Make Your Case: Long Action as your only rifle

[BrushBuster1]

I say get the long action and be done. Then when you decide you can afford another get a short action. I’ve been using a TL3 LA for a while, 243win,6cm, 6.5cm, 30-06,280ai have all run smooth though I have not tried any smaller than the 6creed. Years ago I ran a savage la in 308 and 243 and the push feed savage didn’t work very well but the control round feed of the tl3 hasn’t failed me yet and worked well while I got a short action put together.

 

[RealRomulus]

While it may not be a popular thing to do, a 25-06 host could shoot both 3040 and 3215 fps for a rifle that can make all of those competitions listed and do quite well in each, with its strengths actually being in the ELR and longer range matches.

Utilize 4831SC for the slower nodes and lower recoil type matches and then use H1000, Retumbo or RL26 for the ELR matches.

The recoil will be on the higher side of the PRS stuff but at 3040 it won't be too bad and on the other side of the coin you would get to enjoy the lowest recoiling rifle in the entire match in the NF ELR format matches out to 2000 yards while suffering to hit % loss except the few targets beyond a mile or more.

At NF ELR we makeup about 4-5% of the field population and end up with 15-20% of the top 20-25 and have taken home steel the both years we've brought rifles running the 131 ACE at 3200-3350 fps. Logan and I rarely shoot, so in the right hands this setup would do a lot more.

Ballistic ARC may be off a tenth or two for ELR work but it's easy to export dope cards.

While a 25-06, 25x284, or 25x55 Swede would definitely work as a do all Long Action for any practical need (very high hit %'s for long range matches, more than adequate Kinetic Energy for ethical long range hunting), other similar cartridges would work in LA like 284 WIn or 65-06 despite both not having as high of hit % or recoil as one of these 25's with the 131 ACE and a lot less recoil.

Of course this performance can be replicated in SA easily. If I could only have on LA rifle it would probably be a 25x284 since the brass is so good, but I use Lapua 06 brass in my 25-06 and it shoots like a champ.

The 257 Blackjack cartridge (60.0 gr H2O) which will be released with fully commercial, ready to load brass in Q1 2021 will achieve this 3200-3215 fps design goal in a SA format and was designed for the crossover shooter who wants to shoot some of the cooler, longer matches and also utilize this low recoil platform for LRH too. 257 BJ can be loaded down to 2970-3040 as well if a guy wants to run slow for recoil considerations.

Back when most matches were 80% prone and went to 1250-1400 yards I shot a 284 Win and never regretted it with the wind we have here, but as matches evolved to fit the niche of 6mm shortening to roughly 1100 yards and a lot of improvised shooting, I needed to make a move and went to 6.5 for practice rifle and 6 for comp rifle.

You can basically do anything you could ever need to with a 25x284, 6.5x284 or the straight 284 (or 06 or Swede). You can outperform much larger cartridges and recoiling platforms in WEZ Hit % and real world results in matches out to 2000 yards too.