Thread: Insight / Discussion RE magnum calibres for mountain rifle

Hey team,

I'm basically a self taught hunter and still (and always will) have a lot to learn in all areas.

I'm currently shooting a nice Carbonlight 7mm mag with a big 3-18 VX6HD scope. This has been a fantastic rifle, I really like it. Smacked a variety of quality animals over the last while. Max I have stretched this out to is 410yards, this is my longest shot in all the years I have been hunting. The rifle weighs 3.8KG scoped and is fitted with a muzzel brake.

I'm doing a lot more hunting on the coast which involves more close quater action. I'm regularly backpack hunting for at least a week doing some pretty serious miles and obviously every gram counts.

I seem to think that a 7mm mag setup like this is a bit overkill. I have recently missed 2 big bull tahr on the coast when doing a standing shot in the scrub, still haunts me. The rifle felt a bit big / awkward to use for these situations.

I have been considering something like a 260 or 6.5CM as a more of a light weight package with a smaller scope, possibly a VX3. This would weigh around 3.1kg scoped. I don't want to suppress the rifle as I would be lucky to shoot one round on a trip.

Surely a 143gr proj (out of a 6.5) compared to a 162gr eldx running similar FPS will not make much of a difference if the max I'm shooting out to is around 500?

Excuse my ignorance, any insight would be welcome. Thought I'd bounce my thoughts to those who are experienced with different calibres and their potential.

Here's a cool photo from just prior to the whole valley being devastated by gunships