What Caliber For Accuracy At 500 yards?

[Xride]

After my last thread I desided to research a few more calibers, and now I am just really confused.

What I want is accuracy at 500 yeards, like competition accurate.
But also go and shoot up varmit too, seems we always have a wind of 10-15 km/h kinda breeze all the time.

While I know its more then the caliber that makes this, it does have a bearing on it.
I like Savages and the accutrigger and figure its my best buy, and every year I can get it smithed to be a bit better even.

22-250, I figure this can do it.

308, I know can do, as I used to have one.

25-06, can do it, but harder to find info on.

223, can do it, but its kinda like the 22-250 still a bit small I think.


and it seems everything else is pretty big.
One of my past worries was protection in bear country, but I cleaned up my pops 300 win mag and it looks great, put 6 shots into a 1' ground at 150 yeards, and the feed works great, its an old remington. I figure with a good factory load this round would be more then enough to stop a bear.


I am sure I have missed some that might be the best even, but I am still learning lots. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[gumpokc]

unless i misunderstand, your looking for the following:

accuracy to 500+
abiliaty to hunt varmits
possible use for bear as well

.300winmag sounds right up your alley.
.308 could also do these things, all depends on what your comfortable with,though the .300winmag will have a slight edge over it in most areas of performance.

[Xride]

Originally posted by gumpokc
unless i misunderstand, your looking for the following:

accuracy to 500+
abiliaty to hunt varmits
possible use for bear as well

.300winmag sounds right up your alley.
.308 could also do these things, all depends on what your comfortable with,though the .300winmag will have a slight edge over it in most areas of performance.

well is protection against bear, and my pops old 300 works, so I will just bring that with me. the 300 kicks alot more then the 308, but that might simply be the fact that the 308 was heavy barrel and had a longer barrel.

[gumpokc]

hehe oh yeah the 300 kicks _alot_ more than the .308, but it does have more power, and a better trajectory at long range.

[Xride]

Originally posted by gumpokc
hehe oh yeah the 300 kicks _alot_ more than the .308, but it does have more power, and a better trajectory at long range.

I dont know if I could shoot a 300 win too much though, after the 6 shots I was done, and really didnt want to put out the other 4 to make it a 10 shot group. I assume a longer and heavy barrel would help this as well as a better stock. Maybe I will have to find a 300 win with a long heavy barrel to test shoot.

any idea on how much more a 300 win would cost me to shoot though? I'll probably put through a couple hundred or more factory rounds befor I get my reloading stuff set up.

[Evan03]

speed isnt necisarly it when it come to long range competitions.

the 22ppc 6mmppc and a bunch of other long range benchrest comp calibers are slower than the other calibers used for everyday hunting and varmiting, but these are just as at home varmiting and deer hunting as anything else.

ive actualy got an infatuation with the ppc calibers, ive done some research on them. these calibers were developed in lab for acuracy, they werent designed to kill varmits or big game.

i know im throwing calibers at you left and right, there are just so many choice. but being as that you want to varmit and bench rest shoot id shy away from the heavy kickers like the 308 or 300win even though they do very good in the competions

http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/22ppc.html

http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/6ppc.html

http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/6mmr.html

http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/243.html

the main page more info than we ever realy need to know on all these calibers. theres info on facotry and a ton of wildcats.


http://www.reloadbench.com/cart.html

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

Well for you wants of accuracy and the ability to shoot varmints, May I suggest one of the 6mm's.

If you really want to go the whole hog then i would suggest a .243 AI shooting90 Grn VLD's. For this you would need proboably a new barrel with a slightly faster twist but such a rifle if you do your part will do very well at 600 yards. a friend has just such a machine which he built on a Savage 112, fitted a Lija 3 groove barrel in .243 AI and uses it for 600 yd High Power and 600 Bench Rest with excellent results.

Oh and loaded with 95 grb Ballistic Tips it's pure murder on Whitetails, a little bit messy on close up shots but they drop quickly.

[Andy L]

For a 500 yard gun, I dont know that you could possibly do any better than a 300 Win. Thats a walk in the park for that round.

Play with some different loads in it. You might get the groups tighter than they are already with the bbl thats on it. And, yeah, it will stop a bear for ya about as good as any.

Lots of guns will do the job you want at 500 yards. But I think you got your gun already.....

Andy

[biscuitbilly]

257 Weaterby Magnum will do the trick.

[rem 700]

Man, those are all excellent caliber choices. 22-250, 308, 25-06, 223, can't go wrong with them. I love every single one of those calibers, so whichever you like is going to do the trick. I've used 223 out to 800 yards on pdogs, but a 22-250 may be the better gun to reach out to beyond 1000 yards effectively, even on bigger varmints like coyotes. 25-06 and 308: more price to pay for varmints than I'm willing to give for the ammunition(I do a lot of shooting when I get started), but the 25-06 has a more desirable trajectory so being off a little on range won't hurt like it will on the 308, and some solid energy at long ranges will do the trick on any varmint in an instant. The 308 would be my choice out of the 2 bigger calibers, for price, and popularity.

[model 70]

what about the 7mm STW or Rem Mag?

[bigbrother]

Most long range shooters are shooting some sort of 6.5, .30, or .338 caliber. This is due to the high b.c. bullets available for these calibers. If you're shooting to 500 yards I wouldn't consider the .338 mainly because to get the high b.c you're looking at 300g SMK bullets and some nice recoil to go with it. A 6.5 shooting 142SMK or 140 Amax or other match bullets (Lapua's, Bergers, etc.) will shoot flatter and have less drift (when shot at the same velocity) as most of the .30's. To get better in a .30 you have to shoot a 220 or 240g bullet. You don't need that at 500 yds.

All that being said, look at the winners of the latest 1000yd bencrest comps and notice the number of 6.5x284's. The reason people shoot them is because they are inherently accurate and can shoot the high bc 140's over 3000fps without the big recoil.

Again, you really don't need a 6.5 to shoot to 500yds. As posted earlier another good choice would be a 243AI with a high bc. bullet but then again, once you kill something at 500, you're going to want to shoot to 700, then to 1000, then you're into a whole new ball game. (Trust me, that's how I wound up with the 6.5) As far as accuracy you can reasonably expect a 6.5x284 from a competant gunsmith and good shooter to shoot under MOA at 500yds mine shoots 3 shots into 2" at that distance. The 6.5 will kill ghogs as far as you can find them and will kill deer sized game quickly at over 800yds. I'm sure further, but I haven't shot one that far away yet so I won't say for sure. I also know the big .30's are impressive over 800 yards and we'll soon have a .338Tomahawk to use so we'll keep you posted.

[Xride]

Originally posted by rem 700
Man, those are all excellent caliber choices. 22-250, 308, 25-06, 223, can't go wrong with them. I love every single one of those calibers, so whichever you like is going to do the trick. I've used 223 out to 800 yards on pdogs, but a 22-250 may be the better gun to reach out to beyond 1000 yards effectively, even on bigger varmints like coyotes. 25-06 and 308: more price to pay for varmints than I'm willing to give for the ammunition(I do a lot of shooting when I get started), but the 25-06 has a more desirable trajectory so being off a little on range won't hurt like it will on the 308, and some solid energy at long ranges will do the trick on any varmint in an instant. The 308 would be my choice out of the 2 bigger calibers, for price, and popularity.

so the 308 and the 22-250 could be used at 1000 yards?

I would like to stay away from the big kick guns for the simple fact that this is fun for me, and I want it to stay that way.

[gumpokc]

I wouldnt call the .308 "bigkick" it's just a little more than a 30-30 recoil-wise

as for the 22-250, it quite mild in recoil.

[Xride]

Originally posted by gumpokc
I wouldnt call the .308 "bigkick" it's just a little more than a 30-30 recoil-wise

as for the 22-250, it quite mild in recoil.

well I was reffering more to the other calabers, 300 win and 338.

the 308 is good, I found it isnt to much, but when you shoot it you can tell its a gun and not a bellet gun like a .22

[Adirondacks]

I wouldn't discount the 25-06.
At that range a good marriage of
flat shooting and heavy enough bullets
to buck some wind would be just the
ticket. I'd say that the 25-06 would
fill the bill on both counts.

[Boyd Heaton]

For game animals up to deer size out to 500 yards.The 6br of one of its knock off's would fit the bill fine.For elk,bear and moose size game to 500 I would chose the 300 wsm.IMHO

[brandoneh297]

The most accurate caliber by far is the .338 lupua. It holds almost every long distance record. People actually use it to join something they call the 'grand slam club'. In order to get in you have to kill a groundhog or similar animal at 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 yards! It even holds the long distance kill shot record at over 3,200 yards! The only problem is that it's very costly, the rifles start around $1,500 and go up to over $10,000. You could also go with a .50bmg but thats just way to much firepower. Skip talbot shot a 3 shot 2 and half inch group at 1000 yards with it though.

[Boyd Heaton]

The most accurate caliber by far is the .338 lupua. It holds almost every long distance record. Records for what???

[Lone Star]

All things considered, the .308 is difficult to beat. It is not as good a varmint cartridge as the .22s, 24s or 25s, but it is at the top of the heap in long range accuracy. It is less expensive than the big 30s (the .338s are so limited in usefullness they can be discounted) to load and shoot, dies are readily availabel as is good brass. The latter is the downfall of many like the .25-06, high quality brass is essential for long range accuracy. The .25-06 is accurate to a point, but not in the same class at long range as the .308 is. This is the same fault with the .30-06, it cannot compete with the .308 at long range - this has been proven for decades in competition. The reason is inconsistent ignition and a high ES. 110-to 130-grain varmint bullets at 3000-3200 fps is a decent varmint load, and the various 155 to 200-grain MK bullets are proven to excel at 600-1000 yards.

The factory .22s do okay at 500 yards, but they cannot reach 1000 yards accurately- they will require a special fast-twist barrel and high-BC bullets, ditto the 6mms; the 6.5s are very good, but a .260 Remington is plenty for 500, based on actual results in competition. The .338 Lapua has a much better press than it does performance, and who wants to put up with the cost and recoil - it stops being fun after awhile.

Good luck whatever you choose, just remember the old Texas rule - if it isn't fun, then you've wasted your money. :)

[JackRabbit]

The 270 is a good choice as well, with medium recoil and excelent accuracy.Good on deer,varmits or off the bench.;)

[royinidaho]

Target accurate varmint rifle:

To guarantee this its about gotta be a at least a semi custom. That is trued action and fitted high quality barrell plus a really decent bedding job.

Action would be savage or rem.

Barrel would be up a grade from douglas say a Lilja.

Cartridge could be a couple of choices:

Top of the list would be 6mmBR or 6mm Dasher and shoot the 107gr bullets. Dirt cheap to shoot once set up and good to twice 500 yds.

Second choice and probably way more exciting would be something like a 22 243 Ackley Improved. Then shoot the Wildcat 100 gr bullet at about 3200. Also good to twice 500 yds. Built properly it'll be competition accurate. Need at least a 7" twist though.

I'm using a 338 Win for fairly long range yotes this winter. Expect it to be a bit much, even more than a 300 Win but what the heck, its accurate enough and I can shoot it well enough:rolleyes: but for yoting one of the above will replace it one of these days or maybe even a bigger case.:confused:

[Evan03]

you can do this with about an good centerrfire action.

remmys are the most common rifle to build a custom on. i think they just plain SUCK lol.

but actions are dime dozen

i wouldnt discount ruger or howa savage remmy winchester

id also look into cooper rifles. these are single shot bolt actions that many think are worth there weight in gold.

i think the link is
www.cooperarms.com