Advice need on rifle cal and ammo selection for sheep hunt

[BradA]

I think you’ll be just fine. The most important thing (like you said) is to get comfortable with the gun and make sure it likes that round bc every gun is different. The good news is you have plenty of time to fine tune all that stuff and that’s 1/2 the fun.

I hope your trip is fantastic!

Thank you and I’m sure it will be.

 

[ThunderNocked]

I've now taken 6 Caribou which are a bigger and allegedely tougher animals - 4 with .280 Ackley Improved 140 Grain Nosler AccuBonds, 1 with 6.5 Creed Hornady 143 grain ELD-X and one with a .30-06 in a 165 grain variant (Nosler I believe). Ironically the smallest one I've shot was the one with the .30-06.
The 140 grain is a great bullet though I wanted to bump up a little myself to 150 or 160.
I would say that your choice will be more then adequate. If you wanted to try and trade up and had the money and availability you could but that bullet should do the job and do it well. I think you picked a good overall bullet.

Plus if gus like Bambi are saying your good they have alot more experience! Get it man! Hoping to get my first sheep this year myself!

 

[littlebighorn]

Congratulations on the sheep tag BradA. Having a sheep hunt to anticipate makes for an exciting time ahead.
I have shot sheep with calibers from 6.5 Creedmoor to 300WSM. They all died quickly and easily. This past year my son used my 28 Nosler shooting 177g Hammer Hunters to kill his oversized Wyoming Rocky. He only shot the 177's because that's the combination I built to hunt my elk later in the year and it shoots tiny little groups with them. His ram was one and done at 458 yards but it was probably overkill for sheep.
As has been previously stated, I would not hesitate to use a smaller projectile in your 28 (as long as it shoots well). You have to be able to hit it before you can kill it so that is what I would focus on.
Best of luck!

 

[Don Fischer]

Have never hunted sheep but they are skin and blood. Good bullet in the right spot kills. Up there you might run into grizzly also and the right bullet will handle that if needed. In my old 7mm mag I ended up settled on the 160gr Speer hot core and suspect it would be good in your rifle also if it shoot's well. I would avoid bullet's with plastic tips on any bullet except a pure varmint bullet or a monolithic bullet. Bullet's hit and the plastic tip has to go somewhere, my guess is into the bullet. In varmint bullet's one I use is a 75gr V-Max in a 243 and the bullet get's blown apart in my 243. If I were to feel the need of a monolithic bullet, it would also have the plastic tip, insures the tip of the bullet will open.

I've seen a lot of sheep in the Yukon driving to Alaska but they were mostly a long way off. Driving up to Prudoe Bay used to see a lot on toop of the Brooks Range before going down to the tundra. Gonna cost a pile of money to go up there and hunt sheep, I would not gamble on a 500yds shot. Sight in for MPBR at an 8" target them you sind your animal get withing 300 yds, hold at about the back bone and take the high persentage shot. In your rifle I would try the Speer Hot Core 160gr first but then that's the heaviest bullet I ever used in the old 7mm mag. Those hot core bullet's hold together really well. If you don't care for how they shoot, I'd try a bonded core bullet. Price goes up but this won't be a cheap hunt to begin with. perhaps in the rare instant you's have a problem with a grizzly, the mono bullet mght be a good call. At any rate the bullet should really be one that holds together well regardless the animal it's fired at. You could go to lighter faster bullet's but then I'd say your target area just might change. In a 7mm a 160gr bonded or 175gr bonded is likely going to give you all the penetration you need while maintaining weight to help penetration. Go mono and you could go lighter and still get the penetration with increased velocity and little if any weight loss. Actually in all honestly if I were shooting that 7mm you have about the only bullet I would use on anything would be a 160gr to 175gr and look at hot cores and bonded.

Your whole hunt is going to boil down to how well you place the bullet you choose! That 243 I spoke of above with the 75gr varmint bullet would kill a sheep very dead depending on how the shooter used it. I'm also certain the bullet's I don't like will do the same depending on how you use them.

 

[recurveman]

So here is the funny part. Guys get all fired up about the rifle and bullet for the hunt. Most any gun/bullet combo will kill a sheep. If you shoot a sheep with a .243 it will die really, really fast. The choice of bullet and gun is the least important part of the equation. Now with that said. The most important part is being able to operate the gun. Realize that shots up and down and the changes in elevation will change the point of impact of the bullet. Practice, practice, practice in all types of conditions. I've watched many guys miss with a 300 win mag and their bullet performed perfectly on a rock every time!!!!!!

 

[Salmonchaser]

Killed mine with an O6, Dad killed most of his with a .264/140s. You’ll be fine.

 

[BradA]

I've now taken 6 Caribou which are a bigger and allegedely tougher animals - 4 with .280 Ackley Improved 140 Grain Nosler AccuBonds, 1 with 6.5 Creed Hornady 143 grain ELD-X and one with a .30-06 in a 165 grain variant (Nosler I believe). Ironically the smallest one I've shot was the one with the .30-06.
The 140 grain is a great bullet though I wanted to bump up a little myself to 150 or 160.
I would say that your choice will be more then adequate. If you wanted to try and trade up and had the money and availability you could but that bullet should do the job and do it well. I think you picked a good overall bullet.

Plus if gus like Bambi are saying your good they have alot more experience! Get it man! Hoping to get my first sheep this year myself!

Do you have a hunt planned or are you looking forward to drawing a hunt ?

 

[ThunderNocked]

Do you have a hunt planned or are you looking forward to drawing a hunt ?

BradA - I'm trying to plan a couple hunts out. But we shall see. I'm hoping for some good news on Results Day - but if not I'm planning more hunting this year then last year for sure.

I am may set up a bear bait, and then Caribou and Moose I'll have some decent general plans.

As for sheep - I'm really concerned about our winter. Here in North Pole/Fairbanks it has been bad. So I've got a couple people who know more and are more knowledgeable I'm talking to about where would be some good places to avoid. Other then that - right now it is all just general planning for sheep.

 

[WesternRookie]

So I am going on a dall sheep hunt in 2022

Hi Brad,
Have you been on your hunt yet? How did it go? Pics? How did your 28 Nosler/150 gr bullet combo perform, or did you take something else?

 

[ThunderNocked]

Hope the snow storm didn't mess up your hunt @BradA !!!?
I'll be heading out next week - should be packing now but I'm working.

 

[Don Fischer]

So I am going on a dall sheep hunt in 2022 and have been planning the hunt and am planning on taking my Christensen arms summit TI 28 nosler with me. I have 200 rounds of factory ammo ready for it to be broken in, sighted in and practice and get familiar with it over the course of the next 7-8 months. During a discussion with a friend about what load and rifle I’m going to shoot he thought I was stupid to be shooting nosler e-tip 150 grain copper bullets in Alaska on sheep and that they will get sent to fast out of a 28 nosler and be unstable, and suggested I use a heavier 160-180 grain lead bullet. This now has me concerned if I made a mistake with purchasing this ammo for this rifle, for this hunt. Maybe I’m just getting in my head about it because of the hunt and it being once in a lifetime for me but what do you guys suggest and what is your advice on this rifle, round and load? Should I use a lead bullet? Is a 150 grain bullet to lite of a grain bullet for a 28 nosler? My barrel is a 1-9 twist barrel. Does anyone have this same rifle, and shoot 150 grain? Does anyone shoot 150 grain out of there 28 nosler? What’s your experience?

Lot of people with a differnt opinion that yours on everything think your opinion sucks! Pick a bullet you like and try for mid range weight. Mid range weight will hold down the velocity some gettin better bullet proformance and with better proformance you'll have more target options to aim at. You could use a 115gr bullet in your rifle and kill every sheep that ever walked. You'll really limited yourself on placement though! In my old 7x57 I used 154gr RN and it killed everything I ever shot at! My old 7mm Rem Mag I used 160gr Speer Hot Cores in and they never failed me. Probably either bullet would do for you. But, in the rifle you have I'd try the 154gr spire point before the RN

 

[BradA]

Hi Brad,
Have you been on your hunt yet? How did it go? Pics? How did your 28 Nosler/150 gr bullet combo perform, or did you take something else?

I ended up taking a 6.5 prc with 140 grain Berger bullet. It did well. I was able to kill my first ram on a tough year in Alaska.

 

[WesternRookie]

I ended up taking a 6.5 prc with 140 grain Berger bullet. It did well. I was able to kill my first ram on a tough year in Alaska.

Congratulations! Great ram!!

 

[BradA]

Congratulations! Great ram!!

Thank you

 

[geetar]

Very nice! @BradA I saw these photos on SG instagram page but didn’t realize it was you. Congrats man!

 

[BradA]

Very nice! @BradA I saw these photos on SG instagram page but didn’t realize it was you. Congrats man!

Thank you sir!

 

[ThunderNocked]

I ended up taking a 6.5 prc with 140 grain Berger bullet. It did well. I was able to kill my first ram on a tough year in Alaska.

Congratulations! That is fantastic! As I am still in the 0 Ram Club I'm not jealous at all HAHA.

Congrats looks like a great trip.

 

[BradA]

Congratulations! That is fantastic! As I am still in the 0 Ram Club I'm not jealous at all HAHA.

Congrats looks like a great trip.

Thank you it truly was

 

[JColony]

Congrats!!!!!

 

[buffybr]

Congrats on your ram! I killed my bighorn rams lower down in timbered country, but my Dall ram was in the high alpine tundra like where you killed your ram. I just love hunting in that country.