Best caliber for long distance shooting?

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Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Liam » 05 Jan 2018, 10:53 am

Hey guys im looking at getting a bigger calibre rifle that is good with long range shooting, i have a savage 22wmr at the moment but i want something for the deer and pigs that can go 400-600 yards, i was looking at a tikka t3 hunter stainless in 308 but im not sure on the killing power of a 308 at those distances
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by MontyShooter » 05 Jan 2018, 10:58 am

That's a long way to be taking shots at game.
You would want to be a crack shot or you risk a painful wound.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Liam » 05 Jan 2018, 11:00 am

I doubt i will be shooting game at that distance but i want a round that will be able to kill at that distance if i get good enough
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by sungazer » 05 Jan 2018, 11:27 am

308 at 600 will kill nearly anything a 185 gr could still easily be going 1.7 mach and deliver 1600 ft/lbs of energy. A 1000 is considered a lethal dose. Also a very accurate load out to that distance. There are more accurate but for everyday you cant go past it.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by AusTac » 05 Jan 2018, 11:39 am

300 win mag
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Liam » 05 Jan 2018, 11:42 am

AusTac wrote:300 win mag

Whats the difference between a 308 and 300 win mag
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by AusTac » 05 Jan 2018, 11:50 am

It's really your next step up from a .308 in my opinion

A .308 will do the job you want it to, but if your serious about wanting to hunt long range ( strongly suggest against this ) then say at 460m ( 500 yards ) a 150g .308 projectile is travelling about 570m a second by that stage, compared to a 180gn .300 winmag is travelling about 660m a second, heavier bullet with more velocity, of course these numbers are just a rough idea, it depends on barrel and alot of other factors

Have you ever done any long range stuff? I'm by no means any kind of expert, but shooting and killing an aninal at range is a tough shot...
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Liam » 05 Jan 2018, 11:54 am

AusTac wrote:It's really your next step up from a .308 in my opinion

A .308 will do the job you want it to, but if your serious about wanting to hunt long range ( strongly suggest against this ) then say at 460m ( 500 yards ) a 150g .308 projectile is travelling about 570m a second by that stage, compared to a 180gn .300 winmag is travelling about 660m a second, heavier bullet with more velocity, of course these numbers are just a rough idea, it depends on barrel and alot of other factors

Have you ever done any long range stuff? I'm by no means any kind of expert, but shooting and killing an aninal at range is a tough shot...

Im not necessarily going to hunt at those ranges i just want a round that will be acurate at those ranges
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by AusTac » 05 Jan 2018, 11:57 am

A .300 win mags good to go out to 1,370m but again a .308 is good out to 800m to 1000m depending on who you talk to and what rifle your throwing it out of.. have you ever fired a 30cal round just out of curiosity?
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by sungazer » 05 Jan 2018, 12:09 pm

A 300 win mag is a very capable Long Range round. With it comes some other things that should be considered when choosing all rounds. Recoil, barrel life and cost did I mention Recoil. Its a big brother in all ways.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Bigjobss » 05 Jan 2018, 12:22 pm

0-300m a 300 win mag is basically point and shoot for big game (when sighted 2" high at 100) where as a 308 is good until around 250m.
A 300 brings quite a few more ft/lbs of energy than a 308 with the same projectile, but you need to ask yourself how much do you need to get the job done, projectile construction should also be considered.

Beyond 300m the 300 is much flatter, but for the average punter that is a very long way, I would struggle to see 300m in most places I hunt and for a stalker I would guess that this scenario doesnt come up very often.

Now I do have a mate that is a dedicated long ranger (former stalker) with a custom 338 snipetac that he has spent a lot of time working on, I have seen him shoot and anything within 700m is dead every day of the week.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Archie » 05 Jan 2018, 12:30 pm

Bigjobss wrote:..A 300 brings quite a few more ft/lbs of energy than a 308 with the same projectile, but you need to ask yourself how much do you need to get the job done...


Yup. Once it's properly dead, it's not going to get any deader.

Also, unless you're planning to upgrade to something in the vehicle-mounted 20mm space that can carry explosive shells, there isn't a caliber available that's going to improve the outcome of a gut shot at 600 yards.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by brett1868 » 05 Jan 2018, 12:44 pm

So you're after something bigger then a .308 and capable of reasonable accuracy @ 600yds, plenty of choices out there. What sort of budget do you have and do you reload?
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by marksman » 05 Jan 2018, 12:51 pm

6.5x284
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taRMw9NN8CU
great long distance hunting round :drinks:
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by AusTac » 05 Jan 2018, 1:05 pm

brett1868 wrote:So you're after something bigger then a .308 and capable of reasonable accuracy @ 600yds, plenty of choices out there. What sort of budget do you have and do you reload?


Brett be like get a .416 barrett :lol:
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by brett1868 » 05 Jan 2018, 1:21 pm

AusTac wrote:
brett1868 wrote:So you're after something bigger then a .308 and capable of reasonable accuracy @ 600yds, plenty of choices out there. What sort of budget do you have and do you reload?


Brett be like get a .416 barrett :lol:


Nah, Too dangerous as they break tail lights and light bulbs :(
However, I do have some red mist rounds loaded for it. My favourite load is a 450gr JHP for kittens and cute fluffy bunnies several suburbs and 3 schools over :lol:
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by hazza3006 » 05 Jan 2018, 1:32 pm

600 yards seriously long distance for anything, your biggest challenge is going to be accuracy and your expertise in mastering ballistics, especially in a hunting package format. You could go a tactical setup but good luck lugging that thing around the high country. Most deer are taken at distances less than 100m anyway due to rugged terrian. But to answer you caliber only question id go with nothing than the 338 lapua mag for those ranges, not gunna see deer at 600m in high country anyways :crazy: and in the very unlikely event of 600 yard deer shot, and given very high likelyhood of poor shot placement at such ranges, is not fair on animal as will just wound it. Your primary objective as an ethical deer hunter is a humane as possible dispatch which means getting much closer to deer, which is the challenge and appeal of deer hunting. Good luck.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Wm.Traynor » 05 Jan 2018, 1:38 pm

Liam,
The question by AusTac,
AusTac wrote: Have you ever done any long range stuff? I'm by no means any kind of expert, but shooting and killing an aninal at range is a tough shot...
, is a good one.
I shot NRAA-style and it is a tough gig even with a 10kg rear bag and a joystick-adjustable rest under the fore end at known ranges with wind flags. I tremble at the thought of hunting at long range :cry: Come to think about it, i used to suffer an awful lot of self doubt on Saturday afternoons at the range :crazy:
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Mr.Seacucumber » 05 Jan 2018, 1:42 pm

Other then price no reason to choose 300 winmag over 7mm Rem.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by sungazer » 05 Jan 2018, 3:01 pm

There really is no reason for a 338L other than I want one the 300WM really is more than enough for anything other than very specialized competitions. Which there are only a couple of each year in the entire country.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Archie » 05 Jan 2018, 4:07 pm

Someone gave me a really good rule once. I think it makes a lot of sense.

You take a dinner plate sized target. You take one box of ammo. You use the stance you are likely to use in the field - i.e. off hand standing, kneeling, tree/fence as a rest etc - not a bench, and probably not prone unless you know that's how you will be placed. If so, fair enough.

You shoot the full box. When you can - without having shot earlier in the day and getting your eye in, with a cold barrel etc - get 19 of those 20 rounds in a dinner plate - you have your ethical hunting range. Because that says that under field conditions you have a 95% chance of a clean kill shot.

(edit - and some people would say a dinner plate is too big. Guess it depends on the animal, and on the plate).
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by bladeracer » 05 Jan 2018, 4:51 pm

sungazer wrote:There really is no reason for a 338L other than I want one the 300WM really is more than enough for anything other than very specialized competitions. Which there are only a couple of each year in the entire country.


If I were going to try to kill a sambar at 500m or more I'd want the .338Lapua with a heavier bullet.
If I were going to actually hunt sambar I'd go with the .300WinMag and a 180gn bullet. For smaller deer, goats, pigs and such the .300WinMag is more than enough.

I did a bit of a chart analysis as I've been thinking of a magnum myself.
It gives me some idea of bullet weight/velocity performance, how much powder it takes to run, what the rifle weighs and the potential recoil. Also started some numbers on factory ammo costs but gave up since I wouldn't be buying any anyway. If you work on about 30-cents for 50gn of powder you can see that some of the big ones are getting expensive to run even for cheaper loads. The Ruger is 10"-twist in .300WinMag and .338WinMag. The Savage 110 is the only model I've found in a 9"-twist .300WinMag barrel to run the heaviest bullets.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by albat » 05 Jan 2018, 5:27 pm

Liam, like a lot of people have already mentioned , take a cold shower and forget about shooting stuff in the next postcode, you we ill be shooting those things under 80m 90 percent of the time the 308 is a great round for making stuff extra dead close in thats my reason for using one not many run offs with heavy bullets
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Bigjobss » 05 Jan 2018, 5:45 pm

Archie wrote:Someone gave me a really good rule once. I think it makes a lot of sense.

You take a dinner plate sized target. You take one box of ammo. You use the stance you are likely to use in the field - i.e. off hand standing, kneeling, tree/fence as a rest etc - not a bench, and probably not prone unless you know that's how you will be placed. If so, fair enough.

You shoot the full box. When you can - without having shot earlier in the day and getting your eye in, with a cold barrel etc - get 19 of those 20 rounds in a dinner plate - you have your ethical hunting range. Because that says that under field conditions you have a 95% chance of a clean kill shot.

(edit - and some people would say a dinner plate is too big. Guess it depends on the animal, and on the plate).


I practiced with paper plates set out at various ranges.
Imagine the Homer Simpson "Whacking Day" sequence but with me and a 300wm instead of a bat.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by bladeracer » 05 Jan 2018, 6:28 pm

Archie wrote:Someone gave me a really good rule once. I think it makes a lot of sense.

You take a dinner plate sized target. You take one box of ammo. You use the stance you are likely to use in the field - i.e. off hand standing, kneeling, tree/fence as a rest etc - not a bench, and probably not prone unless you know that's how you will be placed. If so, fair enough.

You shoot the full box. When you can - without having shot earlier in the day and getting your eye in, with a cold barrel etc - get 19 of those 20 rounds in a dinner plate - you have your ethical hunting range. Because that says that under field conditions you have a 95% chance of a clean kill shot.

(edit - and some people would say a dinner plate is too big. Guess it depends on the animal, and on the plate).


Its not a bad test.
Most of us can manage fairly consistent sub-MoA off the bench I would think, but unless that's how you hunt you need to practice _a lot_ from various field positions and at varying ranges.
My offhand shooting has improved heaps from practicing metallic silhouette - highly recommended :-)
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by in2anity » 05 Jan 2018, 6:33 pm

The argument that the 308 isn’t good a good hunting round past 300m is garbage, you just gotta know your load. If you shoot metallic silhouette, it’s like taking a piss to dial in at any range inside 500m; knowing your gun like that is basically a prerequisite for the sport. Shooters consistently hit a ram sized target at 500m from standing unsupported with a 308w. With a high BC projectile, it’s still got over 1000ftlb of energy at that range (and can still buck the wind). That’s enough to pulverize game. Drop into the sit and shoot off the elbows at that distance and you can confidently get a center-of-mass hit at 500m. Prone bipod thingy “tacticool” and you could almost go for a headshot. Sorry, but IMO the 308w is way more gun than just about any hunter needs in Australia (besides far north grass eaters). 300win mag really boots, IMO honestly I think it’s a mistake (for a hunting rifle). Now let’s be clear, I’m not arguing about target shooting here, it has a place there no doubt.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Jan 2018, 6:48 pm

Archie wrote:Someone gave me a really good rule once. I think it makes a lot of sense.

You take a dinner plate sized target. You take one box of ammo. You use the stance you are likely to use in the field - i.e. off hand standing, kneeling, tree/fence as a rest etc - not a bench, and probably not prone unless you know that's how you will be placed. If so, fair enough.

You shoot the full box. When you can - without having shot earlier in the day and getting your eye in, with a cold barrel etc - get 19 of those 20 rounds in a dinner plate - you have your ethical hunting range. Because that says that under field conditions you have a 95% chance of a clean kill shot.

(edit - and some people would say a dinner plate is too big. Guess it depends on the animal, and on the plate).


How sensible is that.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by sungazer » 05 Jan 2018, 8:17 pm

Most Target shooting is done with a 308 or less in the F open where they can choose any claibre they want for shooting 1000yrds most go for 6.5's and 7s not 30's and defitnatley not the magnums. they just dot have the shootability, recoil, shock wave and other factors detract from accuracy, for shot after shot performance. Ok for a one or two shots but not 36.
Get to know your 308 and on a day with not too much wind I can hit dinner plates no problem at 700. Given reasonable conditions I would not hesitate to take a Sambar at 500-600 with a 185 in a 308.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by bladeracer » 05 Jan 2018, 8:27 pm

sungazer wrote:Most Target shooting is done with a 308 or less in the F open where they can choose any claibre they want for shooting 1000yrds most go for 6.5's and 7s not 30's and defitnatley not the magnums. they just dot have the shootability, recoil, shock wave and other factors detract from accuracy, for shot after shot performance. Ok for a one or two shots but not 36.
Get to know your 308 and on a day with not too much wind I can hit dinner plates no problem at 700. Given reasonable conditions I would not hesitate to take a Sambar at 500-600 with a 185 in a 308.


Target shooting is not hunting. The heavy recoil for one or two shots a week is a small trade for more terminal performance.
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Re: Best caliber for long distance shooting?

Post by in2anity » 05 Jan 2018, 9:04 pm

bladeracer wrote:
sungazer wrote:Most Target shooting is done with a 308 or less in the F open where they can choose any claibre they want for shooting 1000yrds most go for 6.5's and 7s not 30's and defitnatley not the magnums. they just dot have the shootability, recoil, shock wave and other factors detract from accuracy, for shot after shot performance. Ok for a one or two shots but not 36.
Get to know your 308 and on a day with not too much wind I can hit dinner plates no problem at 700. Given reasonable conditions I would not hesitate to take a Sambar at 500-600 with a 185 in a 308.


Target shooting is not hunting. The heavy recoil for one or two shots a week is a small trade for more terminal performance.


Sure the 300wm might hit harder on paper, but the 308w kills things, I mean really kills things dead, too much so in fact, fist size holes if it hits bone :crazy: Dunno I just see 300wm as overkill in the field. Just IMO of course.
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