Hear me out! I've been competing in different types of precision shooting competitions since 2001 (started out during my military career) and over time, I moved away from the 308 and onto the 6.5 and 6 Creedmoor cartridges for exactly the same reasons as everyone else: flatter, less recoil, more efficient flight ballistics, etc. But over the years, swapping barrels has become an expensive part of the process: swapping the 6.5 at +/- 2500 rounds and the 6 at +/- 1200 rounds. Add to that the turnaround time it takes to get them installed on my actions (blue printed, etc). I get that more frequent barrel swaps are part of the deal with those calibers...but how nice is it to be able to send 7500 more rounds before having to swap the barrel? Not having to perform a load development for another 7500 rounds? I'm not saying the 6.5mm and 6mm cartridges aren't worth the "trouble and expense", just saying that they aren't THE requirement to be competitive and/or to have fun and learn.
I shoot 200-250 rounds per month, and you can add another 100-150 during months with a precision shooting event. My 6.5 and 6 barrels last me a year.
My first 308 win's groups started opening up around +/- 10000 rounds, from 1/2 MOA to 3/4 MOA, then it opened up to 1 MOA at roughly 12000 rounds...not bad eh! I sold the barreled action to a hunter who was very happy with the 1 MOA performance: perfect for hunting requirements, especially that he never hunted past 200m. I usually find a consistent accuracy node between the mid and fast velocities, I never load hot to preserve barrel and brass life as much as I can.
I recently bought another 308, a Tikka T3X Ace with a 24'', 10 twist, threaded varmint contoured barrel. I started the load development process and will be using this rifle for the 2027 precision shooting competitions. I am aware that it can't go toe to toe with the 6.5s and the 6s of this world, but when shooting in the 308/223 categories, it'll do just fine and it will last me 3 years, maybe 4 before it needs a new barrel...and I'll save 2200$ per year by not having to swap barrels like I do with the 6.5 and 6 creedmoors, and I can use these savings to sign up to more competitions.
Do you see my point? Looking forward to your comments.
I shoot 200-250 rounds per month, and you can add another 100-150 during months with a precision shooting event. My 6.5 and 6 barrels last me a year.
My first 308 win's groups started opening up around +/- 10000 rounds, from 1/2 MOA to 3/4 MOA, then it opened up to 1 MOA at roughly 12000 rounds...not bad eh! I sold the barreled action to a hunter who was very happy with the 1 MOA performance: perfect for hunting requirements, especially that he never hunted past 200m. I usually find a consistent accuracy node between the mid and fast velocities, I never load hot to preserve barrel and brass life as much as I can.
I recently bought another 308, a Tikka T3X Ace with a 24'', 10 twist, threaded varmint contoured barrel. I started the load development process and will be using this rifle for the 2027 precision shooting competitions. I am aware that it can't go toe to toe with the 6.5s and the 6s of this world, but when shooting in the 308/223 categories, it'll do just fine and it will last me 3 years, maybe 4 before it needs a new barrel...and I'll save 2200$ per year by not having to swap barrels like I do with the 6.5 and 6 creedmoors, and I can use these savings to sign up to more competitions.
Do you see my point? Looking forward to your comments.
