New Rifle

4

4runnerman

New member
Ok.It's another rifle question.

Looking at getting a new rifle. I have a 223 and a 308 right now. Rifle would be used for target shooting only.

The 3 im looking at are

243,,,22-250,,,270.

Distance is a concern, 500 to 1000 yards if possable.

Thanks All
 
Well Tkx..4Runner

I wanted and wanted a 22-250... finally got one..

...and really was not impressed with its accuracy compared to the two .270s that I have

..I tried several powders and even more bullets... Never was impressed

..groups were average... but not impressive
 
Distance is a concern, 500 to 1000 yards if possable
Click to expand...

If you are shooting 1000, a .308 would be the better choice I believe. I shot at 900 in competition, in Australia, but that was back a few years, and I used a Paramount, Palma Rifle in .308 ... it was a wonderful experience!
 
Use the 308 since you have one, unless you are going to have a target rifle custom made for that distance. Then you might consider 408 or 416 or even a lazzorni.
 
Are you sticking to factory options or are you willing to go semi custom or full custom route? The only one that I feel has the best chance of getting you to 1000 yards is the .243 Win in a factory rifle. You'll need to run heavy for caliber bullets to do it and some of the heavy .243's will run with the 6.5's and you'll do it with less recoil.

Savage makes the fastest twist .243 that I know of with a 1:9.5 twist, this should let you stabilize the 105 grain bullet which would probably be the best bullet you can run for 1000 yard shooting out of a factory rifle. If you go heavier than that you'll need at least a 1:8 to 1:7 twist to make it work.

The .270 is a great hunting round but there are far better chambering to choose from for long range shooting. The .270 will get to 1000 yards but you'll have to have a scope that can make a lot of adjustment to get it there. There just hasn't been the R&D put into making match grade bullets for the .270 Win.

The .22-250 again will be a twist issue as well, most are 1:9 or slower. Which means it probably will not stabilize the best bullets for long range shooting. 75 grains and up is where I'd start looking for .22 caliber bullets for long range.

Really you already run two of the best cartridges you can use at long range depending on what rifle you shoot them in. I'm not trying to talk you out of a new rifle, but you could spend the money on some quality LR optics. Good luck on your endeavor.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Taylorce1-- Savage would be the only route i would ever go ( Savage Fanboy here). All my rifles are Savage. It is just because i want a new or another rifle also.(wife don't need to know that):D. My 308 is sporting a 10-40x50 scope right now so i have no issue there. I would probebly stay with factory Savage as i have had very good luck with them. Answer this anyone that can... What is barrel life on 243 as compared to 308 or 270.

Thanks To All for the Help and Advice
 
Do you really want to shoot 1000 yds

Doyle-Yes i do. I shoot 600 right now and am having the time of my life.I can't say it will be easy or something i will always do as i need to drive a long ways to shoot that distance. I want to see what it is like. Everyone said 600 is hard. It is hard but not as hard as i thought. Im down to 5 inch groups at 600 right now. ( Not the best buttt) I don't hunt any more so all i have left now is the love of shooting and how good i can get. I thrive on a challange and 300 is not a great feat any more. Have you never wanted to see how far you can push it?. I always do.
 
Last edited:
What is barrel life on 243 as compared to 308 or 270.
Click to expand...

If you are going for 1,000 then it will be short, about 750 to 800 rounds before your accuracy will fall off. The hotter the load the shorter the barrel life. But I knew that going in when I purchased my 243. I actually love that round. You will find the 22-250 will have about the same life or a little more maybe 1,200 to 1,500 rounds. I'm trying to keep it to 1,500 rounds so I keep my speeds to 2,900 FPS.

With the 243 for 1,000 yards you will need to use one of the lighter bullets and can push it to 4,000 feet per second. It will give you excelent accracy but so will the 22-250.

Savage makes the fastest twist .243 that I know of with a 1:9.5 twist
Click to expand...

Actually it is a 1:9.25 twist in mine and the only thing I use in it is the Hornady 105 grain A-Max. But I am not shooting beyond 500 with it.

The way to go is Savage and save for a new barrel every now and then. And for God's sake make sure you get the Accutrigger with it.

Jim
 
Last edited:
I hate talking people out of one caliber or another, so in fairness:

This is from 5 weeks ago sighting in my Savage Model 110 (pre-Accutrigger) in 270 Winchester, 130 grain SSTs with a new scope (5 shot group)

image0.jpg



and just to be fair you can't go wrong with a laser accurate 223 using 75 grain A-max (it does see 60 grainers but mostly 75s)

SAM_0245.jpg


So I would guess I would say get all three.

Jim
 
4runnerman, don't mind me saying this but if your going to try and shoot 1000yds why not get a caliber/bullet/velocity that be alittle easier to shoot at that distance.

If your going to shoot 6mm get a twist for the VLD bullets, 6.5 cal 140/142gr VLD bullets the list goes on.

They make lots of good barrels for the savage.
 
I hate talking people out of one caliber or another, so in fairness:
Click to expand...

I don't know how much talking out of one caliber for another is being done here. Just that the OP listed some chamberings that don't have factory rifles being built to go long range. The closest is the .243 Win, there are a lot of good bullets out there for the 6mm and it is a strong contender at the long range game. When I went and built my LR rifle I chose the .243 as well.

I used the Stevens 200 for the basis of my build. I chose a 1:7 twist McGowen varmint contour 26" barrel so I could run the 115 grain DTAC or Berger bullets if I wanted. I just don't quite have the optics I want yet but right now I'm running a 3.5-10X40 Weaver GS Tactical on an EGW 20 moa base. I added as well a SSS competition trigger, Stockaded recoil lug and tactical bolt handle.

Hindsight, I think I would have liked to do the Creedmore and I may yet. I just haven't had a chance to shoot my rifle since I got it put together. If I really get serious about this LR stuff though I'm sure I'll step up my next rifle to a full custom.

That said I'm hoping my accuracy is there for more than 800 rounds, I figure I'll shoot up at least 200 in barrel break in and load development. I'd hate to loose 1/4 of my usable accuracy without ever getting to shoot it at the Sporting Rifle Match in Raton NM. Of course it depends on the type of shooting the OP will be doing as to what kind of accuracy he needs. Me I'm just hoping for 1 moa or better as the match I want to do you only get scored on hits on targets ranging up to around 2 moa in size out to almost 1000 yards. It consists of six steel targets per station, ten stations total, one shot per target, max score of 60 possible.
 
4runnerman, don't mind me saying this but if your going to try and shoot 1000yds why not get a caliber/bullet/velocity that be alittle easier to shoot at that distance.
Click to expand...

That's what I was gettin to with my question. If you REALLY want to shoot 1000 yds, then don't even think about getting a 500 yd gun and trying to double its range. The hottest thing going these days on the 1000 yd ranges are the 6.5mm's . My hunting buddy shoots a 26" bull barrel .260AI and does quite well with it. Others are shooting wildcat calibers like 6.5/06. Other 1000 yd calibers you might want to think about are 7mm mag, .284 plus some of the .284 wildcats), etc.
 
None of them thats for sure for the 500-1000 yard range, to be good at 1000 and be somewhat consistant it takes money, no way around it. Go custom, its the only solution. I would get a .257 or .264 for the range built on a custom weapon, 700 action maybe and a good barrel and stock then top it with a good scope. Do not get cheap on the scope, it will just cause headaches. I recommend the Monarch w/ changable turrets in maybe 5x-20x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top