help me decide on a long range build

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Hey folks. I am hoping you can point me in the right direction to build a long range rifle. Just starting to get into the "long range" shooting. What are the main cartridges i should look at? Actions? Barrels? Trigger? Scope?

It will be a mostly custom gun so i would like some input to point me in the right direction

I would like to be able to shoot 1000m+. I know it will take a lot of practice and then some more practice and then a lot more.

So have at it folks.
 
going to shoot competitions? what's your budget?

6.5 like .260, 6.5x47, 6.5 Creedmoor are popular if you want a short action rifle for competitions out to 1000

any of the big barrel makers will be good, I recommend benchmark because of the excellent customer service from the Canadian distributor but bartlein, kreiger, shilen, broughton, brux to name a few can also make an excellent barrel

Remington action or Remington clone to allow you the most amount of accessories like mounts, stocks, trigger etc

Vortex scopes are gaining huge market share because of the value of the product and the awesome lifetime warranty. Even if YOU are at fault they replace it. Drop it down the side of mountain...its covered. Generally straight up swap no questions asked.

timney trigger or tuned factory 3 screw can work just as well

stocks? MDT is Canadian and makes a awesome chasis, McMillan or Manners for a traditional fiberglass stock. Their are tonnes of good stock choices out their. Most can be had in Canada one way or another


budget and intended use are everything when deciding on a build so really more info is needed
 
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If you want a cost effective learning rifle to start into long range, get a 260. Berger makes a 140gr hybrid that has a BC of 618, they offer fantastic ballistics for decent cost. BC618 is only a smidge behind 7mm and you need to go to minimum 200gr 30cal bullet to match it, unless you go magnum, you're long range performance would suffer greatly.
The 140's will stay supersonic beyond 1400 yds and recoil is mild enough you can track your own shots.

As far as actions go depends on how deep your pockets are, I built my entire LR rifle for less than the cost of a Barnard action and I'm getting consistant 1/2 MOA or less.

Any of the name brand barrels are excellent, so if you have a favorite, go for it! Otherwise just pick whichever is available at the time.

Sightron makes an excellent scope, any of the S3 series at your preferred magnification is fine; just watch that as u go up in magnification, your elevation travel suffers, the 6-24 has 100MOA of travel and the 8-32 has 75MOA.

If budget is no issue; get yourself a 338 Lapua with a 1x9 twist barrel and shoot 300smks.

Your best bet though, do your research and get what YOU want, you're going to get a lot of opinions, and they will be good, but in the end it's what YOU want that matters most.
 
Thats a pretty broad question there. With the right set up, almost any cartridge will get there. There are even guys taking 223's that far. Are you looking to shoot f class or shoot steel at a grand? Budget? Do you reload? Since you said it will be a custom build, the possibilities are endless. Without narrowing it down a bit I cant offer too much advice.

As a newer 'long range" shooter myself, my current build I'm working on is:
Remington 700 action
Shilen #7 contour select match barrel chambered in 7mm rem mag
Bell and Carlson A5 stock
Timney 510 trigger
Vortex viper pst 6-24x50 FFP

I'm a full time student so I don't have a lot of money to pump into building rifles so its kind of a budget build. There is a wealth of knowledge on here so I'm sure someone can help you out.

Good luck and welcome to CGN.
 
Short answer - since I have typed all this out in detail many times here before - is:

Remington action,
Match grade barrel
Timney tigger ( Jewel is better but for staring Timney is just fine )
Bell and Carlson stock - awesome value. MDT Tac 21 - very cool. AICS 2.0 - excellent. McMillian - obvious
Sightron Siii - best value in good glass

.308 - always good choice
.223 - cheaper to feed but finicky with heavier pills
.260 - likely best bet for what you think you want

Gunsmith - you choose. Juanvaldez who has already posted here is a good choice.
 
Thanks guys. Budget is not really an issue, but still don't need to go overboard.

I'm looking to the long action cartridges. Mostly because I do own a number of rifles from 30-06 down. Looking for something bigger. Don't know if I want to step up to the .338. Probably be between the 7mm and .300. Or if someone had a good argument for something else I would be all ears.
 
If you need a good argument, re-read my post on the 140 berger hybrids!

Or go 7RSAUM in a long action and chamber for 180bergers, you will need the long action to seat those bullets out past the neck/shoulder junction and feed and extract loaded rounds.

This is your step before a 338 without going down to a 260 (6.5mm) unless you go 30 Ultra mag or 30-338Lapua mag and shoot the heavy (200gr+) 30cal bullets.

To sum it up, if 6.5mm is too wimpy for you then go 7RSAUM or 30 Ultra mag
 
I have a savage 12 in 243 that shoots 95 grain bullets and will stabilize them. Loads of 6mm bullets available with good ballistics. I haven't done it yet but I want a Lss mdt chassis. I have a sightRon s3 which is great for the distances I want to shoot.
 
juanvaldez said:
going to shoot competitions? what's your budget?

6.5 like .260, 6.5x47, 6.5 Creedmoor are popular if you want a short action rifle for competitions out to 1000

any of the big barrel makers will be good, I recommend benchmark because of the excellent customer service from the Canadian distributor but bartlein, kreiger, shilen, broughton, brux to name a few can also make an excellent barrel

Remington action or Remington clone to allow you the most amount of accessories like mounts, stocks, trigger etc

Vortex scopes are gaining huge market share because of the value of the product and the awesome lifetime warranty. Even if YOU are at fault they replace it. Drop it down the side of mountain...its covered. Generally straight up swap no questions asked.

timney trigger or tuned factory 3 screw can work just as well

stocks? MDT is Canadian and makes a awesome chasis, McMillan or Manners for a traditional fiberglass stock. Their are tonnes of good stock choices out their. Most can be had in Canada one way or another


budget and intended use are everything when deciding on a build so really more info is needed
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This^^^^^^
 
Bigger is not always better. I have a 6.5X55 Swede and am working on a 284 Winchester build. These are considered small by many people's standards, but will easily make the 1000m mark and beyond. If you pick a good high BC bullet, push it at reasonable speeds with a rifle that fits you well and doesn't beat you up too bad on recoil it will perform at these distances with no trouble at all. The rest is up to you, good reloading practices, body position behind the rifle, reading the wind, understanding your bullets trajectory, etc are all part of the learning curve.
 
Willybuch said:
If budget is no issue... 7mm-300 wm. I mean if you are serious about getting in to long range but I guess that kind of defeats the not going overboard...
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I run one of these and really like it. 180 Bergers at 3130fps. Unless you go to a rum case your not really going to beat it until your into the lapua or .408 based cases.

Another option in the 6.5's is the 6.5-06. I get 140 bergers just under 3000 with a 24 inch barrel and 150 matrix at 2940 with a 26 inch tube and they stay supersonic well past 1000 yards.
 
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I agree with most here. Personal experiences include:
> .260 built on a Surgeon 591, 21-3/4" Krieger 8-twist, AICS 2.0, shooting 142 SMK's
> straight .284 built on a Rem 700 LA, 26" Gaillard 9-twist, MCM A-3, shooting 168 VLD's & 171 Barnes Burners. I had worked on 180 Hybrids to go further but haven't completed that task yet.

All the above have been reliably out just past 1200 with excellent & predictable accuracy - both off a Harris bipod. The .260 does struggle noticeably more than the .284 in the wind but it keeps me on my game!:D

Rooster
 
This thread is right up my ally as I am new and have been told a Remington 700 would be a goud foundation to build off of, is there a distributor or business that anyone can recommend that carry long range parts such as those suggested in this thread, I was looking at a 7mm or a 6.5 x 47. I can feel the gun building butterflies in my tummie.
 
Gary Eakin Big Horn Sales

thereamerguy@yahoo.ca


Remisteel said:
This thread is right up my ally as I am new and have been told a Remington 700 would be a goud foundation to build off of, is there a distributor or business that anyone can recommend that carry long range parts such as those suggested in this thread, I was looking at a 7mm or a 6.5 x 47. I can feel the gun building butterflies in my tummie.
Click to expand...
 
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This is what I wanted to hear thanks to the OP for the thread and thanks to the knowledgeable fellas for adding there knowledge :)
 
Thanks for the input folks. But I do not really know anything about long range "stuff"thats why i am asking. Why are most of you suggesting short action cartridges? Just curious, by all means tell me what i do not know.
 
Check out Gunwerks. Do it all for you. Tons of videos so even if you don't buy one, you can learn a lot about long range shooting. Custom build =5k, same as a top of the line Sako . Add the nightforce top of the line scope scope =3k. Setup and custom turret, fully tested and broken in. etc. Etc. 10k all in.
Great deal if you can get past sticker shock.
Others will scoff at the price but it's 1000 yds right of the box. Only works if you want to take some shortcuts. Ask most guys and they will end up paying that in the end after you test different loads, bullets, powders
, try different calibers etc. Gunwerks already has a fully tested loads developed that they will share with you.
 
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