The 1000 yd question

[Zak Smith]

ieszu,

We can start another thread. Short answer, if you're going full custom, you have more choices. If you want the "Chevy Small Block" for aftermarket options, that's the Remington. Otherwise, there are complete ready to go off the shelf SWSs available.

-z

 

[W.E.G.]

A .243 will work fine for casual shooting.

However, bore life will be shorter than a .30 caliber.

I shoot a .300 Win. Mag. at 1000 yards.
In fact, I ONLY shoot that gun at 1000 yards, as it is a dedicated match rifle.
I don't shoot it much anymore.
I got bored with being able to virtually NEVER drop a shot outside the 9-ring.
I could shoot scores of ~190 (out of a possible 200) any day.

Problem is, in most 1000-yard match rifle events, you often gotta shoot a perfect score to win.
I've seen guys shoot 199-15x fail to win the match.

If you are going to shoot a variety of long-range distances with a scope, you are going to want to spend a LOT of money on the scope. Think $1,000 minimum. Otherwise, you will not achieve the repeatability of adjustment that is required for the elevation changes.

With my 1000-yard gun, I have a Leupold 24x fixed-power with a 20 MOA base. I almost never touch the reticle knobs. For wind shifts or minor elevation corrections, I just "hold off" the required amount. I can see the mirage really well with this scope. After shooting Service Rifle for so long its a trip to be able to make a wind corrections real-time through the glass.

 

[GunTech]

The CZ's have slooowww lock time, which is a killer for many LR shooters. The Nesika is a superb action, but expensive. Their Hunter and Tactical actions are basically just very well made Model 700 actions.

If I were buying 'off the rack', the two rifles I would look at are the Remington LTR or the FN SPR. The former is is less costly, but the latter gets you a nice McMillan stock. That's probably going to mean 308, but since you asked about factory ammo, Federal Gold Medal Match 175 gn will get you to 1000 rather nicely.

Get decent glass and a good 20 MOA rail.

Think seriously about reloading, because there's not much in the way of factory match ammo that you can't beat with handloads.

 

[GunTech]

Rereading you post, it struck me that the type of shooting you'll be doing will matter as much as the range. I shoot tactical under time pressure and unknown distances after hiking around. I'm likely to give you different suggestions to someone who is shooting something like F class.