Although it will always be there and ready if the need arises. In reference to the gentleman saying a hunter shouldnt take a long range shot, what he meant was He shouldnt take a long range shot. . Feb 17, 2008. rating) driven more slowly. The new Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent load with a muzzle velocity of 2825 fps shoots flat and the bullet is tough enough to handle up close impacts while still delivering good. Like the 26 Nosler, the 28 is based on the 404 Jeffery case and will remain supersonic out past 1,750 yards. I wish we had as much long range shooting locations as they do out west. But flat? Oldmarine >>> GO I know you like your Bushnell scope but you should know that they make a lot of good scopes but the one that is favored by many Long Range shooters is the Elite Tactical XRS 4.5 . Copyright 2023 Pew Pew Media, Inc. All rights reserved. It happened to shoot the, ammo, but Wolf offers extremely affordable plinking ammo with their, Once dialed in, I was able to put rounds on a steel silhouette, Ammunition choices have increased lately, and Hornady has ammunition with the, none of these choices are necessarily easy on the pocketbook, with most loads over $1/round. It is a screamer, and with increased velocity comes increased range. Unless that backer has five distinct holes in itwhich Stinnetts didit doesnt count. more do I really need more ??? Nonetheless, during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Naval Surface Warfare Center wanted to develop a sniper round that was effective to 1,500 yards and started looking for a cartridge to fulfill that role. I can not confirm this, but it seems completely legitimate. Considered by many to be the optimum long-range, large-game cartridge, the .300 Winchester Magnum has proven itself worldwide. can handle any big-game animal on earth. Yup, the .257 beats everybody in speed and long-range accuracy, at least out to 500-600 yards (except the .22 Swift, and it drops off after a couple of hundred yards) . Therefore the .17 Remington is the round for you. 36 in. I've been toting a T3 Lite Stainless in .308 Winchester for many years. Looks like another article telling us it's ok to shoot at an elk from 500 yards away. rem. And that requires lengthy driving and an annual membership fee to a club. If you took the Statue of Liberty and laid it down, thats almost 20 Statues of Liberty long. Well, theres really only one option in .22-caliber and thats the .224 Valkyrie. I sincerely am ready to listen to reason: Why is the .257 Weatherby ignored in these discussions? The ultimate open-country hunting cartridge. Though the recoil in sporting-weight rifles is a bit much to allow you to see bullet impacts inside . As with Hornadys two recent 6.5 caliber introductions, it has found favor with long-range competitors, but also with hunters who like to hit at distance with heavy bullets. The Nosler AccuBond is one of the best all-round big-game bullets offered, and Weatherby has smarly offered the 140-grain version for their 6.5 RPM cartridge. I don't judge those who take longer shots, but encourage people to know their limits. The only thing about the lower would be magazines, .224 Valk uses 6.8 SPC mags. 500-yard drop: 45 inches (based on a 100-yard zero). I recommend a longer 20-inch barrel to gain as much velocity as possible for extended range. Why? Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. But to do this, it must launch a heavy bullet and that means recoil can be stiff; from an 8-pound rifle, it generates more than 33 foot-pounds of recoil, which is more than twice that of the 6.5 Creedmoor. In fact, loaded correctly it will leave quite a mark well past 2000 yds. Mags., the .257 Wby., and a host of others, I ended up right back where I often doshouldering a .308 Winchester. If you take a left turn, you can go through an endless list of wildcat cartridges as well. That is just my opinion. Just $1 per month , These rounds have the reach and the power to put down big-game animals way out there, By His custom-made barrels had a 1:17 twist. The military started taking notice of the .300 Win. The last time a .270 Win. Mag. None of them will turn you into a trained sniper, but if youve put in the range time and have the skills to stretch it out, these 10 cartridges have the reach and the thump to put game on the ground from the next canyon over. 7mm Magnum is what I use out here on Guam, USA. Wrong on all accounts. There is no shortage of amazing cartridges that offer dazzling performance at extended ranges. 30 years later still shooting this caliber even though I do have the 6.5 CM too. The newest addition to the Nosler line of proprietary cartridges is the 27 Nosler. With a flatter trajectory and less wind drift the .300 Win Mag offers a useful step up in performance in a similar size rifle. These cartridges all drop less than 255 at 1,000 yards. Another and even better option for reaching out to a big game animal with an AR15 is the 6.5 Grendel. Ken Whitmore is a husband, father of two, and prior service United States Marine. Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia and has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. Steel placed at 500 yards are the bread-and-butter targets for PRS and NRL competition, so for these applications the pipsqueak 6mms are the best. Ammunition choices have increased lately, and Hornady has ammunition with the 87-grain VMAX and 103-grain ELD-X for long-range hunting. Mag., and the story of its adoption and evolution in that role is what really lands it on the list of best long-range calibers. With the right bullet and (as always) good shot placement, the 6.5 Creedmoor hits hard. Don't need to be a super-awesome-Operator or competitive shooter to know this. It drops almost 400 inches at 1000 yards and drifts 100 inches at the same with a 10 MPH full value wind. That's about 55 Statues of Liberty (305'), not 20. Since the velocities tend to be mild (2850 fps is usual) it is also easy for shooters to manage the rifle recoil and spot their hits and misses, which is another key to success in practical rifle competition. Mag. Caliber selection is all about figuring what trade-offs make the most sense for what you want to accomplish. It just my rifle? And that light recoil not only makes you a better shot in the field; it also makes practicing more fun and productive. Generally, traditional Weatherby Magnum cartridges perform slightly better than their Winchester or Remington magnum counterparts. In other words, can I just remove my .223 Wylde/5.56 NATO223 upper assy and install the PSA .224 Valkyrie upper? The rifle is my primary backcountry gun for deer, elk, bear and whatever else I think I may need to hunt. The Creedmoor carries more velocity and energy downrange with less recoil than any other factory cartridge. in the 1960s when Marine Lance Corporal Carlos Hathcock used the round to win the Wimbledon Cup, a 1,000-yard rifle competition in 1965. For good reason. This is mainly because the .308 Winchester is a heavier, slower bullet. Im drawn to this new interest in long range. Originally established in 2003 for the AR15 platform, it is now available in bolt-action rifles as well. In this article, I aim to help you decide which cartridge may be best for you, your wallet, and what you may be able to expect out of these long-range capable cartridges. Performance in the field is another. Federal was tapped to produce the ammo in 1992, and so the military had a sniper round that slotted between the .308 Win. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Why It Made the Cut: The 6mm Dasher consistently wins in competition. Match those and regardless of caliber, drops will be identical. We really neednt measure individual cartridges/bullets because just two things determine drop: muzzle velocity and bullet B.C. It was introduced in 1963 to augment the series of belted magnum cartridges that Winchester based off the .375 H&H. After reaching out to 1,250 yards on a trip to the amazing High Bar Homestead in Gillette, WY, I am now a firm believer in the .224 Valkyrie. (The only reasons I can think of to buy the 308 is if you are going compete in a competition that requires that caliber or you already have plenty of reloading gear for the 308 and you don't want to change that over also. With the ability to handle more aerodynamic bullets than the .270 Winchester or the .270 WSM, the 6.8 Western and its 1-in-8 twist rate allows this cartridge to outperform both at distance. But as with the 6.5 PRC, there are not a lot of factory-ammo options to choose from. I don't care if you have a Win Mag or a Creedmoor and can hit steel from a mile away with it. Mag. Check out more F&S long-range shooting coverage, including advice for getting started in long-range shooting competitions, the reason why rifle groups keep shrinking, how Heavey did at Gunsite Academy, and what makes long-distance shooting so difficult. If im trying to hunt, 300 Win Mag, 338 maybe a 7mm. These numbers indicate that one of the flattest shooting commercial cartridge at sensible hunting ranges is the 220 Swift. The new Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent load with a muzzle velocity of 2825 fps shoots flat and the bullet is tough enough to handle up close impacts while still delivering good expansion at distance. Are going to forget about 6.5 rem mag again? At the end of WWII, when NATO was forming, the members wanted a flat shooting cartridge good out to seriously long-range, without the weight of a full-sized rifle round like the .30-06. But I suspect the 220 Swift will hang on as our Flat Trajectory Champ or close to it at quasi-sensible hunting distances. When coupled with bullets that have a high ballistic coefficient, the results are impressive. It's a pre-64 and well it's not used much now. Its parent case, the 6.5 Creedmoor, has an amazing pedigree for long-range shooting. In real world shooting, were always starting with a barrel angled upward slightly because this is the only way we could hit anything downrange without aiming over it. Since this article originally went live, several excellent long-range big-game cartridges have it the market. Covering all of them would practically be a novel, so I am going to stop short here. RELATED: The 10 Best Rifle Bullets for Long-Range Shooting. Maybe 250 if the stars align. Based on the old .404 Jeffery case, its the same length as the .30/06, which means it works in standard-length actions. Q: Ron, I would love to see you do a video on the all-time flattest shooting rifle. You can even pick it up at your local neighborhood Wal-Mart. One reason for the .300 Win. The problem with articles like this is that it gives younger readers (whose experience likely includes playing call of duty or watching American sniper) the false impression that any of these rounds will simply do the trick without a great deal of training and practice. What about the guy who wants to go long with his AR-15? Both are of course bolt-action rifle cartridges. I just think this article was not specifically a hunting article. One needs look no further than how the 6.5 Creedmoor and its kin have fared in precision rifle competitions, winning time and again when the shots are on small targets at 1,000 yards or more. Been shooting this particular caliber since I bought my first legal rifle at the old age of 18 lol. Then theres the matter of personal preference. rating) driven more slowly. To explain the nuances of rifle twist rates, you can read my previous article about AR-15 Twist Rates! The .257 Weatherby is one of the flattest-shooting cartridges made. I would like to see how other people have loaded that round for various purposes, The 22-250 has never been considered a long range cartridges because the cartridges have very light bullets and rifles offered have always had slow twist rates. According to the ballistics charts on the boxes. rounds to their specs. projectiles begins to add up and they shoot flatter at extreme range. Even though I love my Creedmoors, my 7mm Rem. Its like a shorter, beltless version of the .300 Winchester Magnum. For deer and lesser critters, its a solid 500-yard cartridge. The haters claim it is over-hyped by the outdoor media (certainly true), that it is inadequate for game larger than deer (false), and that its no better than older classic cartridges (also not the case). While precision match loads can be pricey, you can always run cheaper alternatives. To which I would answer neither the 300WM or the .338. Hornady is loading 6 GT ammunition with 109-grain ELD-M bullets that are available through GA Precision. A: Kelly, it depends on the distance across which you want to measure. It was introduced in 1962 and essentially knocked the .264 Winchester Magnum several notches down on the popularity list after hunters and shooters put the 7mm Mag to the test. Creedmoors, my 7mm rem big game animal with an AR15 is the for... 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F & S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers though the recoil in sporting-weight rifles a... Almost 400 inches at the old.404 Jeffery case and will remain supersonic past. Numbers indicate that one of the flattest shooting commercial cartridge at sensible hunting ranges the! Hits hard and lesser critters, its the same length as the.30/06, which means it works in actions. Length as the.30/06, which means it works in standard-length actions and bullet B.C acceptance our. 2003 for the AR15 platform, it is a heavier, slower bullet even pick it up at your neighborhood! 'S not used much now a club the 300WM or the.338 rifle bullets long-range! Is based on the 404 Jeffery case, the 6.5 Grendel am ready listen! The 10 Best rifle bullets for long-range hunting can even pick it at... The old.404 Jeffery case, its a solid 500-yard cartridge holes in itwhich Stinnetts didit doesnt.!