What caliber should I go with?

[Boomer8404]

I have thought about either building or purchasing some sort of marksmans/sniper type rifle for some time now. I also have a couple of rifles in my safe that can be used. Both Remingtons; 1 a 700 .223 and the other a 722 .250 Savage Ackley Improved.

I have chosen to use the 722 as my base for two reasons. 1, because it has the bolt face size for the range of round calibers Im looking at and. 2, because its a even more rare caliber being an Ackley Improved and it has never shot, nor have I ever been able to get it to shoot good groups at 100 yards.

I test fitted the 722 in the HS Precision stock. There is a clearance issue between the safety and the stock and the inner magazine housing and the stock but thats nothing I cant fix. Also, there is a little bit of back and forth play between the recoil lug and the lug slot too, and I would need to get a different trigger guard. My biggest question now is what caliber do I go with. Im not that big of a shooter, but when I do, I like to shoot distance. 800 yards max or maybe a little more. If I had a choice for simplicity, I would think to choose .308, but I am drawn to "different" sometimes. I would enjoy any advise, Thanks.

 

[iShoot17]

Re: What caliber should I go with?

This would be your best bet...

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1877441#Post1877441

There is also a search engine that is specific to SH on the right hand side of your screen where the answer to any major question, such as which caliber should I get, has been answered! I would say use the search and just read read read! As most people will agree, being a member of SH is more about the reading and less about the asking.

Good luck on your build!

Oh, and .308 is a great choice.

 

[Inline6]

Re: What caliber should I go with?

^^^^^
with that said do a little reading on the 6.5 Creedmoor. If you don't reload it's even that much more of a reason.

 

[RTS]

Re: What caliber should I go with?

How often do you think you'll be stretching out to 800? If most of your shooting will be inside 300/400/500, with occasional runs to 800, you might get different advice. I've always been a fan of heavier bullets, but I've seen some impressive .223 displays lately.

 

[Boomer8404]

Re: What caliber should I go with?

I have thought more on it, and am more in line with what you are saying. My shooting will usually stay around 400-600 yards with occasional runs out to 800 and a few to 1000 every once in a while. However, I am not in the market for a .223, I have heavy barreled Bushmaster that I shoot replica MK-262 MOD-0 ammo out of and its a great shooter. Thanks for your reply.