hi Jerry,
Curious, if you had to choose one go-to caliber for guys like me, who reload, and get their own guns built, what caliber would you recommend to shoot groups and to bang steal at between 600-1200 yards?
I have a 6.5 Creedmoor, which I love, and also have a 300 Norma Mag, which is really good at longer distances, but it beats you up a little bit if you're shooting all day long in the bush, and it's definitely pricier for brass and components.
Like to hear your thoughts and experience, thanks!
Personally, I would use my 6.5 CM to smack rocks and gongs out to 1400yds. My rifle is just so easy to shoot and accuracy at distance has been superb.
But if you are looking for more and in another calibre, then the 7mm's are a great option. In F open, the 284 is dominant and the accuracy out to 1000yds is stunning even in high winds. the 7mm is so much more forgiving at 1000yds - drifts less, gets bounced around in the wind less so you score higher.
If you need to mag feed, this becomes more of a problem in a SA.. no problem in a LA.
I have the parts to put together a 7RM for my ELR set up.... this I will use from 1000yds to 2000yds. I have built several 7RM's over the years and I would lean on this chambering for the average shooter. Components and tools are off the shelf, no brainer. Keep pressures moderate with cooler, slow burning powder and bore life is excellent. I will be shooting 180gr class bullets but at "moderate" speeds. I would rather have easy tuning and stable accuracy then another 100fps and have a PITA to deal with.
The further you go, the less your initial velocity matters BUT your load tuning becomes ubber critical.
Short magnums are great but brass is hard to find, silly expensive and you are fighting case volume if you want to keep pressures down. I don't get worked up about the belt, no belt debate. Keep pressures down and the cases last a long time regardless.
With short magnum cases costing as much as 3 times more, I can toss alot of belted brass and not worry about it.
The 280 Rems are great too. I made up a wildcat years back... shot awesome and it got around the no magnum rule in F class that no longer exists so really no point today. If you want cheap brass with similar to 284 Win performance, this is where you go. The 280AI is pretty simple today... lots of dirt cheap 30-06 brass so it really isn't a difficult choice.
But again, I would rather have more case volume in the 7RM then need to keep things toasty in the smaller cases to hit the 2900/3000fps node.
YMMV.... the 7mms definitely are a great bridge in between the 6.5 and 30cal.
Jerry