Long Range rifle suggestions

[Mischief]

Looking to get a good long range rifle in either .308 or. .300. A .338 Lapua would be okay, but the ammo is on the higher end just to punch holes in paper.
This rifle will be purely for precision shooting.
After finding the rifle then matching up the optics will be next.
What are your suggestions?

 

[Lightcs1776]

The 308 is a great choice. I know several folks who have one and really appreciate the firearm.

Sent via mobile - Chris

 

[Jnatcat]

.308 is a solid choice and won't break the bank especially if you hand load, I have a Savage with a 24" Bull Bbl and it's a tack driver if I do my part.

 

[Hoka Hey]

.260 Remington or a hot 6.5

Mark

 

[Acmemfg]

.308 is a virtual twin of the .30-06. Either will do you well. Mine is a working hunting rifle but the cartridge has a long revered history as a fine target choice.

 

[ColtRevolver]

6.5 Creedmoor is the hot long range paper puncher and steel dinger these days. I have a dozen friends who compete in long range matches. Most use the Creedmoor. The Ruger Precision Rifle is a popular choice with them.

The .260 Remington is popular also.

 

[Mischief]

The Ruger Precision is one at the top of the list. Just never had a 6.5.

 

[Mischief]

This is my nephew's sniper rifle he uses for his duty rifle, my competitor I will be trying to out shout.
Remington 700 LTR with a Black Diamond 6x24x48 optics.

So, I gotta kick his butt. He doesn't know the challenge is on, but he will soon.

 

[Mischief]

Had to figure out the new system.

 

[nikonNUT]

Take a look at the Remington 700 XCR Tactical. 26" barrel and .308 Win or .338 Lapua. Not uber pricey and already has some of the needed tweeking like a full floating barrel, full length bedding block, crowned muzzel, and a decent match trigger already installed. Load up the right round and you should be ready to rock!

 

[Mischief]

Take a look at the Remington 700 XCR Tactical. 26" barrel and .308 Win or .338 Lapua. Not uber pricey and already has some of the needed tweeking like a full floating barrel, full length bedding block, crowned muzzel, and a decent match trigger already installed. Load up the right round and you should be ready to rock!

Thanks

 

[sfeile]

As far as out of the box accuracy, I like Savage. All the ones I have owned have been absolute tack drivers. 5/8 of an inch 5 shot groups at 200 yards off a bi-pod consistently from my .223.

If you are looking for paper only, I'd say look at building a bench rifle. I haven't gotten real heavy into it myself, but a late friend of mine shot benchrest for more years than I've been around. He used a 6mm ppc with a Hart barrel and action topped with a 32X Leupold.

 

[ColtRevolver]

5/8" five shoot 200 yard groups consistently from a factory gun sure is impressive.

 

[Hoka Hey]

More rabbit holes. Have to define "long range". I used to compete in benchrest. 6ppc. 100-300 yards. I actually blew a good round at the Supershoot so I could take out a mosquito at 100 yards.

6.5 Grendel is good to 450
Hot rods abound in 6.5. Creedmore, hot .260 Remington, 6.5 SAUM. All good to 1,000 yards. The magic is in the high ballistic coefficient obtainable in the bullets.

Always keep in mind MOA and MOM are 2 different things. (Minute of angle, Minute of man)

Mark

 

[sfeile]

5/8" five shoot 200 yard groups consistently from a factory gun sure is impressive.

I did pull it apart and glass bed it, as well as made absolute sure the barrel was floating. This was before the accu-trigger and it had a trigger adjustment screw. Bent the spring just a little and honed the sear to get it down to about a 2 pound pull. Other than the bedding, it was all factory.

Hand loaded 69 grain Sierra's with 26 grains of Winchester powder. 50 yards dead on, 100 an inch high, 150 dead on, 200 an inch low. Pretty flat out to there, but almost 26 inches of drop by 400.

 

[jkingrph]

More rabbit holes. Have to define "long range". I used to compete in benchrest. 6ppc. 100-300 yards. I actually blew a good round at the Supershoot so I could take out a mosquito at 100 yards.

6.5 Grendel is good to 450
Hot rods abound in 6.5. Creedmore, hot .260 Remington, 6.5 SAUM. All good to 1,000 yards. The magic is in the high ballistic coefficient obtainable in the bullets.

Always keep in mind MOA and MOM are 2 different things. (Minute of angle, Minute of man)

Mark

A lot of info on 6.5 Grendel out there. I got very interested in the caliber about 8-10 years ago and built 3 AR type rifles in it, One a standard type 24" free floated target barrel, one 24" gas piston and one a little carbine length gas piston. I like the gas pistons for the cleanliness, otherwise no real advantage. Several sites have posted info that with the 123 gr Lapua bullet it is a 1000 yard rifle, I really cannot comment on that as the longest range I have access too is only 250 yards, but there it is fantastic. I also shoot several 6.5x55 Swedish Mausers and am impressed with that cartridge, although my rifles are full military. I would honestly go with one of the 6.5mm types, bullets available for target shooting are fantastic, and according to ballistic data fly very well. They are always a bit lighter than the.308 and larger bullets, and thus cost less, cartridges can use less powder, reducing cost per round further, and best of all recoil is less, which can contribute to better shooting.

Someone said .308 and 30-06 were twins, not so. The 30-06 can generally push most bullets around 200 fps faster which is better for very long range, especially with the heavier, longer bullets which are better long range shooting. Years back the 300 H&H surpassed the 30-06 for the very long range matches simply because the muzzle velocity, and velocity throughout the bullet flight was faster, giving a flatter trajectory and less wind drift. My personal preference is the 30-06, mainly because that was the first centerfire rifle I had, and had access to excellent military match ammo when I was back in college in the 1960's. Dad won the rifle in a sales contest and gave it to me for high school graduation. If I were to choose between the two starting over, and had a choice of calibers I would probably go for the .308, because they generally use a shorter stiffer action and are inherently a little bit more accurate at the closer ranges, and give less recoil, but when dad got my rifle we had no choice of caliber.

Really if all you are wanting is target shooting, one of the 6.5 calibers, 6.5 Creedmore ( don't know exact case specifics on this one), .260 Remington( basically a necked down .308 Winchester)( you can always make brass by simply running .308 brass through a .260 sizing die and trimming) or the old 6.5x55 are all excellent cartridges. The 6.5 Grendel is good, I have made some brass by necking down 7.62x39 brass ( ie AK 47 rifle brass) loading and fire forming. For a bolt action rifle, I think there is only one being made now, a little Howa mini rifle.

I just looked, cz is making the little 527 rifle in 6.5 Grendel now, so it looks like a trip to the gun shop for me!!

 

[Mischief]

Thanks everyone!

 

[nortac]

Yes, you must define long range and your intended purpose. If you intend to get into organized competition, depending on which caliber you choose, it may be legal as a "stock class" or put you into "Unlimited". The significance of this is if you have a "standard gun" in an "unlimited caliber", you'll be competing against those with highly specialized rifles. I used to shoot a .308 Savage in FTR at 600 yds. It is a good starting caliber. The other thing is don't scrimp on the scope. The further you shoot, the more expensive the glass if you want to be competitive. Long distance shooting is the venue of high end optics and where you realize the advantage of paying extra for brands such as NF, USO, S&B over the "also ran" scopes that are great at lesser ranges. Unless you are a top end competitor, you may not realize a real advantage of 6.5 Creedmore over the .260 Remington, the Creedmore being an improved version of the Remington. But you will realize pricier ammo and reloading dies. Both are great long distance calibers. For hunting I'd certainly pick the Remington over the Creedmore. JMHO.

 

[Mhinagoya]

I just finished a long range build. It is a 22-6mm wildcat. I built it for 1000+ yard coyotes. I also have a 6.5X284 (among several others).
What do you consider "long range"?

The guys at Benchmark Barrels are currently fond of the 6mmX284 wildcat.

Bill.

 

[nortac]

Other considerations in choosing a cartridge for long range shooting is barrel life, recoil, amount of powder burned if you are a reloader, and kinetic energy needed down range at the target. Shot a buddy's custom .300 Win mag the other day. It was a heavy gun with a very efficient muzzle brake and was a ***** cat to shoot. Could have shot it all day. The same cartridge in a different gun would have stopped being fun to shoot after about 10 rounds. Hot wildcats will erode the barrels throat in short order compared to other cartridges. Even a moderate .308 will begin to loose accuracy after about 5000 rounds. Serious target shooters accept that barrels are expendable and require replacing at periodic intervals, where as a hunter may never need to replace a barrel. If reloading, one should ask oneself "Does my use of this large case magnum justify the amount of powder burned each time I shoot it?" But if you need the power and long range capability, you may be well justified in using a magnum. Plus they are fun to shoot. At least until it becomes painful, either physically or fiscally!