Long range rifle question
- Thread starter meeneen
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A 22lr Winchester 52, vaver iron sights, 8 inch steel plate, 5000 rounds of cci high velocity and 400 yards.
Everything is magnified. From wind drift, velocity variations and drop.
Makes shooting anything under 800yds with a centerfire seem easy.
But yes magnification makes it all easier.
Everything is magnified. From wind drift, velocity variations and drop.
Makes shooting anything under 800yds with a centerfire seem easy.
But yes magnification makes it all easier.
I'm going to echo what others have said - and maybe add a little. I can't tell you what to do - I can only tell you what I would do.meeneen said:
For a "starter" long range cartridge (1000M ish - not ELR stuff where you want to shoot out past a mile) I'd go 6.5 CM - for the following reasons:
1) It is "enough cartridge for 1000M shooting and it is ballistically superior to the .308 and most other "common" competitors.
2) Ease of shooting - It is easier on the barrel and your shoulder than the hotter cartridges.
3) It is commercially available in loads that are meant for 1000M shooting - you can ramp up on long range shooting without having to ramp up on hand loading.
4) It will be dramatically less expensive to shoot than .300 PRC - and practice is king. The cheapest commercial .300PRC that I find on Ammoseek.com this morning is $5.90/round ($117.95 per box of 20) before shipping. Similar grade (Hornady ELD Match) 6.5CM can be had for $2.65/round with free shipping. Practice is king and dollar for dollar you can shoot 2.25 times more 6.5CM rounds for the same money - not to mention the cost of replacing barrels, shoulder surgery, etc.
If I were going down this road I'd take the following approach...
6.5 CM until you have settled in to the sport and have outgrown the cartridge (and / or started to shoot out past 1200 - 1300 meters)
.300 WM once you want to start shooting ELR stuff - it can do almost everything that the .300 PRC can do - and still be much cheaper to shoot than .300 PRC. Once you start handloading you'll find brass easier to get, load data more available, etc.
.300 PRC (or some other exocitic cartridge) once you've outgrown the .300WM and / or have decided that you must have the extra 1% that it gives you over the .300WM - or you have grown tired of heating your home by burning stacks of $100 bills.
In other words - it is a very cool cartridge - it is just going to be VERY expensive to build for and to shoot, and its advantages over the others mentioned probably won't be very evident to you until you have many thousands of ELR rounds down range - and that will happen much faster / easier with the other cartridges.
Just my 2 cents.
Doc
Member
meeneen said:
Hey OP. What did you end up getting?
Jack Dupp said:
I agree - that is the route I recently took. Picked a RPR in 6.5, a good bipod, and a decent scope - and off to the races.
Doc
Member
428cj said:
How fast do you figure it left the barrel?
AZ1182 said:
Lol, Please, show us were 6.5CM touched you inappropriately.
No one in this thread said "308 is dead" or even implied it - so I don't know where you are getting that from. In fact the .308 has a ton of support here.
Also, why hate on the 6.5 so hard? I mean really - it does what it is meant to do quite well. I never see why people want to talk crap about having options or a choice for what meets their goals. 6.5 is a perfectly good "starter" long range cartridge that is commonly available and affordable. Surely you aren't another one of those people who hate something because a bunch of people are talking about it - or because it is "new."
paulgt2164 said:
Yeah - its a curious argument. No one is talking about 500M... minimum range in the discussion was 1000M ish and at that range the 6.5CM does really outperform the .308. Shoot - I'm shooting 77gr 5.56 out to 700M without a ton of challenge. The recommendation for 6.5 CM is as an "entry into LR shooting" cartridge. .300 WM is faster and flatter and longer, its just a good bit more expensive and the .300PRC is much more expensive yet. An entry level long range shooter starting with .300 PRC is like a guy who wants to go circle track racing buying himself a World of Outlaws Sprint Car for his first racing vehicle. If he has enough money to do it he can - but it'll cost him a few hundred thousand dollars to ramp up and he's unlikely to have a lot of success initially - because he'll be competing with people that have he'll have every bit as much fun in a pure stock car, will learn the craft by beating up something that costs him $5,000 instead of $500,000, and is more likely to have success early because a bunch of the guys he'll be racing will be like him... In my example - the clearest comparison is the cost. If you want to cut your teeth on something that costs you $6/round and requires a new barrel every 500 - 1000 rounds - well - god bless you... Have at it...
AZ1182 said:
I don't know if it is me your calling a "troll" - but if so that is pretty far from the truth. Also, if I am the one you are ignoring - how do I know this? It isn't like people you ignore get a notification of such - News to me, lol. But then again, no big loss for me either.
Still, you don't explain why the hatred for a cartridge that does what it is supposed to do quite well, and you still haven't pointed out where anyone in this thread said .308 is dead?
As far as "caliber warz" and "handwringing" you are the only one who is making this into an argument and using silly little nicknames like "cantmore," making baseless claims like people in here are saying .308 is dead, and calling people names - no one else is - so............
Calibers usually get a bad wrap when bullet selection is not properly used. Shorter barrel 308s with 155s do quite well at mid distance and will be not much different then the .264s
Run the heavies with a long barrel at distance and they do well also.
I had a 260 rpr with a hawk hill barrel and while the MV was slightly greater it wasn’t enough over the CM to make any difference. I just had to pay more attention to over all length on the 260
Unless your shooting comps, your not gonna wear a barrel out in 1000 rounds. That’s an internet thing.imo. I have a 22x47 that has 1200 on it and still hammers inside of 700 with 75s at 3600 fps.
Run the heavies with a long barrel at distance and they do well also.
I had a 260 rpr with a hawk hill barrel and while the MV was slightly greater it wasn’t enough over the CM to make any difference. I just had to pay more attention to over all length on the 260
Unless your shooting comps, your not gonna wear a barrel out in 1000 rounds. That’s an internet thing.imo. I have a 22x47 that has 1200 on it and still hammers inside of 700 with 75s at 3600 fps.
