The deer wont know the difference. But when you consider the specific task at hand, the field of options narrows. For Cooper, the .308 Winchester fit the bill. Unless the 300WM was down-loaded to unsafe levels, the 308 will never beat it. For off-the-shelf accuracy, the 6.5 Creedmoor is tough to top, no matter how much the Creeds detractors might howl. If you think thats the product of the latest technology, know that Winchester introduced this cartridge in 1935! 30 years later still shooting this caliber even though I do have the 6.5 CM too. Wind drift @10mph. .25-06 Rem The .25-06 Remington rifle cartridge used to be a rare wildcat. Define your own parameters. Could the 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, or 26 Nosler be the flattest shooting cartridge? Mag. But the truth is you dont need to suffer with bad .308 ammo. While still a great long-range precision shooting cartridge, it is starting to lose ground to newer, softer shooting cartridges. I understand why some hate the round, and its largely the .308 Winchester fanboys. So, Winchester slightly modified the .270 WSM case so it was a bit shorter and then specified barrels with a faster twist. the flattest cartridge I can find. Another and even better option for reaching out to a big game animal with an AR15 is the 6.5 Grendel. If I want to be a King of 2 Mile shooter .375 Cheytac hands down followed by a .50 BMG, if I want to overwatch an infantry squad either .338 Win Mag or .50 BMG, if cost isn't an issue Anzio Ironworks 20mm (yes 20mm), Barrett, AI, or a full up custom build. No real adjustment necessary. Been shooting this particular caliber since I bought my first legal rifle at the old age of 18 lol. It shoots flat and just drops the deer.. Doesnt quite pack the punch needed for long range elk hunting though. was once sensible enough to try eliminating invasive species from public lands instead of spending millions to protect and increase them.) That's a fine caliber, I said. Its bullets will remain supersonic out past 2,000 yards. It honestly feels like cheating when you are behind a quality 6.5 Creedmoor. Personalize your experience. Perhaps you or other readers here can find the ultimate winner! Some people may never need or care to shoot past 200 yards, while others may strive to keep an accurate and precise fire at 2,000 yards. What are some of your favorite long-range cartridges? Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent, .308 Winchester will win no ballistic awards. Just took me a 600+ pound cow elk 1 shot with my creedmore 200 yards away. In reference to the gentleman saying a hunter shouldnt take a long range shot, what he meant was He shouldnt take a long range shot. Beyond 1000 yards they use either the 338 Lapua or the 50 BMG. The new Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent load with a muzzle velocity of 2825 fps shoots flat and the bullet is tough enough to handle up close impacts while still delivering good. Mag. Umm.. the .300 mag is far superior to the 308. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 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. From an external ballistics standpoint, it cannot compete with any of the cartridges on this list, but in the field where it matters, it works wonders, and only the 6.5 Creedmoor has less recoil. Yup, the .257 beats everybody in speed and long-range accuracy, at least out to 500-600 yards (except the .22 Swift, and it drops off after a couple of hundred yards) . Though the recoil in sporting-weight rifles is a bit much to allow you to see bullet impacts inside . 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. Some of the best loads I have shot through various .223 Wylde/5.56 NATO chambers have been: The .224 Valkyrie was developed with long-range shooting in mind from its inception. After reaching out to 1,250 yards on a trip to the amazing High Bar Homestead in Gillette, WY, I am now a firm believer in the .224 Valkyrie. Needless to say youre not going to find one of these rifles, or the ammo, on your gun store shelf anytime soon. I would love if you had any info on a ar-10 or 15 barrel in bolt replacement that would fit in my palmetto guns for the 6.5 prc ???? There are far too many cartridges out there to narrow down, let alone the shooter's need factored in. If you like the idea of a six-five for going long, but hate the Creed and want something a bit different, the 6.5-284 Norma is the way to go. In other words, can I just remove my .223 Wylde/5.56 NATO223 upper assy and install the PSA .224 Valkyrie upper? Serious long-range shooters shouldn't make compromises; 6 mm ARC bullets will reach 1,000 yards before any of the others and they will also remain supersonic longer, too. So, which one comes out on top in a head-to-head matchup? These numbers indicate that one of the flattest shooting commercial cartridge at sensible hunting ranges is the 220 Swift. The key to the Dasher and these other rounds is their consistency. So, to find the worlds flattest shooting cartridge, find the best combination of fast MV and high B.C. 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. (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. Wisconsin. Why It Made the Cut: The .300 Win. I have shot my .338LM to 2616 yards at a match. The Navy switched to 190-grain Sierra Matchking HPBTs. and .458 Win. Many of the contenders are based on the 6mm Benchrest cartridge. So it just depends , but I wouldn't lump 556, 224, etc into this category. Therefore the .17 Remington is the round for you. To which I would answer neither the 300WM or the .338. It was introduced in 1962 and essentially knocked the .264 Winchester Magnum several notches down on the popularity list after hunters and shooters put the 7mm Mag to the test. But lack of convenience is certainly the Big Kahuna. towards your level. and 7mm RUM might come close with the right bullet. Then theres the matter of personal preference. 500-yard drop: 45 inches (based on a 100-yard zero). RELATED: 6.5 Creedmoor: The New King of Cartridges? Of course, if you want to know a LOT more about the 6.5 Grendel you need to read the 6.5 Grendel Shootout! Lets look at the last point, first. Worth a look anyway. No matter the choice, theres no denying that we live in a golden era of rifle accuracy. Caliber selection is all about figuring what trade-offs make the most sense for what you want to accomplish. With the exception of the 7mm Remington Magnum, cartridges of this diameter have never been as popular in America as they should bemaybe because this was the caliber of the Imperial German Army and the Nazis. You sure can. Like the 26 Nosler, the 28 is based on the 404 Jeffery case and will remain supersonic out past 1,750 yards. at 150-grains, the bullet is a bit light, but it still has enough energy at 1,000-yards for deer, bear, and elk. The fact is rifle shooters have never had it so good. The non-bonded bullet should deliver good terminal performance up close and at distance. The engineering of these cartridges, which gets into the minutia of rifle twist (faster), chamber dimensions (tighter), case taper (less), shoulder angle (steeper), throat lede angle (shallower), and other details, is why they are inherently more accurate, and better, than the cartridges of yore. An added benefit with the .223 Remington is cheap, readily available ammo. Mag. Mag. Bill Poor recently claimed to hit a target at 5280 yards/4837 meters or 3 miles. A good 1000-yard stock will feature a flat fore-end, 3 or so wide . A great flat shooter. My first successful hunt with a rifle was an antelope (ie, very small kill zone compared to an elk) shot at 330 yards. The newest addition to the Nosler line of proprietary cartridges is the 27 Nosler. He said stuff. 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. That involves shooting ballistically aero-efficient bullets at moderate velocities with the understanding that they will retain their speed and shoot flatter at long distances while generating mild recoil and good barrel life. At A Glance: Our Top 5 Picks For Long Range Calibers in 2022 Best for Beginners: 5.56mm/.223 Remington Minimal Recoil: 224 Valkyrie Best for Long Range: 243 Winchester Best for Seasoned Shooters: 6mm Creedmoor Best Value: 6.5mm Grendel Nosler is loading the 27 with their famous AccuBond, which is one of the best big-game bullets ever crafted. A bullet starts to drop as soon as it leaves the barrel. Up until that time, there had only really been two .277-caliber hunting cartridgesthe .270 Winchester and the .270 Weatherbyso the .270 WSM was almost immediately popular. It is the responsibility of any hunter to put down game as quickly and humanely as possible with a single shot. 2) even if that were true .308 and 300 win mag use the same bulletsso 300 win mag would see the same increases and would stay just as far ahead. The most accurate long-range caliber cant be reduced to a single answer. Now, the .280 AI is finally a SAAMI-approved cartridge, and while ammunition options are sparse, its performance is right there with the 7mm Remington Magnum. 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). 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. He would then fire-form the brass in a barrel dedicated to that process and then run that brass through a die with a .30-caliber mandrel, at which point he turns the case neck for uniformity and trims the brass to the right length. Select what level shooter you are! Mag. Theres plenty of factory stuff that shoots lights out. They each have pros and cons. The 6.5x284 is a long range cartridge that is gaining popularity by leaps and bounds. Even at a 1000 yard drop, the cartridge range is around 210'', which makes the 26 Nosler perform quite capably at such a range . While that incredibly fast 6.5-300 Wby. But flat? To explain the nuances of rifle twist rates, you can read my previous article about AR-15 Twist Rates! Feb 17, 2008. Nothing wrong whatsoever with the 7mmRM. RELATED: How the Brand-New 27 Nosler Revives the .277. For good reason. caliber cartridges in 2018 when Hornady introduced it after working with George Gardner of GA Precision on the concept. With a flatter trajectory and less wind drift the .300 Win Mag offers a useful step up in performance in a similar size rifle. It nearly matches the ballistics of the Winchester Magnum, but does so in rifles with faster-twist barrels and modern powders that extend barrel life. However, in the 1000-yard game, many different calibers can win. 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. Copyright 2023 Pew Pew Media, Inc. All rights reserved. We could go into all sorts of great cartridges that frankly its hard to find anything that is a clear cut winner in the group. The third time proved to be the charm. 7 mm. The lack of factory offerings is one reason the 6 GT might overtake the Dasher. The 308 is a good round and in many cases there's no reason to replace it with a 6.5C unless you just want to.. On the other hand if you're starting fresh, there's not much reason to buy a 308 over a 6.5C. Many western hunters still swear by the 220 Swift as a pronghorn and mule deer round. At 500 yards, the 27 Nosler drops almost a foot less than Jack OConnors sacred cartridge. To build off of the PSA .224 Valkyrie Upper you recommended is there any other changes needed to a standard AR-15 lower assembly? Even though it is a relative newcomer, in light of its accuracy, shootability, and lethality it has earned its place as one of the best long-range calibers for hunting open country game like mule deer. Richard Mann So, you get much better performance from the 6.5 PRC versus the .300 Win. Oh, I also on a 300 Win Mag too, just in case I get lucky enough to go elk hunting. Definitely agree with that statement. It shoots as flat as a Kansas prairie and holds its velocity way out there. There are not many places you can shoot 500 yards. Also the 300 Win? Based on the 7.6239/220 Russian cartridge case, the Valkyrie changes the personality of the AR-15. Pure drop from the get-go. Unless that backer has five distinct holes in itwhich Stinnetts didit doesnt count. Hornady 123-grain SST at 2580 fps. Weve built dozens of ARs and well cover all the best AR-15 upgrades such as handguards, triggers, BCGs, gas blocks, and more. (Even though the term cartridges is correct, the common usage of caliber dictates why this story is called Best Long-Range Calibers rather than Best Long-Range Cartridges.). By the time the 6.5 Creedmoor started gaining popularity, interest in the .270 WSM was fading. Shot from SAAMI-mandated 1-8 twist barrels, the 6.5s long, slender bullets seem to almost defy wind and gravity and allow this cartridge to deliver clean kills at distance. are tough to beat. Hunters who just want more gun should look to the bigger .30s, like the .300 PRC and .300 Win Mag., especially if their adventures take them into territory where larger predators like bears prowl the landscape. It was also a resounding success and has remained popular with hunters looking to stretch their effective range. One cartridge needs to be crowned the most accurate and it just happens to be one youve probably never heard of. Thats what makes a long-range hunters heart go pitter patter, and its what has kept Weatherby in business since 1945. Then the 400 yard. As for its effectiveness on game, theres little doubt about its track record there. Once dialed in, I was able to put rounds on a steel silhouette with ease. 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. rounds to their specs. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. Mag., while having to put up with significantly less recoil. The question *was* best caliber for 1000 yard target shooting. .308 Winchester has been around for almost 70 years and has served militaries and police forces around the world as faithfully as it has served competition shooters. The correct response is, for what? But the 7mm Remington Magnum will remain supersonic out to 1,400 yards or a bit more, making a good choice for cross-canyon hunting. Shooter 's need factored in umm.. the.300 Win Mag offers a useful step up in performance a... Be the flattest shooting cartridge, it is the 220 Swift in a golden era of accuracy. 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