which cartridge for long range?

A

ajax

Regular
Rating - 100%
29   0   0
Location
regina, sask
which magnum cartridge would you guys pick for long range shooting? it has to be a magnum because the action i will getting is a long action mag bolt face. what are your reasons? i am looking for the most accuracy at really long range! i all ready have .308's and they are great, but for really long range they just dont cut it.
thanks.
 
The heavy 284, 308 and 338 match bullets have some impressive numbers. If you have an accurate rifle - an utterly ESSENTIAL component of long-range shooting - then a cartridge that will push these is good.

I would personally choose a heavy 30 right now, but the new Berger 338 300 grain bullet has some out-of-this-planet ballistic coefficient numbers. For your gun a 340 Weatherby, or a 338 Edge would do the trick to push those. The 338 Lapua Magnum likely won't work if you have a standard magnum bolt face.
 
thanks guys, i am not interested in the 338 lapua as its too expensive for anything and everything nowadays! i have looked at the 7mm's and heard that they are great, but alot of people say that their barrels are gone after 800-1000 rounds at least pinpoint accuracy! so i am looking at the the 30 cals now?!
 
I was kicking around the idea of a 300 RUM shooting 240 SMKs.. But I decided to go with a 338 Edge..for now( My buddy has dies and what not for it).. I think I will AI it when I get funds for new comp dies and such...
 
I think the edge has more than enough horsepower to lob 338's nicely, and as I hate belted cases, I would prefer one over the belted variants. Rick at ATRS has built several outstanding Edges.
 
Obtunded said:
I think the edge has more than enough horsepower to lob 338's nicely, and as I hate belted cases, I would prefer one over the belted variants. Rick at ATRS has built several outstanding Edges.
Click to expand...

Rick Built mine Cant say enough about it
CabinSeptember2009104.jpg
 
Lots of long range comps were won with the 300 Win Mag. It is said it shouldn't be accurate because of the short neck.. but it sure does seem to work well.
 
I use both the .338 Edge and .300 Win at long range. The .338 will cut your .308's wind drift in half, and deliver about the same energy at 1000 as the .308 does at the muzzle. Well, maybe not quite, but it's fun to say.:D
I seldom shoot the Edge closer than 600 meters anymore.
 
7WSM, 7RM - 9 twist and the 180gr Bergers. Will keep up with every other cannon at 1 mile.

The 300WM and 210 Bergers and 208 Amax are a wonderful combo but recoil is that much more and ballistics are not as good as the 7mm/180 combo.

As for barrel life, ALL of these magnums are going to eat barrels much faster then your 308 or equivalent. For best accuracy, think 1000rds. for min of evil boulder, you can likely double that.

If barrel life is important, take one of your 308's and convert to a 6.5 Mystic or 260 improved and live happily ever after.

Or if you want something even less money to shoot, the 6BR...

You no longer need a cannon to have fun at extreme distances. You just need accurate rigs pushing accurate barrels that don't mind going subsonic. Then you need ALOT of elevation in your optics.

I had no problem keeping up with a 338LM at 1450yds this summer using my 223 and 80gr Amax. I just had to lean into the winds a whole lot more :)

Jerry
 
The 300 Win mag is the winningest 1000 yard cartridge going.

I agree that the 180 Berger is a great bullet - Incredible in fact, but building a gun to shoot ONE bullet type is a bit of a crap shoot. It stands alone in its class, and there are plenty of instances where a particular gun just doesn't want to work with a particular bullet; a lack of "Plan-B" in the ultra slick 7mm's makes me cringe. I would go bigger in this case. it is one of the big problems with the heavy 224 bullets as well. Building a .223 to shoot the 90 bergers is an expensive gamble.

If you are talking about a factory gun, it doesn't really matter. the gun will never be as good as the potential accuracy of the cartridge anyway. If you are talking factory ammo, it really really doesn't matter.
 
ajax said:
which magnum cartridge would you guys pick for long range shooting? it has to be a magnum because the action i will getting is a long action mag bolt face. what are your reasons? i am looking for the most accuracy at really long range! i all ready have .308's and they are great, but for really long range they just dont cut it.
thanks.
Click to expand...

You did not define what you think really long range is. It would be prudent to determine this as some guys figger 1000 yards IS long range and others of us know that is a nice place to start thinking it is long range.

Also to define the purpose would help. Paper dies really easy so the little calibers that some have suggested will work, but if the paln is to kill game at real long range then they are useless.

High BC bullets are wonderful, but HEAVY high BC bullets are the king at long range when killing something is the plan.

Also heavy bullets are far less of a problem to get windage corrections on as they get blown around a lot less than light bullets will. In my opinion it takes alot more skill to shoot real long range with the lighter calibers as they are not nearly as predictable as the heavy bullets tend to be.
Shooting 338 and up at truly long distance is pretty easy, 308 and lower takes more time to learn the skill of doping the wind.
 
Obtunded said:
The 300 Win mag is the winningest 1000 yard cartridge going.

I agree that the 180 Berger is a great bullet - Incredible in fact, but building a gun to shoot ONE bullet type is a bit of a crap shoot. It stands alone in its class, and there are plenty of instances where a particular gun just doesn't want to work with a particular bullet; a lack of "Plan-B" in the ultra slick 7mm's makes me cringe. I would go bigger in this case. it is one of the big problems with the heavy 224 bullets as well. Building a .223 to shoot the 90 bergers is an expensive gamble.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more!!
Leaving yourself the option of an alternate bullet is only smart. As hard as we try to ensure that a given rifle is designed to shoot a specific bullet, there are no guarantees that it will do as we plan.
Building a rifle for a specific intent is a good plan, but to build 1 on the hopes that all will work is foolish. Going with a bigger caliber and specing a barrel with the intent to shoot a specific bullet can work, but sometimes the best laid plans need to be revisited as in the end it is the rifle itself that determines which bullet it will shoot the best.
In my experience the bigger calibers are more forgiving than smaller calibers. Why I do not know, just what I have found. YMMV
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom