Any suggestions on a good 1000 yd rifle?

K

KenPaul

New member
For a long time now I have been wanting to get my "ultimate rifle".

I used to competitively shoot 50ft match 22, but I don't have a lot of experience in the sport of precision, long range shooting and I have a few questions.

What calibers works best at these ranges?
What's important in a good long range rifle?
What accessories are important?
What kind of optics works best?
Handloading insights?

I expect it to be a custom job and I know it will cost me, but that's why I have been saving my pennies. :)

Any advice (including a good gunsmith) would be greatly appreciated.
 
Whee! Where to start?

Either a big case necked down to 30-caliber, or a big-cased .338. Lots of powder, high muzzle velocity.

In 30-caliber, a 180-grain boat-tailed bullet seems to be the choice. I plead ignorance about the .338s.

As for rifles, many custom builders start with a Remington 700 action. You can either buy an "off the rack" custom gun or run across a good deal on a BDL and go from there on "tuning up" gunsmithing. Since you're going to wind up with a couple of thousand in just the gun (if not more), you should ask for past customers as references.

Scope? 24X or even more. A mount designed to let the crosshairs be fairly near the center, even with the angle required to let you be "on" at 1,000 yards.

People with experience, plus the loading-data books, can give you excellent starting loads. Regardless, you will have to do some testing to find, +/- a grain or two, what vibrates best in your package.

So here are some generalities for you to think on. I'm sure others will chime in with some excellent recommendations and detailed info.

Best luck, Art
 
There are different rifles for the grand. Hart has several set up for 1000 yd benchrest, either in a light or heavy rifle. You also have Palma style rifles.
Calibres that work for this range are .30 and above, from the .30 Hart, .308 for Palma, .30-378 and so on, including the 50 BMG.
Most if not all of these rifles are custom from the word go: synthetic stocks, trued actions, custom scope mounts and sometimes actions.
An important thing at the longer ranges is to find ballistic tables for the caliber you want to shoot, and learning how to read that wind, and pretty much basic marksmanship. The farther the distance you shoot makes those small errors big.
Accessory wise, a good shooting mat, shooting jacket, sandbag, bipod, spotting scope, wind meter, wind flags, and lots of ammo.
Optics are probably the easiest to figure out. Leupold makes a 36x and a 24x benchrest scope, and now they have the 8x25 long range scopes, 6.5x20 long range (I think). Another option is to purchase a varible power Leupold, send it to Premier Reticle and have them boost it. The Mark IV series would do also. Stick with 1/4 min adjustments, leave the BDC cams for the military. If you build a Palma rifle, several companies make the iron sights for that match.
As for handloading, any of the good manuals, or get insight from 1000 yd shooters.
Hope this helps, best of luck.
 
Sounds like .30 caliber-itis, you guys are forgetting the 1000 yard accomplishments of the 6.5-08, 6.5-06, 6.5-284, and other sub-.30 caliber rigs. That's ok, I was a staunch .30 person myself until I built my first 6.5-06 for 1000 yard tactical matches. The benchresters have now picked it up and run with it, especially the 6.5-284. Now I'm a firm believer in that long high BC bullet...
 
Sorry Gewher98, I tend to forget about the other rounds. I seem to remember reading about the egg shoot in Hickory NC and alot of folks were shooting wildcats and Ackleys.
BTW, the new issue of The Accurate Rifle is advertising a book specifically for 1000 yard shooting.
 
Thanks to all for your comments.

I have been out looking at books on the subject, and I have found a few on the Creedmoor web site:

The Accurate Rifle - Warren Page
Rifle Accuracy Facts - Harold R. Vaughn
Modern Highpower Competition - Randolph Constantine
The Precision Shooting Reloading Guide - ??
Highpower Rifle - G. David Tubb

Any insights on the authors or the content? Any other recommended titles?

Also, what are your thoughts on deep freezing barrels for accuracy?

Anyone care to drop a few names of custom gunsmiths I could contact?

--
fed168: You mentioned a magazine(?) called The Accurate Rifle. Could you provide some contact info? I currently get a magazine called The Varmint Hunter that has many good practical articles on long range shooting, but I am more interested in competition than hunting.

I'm not really interested in anything as large as the 50...

You also mentioned Hart and Palma rifles. Where could I go to research them?
--
blackamos: Thanks for the link. I had expected to spend about 5k on the rifle. Is the Longbow worth dropping that kind of dough on an off the rack system? I don't have the experience to judge whether I should assemble or whether I should just buy a complete package.
--
Gewehr98: Any books or points of contact for researching the 6.5?
--

I appreciate your indulgence in answering my questions. I don't know anyone in this sport, so I'm kind of flying solo on this.

Ken
 
For heavy research...

Check out benchrest.com - Get on the centerfire forum, intro yourself, and explain what you're looking for.

I'm in the middle of having a 6.5/284 variant made...
 
Bogie: Thanks for what looks like an excellent web site. I will hit it with force a bit later.

BigG: Sharps 45/90 ... Hmmm ... Beautiful rifle, but too much squinting at 1000 yds... :) Ahem, if you're serious, I'm misreading this. Is scoping one of those gorgeous things worth the effort for 1000 yd work?

Thanks for all the info...

Ken
 
Naw, you don't scope a Sharps, you use the long-range vernier rear sight with the spirit level front hooded aperture. At least during the Quigley matches I attended, where they knocked over 800-1000 yard steel buffalo silhouettes. But you also need a blow tube to breathe into the bore after each shot, a good pair of crossed shooting sticks, a gallon milk jug full of warm soapy water for your brass, and a spotter with good composure who can actually see that big old 500-grain chunk of soft lead come in from an extreme angle and smack that buffalo over. It's fun! So much fun I'm building a .45-70 Creedmoor on an ancient Rolling Block action...

Bogie is right, http://www.benchrest.com is a good place to look, as is http://www.xtremeaccuracy.com, and http://www.accuratereloading.com. I wish those guys were available to tap for knowledge when my buddy and I started our 6.5-06 Interdiction Rifle projects, because we had nothing other than some computer ballistics we cranked out, and did our own load data from scratch. Nosler and Accurate Arms were way conservative in their load data, keeping the 6.5-06 well below the numbers generated by both the .25-06 and .270. But the results are well worth it, and the knowledge we gained is going into my next long-range rifle, a 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum. Here's the Interdiction Rifle, and it's URL:

6506enh.jpg


http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Falls/7268/interdiction.html
 
Gewehr98:

Pretty rifle, love the stock.

It seems there is a small battle over which is better for these guns: .30 or 6.5 (and probably others). If my math is right, a 6.5 is a .37 cal... One of the things I am interested in working out is the energy of the bullet at these ranges and the flatness of the overall trajectory... I guess my work is cut out for me to do some homework. Aw heck, who am I kidding, this aint work... :rolleyes:

BTW, I am genuinely impressed that anyone could hit a target at 1000 yds with iron sights. I feel like a sissy for wanting to use a scope. :)

Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated.

Ken
 
Art,

You mentioned some details about scope mounting:

A mount designed to let the crosshairs be fairly near the center, even with the angle required to let you be "on" at 1,000 yards.
Click to expand...

Is this external geometry of mounting the scope, or is this a property of the scope itself?

Thanks for all your help.

Ken
 
Scope mounts...

You need an angled set of scope mounts. Call Sinclair International, and they'll know what you need (sinclairintl.com).

6.5 is .264, and those Gallagher women have been kickin' some major butt with 'em... Nice high ballistic coefficient.
 
KenPaul, Bogie got it.

Bogie, it seems to me that the only advantage a .30 or larger might have--and I stress "might"--is if crosswinds are on the gusty side.

But ballistic coefficients do make a difference. I wuz going through my Sierra book's tables on drop, for my '06. In comparing boat-tails with flat-base, there's quite a difference at 500 yards.

Been playing around with some 165- and 180-grain loads in my '06. I usually sight in my 150s at 2" high, 100 yards. Wuz looking up the holdover for various loads, and figuring out scope clicks.

I have three 22" plates out at 500. I've only popped a couple of 150s, just using guesstimation holdover and windage. Either shot would have killed a deer. :)

Art
 
I have to disagree on angled scope mounts. A good rifle with a proper scope and decent load capable of accuracy at 1000 yards does not require an angled mount. It's a cheater for improper scope selection.

As to the rifle..........get a rifle that fits you, in a caliber that you won't go broke loading for, that's not finicky about what it eats, and shoot it ALOT. Gain the experience at 1000 yards, then determine what rifle YOU need.
Caliber selection is subjective.

I shoot 1000 yard with a 22-250, 243, 7mag, 308, 300 mag, 338 Lapua. They all work just fine, and my personal preference is for the 22-250 because of the total lack of recoil and ungodly accuracy.

The rest of the calibers do wonderfully and most are overkill. They'll all shoot under 1 MOA with a standard mount, scope, stock, and bipod/rest.
 
suggested caliber

HI folks

THe never ending quest for long range calibers is limitless.
THe October issue of precisionShooting shows the meeting in england and the top 8 shooters and the calibers they use.
They were shooting in F class competition at 1000 yrds

1st 6.5/284
2nd 6mm NormaBR
3rd 308 Win
4th 6.5 x 55 Swedish
5th 6.5/284
6th 308 Win
7th 6mm NormBR
8th 6.5/284

AS you can see the 6.5/284 is 3 of the 8 shooters, and is a
topic of conversation on benchrest central and other long range boards. I am just getting into the long range myself here in Canada and have decided to go with the 6mm NormaBR.
The use of a short action is a major condsideration for myself it cuts down my windage and come up by half of what my 308 Win requires.

Northlander
 
Any suggestions on a good 1000 yrd rifle?

People will always have their favorite in long weapons. You can find multiple systems at http://www.nordicsniper.com
I have a Winchester 700 .338 Lupua magnum is a fine weapon and is capible of the task. But my baby is a H&K PSG-1 which is a .308 system. Said to be the finest semi-auto rifle made today.

My baby.
6881270nzGUkrgTFp_photo.jpg
 
Angled scope mounts allow you enough additional elevation so that you don't have to overly stress the internals of your scope. Don't discount that. Scopes count for a lot. You can find scopes that allow greater ranges of adjustment, but you'll get your best results, accuracy-wise, if you keep everything relatively centered.
 
Angled scope mounts allow you enough additional elevation so that you don't have to overly stress the internals of your scope. Don't discount that. Scopes count for a lot. You can find scopes that allow greater ranges of adjustment, but you'll get your best results, accuracy-wise, if you keep everything relatively centered. The bases don't have to be one-piece, but they must line up square - You'll have to lap your rings regardless.
 
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