Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

[remau308]

Ok, I'm going to give a rundown of my use for this rifle, and I'm wanting advice on what round would best suit my needs. I shoot a competition that the furthest range is 1000 yards, although, I have access to 1400 yards every now and then, and this rifle will not be used for hunting at all. As of now, I own a .308 rifle that I shoot in the competition, and I enjoy it, but for this next rifle, I'm wanting something that is "easier" at range. What I mean is, I'm looking for a flatter shooting round that bucks wind better than my .308. I prefer it to be a short action round, but I'm not completely stuck on it. I was thinking .260 or 6.5x284, however, I want this next rifle to have a 20" or 22" barrel...hopefully. I was wanting something in 6.5, but I am open to suggestions. Also, the most important part is the load cannot exceed 3000fps, and it cannot be larger or with more penetrating abilities than a .300WM, and it needs to ideally be compatible with the Surefire 762SS suppressor.

I will appreciate all constructive input as well as any criticism. I am just looking for some advice.

 

[jwp6114]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

.243AI

Naw, what your requested Confg lacks to do the job is barrel length. The name of the game is heavy, high BC, low drag coefficient bullet with a node near 3000 that has a powder charge that fills 95% of the case.

Look at .284 with the 180 Berger, my 243 lacks bullet weight and only has a mediocre BC.

 

[remau308]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

How did I know .243AI would be thrown in there by you haha it's definitely on the short list.

 

[PatrickChewing]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

6 Creedmoor w 105 Burger Hybrids @ 2980 with a 23 inch barrel

I'm not currently shooting this but those numbers impressed me enough to buy a 6 Creedmoor.

 

[remau308]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

Damn that is pretty sick numbers. How many grains of what will push that to those numbers in a 23" barrel? I'm admittedly not very savvy with reloading yet, but it's also in the works.

 

[25MAN]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

260 or 6.5x47 will suit you well especially with the shorter barrels.

I use a 260 as one of my comp guns (24inch barrel) and have no issues with 1000 yds. I throw the 142 SMKs at 2880...

you could also neck down 308 brass if needed

in the 6.5 family you have alot of different choices (Creedmor, SAUM, 260, 6.5x47 etc..) and bullet weight choices.

And all excellent choices for 1000yd weapon.

 

[PatrickChewing]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

Remau,

I'm in the same boat. I'm finally starting to get the reloading itch. Those are the numbers that come from Copper Creek's standard 6 Creed load using the Burger Hybreds. I believe George from GAP has posted his reloading info for that round.

Also the price of Copper Creek loaded ammo is extremely attractive for this round.

 

[neeley205]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

I still cant get enough of the 6.5creedmoor. When everyone else is forced to reload without choice or paying $30+ per box of 20, I can always find exactly what I need for reasonable prices and consistent rounds.

 

[PatrickChewing]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

+1 for Alabama guys!

 

[neeley205]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

remau, if your around Birmingham, Ill gladly let you get behind my 6.5CM. Just let me know if you want to take it out to Brock's Gap or something.

 

[PatrickChewing]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

Same as above I have a 260 you can shoot all you want.

From George's thread on the 6 Creed:

#1 is a 105 Hornady .535 BC with 43 grains H4350

#2 is a 115 dtac .580 BC with 42 grains H4350

 

[jwp6114]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

I just got a few 6mm 115 dtac's to try, can't wait.

 

[garandman]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

I'm building the same purpose-built rifle right now.

Folks here sold me on 6.5 Creedmoor

 

[remau308]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

I think I'm leaning on the 6mm Creedmoor, but I was wondering, is there anything that can outperform the 6 Creed without being long action, and be within my preferences listed in the first post? I appreciate all the answers so far, and they have me looking towards rounds I wasn't necessarily considering.

 

[Captain Kirk]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

243 and 243AI will get you faster than the 6CM, but the 6CM is hard to beat for its case capacity. I am building a POF 308 in 6.5CM, but primarily shoot 243 for a primary match rifle. When the 243 barrel goes I may do a 6CM in the bolt gun, 6.5CM in the gasser, the Creedmore shows great potential.

 

[PatrickChewing]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

I agree the 243 and the 243ai is another contender but I think you would really enjoy the 6 creed

 

[remau308]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

Does anyone have any comments on 7wsm or 6.5x284? I'm familiar with them, but would they fit my preferences listed above?

 

[jwp6114]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

On some of the larger small action rounds (284 & wsm family) to shoot the heavy's you either need to be running a long action or single feed and bang or remove bolt to remove unfired round.

Now that I have barrel swap tools I would like to try 284.

You could do the same if u wanted, but when u start throwing the word magnum out there it requires a complete build, or a bolt and barrel, also rounds that I would like to try like 7saum brass non-existent,

From shooting my 6mm so much I would advise a 6.5 or 7mm.

Where your making a mistake is wanting to keep barrel short on 1000 yard gun, if that's a must go with some sort of 6.5

 

[Cwoods]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

I am building a 6.5 Creedmor now for the same purpose. It should be done next week. I will post range results soon.

 

[lawofsavage]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

You've been really helpful to me getting started. I dropped my Savage 12 LRP 6.5 CM in a XLR chassis and has Badger FTE brake on it with a Bushnell DMR on top. Let me know if you want to shoot it.

 

[remau308]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

I appreciate all the offers, and I'm glad to be taking a little advice this time. It's nice going down a relatively unknown path because the discovering is the funnest part. I think my decision is going to be between 6 creed and 6 Dasher. Does anyone know any specific differences in these rounds? I'm not as savvy on this stuff as I would like to be.

 

[TEAMSENDIT]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

If those are your two choices for tactical matches go 6 creed moor the dasher is unbelievably accurate cartridge is a nightmare to feed out of a repeater short fat and sharp shoulder.

 

[remau308]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

Yeah, I actually just read that about the dasher. What about the 6x47 in comparison to the 6 creed? This may be a long drawn out process, but figuring out the specifics is the fun part to me.

 

[Daveworkslocal]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

7mm wsm

 

[TEAMSENDIT]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: remau308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yeah, I actually just read that about the dasher. What about the 6x47 in comparison to the 6 creed? This may be a long drawn out process, but figuring out the specifics is the fun part to me.</div></div>

6x47 if you throw out the brass availability issue is still my favorite round to this day. brass is phenominal super accurate cartridge that can handle anything from varmint bullets up to the dtacs. if you load it hot it will keep up with the 243.

That being said the 6cm is currently easier to find brass for and requires no messing with just load and shoot. it would be my first choice for dedicated match round.

Not to confuse things but i messed with feeding 6br and 6 dasher out of tikka t3 factory 308 mags this weekend and they seemed to work well. So i ordered up a 6br barrel from benchmark this morning to test out, mostly out of curiosity.

 

[Unknown]

Re: Next Long Range Round Advice Needed

There isn't a significant difference between the 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x47 and 260 Remington. If you go with the AI version of any of those rounds, you get 100-250 yards more distance. However, most of those rounds will make it to 1400-1500 yards before going transonic.

When I was looking into building a 260 Rem AI, I asked many of the same questions you did, and the significant input was:
1. That is alot of extra work on the brass for only 100-250 more yards.
2. Brass availability will be much easier with a standard round.
3. How often would I actually think "Damn, I wish I had gone with the AI version of this round so I could reach out that far"?
4. Barrel life would be longer with a standard round.
5. The decision on which of the 3 cartridges to choose should be based on component availability and price...so I went with the 260. I can easily neck down the very cheap Winchester 7mm-08 brass. Plus, now Lapua makes brass for this round (they didn't when I had the rifle built).

I think the main limiting factor for you will be the short barrel. Having that short of a barrel, will actually rob you of quite a bit more distance, but you will actually have to crunch the numbers to find out how far a 20-22 inch barrel will keep your bullet supersonic.

Barrel life, and magazine availability were other considerations for me. I ended up having a build done with a Defiance Machine action that will feed from either AI or AE magazines. I left my barrel long (27 inches now) so when it does start having problems, I can have an inch taken off the muzzle, and two inches taken off the chamber end, and still have a 24 inch tube.

You have already gotten many very good responses, but I thought I would toss in my two cents worth on the Ackley improved versions VS standard cartridges.