Long range HELP

[BC83]

Hello Gents...

Ill try to make this simple. Iv'e been shooting .260 for awhile now and I'm completely satisfied with the caliber out to about 1000-1150 yards, and now i'm looking for something with more power. This will be used for killing paper and steal from a bench or prone. I already have a Smith and a parts list i just need a Caliber, and that's what i need some help with guys it must meet the following criteria.

Cost effective, im not looking to spend $2.oo a round

readily available brass

NOT A BARREL BURNER

have a BC of .6 or higher

right now i'm looking at the .284 WIN using the JLK 180 VLD's ???

 

[pinzmann]

My 7mm WSM gets me out to a mile with Berger 180's. Uses about 65gr of H1000. Velocity is around 2975.
Also have a 284 but brass is hard to find. Usually I use Lapua 6.5x284 and neck it up. But watch out for donuts. This caliber has gotten me to 1500 consistently.

 

[HDCLeigh]

Go with a 300wm.

Lots of bullet choices, plentiful and cheap components, nice big splash when it impacts down range.

Not necessarily one of the "coolest" cartridges, but lots of performance nonetheless.

 

[Atanasius]

300 WM all the way. 1 in 10" twist.

 

[Ledzep]

I think 300wm is going to be hard to beat. I'm in about the same scenario, shooting a 260 and much past 1000 it gets rough. I'm looking at 300wm and 338 RUM.

 

[deersniper]

7mm Rem may with 162 Amax is a option.

 

[MitchAlsup]

7-08 will reach 1500 yards
7WSM will each 1700 yards

It seems to me the bullet makers have pushed the 7mm bullets to higher BCs than they have pushed the 30 caliber bullets.
Conversely, one can say, it might take too much powder/case volume to push a 30 caliber bullet to the BCs one can get in a 7mm at adequate MV.

One can say pretty much the same thing about 6.5mm wrt 30-caliber.

 

[BC83]

no one has any working knowledge of the .284 WIN..???

I do like the 7mmWSM but it seems to be a Barrel Burner, does it work well with the slower loads??

 

[pinzmann]

I currently have 2 .284's. one a home built Savage and the other a BigHorn action built by LongRifles. The Savage I am using Hornady 162 A-max and am getting 2975 fps. The BigHorn likes Berger 168's. Speed is around 2930.
These get me out to 1500 plus. Also nice is the fact that I'm only using around 52-53 gr of powder. Down side is availability of .284 Winchester brass which I prefer. I also use the Lapua 6.5x284 brass but get donuts sometimes but you can work around that by seating the bullet out just past the donut.
Very happy with the cartridge for the bang per buck. I do run long actions in these though. The 7mm WSM is on a short action.

 

[DP425]

Another vote for .300WM. You'll have a hard time finding a more capable cartridge that is as readily available and economically priced.

 

[SWRichmond]

300WM, 230 OTM tactical Bergers #30112

 

[SatCong]

Yes, on 300 win mag. I did the mile with it. Shooting 200 grain SMK at 1 and 1/2 MOA. Great round.

 

[BC83]

Is it hard to run the 230 VLD's in the 300 WIN??

 

[duey1267]

I would suggest the 6.5x 284 if you have the time and inclination to develop hand loads... If you don't and want to be able to shoot factory ammo I would suggest the 300WM....


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[slm9s]

I am having a switch barrel setup built. 7mm Rem Mag for 180 hybrids and 338 RUM for 300 smks.

7RM has cheap available brass everywhere. Excellent ballistics and less recoil than a 30 or 33.

338RUM has cheap brass and excellent ballistics

If I had started with a short action, a 7wsm or 7saum would have worked well also.

 

[KYpatriot]

If can accept the barrel life of the 300wm then build a 7rm instead. It will at least match the 300 with a lot less recoil. Throat it long, use 300wm AI mags, and with retumbo or h1000 it will send 180 hybrids around 2950 to 3050fps. You'll need to get into the 338lapua class to best it.

The problem will be barrel life...it isn't great for either the 300wm or the 7 rm. Personally, I think you have to pay if you want yo play so I don't worry about it, and had my smith spin up two barrels at once. So for an extra $550 bucks I doubled my barrel life lol.

If you really must have barrel life because you will be shooting a bunch of high round ct comps then the straight 284 is probably your best bet. Will still hit the steel hard, good splash on a miss, acceptable recoil. An awesome round, maybe one of the best all rounders there is with plenty of energy to acceptable hunting ranges but not enough recoil that you need to have a 17 lb rifle to handle it, or god forbid a muzzle brake. Oh, they run brass for it in batches, so buy a bunch when you see it.

Whatever you build do yourself a favor and limit the barrel length to 26in or less and get a suppressor. Way better than a brake. Seriously.

I don't know what to say about cost. If you are serious about performance then you will be buying high BC berger projectiles which are spendy, will need reloading equipment that is spendy, will need a good smith which is spendy, good brass, well you get the idea. It's not as expensive as buying a sports car or boat, but you can't do long range on the cheap if you are serious about it.