looking for high accuracy at long distance

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talentandskill

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i built a 1500yd range on my farm and im looking for a good rifle to make a sniper rifle out of (you know one of those dilutions of grandeur type dreams of mine. always wanted to be a sniper.) anyways im just trying to find a good base rifle to modify :)

i want something that can get that kind of range with a good grouping and i dont want to go into the 50cal range because thats a leap above my means

any suggestions would be highly appriciated :)
 
the only cheap way to shoot 1500 yards is to hold a .22lr at about a 40 degree angle.

i don't think you will be able to hit 1500 yards with anything that doesn't cost $4+ per round coming out of a gun that costs less than several thousand dollars. Just the optics alone are going to cost a fortune.

edit-however, if you're really motivated, start looking at the .338 lapua, .416 Barret or, .50bmg. Hah, come to think of it .50bmg is probably the most cost effective solution lol.

.338 Lapua Prices
.416 Barret
 
Hate to dilute your grandeur, but the most important things you'll need are talent and skill.

Ha!
 
Well, your mininum cartridge is going to be the 30/378wby. I would go with the .338 lapua, as it is a better choice, but be prepaired to spend $3k+ on just the rifle, more like $4k+ and have $5 per round ammo. For platforms...well, pretty any platform that is well known, and respected, will do exactly what you want. Then you have optic, add another $1k+. You sure you want to do this? Better would be jjust a 1k yard gun, that can be had for a fraction of the price. That is about $1k for a good rifle (savage 6.5/284 or .308 F/TR) and another $800 for a scope, less if you don't cane about some features.
 
sure you're not dreaming of artillery? Most sniper shots are <100yrds
 
Do you already have some skill and experience at shooting at distance? For argument's sake, lets define that as shooting at between 600 and 1000 yards?
 
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Haha check out the title for this gunbroker auction, it seems to be made just for you: http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=120038123

I would go for a .338 Lapua if you want to hit those distances without buying a .50 cal. Keep in mind though, most sniper shots are at around 600 yards and virtually none are over 1000. I would make 1000 you're goal, 1500 is pretty damn crazy.

Keep in mind ammo still tends to be about $4 a round.. it'll be different if you reload, but if you want to make this affordable and realistic I suggest lowering your goal to 1000 yards. then your options range from .30-.06, 6.5x55, .300 magnum. etc.

Also keep in mind your gonna need some REALLY EXPENSIVE optics to do this right.
 
You guys are going the wrong way (large caliber). Simply take a 6.5mm 139gr Lapua Scenar in the cartridge of your flavor, and drive it at 2900fps, and you will remain sonic at well beyond 1500 yards. I drive these bullets at about 2950fps out of my 6.5x55 match rifle, and they don't go transonic until nearly 1700 yards.

Don
 
Take a look at the 6.5-284 Savage F Class rifle. You can get one between $1000 and $1300. I have one that I use at a 1000 and I imagine it would shoot 1500 but I never did it. You can put together a Savage F Class and top it with a Burris Black Diamond scope for $1700 - $2000.
 
i'm thinking the cheapest way would be the Savage in 6.5-284 Norma, but the other 6.5mms would be easier on you barrel and shoulder. the original is the 6.5x55mm with the more popular 1000 yard+ cartridges being the .260 and 6.5x47mm
with the Savage you can do the re-barrel yourself...there are a bunch of custom barrel makers for the Savage
 
Everybody gets enthused over guns, scopes, ammo, and even practice, but there IS something else to figure out. Casual shooting at ranges above 300 yards gives you the problem of knowing what you are hitting. Not even a good spotting scope will pick out bullet holes much farther than that. Splash marks on recently painted steel will usually show in a spotting scope at 600 yards, but not always. Unless your 1500 yard field includes a target pit with an assistant to mark your shots, you will literally be shooting blind.

There are some technical solutions, like the Larue Sniper target; knock it down and it resets itself, only $1395. But there is the matter of knowing which way you missed if you didn't knock it down. The Flash Target blinks a light when you hit a steel target and lots cheaper at $159 but with the same question of where you hit if the light does not flash.

There could probably be a video camera placed to view the target, I am studying that but don't really have the expertise to assemble a system that I am sure would do the job.

Since you mention shooting "good groupings", I guess you could hang a great big target, get on it by hook or crook and then take your group where it formed instead of trying to center up and hit a specific bullseye.
 
Jim Watson is right on, knowing what you are hitting at even 1000 yards is very difficult, I can see my 50 cal BMG rounds miss at 1000 yards IF they hit dirt not grass, you will see the dust come up out of the scope usually, but shooting my 6mm BR there is no way to know where you are hitting unless the target moves, my buddy with a very good Konus spotting scope couldn't even see the 6mm bullets.

Jim Watson, one of the guys on the FCSA forum has been working on the same camera idea, and I think he has about got it figured out, will have to check on it, I will need some help there too.

Not sure but doesn't the 6mm BR hold the 1000 yard record? 9mm, I have one of the Savage F class in 6mm BR Norma and really like it too, shoots so much better than me, I hope I can get as good as the rifle, gonna start trying at 600 yards, 1000 was too far for the 6MM for me to see what I am hitting.

Keith
 
300 win mag or 300rum will get you to 1500 and then some. Whether you can hit anything at that range is another matter. You can get a remington PSS in either caliber for under $900. You will probably need to spend at least as much on glass. And as mentioned knowing if you even hit anything at that far can be tough! A real big target, lots of time and patience, and a bunch of trips back and forth on the ATV or golf cart will be the be the order of the day.
 
lots and lots of $$$
on ammo and time
1200m was my limit with an L96 lots of goverment ammo and a spotter in the butts
F class probably way to go.
unless you really want to crawl for a couple Kicks
hows the sewing skills? real snipers make there own ghillie suits:D
 
There are some technical solutions, like the Larue Sniper target; knock it down and it resets itself, only $1395.
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for that mutch money, you can get a electronic scoring system from SIUS, that will not only tell you if and where you hit on a digital screen, but also when you miss and by how far.

for 1500 meters or yard, you will need a good rifle and a proper caliber.

yes, there are many calibers that can reach out to 1500, even the .223rem could do it with a good bullet, but at those ranges, the winddrift will be so strong that it is pure luck.
even the .308 will have some serious drift.

i personaly would go with the .338 lapua as well, if you are reloading, wich you should if you plan to reach out that far, you can get the price down to 2-3 $ for a single cartridge.. wich is not as bad as the 8$ for quality factory loads.
 
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First of all at that range it comes down to the shooter skill, practice.. and being able to read the wind..VERY well. :)

Second once you have the first in order.. rifle and glass..

Short rundown of the calibers and glass easily capable of such a task if your rich.. 338 lapua, 408 chey, 416 barrett, 50 bmg..and of course all of the allen magnum family, optics would be Premier, Nightforce,US optics.

If your poorish..7mm stw/7mm RUM/7mm WSM all capable of pushing a 180gr berger at 3000+..Leupold LR/T 4 Series or IOR would be fine..
 
buy a rem 700 or a savage in 308. It will be years before your good enough to step up to a bigger round. Bullets are cheap brass is cheap, there cheap to load and theres lots of good recipe out there for accurate loads. Unless your living in a dream world any shots a civilian survialisnt would ever take are going to be under a 100 yards anyway. Any farther then that youd run if you had a lick of sense or at least hold fire to not give away your position.
 
Unless your living in a dream world any shots a civilian survialisnt would ever take are going to be under a 100 yards anyway.
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The guy said he was just kinda livin' out a dream. He's doing it for fun, and because he happens to have a farm where he can have such a range. He was asking for calibers that could reach that kind of distance, not whether it was the sensible thing to do or if he'd have a real need for it in a survival situation.
 
yes, there are many calibers that can reach out to 1500, even the .223rem could do it with a good bullet,
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Which bullet? Getting to 1000 is stretching the capability of a 223rem with 80 grain bullets. The bullet will go that far but staying supersonic and maintaining any type of accuracy with a 223rem at 1500 is something I've never heard of.

but at those ranges, the winddrift will be so strong that it is pure luck.
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Certainly not easy, but there are enough people that do it consistently that you can't call it luck.
 
I haven't shot them at really long ranges but a 6.5 something might be what your looking for. Ive got a 30-06 setup that im trying to do the same thing to only im just shooting for the 700-1000 range. Anyone can hit a target at 100-300 (ok almost anyone), you just cant beat the satisfaction of a good long range hit. But ya it takes money which I for one don't have a lot of extra sitting around. Its great fun though.
Its ok to dream, and remember that for some weird reason the old battle rifles of WW1 had sites calibrated out to 2000. I know that was for volley fire, but it shows that even the old unimpressive cartridges were able to go that far with at least a resemblance of accuracy.
 
Which bullet? Getting to 1000 is stretching the capability of a 223rem with 80 grain bullets. The bullet will go that far but staying supersonic and maintaining any type of accuracy with a 223rem at 1500 is something I've never heard of.
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you picked the sentence apart.
while you can reachout to 1500yards with a .223rem, hiting anything with it will be pure luck because the bullet will drop to subsonic and after that, even a squirrelfart would push the bullet off target.

just trowing lead at a barnsized target at 1500yards is one thing, hiting a reasonable sized target at those ranges ona constand base is very hard and only few calibers can do that.

and you even want 'good groups', since you did not mention any kind of rest but actualy shooting with a human shoulder at the buttstock, dont expect more then 2-3 moa and that if you have topnotch gear and are very skillfull in using it.

as suggested earlyer, yyou should start off with 300yard, then maybe 600 and if you still feel comfortable you can try 1000yards.
gear for those ranges is mutch mutch cheaper and you are not bound to be using bullets that will cost you 2-3$ each time you pull the trigger.
 
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