Range Report OK now its time for 30 cal choices!!!

I think the significantly shorter barrel life of the 300rum puts it out of favor with volume shooters? 93.0gr of H1000 behind a 208Amax was awesome. Very accurate, but 77gr of H1000 pushing the same bullet out of my 300wm is faaaar easier for me to drive better.
I couldn't be happier with my 300wm typically using those 208 amaxes at just shy of 3k fps. The 225 gr are also very accurate but didn't offer me enough wind benefit inside of 1200y for the extra recoil. I thought I would regret not doing a .30-.375ruger/300hsm, the only advantage I can see from my viewpoint right now is that 375ruger brass has been on the shelves continually for the last year.......
 
Anyone looking at a 178grn bullet don't forget the Hornady 178 BTHP with it's .530 BC. Almost equal to the 190 SMK's .533 but a little lighter so you can send it out faster.
 
My vote is hands dn 300wm/208amax. I had a surgeon scalpel running that setup and it was ridiculous.it seemed like whatever load or oal i fed it it just drilled.i would buy fgmm once fired , blk hills once fired and it would hammer with all of it.i had to sell it to buy another sa match gun. I think about that gun alot still.
 

yes these are very nice in a 300wm, mild recoil and shoot very well. first try at 1k had a 8" 5 shoot group off the bipod and
rear bag. wish i could find some more.
 

In a 30 caliber it is very difficult to beat the 300 Win Mag. One can get right at 3K with the 190 SMK. One can usually get 2850+ shooting the 220 SMK. Recoil can be controlled by going to a heavier barrel and/muzzle break. With heavier barrels and a good shooter it typically gets very good accuracy with recoil that can be easily mastered by most experienced shooters.
If the choice is between the .300 vs .06 the mag will easily out-perform the 06 in speed, energy. and usually accuracy. This is especially true beyond 1000 yards. The barrel life on a win-mag is not unreasonable. All the components are available. I was in a very remote village in Alaska for four years and they seemed to always have cigarettes and win-mag ammo. The 300 Win is becoming as common as the 06 in the bush. On large animals (elk and above) I believe the mag is more common than the 06. The military chose the more robust mag for the next leg up for their sniper caliber. I don't think the 06 was even considered. The 06 is a fine caliber but it is not in the same class as the 300 Mag.
 
My shooting buddy recently completed his 300 RUM. We shot it at 665 yards with the Berger 230 hybrid. Velocity was around 2900fps out of a 29inch barrel with a medium charge of Retumbo. 3000+ fps is probably attainable out of the 30 inch pipes. Accuracy was unbelievable, the first 3 groups on the new build were all under 4 inches at 665 yards with a mild breeze. It hit like a freight train as well. Our silhouette target has a 6 inch center disc on hinges and it ripped the hinges off the main plate. It had withstood hundreds of hits by 308s, 260s, 300WMs over the years. So if you are looking to really stretch out past 1k I think the RUM would do it the best, granted the WM probably wouldn't have that much trouble either. Downsides, they burn a lot of powder, brass is tough to find, not a great selection of factory ammo, NEEDs a brake. I know my shooting buddy loved his WM before the RUM, but he definitely despised the belted case of the WM. My .02
JWV
 

Whole lotta quotin' aside, Bohem has nailed my viewpoint. I have that viewpoint because of a significantly reconstructed sternum following a quick pair of cardiac surgeries, that constrains my recoil tolerance greatly. I also rule out the 12ga for the same reason, and have set my sights on the 20ga for all my future SA/G needs.

For beyond 1000yd (very unlikely in my case), I'd really prefer the option of a switch barrel on my .30-'06 allowing a swap to the .280 Rem. Realizing this puts my selection outside the OP stipulations, I really think it's a far better chambering for that 1400yd shot without requiring a whole lotta extra baggage or adding to the recoil issues.

Greg
 
208 amax is as good a choice almost as any for the .300 win mag. Cheap, but DEADLY... On targets and game. I had to use a bc a little bit higher than the g1 of .648 at 900, 1000, 1100, 1200 yards to get hits on a 6" circle. Don't know if its the powder heating up (r22) or just a good lot of 208's
My new favorite (WHEN YOU CAN FIND THE DAMNED THINGS) is the 215 Berger Hybrid. Yeah.... It's a longer bullet... But it's bearing surface allows them to shoot faster than a 208 with the same powder charge. I believe the 208 starts going down around 1670 yards.... The 215 is 1,850 yards given the right conditions.
Out of a 26" bbl, I've got the 215's at 2900 fps with 77 grains of h1000 kissing the lands. RP brass.
I save those for "special " occasions and shoot the 208 mostly

208 loads. ( All RP brass, fgm215m, 5r mil spec 26" bbl)

76.8 h1000 40/1000's" off lands 2870 fps
72.5 r22 "" "" "" 2910 fps
72.6 pp4000mr. FAST (like 2980)
 
hey guys, i think there is one bullet most of you are overlooking. The Berger 30cal 230gr hybrid. its got a .743 g1/ .380 g7. if you point it, that takes to about .796 g1/ .406 g7. just a little food for thought.
 

This ^ accurate bullets and priced very aggressively. At around 30$/100ct i love em. Of the varget loads i've shot which have included 155gr Scenars and berger 175gr BL LRs the 178s shot the best.



45.5gr of varget (will have to back down to 45.2gr it's a tad hot)
Nosler brass
COL 2.860
Fed 210m Primers.
 
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Has anyone here shot the 215 Hybrids from a stock Reminton 700 SPS in .30-06? I have a box and was wondering how they would compare to the 208 A-Maxes I have been load developing for.
 
My .300RUM loves the 210 SMK over 87.0 gr. of RL22 @ 3170fps. Shot a few groups at .500" or smaller with 25-30mph swirling winds. At 830 yds., I thought it was going to rip my steel target off the stand! Amazing that with double ear protection over a gun with a brake you can still hear the ring very loud at 830 yds....a few seconds after you send it.