Among his requirements were that the cartridge for the rifle should be able to kill a 1,000-pound animal with one shot, that the ammunition should be widely available, that the practical field accuracy of the rifle, which should weigh seven pounds or less with scope and sling and be no longer than 39 inches from butt to muzzle, should be 2 MOA, demonstrated by the shooter placing 3-shot groups on a 200 yard target that measure four inches or less. The .224 Valkyrie is the flattest shooting 0.224 caliber cartridge you can put in an AR-15. Not long ago, Team Global Precision Group used the .416 Barrett to ring steel at a mind-blowing 6,012 yards (3.4 miles, 5497 meters, 18,036 feet). I hate to be so critical here but when you start a list of "best long range cartridges" with the 5.56 you have immediately started off by being disingenuous. My favorite for many years is the 7mmX300 Weatherby on a Ruger No.1 with a Schillen @ 24'' a long with the 264 Win. There is no one-size-fits all answer when it comes to the best long-range calibers. But putting the emotional draws to the cartridge aside, there are still plenty of pragmatic reasons for the choice. While they are relatively close within 500 yards, at 1,000 yards, the .308 Winchester has 4 feet more drop when you compare a 6.5 CM 140-grain ELD vs. a .308 Win 168-grain ELD. The correct response is, for what? when it comes to long range hunting I have to stick to my 7mm mag custom made bolt action, an extremely flat trajectory and shots at over 1000 yards are very common. Ballistically, the cartridge is very similar to the 6.5 PRC, but unlike the PRC it uses a standard 0.473 rim diameter like the .308 Winchester. I also encourage others to understand that their limits legitimately aren't limits for other people sometimes. The round, designated A191 (Mk 248 Mod 0), was deemed effective to 1,200 yards, though in reality it was capable well beyond that distance, as was demonstrated by Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle who used the round to kill an enemy combatant in Afghanistan at 1,600 yards. Copyright Ron Spomer Outdoors document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Even then youre talking about a 1/4 MOA Shot. The newest addition to the Nosler line of proprietary cartridges is the 27 Nosler. Get Our Top Shooting Drills and Zeroing Targets ($47 value - but FREE for a limited time). Hornady is loading 6 GT ammunition with 109-grain ELD-M bullets that are available through GA Precision. It is also a winner as a competition round, especially as a lighter ELR (extreme long range) round on targets out to 2,100 yards. . It's muzzle velocity is a blistering 4145 fps. In the open plains, 300 yards in 15 mph winds is the starting place. 103 in. I zeroed it at about 2 inches high at 200 yards. It nearly matches the ballistics of the Winchester Magnum, but does so in rifles with faster-twist barrels and modern powders that extend barrel life. Type your email address and well send Norma offers a 156-grain Oryx load that wont shoot as flat but provides great terminal performance. Not only are new loads being offered, new ARs and even bolt action rifles for the Grendel are being introduced. USSOCOM did just adopt 6.5 Creedmoor as their new go-to cartridge though. Sadly, this round too fell short, not meeting the accuracy standards that the Navy had established while developing chamber pressure that exceeds SAMMI standards in the process. . Maybe 250 if the stars align. According to the ballistics charts on the boxes. Mag Browning Eclipse using 208 Grain Hornady Match Bullets and am having a good time with my new DPMS with a Geissly Trigger and custom Muzzle brake with the barrel cryogenically treated hitting golf balls at 200 yards. The 300 PRC will cruise above the speed of sound out to 1,650 yards. The ultimate open-country hunting cartridge. It will be passed down to my son and so forth. Learn the 3 most popular shooting stances & more. Even though high-BC .30-caliber bullets need to be heavy and pushed hard to shoot flat, many American hunters love them enough to tolerate the recoil. Why It Made the Cut: The 6mm Dasher consistently wins in competition. Rate it below. I wish there was more talk around 308 since you've established it as the baseline by which all long range cartridges are judged. I don't judge those who take longer shots, but encourage people to know their limits. Mag. They usually start at around $300. Another downside is that the 6mm Creedmoor does not buck the wind as well as its bigger brother, the 6.5 Creedmoor. A popular western big-game cartridge, the 7mm Magnum doubles as an excellent tool for long-range target shooting. ( The Weatherby 257 is also greatly favored by Western hunters)." Happy Hunting! Mag., while having to put up with significantly less recoil. Other than some boutique businesses that will load ammo for you, there is currently no factory 6mm Dasher offered, which is a significant barrier to entry for many shooters. Beyond 600 or 800 yards, however, the efficiency of the high B.C. It is hard to believe that a .224-inch caliber bullet with a C.O.A.L. It combined flat-shooting ballistics with hard-hitting bullets in a package with lighter recoil than the .300 Weatherby Magnum, which debuted in 1944. Im drawn to this new interest in long range. But I suspect the 220 Swift will hang on as our Flat Trajectory Champ or close to it at quasi-sensible hunting distances. Unless the 300WM was down-loaded to unsafe levels, the 308 will never beat it. High ballistic coefficient bullets around 100 grains give this round excellent performance out to 1,000 yards. For those looking to leverage the latest innovations in cartridge design and bullet technology there is a whole world of goodies to choose from. Feb 17, 2008. There are a lot of reasons for this. With the right bullet and (as always) good shot placement, the 6.5 Creedmoor hits hard. Not to mention lugging all the equipment and having spotters. If youre after critters deer-size and up, the field is dominated by .30-caliber, 6.5mm, and 7mm cartridges, with the best long-range options remaining supersonic out to at least 1,400 yards. Another one or two probably should have made the original list. More important is consistency, and the mild-mannered .308 demonstrates that in spades. But the military also discovered the benefits of the .300 Win. Is it the 6.5 CM on steriodes but with out the kick of the 300 win mag? Need to drop an Elk at 500 yards? projectiles begins to add up and they shoot flatter at extreme range. Nosler Trophy Grade Long Range, 150-grain AccuBond Long Range at 2,930 fps. 6mm vs. 6.5mm vs. Big 30s In 100/200 yard Benchrest shooting, the 6PPC is pretty much king of the hill. The last time a .270 Win. When you are really far away (let's say 800), it's almost always possible to close the distance without spooking the animal. Newer cartridges do offer better ballistics, but at the expense of more recoil, shooter barrel life and less off-the-shelf cartridge selection. Notice that it is only 3 grains lighter than the 150-grain .264 atop that Weatherby. Charged with Reloder 19 and 22 powders, the round performed well at 1,000 yards during the Navys accuracy testing with the extreme spreads of the groups measuring 10.79 and 10.68 inches respectively. The 6.5 PRC, 7mm Rem. The other challenge with shooting the Dasher is that you have to handload. One cartridge needs to be crowned the most accurate and it just happens to be one youve probably never heard of. The .300 Win. An added benefit with the .223 Remington is cheap, readily available ammo. 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. If youre after deeper penetration, look at the 139-grain Barnes VOR-TX Long Range load. You are not wrong in your thoughts. Beyond 600 or 800 yards, however, the efficiency of the high B.C. Brownings 175-grain Sierra Tipped GameKing load has an advertised muzzle velocity of 2835 fps and a very high ballistic coefficient. We cover a few of our favorite long range cartridges. We already have an account registered for email address With its rebated rim and 1/2-inch diameter at the base, it is essentially a longer version of the 6.5284 Norma; ballistically equivalent to the .264 Winchester Magnum. appeared, calling that cartridge the .30-338 Winchester. (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. The question *was* best caliber for 1000 yard target shooting. Covering all of them would practically be a novel, so I am going to stop short here. The 264 Win Mag. Noslers first proprietary cartridge is basically a steroid-monster 6.5 Creedmoor. When coupled with bullets that have a high ballistic coefficient, the results are impressive. Hathcock, of course, went on to become the most storied Marine sniper in history in Viet Nam in the following years, though he didnt do it with a .300 Win. The third time proved to be the charm. BUCK DOYLE. .300 Winchester Magnum is a favorite of hunters worldwide for big game at long range. (The main exception would be shooting canyon to canyon - you may not be able to get closer) I personally won't take shots that have a time of flight of about .5, .6 seconds so time of flight becomes an issue also. If you think thats the product of the latest technology, know that Winchester introduced this cartridge in 1935! It started with the .30/30 and continued with the .30/06 and .308 and right up to todays .300 Blackout. Yeah, 6.5s are all the rage, and their blinding popularity has taken some shine off the old .270, but the latter is still one of the very best long-range hunting cartridges. got another cut at the plate thanks in large part to Jeff Hoffman, the owner of Black Hills Ammunition, who successfully advocated for loading the .300 with a 220-grain bullet at 2,800 fps. Still, 2 inches high was all it needed. There's plenty of setups out there where 500 yd shots are simple things. Its pinpoint accuracy makes it deadly on these animals to 500 yards and more. 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