Just remember, when choosing your Long Range cartridge, every metric counts and affects overall performance. Is it the fastest? Much sharper and stronger than a .308 Winchesternot meant for beginners. However, the Grendel uses the same case diameter as the 7.62x39mm so the new magazine capacity is reduced from 30 rounds to 26, and the bolt face is not interchangeable with .223/5.56 bolts. The 243 Winchester and 6mm Remington have reputations for shooting flat, but the lesser known 240 Weatherby magnum fires the same bullets at higher velocities, so its the flattest of the 24-calibers. The List: .223 Remington/5.56mm, .224 Valkyrie, .243 Winchester, 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5mm Grendel, 6.5mm Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge), 6.5x47mm Lapua, .260 Remington, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .300 Winchester Short Magnum, .300 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge), .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Norma Magnum, .338 Lapua Magnum, and the .338 Norma Magnum. 1,000m: 1,287 ft-lbs. Im too old and worn out for the magnums. Some compare it to the .260 or 6.5 Creedmoor, the 6.5x47mm Lapua is known to be very accurate. This caliber is great for experienced PRS shooters, or big game, Long Range hunters. As for PRS shooters, with great flat trajectories and low-recoil, follow-up shots are a breeze. No issue finding it. 218 in. My background comes from the military sniper community where our gear was never the best. Just like anything in life, each caliber you pick will have a list of pros and cons. So what can we learn from these numbers? This Nosler also supports a 27 ft/lbs recoil even at a 1094 ft/lbs 1000 Yard energy and 225'' 1000-yard drop. It is a product of natural selection and evolutionthe best features of several classic LR rounds fused into one. Ammo Availability: The biggest issue for calibers this new and this niche, is Hornadys ability to keep up with the demand. As a serious LR shooter who intends on needing terminal performance or wanting a modern tactical build, I would leave the .243 behind in the 20, The 6mm Creedmoor can obviously be related to its slightly bigger brother; the 6.5CM. Enjoying many of your video\s whilst stuck in lockdown. Low recoil, combined with the above mentions makes the .260 another great round to start the LR game. Several other .30 cal magnum rounds were designed at the time, but the .300 Winchester Magnum was the only one of the lot, to stand the test of time. With the projectile variability and network of knowledge on this cartridge, I think its a great option to build a classic hunting rifle. I dont get it. Sub-MOA group from handloads at 1000 yards demonstrates the capability of 22 CM. Thanks Will! The flattest-shooting popular rifle cartridge at 1,000 yards is the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum, followed by the .26 Nosler, the .28 Nosler, the .22 Creedmoor, and the 6.5 Weatherby RPM. These magnum rounds love to kill barrels. Thank you for the time it took to work all this data up in an easy to absorb article, where are you getting your information for the bullet drop? He just never made it official. That one-millimeter difference means a large increase in MV. I like the idea of taking the .223/5.56 concept and stretching its legs. A BC number can be represented in several different, values or standards. That is an on-the-spot selection. 6.5 projectiles hold a reputation of great BCs. The research is out there if you need it. Currently, G1 through G8 and GL is the only mathematical models to express BCs. Very similar to the .243 Winchester. Mag. Snipers were forced to choose a limited range bolt-action rifle or the completely overpowered M82/M107. The amount of drop is directly influenced by velocity, energy, rifle barrel, and bullet design. It is meant for the traditional long-range projectile; featuring a long, slender ogive and a boat-tail rear end. Thats for another day. 1,000m: 437 ft-lbs. Factory ammo isnt heavily available; expect to pay around $1.75 per round. It would serve as the main infantry cartridge for over 60 years, before being replaced by the 7.62x51mm NATO. I too am a huge fan of Ron Spomer. The .300 PRC delivers phenomenal Long Range performance. I like that the caliber is being offered in high-end AR-10 platforms for the gas-gun enthusiasts. Again for the best LR option, 140gr Hybrid Target MV: 2,780 fps, Using above projectile, G1: 0.607 G7: 0.311. A column writer for Outdoor Life wanted to do a piece on how to design a wildcat cartridge. I think this cartridge will prove useful to the long range community in the future. Average price per round$1.00. Obviously this list doesnt include every possible bullet/BC/MV combination, but it gives us a pretty good picture of the likely winners at three distances. The average price per round will be close to $2.00. You may see something like this: 6.5mm 140-grain VLD G1 BC: 0.593 G7 BC: 0.304. It has less case volume, traditionally firing a heavier bulletBUT still retains energy over range better and maintains a longer Transonic Range than its bigger brother. Recoil Condition: Minimal. Im referring to cartridges that have been custom designed by people in the industry who squeeze every drop of performance out of a round. History: The 6.5 Grendel comes to us in 2003 from Alexander Arms. I was particularly blown away by the range of the 6.5 Grendel. This is the allure and benefit of a flat shooting bullet. They throw in 200 rounds ($1,400 worth), but you still need to provide your own optics. Enforcermj, Im not sure if your comment is sarcastic or not. Thats equal magnitude to 200fps less flatness! One of the advantages of the 300 Winchester Magnum is that it can be loaded in a long-rifle action rather than a more expensive Magnum receiver. Cross-Platform Use: Few AR-10s exist that can fire the .300WM. Great article, bringing in all the relevant points. The average cost per round of .260 Remington online will be around $1.70. 1,000m: 1,287 ft-lbs. Its not the fastest, farthest, or most accurate roundbut it will certainly get the job done with less headache and wallet-ache. I initially did not put a brake on itafter the 14th round (during barrel break-in) my right peck muscle started to quiver. Very modular across nearly any rifle system. This caliber thrived in the late 20th Century and has since stayed for a reason. I've heard the .243 has less drop at 1000 yds than the .308 and it is also less effected by wind. New LR shooters also often skimp on glass and what I see most often is that someone buys a cheap scope so that they can afford other goodies for their rifles. Great work mate including .22LR what a hoot (Incoming!) HOWEVER after going through Cartridges of The World by Barnes and Skinner it has come to my attention that 7.21 Lazzeroni Firebird is ever more overbore. At the time this cartridge was revolutionary in that it bridged the gap between small and fast varmint projectiles with heavier medium game calibers. My third point is to remind you that this is not a scientific, Newtonian examination of all possible permutations of cartridges, bullets, muzzle velocities, and Ballistic Coefficients that determine bullet drop over all distances. And for all of you whove just learned your flat shooting champion really isnt, sorry. What do I mean by that? 28 in. No howitzers or tanks.). Backfire LLC owns and operates this website. Muzzle Velocity is also a value that is never constant. Although I dont see this being an entry-level caliber, it could very well lead to a goal for new shooters. If you are inexperienced, youre in luckbecause todays Long Range shooting community is being flooded by great, streamlined, low-recoiling cartridges. For the reloading enthusiasts, this gives another round to be excited for. Muzzle Velocity: Using the US Militarys XM1163, MV: 2,940 fps, Ballistic Co-Efficient: 230gr Berger Hybrid OTM Tactical G1: 0.717 G7: 0.368, Remaining Energy: Muzzle: 4,414 ft-lbs. Reloading components can be found nearly anywhere. Equally, cutting through the air slows the projectile down, eating away at its energy. Hopefully, at the end of this article, you can apply the same questions and principles to select which caliber you want to dive into the awesome world of long-range shooting. Anecdotally, PRS shooters are having to change barrels once per year. It just murders your shoulder, ears, and pocketbook at the same time drop in feet Shooting at 700 (In Theory) So lets roll with this! Introduced to us in 1955, the .243 was designed as a sporting and target rifle round. The truth is that there is no one best long-range caliber for every job and there are many factors to consider. Programs like Applied Ballistics (by far the best) can easily chart out in a spreadsheet-like format, all sorts of information important to long-range shooters. Now by swapping a barrel, Long Action set-ups like the .300 Norma or Winchester magnums could not manage the overall cartridge length of the new .338 Norma. This is an example of how different loads in different rifles can produce different results. 500m: 2,755 ft-lbs. You can expect to pay about $1.00 per round at most online retailers. Impeccable analysis here. Trust but verify. This basically means the opening of the case where the bullet is seated, is tightened from 6.8mm to 5.7mm. This cartridge calls for a custom case. Advice youll never hear from the mainstream media. The average barrel life will be 1,500-2,000 rounds. 1,500m: 362 ft-lbs. Now, one manufacturer specializes in fast, powerful, ridiculous cartridges, and thats Weatherby. Cross-Platform Use: You can build a .223 rifle in almost any rifle action. Barrel Life: These magnum rounds love to kill barrels. Yep, me too. One of the selling points of this round, when it was introduced, was its light recoil for a deer gun. Find out which ones made the cut. So guys who reload might fall into brass availability problems. Very modular across nearly any rifle system. 1,000m: 1,523 ft-lbs. Good work mate. Some products out there exist for use in an AR-10 platform but the PRC is born within the bolt-gun family. Very bad if shooting light bullets, not that great if shooting the heavier projectiles. Muzzle: 5,096 ft-lbs. At 1000 yards it still has a velocity of 1200 fps, a typical 9mm handgun muzzle velocity. What advice would you add? For bigger game, I could easily hunt with either the 240 or 6.5-300 Weatherbys. You are looking at the 1,500 to 2,000 round mark for consistent accuracy. From what can be expected, the .224 wears a little bit more than the .223, approx. Military sniper rifles are still utilizing this classic cartridge. Projectiles can be found anywhere with nearly any grain-weight in its class, for those of you who reload. The .308 is no different. Century and has since stayed for a reason. This is especially important to those of you who reload and can tailor a custom load for your rifle. Here are four long-range rifles you should consider: Prized for its ability as a flat-shooting cartridge, the 300 Winchester Magnum is capable of 3,260 feet per second (fps) and 2,658 foot pounds of muzzle energy with a 150 grain bullet, and 3,000 fps and 4,223 foot pounds of muzzle energy with a 180 grain bullet. Handloading ammunition can reap the reward of selecting the exact projectile with the exact desired BC. This topic may be daunting to some readers because the actual numerical values in which we represent a projectiles Ballistic Coefficient seem like arbitrary numbers. Remington simply took the .308 case and necked it down to house the 6.5mm. Great chart, I appreciate all your work on this. With things like barrel life and ammo availability into consideration, the 6mm Creedmoor is a perfect option for the more seasoned and able LR shooter who doesnt mind reloading consistently and replacing barrels often. Perhaps you, dear reader, can provide the formula! At 300 yards it has dropped around 13 inches, and at 500 yards it's just under 60 inches (5 feet). Sportsman could use the same rifle used for groundhogs and coyotes, as for deer. For being a long and hard-hitting round, the 6.5 CM still maintains a lower felt recoil. For example, when the inception of the M110 came to the Army sniper community some guys hated leaving behind their trusty M24s. 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