Best caliber for general, long range target shooting?

[BigBlueEyedDevil]

I want to get into long range target shooting. I was looking at either a Remington 700 or the Savage Law Enforcement models. I don't really know what caliber would be best.

I was thinking maybe .308. Any thoughts?

 

[dakotasin]

i went remington 700 vls in 308 and never looked back. probably the best gun purchase i ever made.

depending on how far you want to shoot, you might like to look into a 20 moa base (1000 or more yards).

save your pennies for a scope... a cheap scope will show all its faults all at once when you reach 500 yards or so.

 

[MaceWindu]

Concur...

.308 or 30-06...


MaceWindu

 

[MrMurphy]

To some people, "Long Range" is beyond 100 yards.


For me Long Range is 600+ yards, really, 800-1,000.

Out to about 800 the .308 is fine, but beyond that, the military likes the .300 Win Mag and .338 Lapua Magnum (if they don't use a .50) other nonmilitary long range shooters have their own favorites.

 

[dakotasin]

murphy- i agree that the 308 is not the best 1000+ yard rig, but it does work quite well out to 1100 yards or so (all the further i've taken mine). once you start reaching beyond 800 yards, if you aren't a handloader you aren't gonna make it... but, a decent handloader can make the 308 into a 1000 yard monster easy enough... some varget and hornady a-max's, and there ya go!

 

[cola8d8]

I bet most responses will be a .30 cal due to its wide selection of bullets with high BCs. Why not push a 30 as fast as you can... For this discussion I will assume no wildcats. 300 RUM would be the easiest route. Some will say not to go with a 300 RUM because "no one makes good brass for it...", others will say dont go with 30-378 because it is a belted case...

 

[Jick42]

Everyones idea of long range varies as already said. But i would say across the board most would consider 800+ Long Range. If you haven't shot alot before, i would definately say go with the .308. If you want to go beyond 800, and don't hand load, i would recommend the .300wm, as long as you've shot it and have no problem with the recoil. The .300 or .300 UltraMag will easily get you out past 1000yds. And 1200yds and beyond the .338 Lapua or .338 RUM is the cream of the crop. And as far as the Savage or Remington, you can't go wrong with either. All in personal preference.

Nick

 

[Smaug]

I guess it depends on your idea of long range then, hehehe.

If long range is under 500 yards, maybe the 22-250 would be good, as there is not as much drop to deal with as there would be with the 30 cal. offerings.

If it is over 500 yards, the 50 BMG would probably be pretty good, as it has a LOT of inertia, and doesn't get effected by the wind as much.

50 BMG isn't in everyone's budget, so if that is out, I would say 308. All the M1 Garand shooters who compete with iron sights at 1000 yards cannot be wrong.

 

[BlackJack]

I'd agree that for an entry level piece, it's hard to beat the Remington 700 VLS in .308Win. That was one of the best rifles I've ever owned and I still kick myself for trading it off.

 

[birdv]

I just went through buying a 700 pss

the 308 is a good round and it is not expensive.

 

[G.I.Jew]

.308 and .30-06 are both good calibers, but if you are doing shooting at more than 800 yards, the wind starts to be a problem, in which case you need a bigger bullet

 

[Zak Smith]

Tubb 2000 in 6XC.

-z

 

[Steve Smith]

6XC or 6.5x284

 

[Mornard]

.308

 

[wanderinwalker]

6.5x284. Next question...

 

[0007]

Ah, heck, I'll say it. .50BMG...

 

[one-shot-one]

$0.02

in order of preferance:

.308
.300 wsm
.30-06
7mm rem.mag
.300 win.mag
.270 win.

can you tell i don't like getting kicked to punch paper!

 

[Bostonterrier97]

6.5x284
6mm PPC
338 Lapua
30-378

 

[artherd]

.338LM is pretty good, but pricy.

.308 is the best for the new LR shooter.

 

[atek3]

Thousand Yard Target shooters choose 6.5x284. If 600 yards is your bag than you can't go wrong with 6mmXC. 300 WM and bigger are totally unnecessary unless you plan on doing more than punching paper. If you want to use a more popular cartridge 7 WSM is a good choice. If you want a crazy but good wildcat, try the 243 WSSM necked up to 6.5mm with a 30 degree shoulder angle.

Good luck,
atek3

 

[cratz2]

Yeah, I'd probably suggest the 6.5x284 as about the ideal 1,000 yard paper punching round but with so many rifles available in 308, it ain't a bad way to learn the ins and outs of long range riflery.

(I say as if I know said ins and outs. )

 

[BigBlueEyedDevil]

Thanks for all the input guys. I think i'm going to go with a rifle in .308. Probably a Savage Law Enforcement or Remington 700.

 

[cola8d8]

If you are set on a 308, take a look and consider a 300 RUM. Do you reload? If so (or even if you are going to shoot off the shelf) , and you have choosen a .30, I would really consider a 300 RUM. Do you "need" the energy a 300 RUM any more than you need the power of a 308? Probably not but look at the charts and look at the trajectory... If you are shooting at something with both guns and you mistake the range by 75-100 yds.+ The 300 will hit closer to what you were shooting for.

 

[atek3]

300 RUM = shoulder pounder! For a new 'tactical' riflemen, it might be a bit better to learn on something with reasonable recoil such as 308 or 6.5x284 and then work up to a 300 WM or 300 RUM.

atek3