Caliber recommendation

[42N8 1]

What caliber would you recommend? I would like to start shooting out past 1000 meters and beyond and eventually extreme long range 2000+ meters. I live where there is plenty of open terrain I have been looking into the 338 lapua, but is there something else out there that is common and offers plenty of knock down power at extreme long range? I used to consider the 50 BMG to be a great round due to availability and knock down power but recently I have been looking at the 338 and it seems to offer a lot. Are there other calibers that I should consider besides these two? Thanks

 

[joemusso]

You might want to look at the .375 cheytac or 408 cheytac.

 

[Dogtown]

I would go with .338LM - it's exploded in popularity in the last 8 years or so and there is an abundance of rifle and ammo components available in volume for it. Technically, .375CT will outperform it (and .408CT) but there's quite a bit less available for it so it's harder to get into that game. Getting into ELR shooting is a pretty big commitment if you're serious about it and you can end up spending a lot of money before you know it, so if you're on a budget consider moving up to a .300WM instead. In fact, if you're already fairly new to shooting beyond 1000 yards, I'd seriously consider that route first as it's far less expensive than .338LM and .375CT and you can still take it well beyond what you'd expect to do with a .308WIN.

 

[Rockfish Dave]

I'm in the planning stages of a .388 Lapua Magnum necked up to .375. Little better barrel life and almost identical ballistics, plus more kinetic energy for terminal performance.

Some of the projectiles I am looking at for the .375:

Manufacturer, Name, Desc., Weight in Grains


Barnes, TTSX, Copper THP, 250
Barnes, TSX, Copper HP, 350
Barnes, TSX, Copper HP, 300
Barnes, TSX, Copper HP, 270
Barnes, TSX, Copper HP, 235
Woodleigh, VLD375, Brass Solid, 350
Woodleigh, H375A, Hydrostatic, 235
Woodleigh, H375, Hydrostatic, 300
Cutting Edge, MTAC_L09, Copper Solid, 352
Cutting Edge, MTAC L11, Copper Solid, 377
Cutting Edge, MTAC L13, Copper Solid, 402
Cutting Edge, MTH L01, Copper HP, 320
Cutting Edge, MTH L02, Copper HP, 330
Cutting Edge, MTH L04, Copper HP, 320
Cutting Edge, MTH L08, Copper HP, 300
Cutting Edge, MTH L350, Copper HP, 350
Cutting Edge, MTH L12, Copper HP, 375
Cutting Edge, MTH L14, Copper HP, 400
GSCustom, 375414SP256, Copper Solid, 414
GSCustom, 375355SP173, Copper Solid, 355
GSCustom, 375330SP032, Copper Solid, 330
GSCustom, 375291SP174, Copper Solid, 291
GSCustom, 375200SP224, Copper Solid, 200
Sierra, 350 gr. HPBT MatchKing, HPBT, 350

 

[42N8 1]

Thanks for the input. The 300 win mag is a great recommendation thanks.

 

[Grizzdude]

I personally favor the 338 lapua for extreme range knock down power.