What caliber for the most effective long range rifle?

[WoodlandShooter]

anyone playing with the 300 Norma or 338 Norma magnums??

My 270 winny is a rock solid 1300 yard rifle. my next step would be something for 2000 yards. Looking for options and ideas

[rtspring]

.300 RUM hands down, I have owned two and with little work they are lethal killers.  1000 yards? Yep in the hands of someone who can shoot and finds the sweet load.

I killled a bull walking away from me at 532 yards neck shot.  I knew the gun and would take that shot again any day of the week. I shoot factory 180 scirooccos out of mine and the gun loves them. 

Good optics are a must!!! Mine has a 5.5-16.5 nikon titanium and has served me well. 

[Special T]

The .338 Edge does just fine. Everyone has a different perspective of "Effective".

The .300 Win Mag with a Berger 230 OTM is no slouch either.

.338 Edge / 300 grain Berger Hybrid. For size reference, MagPul 20 round AR mag.

You mention the 300 win mag.  Ive been interested in long range shooting, but dont really like the idea of having a gun that is hard/near impossbile to buy factory loads for. I realize that  supreme acuracy is only found with custom loads but like the "option" Perhaps you could spell out some of the basic advanges price/ availabily/ range vs some of the other options.

I saw a video of an AR platform using the 300winmag and heard it may be used as a military weapon. Thoughts?

[WoodlandShooter]

The .338 Edge does just fine. Everyone has a different perspective of "Effective".

The .300 Win Mag with a Berger 230 OTM is no slouch either.

.338 Edge / 300 grain Berger Hybrid. For size reference, MagPul 20 round AR mag.

You mention the 300 win mag.  Ive been interested in long range shooting, but dont really like the idea of having a gun that is hard/near impossbile to buy factory loads for. I realize that  supreme acuracy is only found with custom loads but like the "option" Perhaps you could spell out some of the basic advanges price/ availabily/ range vs some of the other options.

I saw a video of an AR platform using the 300winmag and heard it may be used as a military weapon. Thoughts?

The NEMO Omen is a 300 win mag in a AR -10ish platform. that is all I know. I think it would be a single feed is using hand loaded 230 bergers. I think to truely enjoy the addeed BC of the 230 Berger, you may need something with more case capacity than the 300 WinMag.

[WoodlandShooter]

http://www.joomag.com/magazine/private-military-contractor-international-april-2014/0907143001394362770?page=5

[mrolen]

I will be running my little 6.8x64 this weekend in Idaho for my first PRS match...

270 win?

yes sir!!

Thats great! love the 270 win I have been tossing around the idea for a while to build one. It seems like that is the only caliber I can find winchester brass for in town

[rbros]

For 1k+ it's hard to beat the 338's.  The edge or lapua imp would be the better of the bunch. Here is an example of what they typically run in 30" tubes out of the shop

338 lapua 2800-2825
338 edge 2900-2920
338 lapua imp 2975-3000



Using n570 in any of the above will boost speed but it's been impossible to find for a couple years. 

are those velocities with 300 Grain pils?

Yes, 300gr bullets

[yorketransport]

My favorite LR calibers are the 284 Win, 7mm RUM, and (obviously  ) my 375 BME. The 284 is really more of a target round than a hunting round much past 500 yards (at least our of my short barrel) but the 7mm RUM and 375 BME are pretty heavy hitters well beyond 1000 yards. The 7 RUM shoots a little flatter when running the 200 gr Wildcat ULD at 3095 fps than the 375 BME running the 350 gr MK at 2950, but the BME hits noticeably harder at any range!

The guy that I shoot with runs a 338 Edge and I have an Edge barrel set up for one of my guns. It's a great caliber but I just never took to it. The 350 gr MK that I run out of the 375 BME offers a very similar BC to the 300 gr MK in 338 and costs about the same so I just stick with those most of the time. The 300 gr Berger OTM is a great bullet as well and even better if you have the gun setup to run them at a longer OAL. I have the 270 RUM and 6.5 Badger as well. They both shoot like lasers with the right bullets, but I've just taken a liking to the 7mm RUM and 375 BME.

Any time somebody tells me that they want to build a 338 Edge I try to talk them into going with the Lapua instead. Loaded to equal pressures the Lapua and Edge are nearly neck and neck, with the Lapua having a theoretical advantage because of it's (slightly) larger case capacity. The biggest advantage I see for the Lapua is not just the quality of the brass, but the availability. Try and find 300 or 375 RUM cases right not to form 338 Edge brass. It's not easy! It's tough to even find 404 Jeffery brass because people are using it to form Edge brass.

Andrew

[bearpaw]

Thanks to everyone for all the good comments thus far, keep them coming!

[Blacklab]

Try this Campmeat

6.5 Grendel - Alexander Arms This is the founder of Grendel 

www.alexanderarms.com/products/65-grendel - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

With the addition of the 6.5 Grendel to the product lineup at Alexander Arms®,  ...

[coachcw]

All I can tell you is my 6.5x284 built of a rem 700 action shoot lights out ! with the muzzle break there is really no recoil and you see impact through the scope . I know there some out there that pack more ke but it's really about placement . I'd shoot with confidence on game out to 7-800 using the 140 vld . 

[CAMPMEAT]

Try this Campmeat

6.5 Grendel - Alexander Arms This is the founder of Grendel 

www.alexanderarms.com/products/65-grendel - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

With the addition of the 6.5 Grendel to the product lineup at Alexander Arms®,  ...

BL,

I know about the Grendel. I was wondering about the 6.8x64 that was mentioned...or, is that a wildcat based off the Grendel or 6.8 ?

[Curly]

Camp, I think that was a joke. 6.8x64 = 270 win.

[LEN]

Just remember on animals you need a bit left when you get there. I think any of the bigger 338's will do the job(that's a joke). But remember also the wind at those distances. A time ago in a land very close by son and I were starting the longer ranges. Started at 400 in a little wind at 90 degrees(this is another joke). Set up milk jugs in a row. Son shot first good rest time to judge things, took shot good hit on second jug down wind. I said cool first shot then he said aim point was for first jug. At animals is a bit different than rock and such. JMO

LEN

[WoodlandShooter]

Camp, I think that was a joke. 6.8x64 = 270 win.

yes, the 6.8x64 is a 270 WIN!! it was a joke...

However, it's potential is not a joke, you just have to build it to perform. Factory 270's are stuck with a 10 twist barrel.

The other problem is there are only ~ 6 bullets out there that work. 175 Matrix VLD (0.650 BC), 165 Matrix VLD(0.638 BC), Nozler 150 grain Long Range (0.569 BC per Litz), and Sierra 135 grain SMK. I have no experience with any Cutting Edge bullets or some of the other bore-rinders.

I only have experience handloading with the 150NABLR and the 165 Matrix and 130 grain Accubonds. The 175 is probably best used in a 270 AI, or a 270 WSM.

Nozler says the 10 twist will work with the NABLR, but Litz posted that the stability is marginal in a 10 twist. The 165 Matrix also needs faster than 10 twist.

My rifle will shoot ~.5 MOA with hand loads, and ~1 MOA with factory Winchester Ballistic silvertips with me running it. As the action is a Weatherby MKV, it really cant be tweaked like a Remmy, but it will shoot nonetheless.

so, with all that said, the potential with the 165 matrix is huge. I can push them to ~2850 out of my 9 twist Benchmark barrel. With a velocity of 2850 FPS and a BC of 0.638, 0.5 MOA accuracy, well, it's a shooter. It's not crazy accurate, but it's very usefull. The best part, I can use factory loads to 700 yards consistently, and those loads are always available at Wallyworld. I have taken the 130 Grain Win BST loads to 980 yards, and it's still on target, the issue is the wind...they get blown around like a 223.

IMHO, when it comes to building a rifle, especially in todays world, brass, powder, factory loads etc...etc.. MUST be readily available. Wildcats are cool, but if I have to fire form, cut, trim, use close to 100 grains of powder, etc. etc., well, it's not worth my time.

a 6.8x64  with a 165 matrix is a hammer at 1000 yards and supersonic to 1300 yards at standard conditions. Get some altitude and some higher temps, and that range grows. It's very similar in trajectory and supersonic range to a 300 Win Mag with 210 Bergers.