So, I Waited Patiently for a Long Ranger...

Savage makes the same style or rifle in 300 Win Mag that you were looking at in 338 Lapua. The great thing about a 300 Win Mag is that you can shoot cheap 168 grain BTHP bullets fast enough to keep them supersonic past 1000 yards for relatively inexpensive practice.

And when you step up to 190, 210, or 220 gr bullets for some serious long range work you can use a real cheap surplus powder like WC872 (can usually be had for 50 bucks for 8 pounds from Wideners). When you are filling a Magnum case, it makes a lot of sense to buy powder in bulk.

Jimro
 
Fair enough, Jimro.

Sorry. Forgot to answer your question. I live in the Quad Cities. About 3.5 hours west of Chicago on the Iowa side. Blue Grass to be exact.
 
Well, in Iowa there is a pretty good school run by Brownells to begin learning the art of long range rifle shooting. Downside is the range only goes out to 500, but that is enough to begin with.

http://www.policestore.com/.aspx/eventid=51/et=1/EventDetail/Long_Range_Rifle_500

You can purchase quality match ammo for a 300 Win Mag from Black Hills or Federal if you don't want to reload your first bit of ammo.

Same goes for 308, but you'll need to get 175gr SMK loads (M118LR equivalents) to stay supersonic past 1K.

Jimro
 
For starters on a new cartridge, I'll be buying commercial to get a feel of things. Black Hills is going to be on the top of that list...
 
I did the same thing a few years ago,I went with 300 win mag built it heavy & never looked back.A lot of folks will say different but a 1000 yards is a long poke I dont care what your behind it takes alot of trigger time & a lot of misses before it even starts to look like you know what your doing.
IMO 308,300mag ,338 will all do it. So all you have to do is get started good luck with you choice. Tell us how it goes.:D
 
338 Lapua

I don't know where they folks get their info but here is the real skinny. To load 338 Lapua Mag. round your going to have to get your brass some place cause nobody leaves this stuff laying on the ground at the range. So anyway might as well buy new last longer. I ran the numbers through my hand loader calulator and here it is for :

1 roumd cost will be $3.392
50 rounds will cost $169.59
1000 rounds $3391.87

Stuff ain't cheap it's what caused me to go with a 338 Win Mag instead ballistics are some what close for the 250 gr. about 400 short for the 300's and even at that cost depending on round is from $1.53 to $1.74 per round big difference when you look at the real numbers causes you to think harder.
 
Jimro- I don't have a 1000 yard range nearby. I have only put about 30 rounds through it out to 600 yards. When I was sighting it in, the info said it will be 11 inches high at 100 yards. I put 3 rounds at 100 yds that were touching in the X ring. I dinged a pig steel plate at 600 yards 4 out of 5 times. So, I am still working at it. One thing I have noticed, the muzzle brake is very effective. It has much less recoil than my son's .300 Win Mag. More of a shove than a slam. Glass is a 4.5-14X50 Leupold Mk4.
 
reloader-1,

You linked to the 168 loading, the equivalent of M852. You won't get to 1K with 168 gr bullets, at least not at 308 velocities. 800 is about the max before the bullets go transonic and get squirrely.

To shoot 1k you need 175 gr loading, the M118lr equivalent. You can also get by with 178gr AMAX loads or a 155gr PALMA load, but I recommend the 175 SMK.

http://www.palmettostatearmory.com/1752.php

Which would be 536.75 for 500 with shipping.

Jimro
 
Tough choice, I am inclined to say go for it in 338 if you are seriously considering using it for competition later on at the nationals. Since it seems to be your present to your self for getting back state side, it would be a once in a life time rifle ($2,300 MSRP) rifle. Actually not that bad a price considering the prices of custom AR's amd bolt rifles.

Now the question of 300 win mag or 338 mag, my first reaction would to be go for the 300 win mag because of the better availability of new brass and components (What 5 firings per case with the 338 or 300?) And if you are going to download the rounds for pratice (500 meter), I think the 300 win mag would be the better choice.

And let is not forget that the rifle would be a Savage, just not sure what a new barrel in 338 would cost, but you could rebarrel it at a later time with the 338 when you would think that would be necessary for your 1,400 yard shots.

Just a suggestion from one who is an outside observer. 1,000 shots not my cup of tea, Savages most definitely.

Jim
 
fatwhiteboy, appreciate you telling what scope you're using. After I decide what rifle and cartridge, scope is going to be the next decision. Believe it or not, I have a bad feeling it's going to be tougher to choose it than the rifle itself...

Jim243, at my age and plethora of other hobbies I have, I don't think I will ever develop the skill nor time to dedicate for national matches.

So, let's throw a curveball in here. I think the .338Lapua is off the table since I'm not going to be firing out past 1000m any time soon. The .300WinMag seems to be the choice for 1000m and under. If I focus on finding a rifle for 600m for now, would the .300WinMag be overkill? I keep thinking the .260Rem would be my choice for this distance. Am I making a mistake by choosing this over other cartridges? Again, I know the .308Win is one helluva cartridge. I just want something that isn't in just about every other persons' rifle. Higher cost, to a degree, isn't really a factor and whatever anyone suggests I will eventually reload. That's half the fun in shooting...reloading what you fire.
 
260 Rem (or 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5x47 Lapua) are all viable 1000 meter cartridges.

If you want to start off with match ammo then the 6.5 Creedmoor is probably the best choice as quality match ammo is manufactured by Hornady.

You'll lose nothing ballistically under 1k with a 6.5 to the 300 Magnums, although when the wind kicks up the magnums may have a slight advantage due to heavier pills.

You can get the Model 10 BA (same stock and features as the 338 Lapua you were looking at) and have a 260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmoor barrel installed. Heck, if you are handy with an action wrench you could do the work yourself. I wouldn't go as far as to put a muzzle brake on the new barrel since recoil isn't going to be bad at all.

Jimro
 
im with jimro there the 10 BA in 260 or 6.5 creedmoor (the creedmoor is what i'd go with) is the best for 600m and then you can get a new barrel and bolt and switch it to a 300wsm and shoot it at 1000m. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top