what caliber?

tuffteddyb

tuffteddyb

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Looking for a long range caliber for the wife too shoot.
She shot freinds 338 lapua and rang a gong at 1017 yards!!
Now she kinda wants one of her own.Would like to stay with the .284 caliber,
but open to options.She has a .223,a 25/06.,and a 7/08,but the 7/08 only has a
18 inch really thin barrel.think the other two would be fine out too 5 or 600.
Would love to get a 338 lapuabut it a lil outta my price range right now.
So either rebarrel one of our guns or buy another in what caliber?
thanxs in advance
 
284win would be a great choice! im mid build of my own and they are definitely making them selves a caliber to be known for long range shooting... i think if its something you want to stick with you cant go wrong! but they are better off to be run on a long action for ease of feeding with the heavy bullets,

260/70. 308 are also great choices, and easy to find component for... or rebarrel her 223 with a 1:7 tube and shoot the 90gn pills, lots of guys having great luck pushing those way out!

honestly, i had a 338LM myself, but while i could afford to shoot it on a regular basis, i just didnt see the point, for the range i have, i have much more affordable and appropriate (cheaper haha) calibers that do just fine for bangin steel. the LM was a shot tone of fun, but pretty much took the challange out of having to read wind . id get another in heart beat if i had 1500+ to shoot on a regular basis
 
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If this rifle is to be mainly used for long range gong ringing then weight should not be a issue since she won't be carrying very far. That being the case she can consider a "heavier" caliber than might normally be the case since the weight of the rifle will help to reduce the felt recoil. The 7mm calibers provide bullets with exceptionally high BC's for their weight so sticking with the 284's makes sense. I would suggest either a 7WSM or a 7 Rem Mag or possibly a 280 with 162 Amax bullets.

By the way, tell her she owes me a hug for ltting her play with my beast!!!
 
Re barrel the 7-08. It has excellent BC and though she may be able to handle more recoil, she may have more fun with less recoil during a full day of shooting at the range. When the barrel goes on my 308, it will be sporting a 7-08 upgrade for sure. If your not sure about a caliber for long range shooting check out the sniper 101 episode on YouTube about cartridge selection. I found those videos very informative and quite interesting to watch.

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=/#/watch?v=FtlwoNCNnFA
 
I would say the 284 win or a 7rsum would be a good choice. If its used as a single shot get it cut with a long throat so you can seat the bullets out. Can't beat at 168 or 180 berger for long range.
 
My gal shoots to 700yds (thats the distance of the range) with a 7-08. It actually is on par, maybe a touch flatter, than a 308 with the right load.
I would just re-barrel the existing 7-08, providing its not her hunting rig - or, EE has two 7-08 heavy barrel rifles for sale.
Problem with re-barrelling is to get the barrel, then get the work done - makes for a very long wait…
260 is a good bet too -
 
mudpro said:
I would say the 284 win or a 7rsum would be a good choice. If its used as a single shot get it cut with a long throat so you can seat the bullets out. Can't beat at 168 or 180 berger for long range.
Click to expand...

Same answer as above. 284 Norma or 7RSUM is amazing for long range shooting, especially with 180gr Berger. Doesn't kick too hard compared to 7mmRM (without brake). Cheaper to reload too.
 
Dogleg has good things to say about the .338 Edge. But if a 7mm is where you would like to stay, an STW or even a garden variety 7 mag will work at a thousand yards or so, with the benefit of being available in an off the shelf rifle.
 
284 win with 180 bergers reloader 17 and a 28-30" barrel will get you around 3000 fps. And you won't burn out your barrel as fast as using a stw or rem mag. Both great cartridges though.
 
6BR, Dasher - winning just about everything in 1000yds BR light gun

260 and improved/ 6.5 Mystic - low recoil so no brake required

284, and 280 - well, you already know

30-06 cause bullets are always superb and heavy bullets ring gongs better. A 208 Hrn is mighty impressive on steel

Strongly suggest whatever your choice, work around the wonderful and far less money Hrn bullets. Either amax or BTHP, they work great and usually available locally

Jerry

PS Damadama, nice job sharing the LR fun
 
Thanks for the info people!!
Really appreciate it.
But we pretty sure we either going to go with a 280 A.I or a 7 rem mag or a 7 wsm.
I have donor actions and stocks for both.Looks like she is going to be playing with MY
7 rem mag or MY 22/250 A.I for now till she buys a barrel.
I pretty sure between her nd damadama they will figure out what she wants.lol
 
There are many suitable cartridges.
For competition, I have switched from .308 to .260, and really like it.
The different .264 bullets have a lot going for them. My preference is the Lapua 139gr, but there are other excellent bullets.
 
Pretty much anything will do the job at 1000 yds.

Jerry took a 223 out to 1700+ yds.

I took a 243 out to 2000 yds.

The 6mm BR is setting world records at 1000 yds.

I think that a 6mm or 6.5mm are the best choices. They offer excellent speed and BC without excess recoil. I tried a 7mm Mag and really didn't like it. Way too much recoil and fuss to make me want to shoot it much.

Don't get caught up in the "need" for big cannons to reach out to long range. If you are just punching paper bullet size and weight means little.
 
I have a 22br with a 1-7twist kreiger that is a lot of fun at long range with no recoil. I also have a spare barrel thats had 500 rounds threw it and a no neck turn reamer if your interested.
 
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