Bought the cart, now need the horse

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Dave2

New member
Bought a Savage Axis 2 in 6mm ARC to mess with and thin the deer and varmint population(we don't save fur) with and am wondering what the brain trust here would suggest for factory ammunition.

Basically want to be fire forming factory loads for reloading in the future so I wish to stay with one manufacturer. What would be the suggestion for a hand load?

Shots will be no farther than 2oo yards for both deer and yotes in the wooded rolling terrain of north central MO.

Also what would be a good scope suggestion for this combination?

TIA, Dave
 
First thing that hits me with your parameters, you can hold on fur for all your shots so fancy reticles aren't needed. I'd look for something with a large FOV and a bold reticle for fast target acquisition.

I really like the 1.5-6x40/42/44mm scopes. I have them with German #1, Circle dot w/ill. dot, German #4 w/ ill. dot and a duplex.

Looking for a really compact scope, the Leupold VX-3 1.5-5x20mm is really nice, my nephew has one on his 243 and loves it for called coyotes and deer in the thicker stuff. I use a number of Leupold 1-4x20's on my combo guns and have no problem with coyotes out to 300 yards.

Two years ago I started playing with a 2-12x42mm scope for an open country coyote hunting scope and liked it enough to buy a second one. It has BDC reticle and will take me to 500 yards (as far as I can hit a coyote) yet has the FOV on the bottom end for close in work.

Just some thoughts

I did test one of the newer Tactical style 1-6x24 scope but the reticle was not very friendly to me, it just had a center circle and while it looked like it should be fast I had a hard time centering a coyote with out having the horizontal bars.

I can't help you with ammo, but if your not saving fur I'd look at a good deer bullet and use it for everything.
 
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I'll second that 1-6x42/44! The top end falls into the 7mm exit pupal for max light gathering at top power. 6x IMO is also plenty for the range you mentioned. As far as factory ammo goes, take your pick! I myself would try to stay on the cheap side if reloading was my main goal.
 
I run a Vortex strike eagle 1-8 on my ARC and for 2-300 and in it is PERFECT! Certainly go with your LVPO of choice. Only ammo ive shot is the Hornady Match 108gr. Shoots right at 1 MOA in my 18" proof barrel. Its the only ammo on the shelf in my area... NOT fur friendly!
 
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If strictly a hunting rifle, a 3x9 or 2.5x10 should be plenty. As for ammo, in todays market, buy what you can get. You won't know what your rifle likes until you try a few different types. Then stock up.
 
I like the compromise of a 3.5x10 Leupold A.O., 3x12 Old Burris Signature with the light collector, and a multitude of 3x9's with duplex's. A leupold 2x8 is a bonus if you can find a used one at a decent price, along with a Leupold 2x7, but they are rare as chicken lips. In some of the more open shooting, I used a Leupold 4x14, a Weaver Steel light 4x12, and one of my favorite scopes of all time, a Bushnell 4200 in 4x16 with 40 and 50mm front objectives.

I usually by all of these scopes second or third hand if they have a life time warranty.

The Terrain you hunt in varies greatly amongst all of us. Also, hand and eye coordination varies greatly from shooter to shooter and if you have not been an avid shotgun shooter, AWS's advise in having a scope with a HUGE field of view is a critical thing to remember. When coyotes are within 15 yards of you, flying in at warp speed, it is nice to be able to find them in the scope.
 
Ive only necked down Starline and Lapua Grendel Brass. Factory has been expensive. I use Leverevolution and BLC2 to shoot 95 grain SSTs out of mine. I bought 600 of them. I think any heavier and you lose too much speed.
I run a Leupold 3-9x40 on mine to keep the weight down.
 
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