Long Range Rifle

[Nickb]

Thanks for the link. I have some reading to do and some videos to watch from the post above.

 

[2506]

Now that 26 Nosler is something I'm going to have to look into!

 

[mjbskwim]

The Remington 338RUM is almost the same as the lapua.The big difference is the RUM is 75% of the cost .
Guns included.If the gun says "lapua" it costs a bunch,no matter what brand rifle.
The same rifle in RUM will be cheaper but you may have to move the target in 20 yards at a mile,lol

 

[orygun]

I toss out the 6.5 SLR

Or the 26 Nosler

I have no reason to own, or use a 26 Nosler, but boy! I sure wanna play with one!

 

[2506]

I have no reason to own, or use a 26 Nosler, but boy! I sure wanna play with one!

I have no reason to own half the firearms in my safe.

That being said, when you shoot 250gr bullets, all three cartridges are about equal. The big difference comes out in 300gr pills: the Winnie goes about 2400fps, the Ultra about 2700fps, and the Lapua about the same. I use 250gr out of my Winnie and get great results, as well as not having to have an extra 2" to 6" inches of barrel. The big thing to consider, IMHO, is brass. I have a 300 Ultra and can't find brass. I had to buy a box of factory shells at about $75 in order to get started. My 338--I have more brass than I'll ever be able to use and it sure as shootin' cost less than a box of Ultras.

 

[EM60]

The 26 Nosler is just another supposed magical gun by a gun manufacturer, They took or give ballistics from a 24 in. barrell 264, using an inafficient powder, and compared it to a 26 in. barrell 26 Nosler using an efficient powder (apples to oranges). You can look in their manual and the 2 or 3 slowest powders they show actually should be the fastest powders you would want to use. Having shot and loaded the 264 for over 40 years I have found that it is about the maximum over case capacity to bore the 6.5 can use. I run out 130's at 3350 using either Retumbo or US869 and cannot burn all of that in 26 inches of barrell. You can only burn so much powder in so many inches of a given caliber barrell, Now if you built a 30+ in barrell 26 nosler you would probobly gain.

 

[iusmc2002]

300 WM is a great place to start. I run 168gr Amax, MK's and Hornady BTHP at 3100fps and am very consistent at 800 yards. 1000 yards is a little bit far for those bullets (for me) and I don't have quite as good accuracy with them. Shooting next to 338 Lapua's using 250 and 300gr MK's or even 300WM's using 190 and 220gr MK's is kind of shaming. I wish I could find a good supply of the 190's because I'd like to run them. Oh well.

I started with a 4-16x50 Leapers scope and could keep them within MOA at 400. That seemed like quite a distance to me, at the time. But like others have said, once I got the load figured out and got a bunch more trigger time with my rifle, 400 yards has become the fouling shot and now 1000 yards is my newest 400 yards.

I now have a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 and am learning to use it.

Savage rifles are pretty cost effective for long range rifles. The newer ones have the Accu-trigger which I've heard is pretty good. New barrels are pretty cheap. My Criterion was $350 or so. They are easier to rebarrel in your garage than any of the other rifles that I've seen, so you save a little in gunsmithing fees. Rifle Basix makes good triggers that are a little cheaper than Timney's.

My rifle started out as a 7mm Rem Mag that I bought off here for $250. The only pieces that are original from that set-up is the receiver, bolt body and trigger mount. Every other piece I've replaced, trigger and springs, guts in the bolt, Wolff extra power firing pin spring, firing pin, bolt head and baffle, bolt handle, barrel, stock, scope mounts, everything. I did every bit of the work because Savage's are easy to work on. Only thing I dislike about the Savage rifles is that they cock on opening, whereas Winchesters and Remingtons cock on closing. Makes for a smoother action, as someone said before.

Good luck finding what works for you. It's lots of fun. Just make sure you have enough money for all the little things that comes with shooting long range!!

ETA: If you have an Android (I think they have it for Apple, also) phone, look for "Strelok". It's a ballistics program and is free. You can purchase Strelok Plus, but I haven't because the basic program is good enough for me. Get ahold of Strelok and start playing with different calibers, bullets, loads and you'll see the difference in how calibers/bullets act at any given range. My load, at 1700 yards, drops NINETEEN HUNDRED inches. At 1000 yards, the drop is just over 300 inches. You can email Strelok's charts to yourself and print them, or print them directly from your phone. It's a great program, and best of all, it's free

 

[Kenny0709]

I thing the starting point is to ask yourself the question, do I want to shoot animals at that range or targets. If your shooting animals, then you need a caliber capable of delivering the energy need at that range to kill the animal. If your just shooting targets, then a lot of the lighter calibers will work.
Personally I shoot animals out to a 1000 yrds with a 300 Win mag. It works for me, but it takes a hell of a lot of practice.

 

[geometro]

Brand new to the sport and starting from ground zero with no equipment?

.308. Easier to shoot, easier to find off the shelf ammunition and not as expensive to shoot as the big boy calibers so you can actually train.

When that gets boring, by that time you're probably rolling your own so it won't be a huge leap to try a 260 rem with new barrel and dies.

.300 win mag is a whole lotta rifle for somebody just starting out, but it'll go out to a mile for target shooting just fine if that's the end goal.

The rifle isn't a barrier to entry: it's the running cost of barrels and ammunition that should be considered.

 

[3MTA3]

Don't forget that long range usually means a two man team complete with spotting scope. The first item on your agenda might be a partner who is willing to mentor you in exchange for spotting duty.

Many, many very good recommendations in this thread, especially Sniper 101. Sniper 101 is long, dry, and detailed, just like a long range shooter needs to be.

 

[Will_Power]

Having a rifle capable of holding about MOA at a mile, really is no trick. Having a shooter capable of reloading and holding MOA to a mile is another proposition.

That's really the hard part. I can only hope to get to that magic 1760yd mark one day, but it's not going to happen anytime soon.

To the OP, if you have the skill a .338 Lapua will help you make consistent shots out that far. People can pull it off with .300 Win mags and 7mm Rem Mags, too, and other cartridges with even less in the boiler (e.g. .308s) with a ton of holdover and cooperation from the wind.

If you don't have the budget for the .338 Lapua or the other more exotic and expensive extreme long range cartridges (e.g. CheyTacs), then a .300 Win Mag wouldn't be a bad place to start. Fairly common with plenty of load data out there.

Get a 28" barrel, load up some 240gr Sierra Match Kings, and get some quality glass (that $250 Wal-Mart scope ain't going to work for you out that far). That should get you started.

 

[Will_Power]

I will say, I didn't notice the original quote of wanting to shoot a mile....which frankly I don't really get, but to each their own. I'll stand by my suggestion as you're not going to go out and start shooting a mile, without first firing plenty of lead down range at ranges much closer then that. The .300 Win Mag is an economical place to start.

That's my general sense of things, and why I went back to square one to build a precision AR in plain-Jane .223. I figure I need to learn the basics, so I'll start with something basic. Once I can be accurate and precise with my shots and wind calls out to 600 yards with it, then I'll consider upgrading into something that will let me reach out further.

 

[k7grc]

Do it the old fashion way, Sharps or 1885, 45-110 loaded with black powder, and 535 gr lead bullet.
Do some searches, this combo is works out to 1750 yards.

 

[gunfreak]

The Magnum shooters better have a replacement barrel ready. They don't last long.

 

[JustShoot]

I cannot afford a Lapue (sp)
Can I build a rifle that will reach out over a mile
What would I buy or build??

-
I luv these kind of Posts asked .
Before the Rifle or the Caliber . You can not hit, what you can not range . Do you have a LRF capable of the task of Mile + ? .. Or possible paired-up with GPS and LRF to accurately range the object distance you are shooting at ? Have you ever tried to Range an object more than 1-k yard and attempted to hit it with a bullet ? .
You are in search of a caliber for a mile shot @ moa but you would be surprised the acquired skill needed for Ranging plus equipment needed to distance range object .

Plus, On-top of these couple very important obstacles is Wind Call ? .
. Plus Other HUGE obstacle of ( who ??? ) is going to call/Spot your mis/bullet splash for making Ranging corrections . ... You ??? . Have you ever read Trace or even seen bullet Trace ??? . Have you ever spotted ?

If you have to ask ..." if I can build " . and ..."what Cal. to buy " ? .
.

 

[Sabertooth]

Military long range combat (sniper) rifles after 1900, 30-06, 7mm Rem mag, 300 Win mag., 308, 50bmg, 338 Lupua. I think that is the order or close to it. 30-06 was in bolt action, semi auto and back to bolt action. The other calibers where bolt action. 50 bmg bolt action or semi auto.
Makers where Springfield, Winchester, Remington.
I think there where M-14s tuned up for long range competition shooting.
Referbished M-1 Garandes (30-06) are still used in long range comptition.
When it comes to non military calibers its, well, what do you like?
Have at it guys.

 

[DieselScout]

Military long range combat (sniper) rifles after 1900, 30-06, 7mm Rem mag, 300 Win mag., 308, 50bmg, 338 Lupua. I think that is the order or close to it. 30-06 was in bolt action, semi auto and back to bolt action. The other calibers where bolt action. 50 bmg bolt action or semi auto.
Makers where Springfield, Winchester, Remington.
I think there where M-14s tuned up for long range competition shooting.
Referbished M-1 Garandes (30-06) are still used in long range comptition.
When it comes to non military calibers its, well, what do you like?
Have at it guys.

You forgot the longest serving caliber if all time, the 7.62x54R

 

[Sabertooth]

Don't know if it was ever adopted by American military as a sniper or long range rifle round. Mosan Nagont had a tuned up model that was used in Europe as a sniper rifle.
I was staying with U.S. rounds to keep things simple.
Son has a Remington Nagont, nice rifle. Nagonts where also issued to U.S military personel.

 

[DieselScout]

Don't know if it was ever adopted by American military as a sniper or long range rifle round. Mosan Nagont had a tuned up model that was used in Europe as a sniper rifle.
I was staying with U.S. rounds to keep things simple.
Son has a Remington Nagont, nice rifle. Nagonts where also issued to U.S military personel.

Ahhh....Okay that makes sense then.