Your .223 will go 500 to 1000 yards, and you can load the 75Gr Amax to do it great. You'll probably learn a lot more about reading the wind also. You can load for a lot of practice with a .223, and that's what you want. Once you get comfortable, then you can look at what you want to move to - .308, 6.5*55, .260, 6.5*284 etc. Ackley or not?
If you want to shoot 500-1000 yards
- Thread starter UNtoldfox
- Start date
I bought 1600 once fired Remington 223 brass for $50.00 shipped.
edit to add;
I've got to give the 75gr Amax's a try...
The group I posted the pic of earlier was with 60gr Sierra Varminter HP's makes me wonder what I can do with a proper match grade bullet.
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Getting the 75 gr. Amax to shoot in a 1:9 twist may be a bit of a stretch. -It may like them, or it may not.
You can re-barrel to 1:7 if it doesn't work out in the factory barrel....or you could go to a .308 for the longer stuff and keep the factory .223 for short / intermediate and practice.
To match the B.C. of .308 you'll need the heavy (longer) .223 bullets....
You can re-barrel to 1:7 if it doesn't work out in the factory barrel....or you could go to a .308 for the longer stuff and keep the factory .223 for short / intermediate and practice.
To match the B.C. of .308 you'll need the heavy (longer) .223 bullets....
If you wanted to shot 500-1000 yards (which most of you do I'm sure... I don't - yet!) What kind of gun would you buy? Ie. .330? 308? 30-06? make/ model?
I owned a .223 Savage 10FP, but I want something with a little bit more power and something that will drain the bank account a little bit more
I'm thinking a .308 cause thats what snipers use, and there has to be a reason for that..
I don't want the BEST OF THE BEST, but I would like to look into a gun that I will keep for many years to come. so, in your opinion, what would you buy if you were on a budget.
Thanks again guys,
Curtis
I think the Savage F/TR in 308 with a Bushnell 3200 10x would be a better fix than the Rem 700 but thats just my opinion
Spend lots on ammoThey come with either a 20" or 24" 1:8 twist barrel.
Last I checked Wholesale had them for ~ $1700 +tax.
No personal experience with them other than holding one. I thought it was decent, but saved near $900 by going with a Savage 12VLP with a 26" 1:7
That $900 will go a long way in getting a decent scope on top.
Don't you want a tighter twist on a .308? I thought the Tactical was 1:11
http://www.tikka.fi/pdf/specs/Tactical.pdf
http://www.tikka.fi/pdf/specs/Tactical.pdf
For longer ranges in a 308W either a 155g or 175g seems to be the ticket.
Calculating an optimized twist(bullet length and speed) for the 155Lapua and the 175SMK both work out to a 1 n 12 for best performance.Also keep in mind Palma shooters using 155's tend to use 28 to 30 inch barrels to max out speeds.(and sight radius)
"Tactical" barrels by their nature tend to be 20 to 24 inch tubes which will not optimize the potential speeds but are a lot handier in "tactical" applications.
Build or buy to suit your greatest planned usage.
F Class rifles do not generally make great stalking/tactical rifles and vice versa.
Do your research BEFORE spending saves more money than a great deal.
Good luck
Calculating an optimized twist(bullet length and speed) for the 155Lapua and the 175SMK both work out to a 1 n 12 for best performance.Also keep in mind Palma shooters using 155's tend to use 28 to 30 inch barrels to max out speeds.(and sight radius)
"Tactical" barrels by their nature tend to be 20 to 24 inch tubes which will not optimize the potential speeds but are a lot handier in "tactical" applications.
Build or buy to suit your greatest planned usage.
F Class rifles do not generally make great stalking/tactical rifles and vice versa.
Do your research BEFORE spending saves more money than a great deal.
Good luck
Yup, Lapua 154- Sierra 155's, 168's, and 175 SMK's seem to be the most dominant players in the .308 Win. game.
I've got several 26" tubes on .308's I have and honestly I wish they were a little shorter. Optimal barrel length considering weight, handling, and velocity is 22". Surprisingly, you don't get much more velocity by going to 26". you might lose 50-60 fps by going to the shorter barrel.
Understandably, under long ranfe (1,000 yds.) competition situations like F-Class matches where the majority of shooting is prone, the weight isn't such a big issue and maximum velocity trumps the benefits of using a shorter barrel.
If it were going to be a general field rifle with the informal target shooting and tactical match thrown in for good measure, the shorter barrel is more desireable.
It basically depends on the intended use of the rifle. One thing is for sure, once you cut the tube there's no going back so if you're unsure, the safe bet is to leave it longer to see if you could benefit from a more compact rifle and lighter weight.
Do you want to shoot well at 1000 yards and learn how to read wind? Or do you want to kiss ass?
If you want to dominate the range you need a hotter caliber and about 10 years of intensive practice, coaching and competition.
If you want to shoot 1000 yards, learn the game and have fun, 223 works well. I used to shoot it a lot using the 80 grain Sierra. The Savage will stabalize 80s if loaded hot. I used 25 gr of RE15.
I have done load testing of 223 and 308 at 1000 yards. Tests were 10 shot groups shot at removable sheets of paper. Because the bullets holes were easy to tell apart, I shot both a 223 and a 308 test at each sheet. The 308 shot 155 Sierra at about 2950 fps. The 223 the 80 Sierra at the same velocity.
Both shot groups about 10" high. The 308 had slightly wider groups, suggesting it was slightly more wind sensitive.
I suggest you put the Savage into a more soild stock. I like the Savage laminated stocks. bed the action. Install a scope of 15x to 20X (I use 20X scopes.) make sure the scope has a parallax adjustment, and dial the parallax out visually at each distance.
When you have mastered the 223 or worn out the barrel, I would change the barrel and bolt head to a 260 Rem or a 6.5x 284. I use a 260 rem Ackley and a 6.5-284. 2900 fps and 3000 fps with H1000.
The single most important thing you can do is get out to the range as much as you can and shoot a lot of ammo. Experience is king (a fun).
The heavy hitters will help you if they see you trying to learn.
If you want to dominate the range you need a hotter caliber and about 10 years of intensive practice, coaching and competition.
If you want to shoot 1000 yards, learn the game and have fun, 223 works well. I used to shoot it a lot using the 80 grain Sierra. The Savage will stabalize 80s if loaded hot. I used 25 gr of RE15.
I have done load testing of 223 and 308 at 1000 yards. Tests were 10 shot groups shot at removable sheets of paper. Because the bullets holes were easy to tell apart, I shot both a 223 and a 308 test at each sheet. The 308 shot 155 Sierra at about 2950 fps. The 223 the 80 Sierra at the same velocity.
Both shot groups about 10" high. The 308 had slightly wider groups, suggesting it was slightly more wind sensitive.
I suggest you put the Savage into a more soild stock. I like the Savage laminated stocks. bed the action. Install a scope of 15x to 20X (I use 20X scopes.) make sure the scope has a parallax adjustment, and dial the parallax out visually at each distance.
When you have mastered the 223 or worn out the barrel, I would change the barrel and bolt head to a 260 Rem or a 6.5x 284. I use a 260 rem Ackley and a 6.5-284. 2900 fps and 3000 fps with H1000.
The single most important thing you can do is get out to the range as much as you can and shoot a lot of ammo. Experience is king (a fun).
The heavy hitters will help you if they see you trying to learn.
From 30+ years of shooting competitively out to 1,000 all I can say is that there is indeed nothing to replace practice, and that would point you to an economic calibre to feed. The 'exotics' and 'Whizzums' are not that and you will lose valuable learning just managing recoil. I would go for improving your 223, or getting a long barreled 308 like the Savage FTR, or go for a heavy barreled 6.5x55 or 260.
The only other piece of advice is find yourself some decent coaching. It will add to the satisfaction of your results and be money well spent.
The only other piece of advice is find yourself some decent coaching. It will add to the satisfaction of your results and be money well spent.
