Caliber suggestion

[303tom]

.300 Winchester Magnum, its what our long range shooters use, ie; U.S. Military Snipers.

Before the introduction of the standard 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridge in the 1950s, standard military cartridges were the .30-06 Springfield or 7.62x63mm (United States), .303 British (7.7x56mmR) (United Kingdom) and 7.92x57mm (8mm Mauser) (Germany). The .30-06 Springfield continued in service with U.S. Marine Corps snipers during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, well after general adoption of the 7.62x51mm. At the present time, in both the Western world and within NATO, 7.62x51mm is currently the primary cartridge of choice for military and police sniper rifles.

Worldwide, the trend is similar. The preferred sniper cartridge in Russia is another .30 caliber military cartridge, the 7.62 x 54 mm R, which has similar performance to the 7.62x51mm. This cartridge was introduced in 1891, and both Russian sniper rifles of the modern era, the Mosin-Nagant and the Dragunov sniper rifle, are chambered for it.

Certain commercial cartridges designed with only performance in mind, without the logistical constraints of most armies, have also gained popularity in the 1990s. These include the 7 mm Remington Magnum (7.2x64mm), .300 Winchester Magnum (7.8/7.62x67mm), and the .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6x70mm). These cartridges offer better ballistic performance and greater effective range than the 7.62x51mm. Though they are not as powerful as .50 caliber cartridges, rifles chambered for these cartridges are not as heavy as rifles chambered for .50 caliber ammunition, and are significantly more powerful than rifles chambered for 7.62x51mm.

 

[BoilerUP]

.300 Winchester Magnum, its what our long range shooters use, ie; U.S. Military Snipers.

To say the needs of a military sharpshooter differ from those of a target shooter and varmint hunter would be an understatement.

The downrange energy of a belted mag isn't necessary at 500-1000yards unless you are engaging targets (paper and steel don't count), and I certainly wouldn't want to spend a day on a dog town shooting a belted mag.

As for ballistics...300WM Mk248Mod1 ammo specs the 220SMK @ 2850fps. At sea level/standard atmosphere, that's 8.1mil drop and 1.9mil drift @ 1000yd with 10mph full value wind.

A Swede pushing a 142SMK @ 2900fps is 7.9mil and 1.9mil drift @ 1000yd under the same conditions.

 

[Kachok]

Forget the 142gr SMK, 140 VLDs have a noticably better BC .612! Gatta love the old Sweed, as cutting edge today as it was 121 years ago Long neck, sharp shoulder, short powder charge, and crazy high BC, it is everything our "modern" calibers are evolving into.

 

[AABEN]

The 22.250 is not a gun to hunt deer with. The 243 has a good range of bullets From 60GR up to 100GR. I thank you would be happy with the 243. The 243 is known to be very accurate.

 

[Captains1911]

The 22.250 is not a gun to hunt deer with. The 243 has a good range of bullets From 60GR up to 100GR. I thank you would be happy with the 243. The 243 is known to be very accurate.

Problem is, the OP has already indicated that he is not interested in a proven caliber with a large range of options

 

[Kachok]

Problem is, the OP has already indicated that he is not interested in a proven caliber with a large range of options

I think he is intrested in less COMMON calibers, which are not always less proven, a 7x57 is much less common then a 30-06 but it is every bit as proven around the world on EVERY species of game for a solid century.

 

[infmp32]

The OP has also said he's not interested in a suitable deer cartridge, because he lives in a no rifle hunting state.

 

[bangaway]

6mm rem. is less common than .243 and shoots same bullets at 250 fps for the 100 gr. and 300 fps for the 80 gr. Good cal. for target, distance or varmit shooting. The .260 is good to use and is .308 win. cased. Lots of brass. Rem. made a classic in the sweede cal. and this can be loaded hotter than the 96's. Good choice here if you can find it. Almost any 6.5 bullet has better B.C. than the .243. I use a long barreled .25-06 for hunting, varmits and target to 700 yds. Have fun and bangaway.

 

[Old Time Hunter]

6.5 X 55 Swede...more common globally than all the rest and only one that has proven itself time and time again. How many of the other ones mentioned have ever won a gold medal at the Olympics?