one of the guys I generally hunted deer with back in Florida , recently called
asking for advice.
I told him what Ill post now, its a knowledge of the games anatomy and your ability for consistent and precise shot placement that is critical to getting good results,
its your ability to get in close and shoot accurately in a limited time frame that more important that the rifle you use!
he recently purchased a Swedish Mauser someone had sporterized , but before he acquired it.
he wanted to know if it was large and powerful enough to use on deer?
I almost laughed, because a 6.5mm Mauser, with the proper ammo, would be lethal on even elk or bears,
your ability to make precise shots for lethal shot placement and a knowledge of the games anatomy far exceeds any consideration of
power alone and is more important to your success than any increase power in any hunting rifle, if you can't shoot it well.
everyone has a recoil tolerance limit, EXAMPLE,
I can shoot a 340 wby or 375 H&H very accurately, without thinking about recoil,
but have to concentrate more with a 378 wby or 458 LOTT than the power increase is worth in a hunting rifle ,in my opinion
I have to point out that a 270 Winchester, 308 win or 30/06, or ideally a 358 win or 35 whelen caliber rifle are well proven to be very lethal in the hands of a good shot so magnums are never required.
know your rifles limitations, and practice at 200 yards frequently from field positions, there's no bench rest available while hunting.
I assured him, that surplus Swedish Mausers a darn good option, if the rifle was accurate (most of them certainly are)
he was all set and had an excellent deer rifle
I just started laughing, simply because Ive seen a 6.5/55mm Mauser surplus rifle very effectively used to kill ELK,
and one of the guys I used to hunt with used a 257 roberts which is a bit less powerful to also kill elk on several hunts.
I remember when you could easily purchase surplus Swedish Mausers in great condition back in the early 1990s for about $160, and many people purchased them, as they were both accurate and generally cheaper and noticeably more effective and flatter shooting than your average 30.30 lever action.
the Swedish Mausers had earned a well deserved reputation as very effective deer rifles among the guys I hunted with, in fact several guys purchased and used them on elk hunts,
as a sporterized Swedish Mauser could be made into a very accurate,
and fairly light weight and low recoil hunting rifle are a very low price.
the swedish mausers use a .264 diam bullet, generally the 120-140 grain
the 257 roberts use a .257diam bullet, generally the 100-120 grain
either options going to make a very effective deer rifle ,
that will certainly kill elk in the hands of a good shot who knows elk anatomy
especially if he uses a premium bullet and limits shots to under 300 yards
one of the older guys who was one of my mentors used a bolt action 257 roberts, on several hunts, he said the key was to get a heart/lung shot at under 200-250 yards, and I know of at least two times that I helped him pack out elk he had killed with that rifle, infact it impressed me enough that I purchased a browning BLR in 257 roberts to use for deer hunts.
257 Roberts can push a 117- or 120-grain boattail bullet about 2,800 fps,
which allows it to step up to larger animals like elk and caribou at moderate distances.
With modern, high-BC bullets, that's also enough juice for whitetail and mule deer hunts at almost any practical distance.
now I'm certainly not suggesting having a bit of extra power and bullet weight won't help at times
some of the more successful hunters I know use a 358 win or 30/06 chambering in a BLR or a Remington 7600 slide action, 35 Whelan rifle
with 250 grain speer bullets, both of those rifles are devastatingly lethal in skilled hands out to 250-300 plus yards
and if you hunt where ELK tend to be in most timber/canyon country shots over 200 yards are very rare
asking for advice.
I told him what Ill post now, its a knowledge of the games anatomy and your ability for consistent and precise shot placement that is critical to getting good results,
its your ability to get in close and shoot accurately in a limited time frame that more important that the rifle you use!
he recently purchased a Swedish Mauser someone had sporterized , but before he acquired it.
he wanted to know if it was large and powerful enough to use on deer?
I almost laughed, because a 6.5mm Mauser, with the proper ammo, would be lethal on even elk or bears,
your ability to make precise shots for lethal shot placement and a knowledge of the games anatomy far exceeds any consideration of
power alone and is more important to your success than any increase power in any hunting rifle, if you can't shoot it well.
everyone has a recoil tolerance limit, EXAMPLE,
I can shoot a 340 wby or 375 H&H very accurately, without thinking about recoil,
but have to concentrate more with a 378 wby or 458 LOTT than the power increase is worth in a hunting rifle ,in my opinion
I have to point out that a 270 Winchester, 308 win or 30/06, or ideally a 358 win or 35 whelen caliber rifle are well proven to be very lethal in the hands of a good shot so magnums are never required.
know your rifles limitations, and practice at 200 yards frequently from field positions, there's no bench rest available while hunting.
I assured him, that surplus Swedish Mausers a darn good option, if the rifle was accurate (most of them certainly are)
he was all set and had an excellent deer rifle
I just started laughing, simply because Ive seen a 6.5/55mm Mauser surplus rifle very effectively used to kill ELK,
and one of the guys I used to hunt with used a 257 roberts which is a bit less powerful to also kill elk on several hunts.
I remember when you could easily purchase surplus Swedish Mausers in great condition back in the early 1990s for about $160, and many people purchased them, as they were both accurate and generally cheaper and noticeably more effective and flatter shooting than your average 30.30 lever action.
the Swedish Mausers had earned a well deserved reputation as very effective deer rifles among the guys I hunted with, in fact several guys purchased and used them on elk hunts,
as a sporterized Swedish Mauser could be made into a very accurate,
and fairly light weight and low recoil hunting rifle are a very low price.
6.5×55mm Swedish - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
6.5x55 Swedish Mauser Review - Shooting Times
It's not much of a stretch to make a case for the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser being the best 6.5mm cartridge of them all.
www.shootingtimes.com
starting out looking for a decent hunting rifle for deer/elk
was asked by a young friend, whos looking to go on his first ELK hunt.... "if your starting over, and wanted a new ELK and DEER RIFLE, what would you buy and why?" no one here could realistically select , or even make an educated guess at the best rifle for your future hunts, without knowing...
garage.grumpysperformance.com
the swedish mausers use a .264 diam bullet, generally the 120-140 grain
the 257 roberts use a .257diam bullet, generally the 100-120 grain
either options going to make a very effective deer rifle ,
that will certainly kill elk in the hands of a good shot who knows elk anatomy
especially if he uses a premium bullet and limits shots to under 300 yards
one of the older guys who was one of my mentors used a bolt action 257 roberts, on several hunts, he said the key was to get a heart/lung shot at under 200-250 yards, and I know of at least two times that I helped him pack out elk he had killed with that rifle, infact it impressed me enough that I purchased a browning BLR in 257 roberts to use for deer hunts.
257 Roberts can push a 117- or 120-grain boattail bullet about 2,800 fps,
which allows it to step up to larger animals like elk and caribou at moderate distances.
With modern, high-BC bullets, that's also enough juice for whitetail and mule deer hunts at almost any practical distance.
now I'm certainly not suggesting having a bit of extra power and bullet weight won't help at times
some of the more successful hunters I know use a 358 win or 30/06 chambering in a BLR or a Remington 7600 slide action, 35 Whelan rifle
with 250 grain speer bullets, both of those rifles are devastatingly lethal in skilled hands out to 250-300 plus yards
and if you hunt where ELK tend to be in most timber/canyon country shots over 200 yards are very rare
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