What is the best short action rifle cartridge?

What is the best short action cartridge is a question that most hunters have asked at one point, in this video, we use data to compare several of the most popular cartridges to finally answer the question - What is the best short action rifle cartridge?
00:30 - Cartridge requirements
01:42 - Cartridges being evaluated
02:52 - Comparing the cartridges with a baseline Nosler Partition
09:37 - Cartridge trajectory with baseline Nosler Partition
12:50 - Initial cuts to top 3
17:50 - How do the top 3 stack up with a high BC bullet?
25:45 - Final Decision
When it comes to looking at the best short action cartridge, we are evaluating several rounds including the 6mm Creedmoor, 243 Winchester, 257 Roberts, 257 AI, 260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, .308 Winchester, .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester. All of these rounds have great capabilities, but for us it ultimately comes down to how well we can expect to have hunting performance on game up to Mule Deer size out to 400 yards. While any of these can be successful, we evaluated the ballistic coefficient, sectional density, and muzzle velocity of the 6mm Creedmoor, 243 Winchester, 257 Roberts, 257 AI, 260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, .308 Winchester, .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester to identify which provides the best maximum point blank range (MPBR), best cross wind performance, and holds energy the best.
While the 6mm Creedmoor, 243 Winchester, 257 Roberts, 257 AI, 260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, .308 Winchester, .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester are all great hunting rounds, the .338 Federal and .358 Winchester lack the trajectory compared to other rounds we evaluated. The 6mm Creedmoor and 243 Winchester lack the frontal area relative to the other rounds and don't provide enough trajectory improvement to make up the difference. The 257 Roberts and 257 AI lack availability to take the top spot, but are definitely contenders. And the 260 Remington is too close to the 6.5 Creedmoor, but falls short on velocity. This means our comparison ultimately means we need to look at the 6.5 Creedmoor vs 7mm-08 vs 308 win.
When we compare the 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, and 308 win we see that the rounds stack up very close on velocity and trajectory when using traditional hunting bullets such as the Nosler Partition. When we also evaluate using Hornady's factory ELDX we discover the efficiency gains of using the 6.5 Creedmoor compared to the 7mm-08 and .308 Winchester. We talk through the effect of bullet diameter, bullet profile, and sectional density play to help achieving ballistic coefficient as well.
Ultimately, we find that the conversation comes down to the 6.5 Creedmoor vs the .308 Winchester and we choose the 6.5 Creedmoor based on its slightly improved trajectory, ability to use high BC bullets while maintaining a solid trajectory, and overall availability. None of the three top cartridges are choices to shy away from.

[@ashleystien4121]

Great discussion, and the eye candy that is the host doesn’t hurt either!

[@blackie1of4]

All of those mentioned are perfect for whitetail inside 300 yards! When you head past 300.. a magnum would be a better choice.. my opinion That being said.. most game is harvested inside 200 yards.. with the majority inside 75 yards.. at least in the north east! There are the field shots.. and ridge shots.. but most hunting is in the woods here. My personal favorite is the 7mm-08.. but I've used the 358 Winchester as well! My 358 Winchester is my dedicated black bear rifle.. and I rotate rifles hunting whitetail. I've used the 303 British.. the 30-06; Springfield.. the 7mm-08.. the 350 Remington Mag.. the 350 legend and the 358 Winchester.. and the results were very similar 😊 Great video

[@franm1999]

Your evaluation approach and criteria are spot on. Especially picking bullet designs with very close sectional densities. Well done!

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Thanks for the compliments!

[@erikwilson7622]

Of all the short actions and long actions I have, hands down my all time fav is the 300 WSM. About as much power as you can get in a working man's short action, is highly efficient when reloading, and changes impact very little between 130's up to 180's. And for some reason it is very lethal.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

130s in a 300 WSM have to be blazing!

[@danielbryant8185]

I'll stop at the 7-08 thank you.

[@chipsterb4946]

The argument he used to eliminate the 7mm-08 is exactly why I choose it. With the higher BC bullet it has a flatter trajectory than the 6.5 Creedmoor. A 140 grain bullet performs near the top compared to the others, yet a 150 does even better in terms of trajectory, retained velocity and retained energy down range. If you want to go up to a 162 grain bullet, that is still well within the optimal performance envelope for the cartridge. 175 grains is GTG in a .308 but going heavier you’re starting to push that envelop and your rifle’s twist rate may come into play. And all other things being equal, I want a heavier bullet.

[@JAC8504]

338 fed with 200 grain sst is pretty spectacular on whitetail. .250 SD /.455 BC, large frontal area, larger weight/ mass. very interesting if not shooting past 300 yards

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Totally - the big frontal area is really underrated when longer range shots aren’t needed. I think that’s part of what makes some of the straight wall cartridges so potent for whitetail in the states that have that restriction.

[@benschanbacher8773]

Nice video. Just ordered a Howa 1500 barreled action in 6.5 Creedmoor earlier today for a build.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Awesome! What are you planning to use for a stock and optics?

[@benschanbacher8773]

I'm using a Southern Cross Small Arms chassis. Not set on an optic yet. It's a compact 16 inch build to go with my suppressor.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

That sounds like a sweet build!

[@REDNECKROOTS]

Them howas are hard to beat. One of the last hunting rifles that is built the old school way. With a real recoil lugs and square flat bottom actions . None of that round barstock cost cutting bs design. .

[@chipsterb4946]

I really like your approach. Clear criteria, reasonable constraints, and using sectional density to choose “comparable” bullets. One factor you don’t mention at all though is barrel length. Most data for 6.5 CM and 7mm-08 uses a 24” barrel, while .308 typically shows a 22” barrel. It’s just an impression and I want facts, but it seems like .308 continues to perform well down to an 18” barrel. Anecdotally, Frank Bartlein prefers a 20” barrel for .308. However, 6.5 Creedmoor appears to really need that full 24” barrel. 7mm-08 appears to be in the middle (again) here. This doesn’t matter on the bench or in wide open country, but where I live there a lot of scenarios where a barrel 4” shorter would be much better just for moving around quietly.

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Really good point on barrel length - I didn’t want to get too deep into the rifle optimization side of things in this video, BUT I am planning to take the 6.5 creedmoor from this video and the 280AI from the long action cartridge video I did and make a true head to head “best mountain rifle” video.

[@chipsterb4946]

@@stienfamilyoutdoors what barrel length would you recommend for a 280 Ackley Improved hunting rifle?

[@ronlowney4700]

🕵‍♂ The 277 Sig Fury Factory Ammunition Meets Your "Short Action Requirements" and Can Push a 150 grain Nosler Accubond Bullet to 3,120 ft/s From a 24" Barrel, as Listed on the Ammunition Box I Have See on the Shelf Here! 🔥 Now, Finding the Rifle May Be a Bit Harder? 🤷‍♂

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

The lack of mainstream availability is what stopped me. And when it is doing something so radically different, it makes it hard to compare without doing a talk specifically about that cartridge.

[@REDNECKROOTS]

308 shines w a 150grain projectile. Really pulls away forr hunting situations in the timber. These 150s going 2980 ish fps pancake whitetail

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Totally - I helped a buddy develop some 130 grain TTSX loads for his 308 win. Makes for an awesome load for a deer rifle!

[@REDNECKROOTS]

​@@stienfamilyoutdoorshells yea. Ya can push them 130s up into 300win mag velocity relm

[@ronlowney4700]

🕵‍♂ It Appears That You Have Completely Skipped The Short/Fat Cartridges in Your "Short Action" and "Long Action" (Should Be "Standard Action", As the "Long Action" is For Big Magnum Cartridges Like the 416 Remington Magnum ) Videos - Like the 277 Sig Fury, 270 wsm, 6.8 Western, etc...? Why? 🤔

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

That’s fair - I’ve always used the terms standard, long, and magnum length for actions. But subbing long for standard makes sense. Just trying to limit the number of rifles talked about by focusing in on families of cartridges versus the whole lot of them - thanks for watching!

[@chipsterb4946]

“How heavy is that bullet relative to its diameter?” Sectional density FTFY This is a good example where using “caliber” correctly instead of “cartridge” makes a difference. /OCD off/ 🤪

[@stienfamilyoutdoors]

Thank you! I always try to use the correct words because it absolutely makes a difference - missed this one!