(Yes, our govt. He said stuff. I still like my 300 Win. I mention 600 fairly arbitrarily because we owe it to the animal to try to get as close as we can. With a recent elevated popularity, due in no small part to the rise of the six-fives, the Grendel is now getting the attention it deserves. Well, theres really only one option in .22-caliber and thats the .224 Valkyrie. After Weatherbys 6.5-300 Magnum did not win as many hearts and minds as theyd hoped, Weatherby rethought the 6.5mm cartridge and developed the 6.5 RPM (Rebated Precision Magnum). Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. 36 in. It is the flattest shooting option you can get. Besides recoil, the downside is the limited availability of factory ammunition and rifles. But that can also vary from projectile to projectile. While at the High Bar Homestead with PSA, I was able to stretch their 6.5 Grendel out to 1,000 yards with Federal Premium 130 grain Bergers. For that blacktail hunt I ended up creating a rifle with the now-defunct Legendary Arms Works with my friend Mike Hudgins. It wasnt until the late 1980s that the Navy started looking at the .300 Win. The Nosler AccuBond is one of the best all-round big-game bullets offered, and Weatherby has smarly offered the 140-grain version for their 6.5 RPM cartridge. Pure drop from the get-go. That includes the 6 Dasher, 6 GT, 6 BRA, and 6 BRX, along with the 6.5mm and 6mm Creedmoors. Its bullets will remain supersonic out past 2,000 yards. in earnest, awarding a contract to Federal Cartridge Co., in 1987 to produce .300 Win. What about the guy who wants to go long with his AR-15? The company set out to push the limits with this thing, designing it as a flat-shooting 6.5mm cartridge with performance capable of taking full advantage of the newest long-range shooting reticles used in today's scopes. Cost, ease of part acquirement, availability, things you can run in an AR platform, or a perceived "coolness" factor? Mag., and the story of its adoption and evolution in that role is what really lands it on the list of best long-range calibers. Esoteric hardly touches on Stinnetts gear and is part of the reason his record might stand for decades before anyone bests it. It drops almost 400 inches at 1000 yards and drifts 100 inches at the same with a 10 MPH full value wind. He sighted in his rifle and we immediately dialed to 400 yards. Mag., .338 Win. Those projectiles shed their speed slowly, so the 6.5 PRC can catch up with much larger and harder-recoiling cartridges at 600 yards and beyond. The Creedmoor is the hottest cartridge on the planet. A long-time favorite of snipers, the .308 Winchester will remain supersonic out to around 1,200 yards. The .300 Win. | Everything on this list at the face value of the descriptor "long range" can be beaten out by better rounds, all of them. But to do this, it must launch a heavy bullet and that means recoil can be stiff; from an 8-pound rifle, it generates more than 33 foot-pounds of recoil, which is more than twice that of the 6.5 Creedmoor. Heavier bullets in the Swift, however, were lauded in the mid-20th century as incredibly effective, quick killers by animal damage control shooters who were culling destructive, invasive feral burros and horses from Grand Canyon National Park. The 27 Nosler bests the .270 Winchester by about 400 fps with 150-grain bullets. When the .264 Winchester Magnum was introduced about 60 years ago, it became a sensation with shooters looking to extend their reach in the field. But what are the flattest shooting rifle cartridges? However, the .220 Swift and the .22-250 have been used to take deer out to distances a lot of folks got no business shooting, for a long, long time. Select what level shooter you are! (I looked into it once but can't remember exactly.. I know plenty of people who can actually do that and even they won't shoot at game beyond 300 or 400 yards, depending on the wind. The intended use and shooters budget play a major role in determining which is best. Mag. The non-bonded bullet should deliver good terminal performance up close and at distance. His custom-made barrels had a 1:17 twist. My first successful hunt with a rifle was an antelope (ie, very small kill zone compared to an elk) shot at 330 yards. .224 Valk just needs a new barrel and a new bolt. Unless that backer has five distinct holes in itwhich Stinnetts didit doesnt count. That being said, no, the 300WM will not fall out of the sky at 1100m. we started testing in VIET-NAM, they were great, even at LONG range. Over the years the round has set numerous records in 600- and 1,000-yard benchrest competitions, so when the PRS started to catch on in 2012, it wasnt long before those shooters started looking at this stubby little round. Mag Browning Eclipse using 208 Grain Hornady Match Bullets and am having a good time with my new DPMS with a Geissly Trigger and custom Muzzle brake with the barrel cryogenically treated hitting golf balls at 200 yards. The other challenge with shooting the Dasher is that you have to handload. The fact is rifle shooters have never had it so good. His first 5 shots were all hits. Mag. Best 1,000-Yard Rifles For Under $1,000 Shooting Long Range 1. An F-Class shooter engages the 1,000-yard target at the Wendover, Utah, Air Force range (inactive). Both are of course bolt-action rifle cartridges. You do not pay That is also something to take account of with regards to a hunting bullet. Another one or two probably should have made the original list. or .30/06 could make that claim was an age ago. A few years back I took a very nicely built AR-15 to Buck Doyles training facility where a group of us shot out to 1,100 yards on steel targets. (7.62x51mm NATO) and the .50 BMG. No, its not a 6.5 Creedmoor, but few things are. To build off of the PSA .224 Valkyrie Upper you recommended is there any other changes needed to a standard AR-15 lower assembly? Q: Ron, I would love to see you do a video on the all-time flattest shooting rifle. If youre after deeper penetration, look at the 139-grain Barnes VOR-TX Long Range load. At 600 and 800 yards the drop is 65 and 137 inches, respectively. It happened to shoot the, ammo, but Wolf offers extremely affordable plinking ammo with their, Once dialed in, I was able to put rounds on a steel silhouette, Ammunition choices have increased lately, and Hornady has ammunition with the, none of these choices are necessarily easy on the pocketbook, with most loads over $1/round. Some people take their rifle out two weeks before the season and fire a dozen shots, these people probably fall into the 50 or 100 yard category. I wish there was more talk around 308 since you've established it as the baseline by which all long range cartridges are judged. Some much more. Tikka T3 CTR Tikka rifles are excellent shooters. projectiles begins to add up and they shoot flatter at extreme range. It seems a bit odd to consider a .22-caliber cartridge of any design suitable for long-range hunting of even smallish big game. In general, lightweight bullets driven very fast shoot flatter than heavier bullets with better aerodynamics (high B.C. Those predictable velocities mean that shooters can calculate their trajectories at longer ranges with extreme confidence. Availability is not the best either, so online buying or reloading may be the best option for this cartridge. So many variables and I think the age old "it depends". Out here on Guam, I use a Browning BAR 7mm Magnum and has NEVER let me down 25-06nobody ever talks about it. While they are relatively close within 500 yards, at 1,000 yards, the .308 Winchester has 4 feet more drop when you compare a 6.5 CM 140-grain ELD vs. a .308 Win 168-grain ELD. RELATED: The 10 Best Rifle Bullets for Long-Range Shooting. That's mid-range, not even long-range, by many people's standards. Another and even better option for reaching out to a big game animal with an AR15 is the 6.5 Grendel. drops 6.7 inches at 300 yards and just under 20 inches at 400 yards. The reason why 6.5mm cartridges are exploding in popularity is because they are ultra-efficient. This includes gear reviews, features on technical innovations, stories on shooting techniques and general hunting coverage with the occasional fishing story thrown into the mix. Need to drop an Elk at 500 yards? Mag., and .300 Rem. Hoping to hear some good things about it too. My favorite for many years is the 7mmX300 Weatherby on a Ruger No.1 with a Schillen @ 24'' a long with the 264 Win. It is also a winner as a competition round, especially as a lighter ELR (extreme long range) round on targets out to 2,100 yards. Mag. Been shooting this particular caliber since I bought my first legal rifle at the old age of 18 lol. In other words, can I just remove my .223 Wylde/5.56 NATO223 upper assy and install the PSA .224 Valkyrie upper? Im drawn to this new interest in long range. I don't care if you have a Win Mag or a Creedmoor and can hit steel from a mile away with it. He recently got a new rifle and scope so I took him to my shooting club. What were your extra parameters here? These numbers indicate that one of the flattest shooting commercial cartridge at sensible hunting ranges is the 220 Swift. appeared, calling that cartridge the .30-338 Winchester. The 204 Ruger can come close. But the velocity with a lighter grain bullet and the case capacity makes for a tremendous long-range round. Surprisingly, even with all the extra recoil and muzzle blast, this cartridge will not shoot any flatter than most 6.5s. That he us army has recorded kills with a 5.56 using black hills 77 grain ammo at 1800 yards? The 6.5 PRC can remain supersonic out beyond 1,600 yards or so, but ammunition options are limited. Weve got a dedicated section for the AR-15 here. I have news for you, it's not ok! Kelly, I did not take the time to research and compare every cartridge in the world that I thought might win this flat trajectory contest, so you might find another. Although it isnt the flattest shooting round, that trait is, ironically, overrated in a long-range round. But with this dead-flat launch angle we get an accurate picture of pure drop. Swifts 150-grain Scirocco at 3,036 fps delivers outstanding terminal performance. One cartridge needs to be crowned the most accurate and it just happens to be one youve probably never heard of. If this is a discussion on long range rifles rounds and the rifles that shoot them, then the .308 shouldnt be in the discussion. The third time proved to be the charm. Definitely agree with that statement. Although it will always be there and ready if the need arises. Ill be honest; I may be a huge Grendel fanboy. The .224 Valkyrie is the flattest shooting 0.224 caliber cartridge you can put in an AR-15. Ammo prices are a bit steeper than the previously mentioned cartridges, but the, While I was in Wyoming, I was able to test and evaluate the .224 Valkyrie with a rifle from Palmetto State Armory. I have used it on more big game animals than any other cartridge since 2007. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Mag. The best long-range cartridge in the world might be the .408 Chey-Tac. The 6.5C shoots bullets that are more aerodynamic (higher BC) and at faster speeds.. I have shot my .338LM to 2616 yards at a match. Its also based on the 220 Russian/7.62x39mm Russian cartridge, but unlike the Valkyriewhich uses a 0.223-caliber bulletthe Grendel is yet another 6.5. It outperforms the .280 Remington (also known as the 7mm-06 and the 7mm Express), and for years wildcatters and handloaders have been singing its praises. Nonetheless, during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Naval Surface Warfare Center wanted to develop a sniper round that was effective to 1,500 yards and started looking for a cartridge to fulfill that role. The Navy switched to 190-grain Sierra Matchking HPBT's. Charged with Reloder 19 and 22 powders, the round performed well at 1,000 yards during the Navy's accuracy testing with the extreme spreads of the groups measuring 10.79 and 10.68 inches respectively. Thats true, but the bullets have been vetted. The 223 WSSM might even beat the Swift, although its nearly obsolete already. (For anyone who gets worked up about the fact that the .30/06 isnt on this list, feel free to swap it with this one, as long as you dont mind the extra kick. The problem with articles like this is that it gives younger readers (whose experience likely includes playing call of duty or watching American sniper) the false impression that any of these rounds will simply do the trick without a great deal of training and practice. caliber cartridges in 2018 when Hornady introduced it after working with George Gardner of GA Precision on the concept. Other cartridges have come along in recent times that are designed better than the .300 Win. Throw in the extra expense of spotting scopes, expensive scopes and precision rifle builds, time for reloading sub MOA cartridges, etc., and one can see a lot of time, money and devotion are required. Sadly, this round too fell short, not meeting the accuracy standards that the Navy had established while developing chamber pressure that exceeds SAMMI standards in the process. I would like to see how other people have loaded that round for various purposes, The 22-250 has never been considered a long range cartridges because the cartridges have very light bullets and rifles offered have always had slow twist rates. ), Hornadys Precision Hunter 178-grain ELD-X at 2,600 fps is probably the best long-range option, but look also at the new 168-grain Berger Hybrid Hunter load from Federal, RELATED: 6.5 Creedmoor vs. .308 Winchester. Also look at Federal Premiums 180-grain Nosler AccuBond offering at 2,960 fps. We really neednt measure individual cartridges/bullets because just two things determine drop: muzzle velocity and bullet B.C. (The only reasons I can think of to buy the 308 is if you are going compete in a competition that requires that caliber or you already have plenty of reloading gear for the 308 and you don't want to change that over also. Chief, I certainly respect your opinion, but having hunted out west I'd like to make a counter argument for you and others to consider. However, in the 1000-yard game, many different calibers can win. But when you consider the specific task at hand, the field of options narrows. Just dont try to enumerate its downsides to anyone who knows anything, because there arent any that matter. and .300 Win. I can only second what Rick says about the .257 Weatherby magnum. Turns out my confidence in the round was not misplaced. So it just depends , but I wouldn't lump 556, 224, etc into this category. Effective accuracy range is much different than effective and ethical killing range on game, but that is something to take into account if the rifle will be used for hunting. . That lineup started with the .264 Win. Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia and has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. Lets look at the last point, first. I don't hate the 308 at all, but it's been surpassed. While the retained velocity and energy is 1937 fps / 1500 ft-lb and 1656 fps / 1096 ft-lb at 600 and 800 yards. I wasnt there to see it actually happen, but I dont doubt that it could have. It is hard to believe that a .224-inch caliber bullet with a C.O.A.L. Its built along the principles of modern cartridge design. Which as a cartridge is all good for hunting farm deer or friendly competition matches. Where the .308 Winchester comes up short, the 6.5 Creedmoor turns on the afterburners primarily because of the 6.5mm bullets excellent sectional density and ballistic coefficient. The 6.5 CM is superior to the .308 Win in just about any practical sense of the matter with better range, less effect with wind, and less bullet drop. So make your pick wisely, and then get to shooting, because a cartridge can only be as accurate as the one firing it. That's it. Developed in 2007 by Hornady, the 6.5 Creedmoor has a parent case with the .30 TC, which was originally based on the .308 Winchester. If it makes you feel better to hate the 6.5 Creedmoor, go ahead. When I wrote about the event, many commenters called me a liar for suggesting that a .223 Rem./5.56 NATO could shoot that far. There may be others like the 257 Wby. Used 85 grain Winchester preamumbalistic tip, No one ever mentions the .270 Win. got another cut at the plate thanks in large part to Jeff Hoffman, the owner of Black Hills Ammunition, who successfully advocated for loading the .300 with a 220-grain bullet at 2,800 fps. USSOCOM did just adopt 6.5 Creedmoor as their new go-to cartridge though. That's fast. A .270 Win is one of the flattest shooting rifles that won't beat you silly, but it still drops over three feet at 500 yds (and don't forget wind drift; it's easily =/< to drop, always a big factor). .25-06 Rem The .25-06 Remington rifle cartridge used to be a rare wildcat. There are plenty of factory guns and ammunition to choose from, and it is an easy cartridge to reload. The adjustment to supported shooting wont be so involved, but the light triggers may ironically take some work. is the perfect Goldilocks round. But you wouldnt want to hunt with it. There's plenty of people that are just fine a 500 yds. In the old way of thinking that was good because I could achieve that consistently. The .308 Winchester will win no ballistic awards; its simply a shorter version of the time-tested and beloved .30/06. Why It Made the Cut: The 6mm Dasher consistently wins in competition. To overcome this design limitation, reamers were modified to tighten up the chamber, headspace the cartridge off the shoulder rather than the belt, and lengthen the throat. quickly established itself as a go-to hunting round for Western big game and international hunting. the flattest cartridge I can find. Reloaders take notice don't give up on the .308 yet good things to come. And that light recoil not only makes you a better shot in the field; it also makes practicing more fun and productive. no mention of 338 lapua? Maybe 250 if the stars align. My go to for long range hunting are the 7mm STW and 6.5-300 weatherby. He used .30-caliber BIB 114-grain bullets made by Randy Robinett (loaded over H4198 powder for a 2980 fps muzzle velocity).

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