Long range rifle question

Discuss rifles, carbines, and other long-arms here (AR-15's, AK's, etc...)
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BAD BOY
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Re: Long range rifle question

#46

Post by BAD BOY »

meeneen wrote: September 25th, 2021, 8:53 pm I am not reloading at this time. (Been looking into primers etc and I picked a really bad time to try and get into it).
Beyond 1000meter punching paper or steel, I may use it for hunting at some point (elk, bear).

My 308 is a Remington 700.

Budget for the rifle is 1k-1200
Glass budget is around 6-800
On that budget absolutely stick with 308. I'd just mod the gun you have as well because shooting $2.00 bills AKA match off the shelf ammo is going to blow your budget wide open. Get an amazing scope and run that 700 to make sure you really use it and enjoy doing so.


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BigNate
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Re: Long range rifle question

#47

Post by BigNate »

BAD BOY wrote: February 2nd, 2022, 1:29 pm
meeneen wrote: September 25th, 2021, 8:53 pm I am not reloading at this time. (Been looking into primers etc and I picked a really bad time to try and get into it).
Beyond 1000meter punching paper or steel, I may use it for hunting at some point (elk, bear).

My 308 is a Remington 700.

Budget for the rifle is 1k-1200
Glass budget is around 6-800
On that budget absolutely stick with 308. I'd just mod the gun you have as well because shooting $2.00 bills AKA match off the shelf ammo is going to blow your budget wide open. Get an amazing scope and run that 700 to make sure you really use it and enjoy doing so.
If you just want to start shooting long range competitions you absolutely "can" do it with your .308. That cartridge will put lead on steel at 1000 yards. If you are going to buy a new gun for the purpose I'd not choose the .308 cartridge for the new gun. For what it is worth - I'm not down on the .308 / 7.62X51. In fact my first "battle rifle" was an M1A and when the interwebs asks the question "if you could only choose one cartridge to take with you into the dystopian future what would it be" I've answered that question with the fact that I'd take a .308 battle rifle. I think it is a fantastic cartridge that covers a whole lot of ground including shooting things at longer ranges. That said, being my choice of caliber for the zombie apocalypse does not make it my preferred caliber for competing in a long range shooting event. There simply are better options.

For giggles I went out to Hornady's site and pulled ballistic data for their 140gr ELD Match 6.5 CM and their 168gr ELD Match .308 cartridges and plotted their trajectories against each other (yes - there are thousands of different combinations that could be compared - I just grabbed the two that were the "common" ELD type factory cartridges). The plot through 1200 yards is attached. In short - at 1200 yards the .308 has dropped 611.1 inches and is moving at 1140FPS and the 6.5CM has dropped 517.5 inches and is moving at 1339 FPS. So - you've got almost 100 inches less drop and 200 FPS more velocity out of the 140gr 6.5. This is just "better" for long range shooting. The faster and flatter the round is, the less adjustment you need to make at the scope and the less time that it spends being manipulated by moving air (less impact in terms of windage).
65308.JPG
So - I'll align a bit with @BAD BOY and say that it might be smart to go shoot a few weekend matches with your Rem 700 .308. Buy glass that you can grow with, and figure out the twist rate for your barrel and shoot the longest heaviest match bullet that your barrel is likely to stabilize. If you enjoy it, do it a bit more and when you have learned enough about the game to be able to truly say that your equipment is limiting you, then go buy the next thing. If your budget is what you say above then I'll stick with my advice from the previous post. On the other hand - if you win the lottery - go build yourself a competition rig in .375 CheyTac or .416 Barrett...

There - now you've got another $0.02 from me... and it might be worth that much... :-)
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Jack Dupp
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Re: Long range rifle question

#48

Post by Jack Dupp »

Once again, Big Nate is steering you in the right direction. I'd listen to him waaaay before I'd listen to anything AUTISM1182 has to say.
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Re: Long range rifle question

#49

Post by delta6 »

Jack Dupp wrote: February 3rd, 2022, 12:30 pm Once again, Big Nate is steering you in the right direction. I'd listen to him waaaay before I'd listen to anything AUTISM1182 has to say.
DAMMIT JACK!!... knock it off...I just shot (no pun intended) Mountain Dew out my friggin nose. :clap:
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Re: Long range rifle question

#50

Post by kenpoprofessor »

I just found this article today, hopeful it will be useful.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/65-creed ... 8RzScLX-hA


Have a great, gun carryin', Kenpo day

Clyde
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paulgt2164
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Re: Long range rifle question

#51

Post by paulgt2164 »

Whoa there, don't be posting that. All the people who can't accept time/technology moves along will get butthurt.

You know, the same people who get mad when someone posts a Mosin for the market price instead of the 1958 price of 1.99 per crate.

How dare that new-fangled millennial cartridge beat out the ol' warhorse that has been around for 75 years - that is just blasphemy, and oh yeah those plastic guns just a fad, yall.

Lol ;)

That article basically verifies what we were all saying - Either is good depending on your situation - you can't go wrong with either.

There wasn't an issue till Autism1182 had to butt in with his dumbassery.

I just pointed a friend to picking up a Ruger Predator in .308 - over 6.5 (Despite me really liking 6.5) due to his concerns over Ammo availability. Seems .308 / 7.62x51 was the only stuff on the shelves with nothing else was around. While 556/223 , 9mm, 45, 6.5, 30-06, etc were blank spots on the shelf - for whatever reason Sportsman's had tons of PPU 7.62x51 and various .308 laying around. Hence why I have bought a few .308s here of late.
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kenpoprofessor
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Re: Long range rifle question

#52

Post by kenpoprofessor »

paulgt2164 wrote: April 8th, 2022, 3:50 pm Whoa there, don't be posting that. All the people who can't accept time/technology moves along will get butthurt.

You know, the same people who get mad when someone posts a Mosin for the market price instead of the 1958 price of 1.99 per crate.

How dare that new-fangled millennial cartridge beat out the ol' warhorse that has been around for 75 years - that is just blasphemy, and oh yeah those plastic guns just a fad, yall.

Lol ;)

That article basically verifies what we were all saying - Either is good depending on your situation - you can't go wrong with either.

There wasn't an issue till Autism1182 had to butt in with his dumbassery.

I just pointed a friend to picking up a Ruger Predator in .308 - over 6.5 (Despite me really liking 6.5) due to his concerns over Ammo availability. Seems .308 / 7.62x51 was the only stuff on the shelves with nothing else was around. While 556/223 , 9mm, 45, 6.5, 30-06, etc were blank spots on the shelf - for whatever reason Sportsman's had tons of PPU 7.62x51 and various .308 laying around. Hence why I have bought a few .308s here of late.

I thought about getting a Creedmore, but then decided I had plenty of .308 semi autos and I should stay with that caliber. Found a Mossberg Patriot NightTrain for cheap, and love every second of pressing that 2lb trigger :mrgreen:

Have a great, gun carryin', Kenpo day

Clyde
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Re: Long range rifle question

#53

Post by TheJediknight »

https://bergerbullets.com/

https://www.hornady.com/

i use these in 308 and 300wm and 30-06
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tabascoman79
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Re: Long range rifle question

#54

Post by tabascoman79 »

The bad thing about the pcr rounds is the brass is hard to come by and expensive. If you’re building a rifle. I’d really look at the hood ole 260rem or the AI version. I’ve built 2 260s and they shoot great. Recoil is low and you get a lot of rounds out of the barrels. I’m currently on the hunt for a 308 to do just that with. A 260ai. The last one I built had a 28” barrel. I could shoot the 160gr matrix bullets north of 2800fps with a heavy load of h1000. You can get good brass for it and it’s cheaper. Bullets with high bc, lower powder charge. Components last longer. Small rifle primers are a lot easier to find than large rifle are too
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Re: Long range rifle question

#55

Post by Doc »

tabascoman79 wrote: May 11th, 2023, 2:04 am The bad thing about the pcr rounds is the brass is hard to come by and expensive. If you’re building a rifle. I’d really look at the hood ole 260rem or the AI version. I’ve built 2 260s and they shoot great. Recoil is low and you get a lot of rounds out of the barrels. I’m currently on the hunt for a 308 to do just that with. A 260ai. The last one I built had a 28” barrel. I could shoot the 160gr matrix bullets north of 2800fps with a heavy load of h1000. You can get good brass for it and it’s cheaper. Bullets with high bc, lower powder charge. Components last longer. Small rifle primers are a lot easier to find than large rifle are too
260Rem and Berger 140’s is my jam.
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