Good caliber for 600/1000yd BR

Jim--I shot at Reade, not at their hi-power shoots, but practiced with my groundhog rifles more to the left of the butts that we use now with the big rocks in 1967 after I got out of the military. You was shooting there before I was, I live about 40 miles from Reade. I shoot 1000 yard benchrest there now since it started. A great range and great people.
 
Dan, i was shooting for Guard then and it was the only place to get a zero for 1K ,Then we started to use an old rail road bed down below the house. It was subject to flooding but was kind of a neat place. I only made it to Reade once this year but i was chasing a IBS record....... jim
 
Charles -

A point to the records that I think your missing is, what calibers are breaking the records currently?
Most all the records you listed are several years old now and have not been broke by the calibers that set them either.

The records are cool and great that I respect very much, but they are far and in between, and more of a rarity.....
Whats better then the records is what is currently winning the most matches, winning the current club aggregate standings, and placing the best at the current National/World/State events.
As much, and as fast as the sport evolves with bullets, brass, barrels, rests, bags, components, calibers, etc... what was "hot stuff" 3-years ago is almost old news, let alone what was being used 5, 10, or more years ago.

So what are the current standouts? Are they a traditional LR caliber? Are they old LR potentials now revolutionized? Are they a holdout that was in need of "now" better components? Are they a whole new deal/caliber?
Then, what calibers are winning the most at all the ranges combined, from the North to the South, to the East, and in the West?
And what were the standouts from the top-20 for the past couple, three years at the National/World/State matches, where so many ranges and shooters are represented and gather in attendance?

Here is one current 2012 standout that I am aware of:
Sally Bauer is on a "12 in a row" LT & HV win streak <><> 6 relays + 6-shoot-offs <><>
She has had a stellar 2012 season all together, with many more wins in the books.
What ever all components her equipment list is all sporting, we can say is "hot stuff" right now !!!

Another is the almost predominance Top-20 the 6mmBR-Family had the past 2 years of 600yd-National's.


Advise to the "new guy" I feel would be better served by advising what is hot now, not a one-hit wonder like Tom's 300-Hulk of 6 years ago.

Happy Shooting
Donovan Moran
 
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Donovan, Well said.... What a new guy should look for is the winners and then look down the equipment list to see what they use. ......jim
 
NEW equipment lists... CURRENT winners....

Back in the day I bought the first edition of "Precision Shooting At 1000 Yards" and went out and spent about 4 grand based on information from "the definitive" book.

It ALL got turned into hunting rifles before ever shot was fired in anger! The info was out of date almost before it went into print. I was so set back that by the time I had the stuff replaced with competitive stuff I only got in 7-8 matches before they shut the doors on competition here locally.
 
Al, there was nothing wrong with what you had. If you're going to go to every match, travel, and shoot for year-long aggs, yeah, you need the most mistake-free stuff -- or put better, the stuff that will help you make the fewest mistakes. That's one way to compete.

But if you're not going to do that, if you're just going to shoot some matches, then from my perspective, you're into single-group thinking. The way I look at it, I've got four (or more, if you win relays) chances to get the smallest group of the day. What I shoot for.

I guess if you're shooting 600 yards, where there's a daily agg as well as a year-long agg, you could think in terms of mistake-free aggs. But you don't have to -- we can each of us define "winning" a little differently that the common view, and keep our own tally.

Good stuff from the 1990s can still win any match.

Remember, most long-range shooters put the sight in the center of the target and pull the trigger. If you can get a rifle that will let you shoot without handling it, you'll have higher consistency over a year. You gotta hang onto the boomers. Doesn't mean they won't shoot, and outshoot as long as you don't make a mistake.
 
I would not get the components for a 1K or any yardage from that or any book or any recommendation from those write there, go to the people that are winning and see what they use. I did this and that gun set a score record, not with me but i lost the sight in my eye a my buddy did it all from a gun built from the average of what was winning then. You have to do your home work, what won then, will not win now.You may get close but 5" groups don't cut it, scores better be 49 and up.Last year i shot a 3" 50 and didn't get in the shoot off.Equipment and knowledge is better and what was good isn't the case any more, you need a capable of shooting a record all year long. There are a lot of good shooters and to stay on top you are constantly testing and changing to get better...... jim
 
Charles E said:
Matt, I'd guess the original poster got his answer, yes, the 6mm Norma BR is a good 600 and 1000 yard "caliber" (actually "chambering"). Plus some others, in.........
FWIW
Click to expand...

Yes I did! Not sure which to go with yet!

Steve
 
Thanks Daryl, the link worked fine, and I bookmarked it.

Unless he's changed recently, Bill Schrader shoots a .30 -- a Win Mag, you say? As I said earlier, Dave Tooley shot a .30 BooBoo for his HG record, and Regan Green shot a .30 Valkyrie in HG -- yet another .30 on the 8x68S case case. While all Regan's records are in HG, his LG was a 6.5/284, I believe.

When necked down to .30 caliber, The 88-grain capacity (water, full to overflow) 8x68-S case isn't much bigger than the .300 WSM, and the brass is usually RWS, which is the best as far as I'm concerned. But it is expensive, and can be hard to find. It is certainly easier to start with the WSM, and if it gives anything away, it is with the heavier bullets between 210 and 240 grains. And if it gives anything away at all, it isn't much.
 
I can't argue against it that's for sure.. i was being a smart a$$.

Steve, if you comfortable with wildcats it is pretty hard to beat Dasher. Not enough can be said about attending a match and getting in the hip pocket of the guy/gal with the hand out for envelopes!

Tom
 
Tom, That sounds funny,everybody likes the big boomers and now your making a smaller Dasher to use......LOL....jim
 
Tom, Wait till you get my age, you are afraid to shoot anything bigger than a Dasher or get a detached retina or worse..... LOL .....jim
 
Shortly after I posted this thread, I sent an email to my gunsmith here on the East Coast and asked him for his opinion. He recommended 6.5x47 Lapua. I don't know anything about this cartridge, nor have I seen it used much. Anyone know about this cartridge or use it?

steve
 
Personally I would recommend the 6.5 Creedmoor over the 6.5x47 Lapua. The brass is very high quality and is 100% made in the good ol' US of A. I like to reward US companies when they give us the quality we are looking for. I do believe the Creedmoor brass is of higher quality than a lot of the other brass that Hornady makes. I do know that Hornady has put a lot of effort into making high quality brass for this cartridge. I think the Creedmoor is at the minimum case capacity for the heavier .264 bullets used for long range.

If you are set on Lapua brass and .264 I would go with the 6.5x55 Swede 30º improved.

James
 
Chisolm said:
If you are set on Lapua brass and .264 I would go with the 6.5x55 Swede 30º improved.
James
Click to expand...

The 6.5x55 has excellent capacity for 140 grain projectiles and will match the 6.5x284 with loads of similar pressures. Just check that the Lapua cartridges fit the bolt face of your action - their rim is just a few thou' bigger than a 308.

I had a couple of good seasons almost a decade ago shooting a Swede when the 6.5x284 was King. Mind you, I then rebarreled in 6.5x284 and did even better. Great performance in a light gun with no brake.

If you like the Lapua brass then try the 139 grain Scenars. Outstanding consistency.

Ben
 
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