500 yards with a .308? possible?

When I was in the cadets way back in the 60s in Ottawa they would take us out to the Connaught rifle range to shoot the FN
C2s. One time while shooting the 500yd butts the Bisley team was out there shooting as well. They were shooting 303 back then and had irons on the guns. Nobody had a scoped gun.
 
All this advice is spot on but reading all this I thought I was in the precison forum, not hunting. I wonder how the OP feels about walking in the bush with a 18 lbs target rifle??? I ask cause I've done it and it sucks.
 
Never said it wouldn't.
That said (bullet performance wise) the 308 win goes to sleep at about 500 yards.

Loaded to the max the slipperiest 308Win bullets cross the 500 yard mark at just over 1800fps...Hardly stellar for bullet expansion wouldn't you agree?

Choose the wrong bullet and a modest load and I guarantee a pinhole in the animal. A 180 Hornady spire point leaving at 2600fps will do just that 500 yards out.

The 300Win and a 200gr Accubond holds 2200fps which is well inside the performance envelope of most modern bullets.

Doesn't that make it a better 500 yards selection?

I have two long range hunting rigs and have killed pretty much anything with my 308 that my 300 win could. Like I said early in the page dropped a whitey at 550 this year with my 308. oviously you don't do alot of hunting, because bullet placement is how animimals are dropped not FPS. Most match 308 rounds are consistant to about 1150 yards and after that start to tumble.

I will reiterate I can kill anything with my 308 I can with my 300, but than again each rifle is worth a small fortune and not average hunting rigs.
 
Long range shooters have accurately shot the .308 up to and beyond 1 mile.

You are gonna need to back that statement up with some facts. A typical .308 will cross the sonic barrier at around 1000 yds which leaves an awfully long way for the bullet to travel at subsonic velocity to get to a mile.

As anyone can tell you, wind drift becomes a major problem once velocities drop below the speed of sound. As well there are potential stability issues involved.

I have never met anyone who has claimed to have shot a .308 accurately to a mile .... in fact I have never met anyone who has even claimed to have shot a .308 to a mile. There are much better choices out there for that kind of distance.

FWIW I have shot beyond a mile and it generally requires fairly specialized equipment and a lot of experience and knowledge.
 
I have two long range hunting rigs and have killed pretty much anything with my 308 that my 300 win could. Like I said early in the page dropped a whitey at 550 this year with my 308. oviously you don't do alot of hunting, because bullet placement is how animimals are dropped not FPS. Most match 308 rounds are consistant to about 1150 yards and after that start to tumble.

I will reiterate I can kill anything with my 308 I can with my 300, but than again each rifle is worth a small fortune and not average hunting rigs.

I'm not sure what to say here???
So.... I will try to take the the high road.
I think you need to re-read my posts.

Given the same resistance (meat) impact velocity is what makes the bullets expand.
Once a bullet drops below the velocity that will expand a bullet it will not expand unless it hits heavy bone.
Place a 1500fps bullet square in the heart and all you will get is a .308 pinhole.

Perhaps you are not satisfied with my explanation?
Fine, phone Barnes, Hornady, Nosler, Berger, and any other bullet manufacturer you can suggest. They will all tell you the same thing I am.
You need 1800-2000fps to reliably expand a bullet.
Bergers more like 1800 and Hornady 2000fps.

Still think I'm out to lunch?
http://www.bergerbullets.com/Cartridges/30%20Cal/308%20Win/308%20Win%20-%20Hunting.html

Here is an excerpt for you.

Another consideration to make is lethality. Which bullets are most lethal on game? Berger VLD bullets penetrate several inches of tissue and then rapidly expand and fragment inside the animal’s vitals. This behavior is reliable down to impact speeds of 1800 fps. The lethality of a bullet impact is proportional to its impact velocity and the mass of the bullet (bigger and faster is better). According to the lethality chart for the 308 Winchester, the heavier bullets are lethal on all sizes of game at longer ranges than lighter bullets. The reason is because the heavy bullets retain their velocity better, and have more mass. The result is a higher energy, and more lethal impact.

You might be able to hit the animal at 700 yards with your 308, but you won't likely ever recover it.
 
Y'know, I just knew someone would comment on that... It was shorter and simpler than "parabola". :)

lol they actually dont parabola either :p Mr. Newton would still be unhappy :p

they just drop lol never rise, straight of of barrel and only down from there
 
There is a gentleman on here that shoots the .223 out to a mile accurately. And if you do a little research on google, you will find some interesting facts on what some have accomplished.


You are gonna need to back that statement up with some facts. A typical .308 will cross the sonic barrier at around 1000 yds which leaves an awfully long way for the bullet to travel at subsonic velocity to get to a mile.

As anyone can tell you, wind drift becomes a major problem once velocities drop below the speed of sound. As well there are potential stability issues involved.

I have never met anyone who has claimed to have shot a .308 accurately to a mile .... in fact I have never met anyone who has even claimed to have shot a .308 to a mile. There are much better choices out there for that kind of distance.

FWIW I have shot beyond a mile and it generally requires fairly specialized equipment and a lot of experience and knowledge.
 
You are gonna need to back that statement up with some facts. A typical .308 will cross the sonic barrier at around 1000 yds which leaves an awfully long way for the bullet to travel at subsonic velocity to get to a mile.

As anyone can tell you, wind drift becomes a major problem once velocities drop below the speed of sound. As well there are potential stability issues involved.

I have never met anyone who has claimed to have shot a .308 accurately to a mile .... in fact I have never met anyone who has even claimed to have shot a .308 to a mile. There are much better choices out there for that kind of distance.

FWIW I have shot beyond a mile and it generally requires fairly specialized equipment and a lot of experience and knowledge.

Shooting out to a mile or more with a .308 would require an aiming target set high above the impact target, or a scope mounted at a steep angle relative to the bore. So steep in fact, it would have to be mounted several inches above the bore to prevent the barrel from blocking the field of view, making your rig pretty much useless for anything else. When shooting at icebergs in the spring over still water, you can walk your rounds onto a target a long way out. How far? Who knows, as icebergs don't fall into a "known size" so there is nothing to scale them to, but I am confident that I've made hits out to a mile. Of course if my target is 15' high and 50' long, that hardly qualifies as practical accuracy with anything hand held. If the range is too great in order to achieve 18" groups, then personally, I think it exceeds the practical accuracy necessary for a rifle to be relevant at that range. There was a fellow in Colorado who claimed a 3000 yard shot on a 16" gong with a .308 AI. He used 220 gr MK over a stout load of H-380 for about 2500, IIRC. Just seeing a 16" gong at 1.7 miles would be a pretty good trick.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvo-UKLhei0&feature=related

http://www.snipercentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=37023

Guys are doing it, not saying they are using stock Mod 70's but they are doing it will patience and time.Just saying that the round is capable.

Just found two quick links I had, I am sure there are more.




You are gonna need to back that statement up with some facts. A typical .308 will cross the sonic barrier at around 1000 yds which leaves an awfully long way for the bullet to travel at subsonic velocity to get to a mile.

As anyone can tell you, wind drift becomes a major problem once velocities drop below the speed of sound. As well there are potential stability issues involved.

I have never met anyone who has claimed to have shot a .308 accurately to a mile .... in fact I have never met anyone who has even claimed to have shot a .308 to a mile. There are much better choices out there for that kind of distance.

FWIW I have shot beyond a mile and it generally requires fairly specialized equipment and a lot of experience and knowledge.
 
Whats a good .308 gun and scope combo for tight groupings at 500 yards?

Just about anything with a trigger and turrets, but quick and easy would be a 700 PSS and 6.5-20 Mark 4. On the grand scheme of things, 500 isn't that far. With some combos its a good place to quit, and with others its a good place to start.

Trouble is, tight groupings and hitting a longrange target in the center on the first try aren't the same thing. A lot of guys can't seem to wrap their brain around that.

When I'm banging away at my range I could be shooting just about anything, but a typical day would have a fast twist .223, a 22/243 Middlested, .308, .300 Win Mag, and a .338 Edge, plus whatever hunting rifles and varmint rifles get dragged along. All my guns shoot, so there is little advantage to be gained from that alone. Why sweat the difference in inches, when the difference in wind drift between cartridges is measured in feet? Some of them will quit because of the sighting equipment, some will find the limit of their load but if those conditions are met the big limiter is the wind.

With varying winds and days some calibers are just easier to hit with than others. Some of those calibers are going to get packed up sooner, and at the end of the day there may only be one left. Chances are, the .308 is going to hit the truck first.

There's a lot of cartridges that are better than the .308 for longrange shooting. Some are bigger, and some are smaller. In your case I'd take a long look at a .260 Remington, what you learn about wind with that will transfer well to your .300.

The .308 has a long target history. Usually that can be traced to rules that require it.
 
I remember some guy on precision shooting trying to shoot gophers at 3300 yards with a 308Win.... it can be done.

Pretty funny looking scope mounts IIRC! :D
 
Energy Conservation:
.5MVi^2+MGHi+.5IWi^2=.5MVf^2+MGHf+.5Ia
Actually its imposible for it to ever rise relative to the earth, use the above equation.

The LOS is perfectly straight. The sights on a rifle are on top of the rifle. If they are straight, and the bullet is always dropping, then the only way the two paths will ever intersect is if the LOS is adjusted to cross the BP at some point. That is exactly what we do. If the rear sight post is raised then the LOS will cross the bullet path. In fact, it crosses the bullet path twice. The bullet will steadily drop until it crosses the LOS again.

That is actually how it works (taken from http://www.snipercountry.com/mark1.htm) was to lazy to explain it myself =)

They rise then drop relative to the earth and line of sight, but just drop relative to the line of bore, as per normal sighting practices and Al Einstein's museings.
 
Energy Conservation:
.5MVi^2+MGHi+.5IWi^2=.5MVf^2+MGHf+.5Ia
Actually its imposible for it to ever rise relative to the earth, use the above equation.

The LOS is perfectly straight. The sights on a rifle are on top of the rifle. If they are straight, and the bullet is always dropping, then the only way the two paths will ever intersect is if the LOS is adjusted to cross the BP at some point. That is exactly what we do. If the rear sight post is raised then the LOS will cross the bullet path. In fact, it crosses the bullet path twice. The bullet will steadily drop until it crosses the LOS again.

That is actually how it works (taken from http://www.snipercountry.com/mark1.htm) was to lazy to explain it myself =)

Bullets rise relative to the earth because they are pointed away from it. Think about it, point the damn thing straight up and pull the trigger. Take careful notes on whether it got farther from the ground or not.:rolleyes::p

Of course bullets fall away from the line of sight after crossing it twice. I think I was four when I learned that.
 
Bullets rise relative to the earth because they are pointed away from it. Think about it, point the damn thing straight up and pull the trigger. Take careful notes on whether it got farther from the ground or not.:rolleyes::p

Wow, you fail, thats two different things. Get an education bro. Not trying to teach an old dog new tricks ;)
 
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