally I want just one rifle I can take out for reds and then Tahr etc if I get adventerous.

A caliber/rifle combo would be ideal. I'm not tied to a particular brand.

Thanks for the help brains trust!

Set one up for my cousin in Tikka 7PRC with 180 ELDM. Had DPT braked suppressor and could easily spot shots if you did your part. Very soft to shoot.
7 Rem mag another good option. Can get Petersen 7 rem mag long brass now as well, which stops a lot of the case head separation issues they can have, especially in the sloppier factory chambers. They’ll throw a 160-168 way out there further than most people can accurately shoot.

Do you reload, or are you limited to what's available on the shelf?

7mmRM but 308 or 30-06 will drop anything in NZ

Creedmoor does just fine on reds. Never had any Reds get away after being shot with my Creedmoor so far, 143 eldx goes well. Last one I shot was with 127 Barnes LRX which did the job just fine. None of these was I paying huge amount of attention to precise shot placement, just through the front shoulder. Plenty of people are taking Reds with .223s nowadays, so the Creed will have no problem.

If you really want longer range for tahr and whatnot, I have a 300wsm and I like it. 30 cal is a great calibre because there are so many projectiles to select from (only relevant if you are handloading, I guess). Also, you can run shorter barrels without losing much velocity in 30cal. 7mm calibres are pretty epic though, can get awesome ballistic coefficients on the heavier bullets. 7mm RM can't go too wrong, but the newer ones like PRC etc are pretty cool, a bit more efficient with powder. They aren't so punishing to shoot as the 30 cal options, too. I thought about getting a 6.5PRC too but it just didn't seem outrageously more powerful compared to the Creedmoor, and shoots the same bullets.

As for recoil, the 30 cal magnums and to a slightly lesser extent, the 7mm magnums are much more of a handful than a Creedmoor in a light rifle; a good suppressor with a muzzle brake end cap will help. Muzzle brakes are good, but they are just so hideously antisocial!

I'm going to try and run 300wsm do it all rifle for a while. I've chopped it to 20" (only lose about 100fps compared to a 24"), which is much nicer to use in the bush and whatnot. I'm going to try a load with 130gr Barnes TTSX, at minimum charge, which replicates higher-end 308 performance (and recoil) more or less for normal hunting scenarios and distances. Then, if on an open country hunt for Tahr etc I'll load some full noise ammo with perhaps a Nosler Accubond 168gr LR, which seems to be shooting quite well.

Keep with the Creedmoor for a while, I reckon, and if you are really hating it then sure have a look at bigger options. Creedmoor is much nicer to shoot than the magnums. Where are you moving in the South Island?

The fad of magnums wore off for me and unless I was regularly shooting over 600 yards I wouldn't bother. Each to their own though. Added recoil, heavier expensive ammo and generally a heavier set up all things to be considered considering a 16" barrel .308 will kill a red at 500 yards piece of cake as will many cartridges.
However, if I was to go a magnum a 7prc would be hard to go past. The bc on those 180gr are certainly impressive.

Originally Posted by Juicy

Creedmoor does just fine on reds. Never had any Reds get away after being shot with my Creedmoor so far, 143 eldx goes well. Last one I shot was with 127 Barnes LRX which did the job just fine. None of these was I paying huge amount of attention to precise shot placement, just through the front shoulder. Plenty of people are taking Reds with .223s nowadays, so the Creed will have no problem.

If you really want longer range for tahr and whatnot, I have a 300wsm and I like it. 30 cal is a great calibre because there are so many projectiles to select from (only relevant if you are handloading, I guess). Also, you can run shorter barrels without losing much velocity in 30cal. 7mm calibres are pretty epic though, can get awesome ballistic coefficients on the heavier bullets. 7mm RM can't go too wrong, but the newer ones like PRC etc are pretty cool, a bit more efficient with powder. They aren't so punishing to shoot as the 30 cal options, too. I thought about getting a 6.5PRC too but it just didn't seem outrageously more powerful compared to the Creedmoor, and shoots the same bullets.

As for recoil, the 30 cal magnums and to a slightly lesser extent, the 7mm magnums are much more of a handful than a Creedmoor in a light rifle; a good suppressor with a muzzle brake end cap will help. Muzzle brakes are good, but they are just so hideously antisocial!

I'm going to try and run 300wsm do it all rifle for a while. I've chopped it to 20" (only lose about 100fps compared to a 24"), which is much nicer to use in the bush and whatnot. I'm going to try a load with 130gr Barnes TTSX, at minimum charge, which replicates higher-end 308 performance (and recoil) more or less for normal hunting scenarios and distances. Then, if on an open country hunt for Tahr etc I'll load some full noise ammo with perhaps a Nosler Accubond 168gr LR, which seems to be shooting quite well.

Keep with the Creedmoor for a while, I reckon, and if you are really hating it then sure have a look at bigger options. Creedmoor is much nicer to shoot than the magnums. Where are you moving in the South Island?

Probably, if you are limited to factory ammo options, then 7mm RM might be the go. The 300 win mag also has quite a few ammo options, but I would recommend trying a 30 cal magnum before you buy one. Its a big step up in recoil from a Creed. Not such an issue if you reload though, which is where the 30 cals come into their own a bit more.

Some great advice here. 7 rem or prc would be a good option. I stepped up to a 300wm because of the decent variety of factory ammo. Hard to argue with a 180 clipping along at 3k. Not needed, but wanted to try it out.
What was a game changer for me was the dpt suppressor brake combo. Not obnoxious like a brake, cut the recoil pulse right back. Works well on my rem mag too. But when I pull a rifle out the safe for a mixed country hunt it's often a 270.
Good luck.

Wanting to stay with factory ammo for the ease. The hand loading road is a deep hole i'm not ready for yet

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