Choosing a accurate caliber
- Thread starter Dehan
- Start date
- Status
beatledog7
Member
Yes. Tell us more about what you're trying to achieve. Then somebody on here will be able to help.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
1/2 mile = 880 yards.
Any number of calibers have been used in 1,000 yard competition and won.
30-06 or .308 are perfectly capable of shooting 800+ yards and winning.
The beauty of them is cheaper practice ammo to learn how to shoot anything at 880 yards.
And it takes a lot of practice to read wind, fight mirage, and just shoot that well.
The other thing they have is long barrel life so you don't shoot a barrel out with a Magnum while doing load development and practicing.
At that range, it is much more shooter skill then what caliber he is using.
rc
Any number of calibers have been used in 1,000 yard competition and won.
30-06 or .308 are perfectly capable of shooting 800+ yards and winning.
The beauty of them is cheaper practice ammo to learn how to shoot anything at 880 yards.
And it takes a lot of practice to read wind, fight mirage, and just shoot that well.
The other thing they have is long barrel life so you don't shoot a barrel out with a Magnum while doing load development and practicing.
At that range, it is much more shooter skill then what caliber he is using.
rc
Grumulkin
Member
I think it's both skill and the quality of the firearm chosen. If the rifle is only going to be used for target shooting then a good bolt action rifle (probably custom rather than off the shelf) with a heavy barrel would probably be the best choice.
As far as cartridge goes, for long range shooting you should have something for which bullets are available with a good ballistic coefficient. Personally, I'd go for a 300 Winchester Magnum though other cartridges would work just as well.
As far as cartridge goes, for long range shooting you should have something for which bullets are available with a good ballistic coefficient. Personally, I'd go for a 300 Winchester Magnum though other cartridges would work just as well.
targetback
Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2011
- Messages
- 41
I like the 6.5 or 264, 6.5x 284 or the 8mm, 325 wsm the 325 you have a good selection of bullets also with the 6.5. checkem out.
Certaindeaf
member
If I'm not mistaken, most 1000 yard records were/are set with the humble .308. Very well could be wrong though.
Were I to start a 1000 yard blasting career, I'd start with a .308 and then perhaps move on from that.
Were I to start a 1000 yard blasting career, I'd start with a .308 and then perhaps move on from that.
Fat_46
Member
Its not about caliber(although some calibers tend to exhibit better accuracy than others, at least initially). And though a custom rifle will help, you need to do your job. You need to commit to putting the time in to learning how to shoot long distance, at the ranges you want to shoot. You can tweak the rifle and the loads as you go, but there just isn't a substitution for actually looking through the scope at your intended distance.
All that being said, I'd look into the 6.5mm line of calibers. The 260 Remington is a proven long range winner with light recoil. The 6.5x284 is also a proven winner, and the 6.5 Creedmore is a very interesting round that show a ton of promise, and may be what you're seeking.
All that being said, I'd look into the 6.5mm line of calibers. The 260 Remington is a proven long range winner with light recoil. The 6.5x284 is also a proven winner, and the 6.5 Creedmore is a very interesting round that show a ton of promise, and may be what you're seeking.
Smokey Joe
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2003
- Messages
- 2,617
How much $$$$??
Dehan--Long distance shooting + high precision shooting = VERY expensive rifle. Just how much precision are you interested in attaining, and how much $$ are you willing to spend, attaining it? And what is YOUR definition of "deadly accurate"?
I agree with the previous posters, though, that at 800 + yds, shooting skills are paramount. So you will either be very rich, or highly sponsored, or reloading your own ammo, because you will be practicing A LOT.
I also agree with the previous posters that the cartridge involved is not the major issue. Back when surplus .30-'06 ammo was available cheap, that cartridge owned the distance shooting records. Not because it was the best long distance cartridge, but because the distance shooters could afford to practice with surplus ammo. Then .308 Win ammo (or, 7.62x51 if you will) became the cheap surplus ammo, and bingo, the distance shooting records all went to that cartridge. Nowadays there isn't a cheap-surplus-ammo-cartridge suitable for long-range shooting, so the handloads are more important, and the cartridges are more well-suited to the distance shooting.
Military snipers use a lot of .300 Win Mag, .338 Lapua Mag, and .50 BMG, but they don't have to pay for the bbl replacements for their firearms. The 6.5's are MUCH easier on barrels, the ammo is a lot cheaper, even considering reloading, and ballistically the 6.5's have some very nice bullets for long-range shooting. But are you up to spending the $$ to get yourself a Tubb 2000 rifle? And practicing enough to make the investment worth while?
Dehan--Long distance shooting + high precision shooting = VERY expensive rifle. Just how much precision are you interested in attaining, and how much $$ are you willing to spend, attaining it? And what is YOUR definition of "deadly accurate"?
I agree with the previous posters, though, that at 800 + yds, shooting skills are paramount. So you will either be very rich, or highly sponsored, or reloading your own ammo, because you will be practicing A LOT.
I also agree with the previous posters that the cartridge involved is not the major issue. Back when surplus .30-'06 ammo was available cheap, that cartridge owned the distance shooting records. Not because it was the best long distance cartridge, but because the distance shooters could afford to practice with surplus ammo. Then .308 Win ammo (or, 7.62x51 if you will) became the cheap surplus ammo, and bingo, the distance shooting records all went to that cartridge. Nowadays there isn't a cheap-surplus-ammo-cartridge suitable for long-range shooting, so the handloads are more important, and the cartridges are more well-suited to the distance shooting.
Military snipers use a lot of .300 Win Mag, .338 Lapua Mag, and .50 BMG, but they don't have to pay for the bbl replacements for their firearms. The 6.5's are MUCH easier on barrels, the ammo is a lot cheaper, even considering reloading, and ballistically the 6.5's have some very nice bullets for long-range shooting. But are you up to spending the $$ to get yourself a Tubb 2000 rifle? And practicing enough to make the investment worth while?
Last edited:
Hondo 60
Member
Accuracy has less to do with caliber than it does with the individual gun & ammo.
Some guns are just inherently more accurate than others.
Unfortunately price plays a pretty significant role.
Cheaply built guns just tend to be less accurate than those where attention to detail is high.
And then just to throw a fly in the ointment, that's not true in every case.
Just my 2¢ worth, of course YMMV
Some guns are just inherently more accurate than others.
Unfortunately price plays a pretty significant role.
Cheaply built guns just tend to be less accurate than those where attention to detail is high.
And then just to throw a fly in the ointment, that's not true in every case.
Just my 2¢ worth, of course YMMV
There are many choices on "whose" rifle to use. I would pick a Savage with the Accutrigger since it is much easyier to be accurate with that trigger system. Next comes barrel length. 22 to 24 inches will give you a slight advantage in getting the most feet per second out of your loads (ammo). If bench rest shooting, a heavier bull barrel will give you less effect from it heating up, but if for hunting a standard profile would be easyier to carry in the field. As to bullet weight, the lighter bullets will have a better chance at reaching the distance you want, but are more effected by cross winds. Heavyier bullets will require more energy (gun powder) to reach the same distance and are more effected by gravity (bullet drop).
My choice would be a T-3, Kimber or Savage rifle. A bullet in the 6mm caliber (6mm BR, 243, 257, 260 or even a 270 Winchester). If power (killing energy) is needed then a 270 or 7mm Rem Mag would be the choice. Barrel length 24 inches. Rifle weight about 8 lbs. Bullet weight between 95 grains to 130 grains.
Shooting a 1/2 mile can be done by many rifles, shooting accurately 1/2 mile, well that is something else. Start out at 300 yards then progress to 600 yards and once accurate at that distance you could start trying the 800 to 900 yards. You will find that the difference between shooting 600 yards and shooting 900 yards will be like night and day, the 900 yard range will be extreemly more difficult to achieve.
That is the best I can suggest, good luck.
Jim
Not a bad place to start.
- Status
