I need some input on which rifle and which caliber to buy for shooting at distances of 300-600 yards. The 6.5 Creedmore comes to mind and also the .308. I've had Remington BDL (223) varmint rifles that performed very well. I hear Savage makes a good long range rifle too. Of course the rifle would be topped with a quality 3-9x scope. Your opinions please.
Looking to buy a rifle for 300-600 yards
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What will you be shooting? Targets or game? What size? Also, what's your price range?
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Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
These would be my questions too. If larger game animals are part of the menu, I'd be looking at the .300 Magnums at those distances.
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As posted, what do you plan to shoot? 6.5 Creedmoor is great round, but if big game there is the new 6.8 or go with 338 mag.
WHOA!!!!!!!!!!
So many choices out there these days.
My first question would be is this for long range competition or long range hunting?
For hunting my preference would be a .308 Winchester but I admit I am a traditionalist in that respect and my hunting rifle almost forever is a decades old Remington 788 in that caliber. I never hunted long distance, it's not my thing, but that's still the caliber I would choose.
The platform I would choose would also be traditional but not necessarily wood. I have no problem with fiberglass rifle stocks. Any quality, bolt action rifle with a 24" barrel should suffice and the price points vary from a few hundred dollars to much, much more:
Ruger American
Savage Axis
And you can go nuts with Remington 700s and their prices go from a few hundred dollars for average rifles to many hundreds for the so-called "Tactical" model to a couple of thousand dollars for the "M24R Sniper Weapon System".
But I would stick to standard hunting rifles, or maybe something at the level of the "Tactical" rifle, for long range hunting.
For competition, that's different. That M24 I mentioned is in the running, as are all of the "tactical" style bolt guns that like ARs but are not semi-automatic. And there I'd switch to 6.5 Creedmore.
Ruger Precision 6.5 Creedmoor Bolt-Action Rifle
Bergara Premier
As two examples.
But as I write this to answer your question I know someone is recommending the Browning X-Bolt Hunter Long Range, and in 6.5 Creedmore maybe it's good for both hunting and competition - I have no experience in such matters, I just read about the guns and have hunted with standard bolt guns for years. I have not bought a new bolt action rifle in a very long time.
Good luck!
So many choices out there these days.
My first question would be is this for long range competition or long range hunting?
For hunting my preference would be a .308 Winchester but I admit I am a traditionalist in that respect and my hunting rifle almost forever is a decades old Remington 788 in that caliber. I never hunted long distance, it's not my thing, but that's still the caliber I would choose.
The platform I would choose would also be traditional but not necessarily wood. I have no problem with fiberglass rifle stocks. Any quality, bolt action rifle with a 24" barrel should suffice and the price points vary from a few hundred dollars to much, much more:
Ruger American
Savage Axis
And you can go nuts with Remington 700s and their prices go from a few hundred dollars for average rifles to many hundreds for the so-called "Tactical" model to a couple of thousand dollars for the "M24R Sniper Weapon System".
But I would stick to standard hunting rifles, or maybe something at the level of the "Tactical" rifle, for long range hunting.
For competition, that's different. That M24 I mentioned is in the running, as are all of the "tactical" style bolt guns that like ARs but are not semi-automatic. And there I'd switch to 6.5 Creedmore.
Ruger Precision 6.5 Creedmoor Bolt-Action Rifle
Bergara Premier
As two examples.
But as I write this to answer your question I know someone is recommending the Browning X-Bolt Hunter Long Range, and in 6.5 Creedmore maybe it's good for both hunting and competition - I have no experience in such matters, I just read about the guns and have hunted with standard bolt guns for years. I have not bought a new bolt action rifle in a very long time.
Good luck!
For Iowa white tails (or larger game) at 600 yards I recommend a 30 caliber cartridge. If you can manage the recoil, a .30/06 has proven itself.
However, if your skill level actually allows you to shoot game at 600 yards, a .300 Win Mag would be my choice.
Savage has many great rifles at affordable prices.
However, if your skill level actually allows you to shoot game at 600 yards, a .300 Win Mag would be my choice.
Savage has many great rifles at affordable prices.
lrb1200
Member
You lost me at thinking a 3x9 works at
300-600 yards.
300-600 yards.
Just an observation, but the calibers mentioned by the OP and others are not legal for deer hunting in Iowa. Only straight-walled cartridges of .35 caliber or more are legal for deer (and certainly not good for the ranges asked about)..........unless something has recently changed.
Granted the OP hasn't yet stated whether he wants this rifle for hunting out-of-state or just long range shooting. Again just an observation.
Don
Granted the OP hasn't yet stated whether he wants this rifle for hunting out-of-state or just long range shooting. Again just an observation.
Don
Buy a Jarrett bean field rifle, my 300 J puts 3 shots under .20", 180 grain Nosler @ close to 3K fps.
for those ranges I shoot a 330 Dakota, its a 600 yard elk gun for sure. Now for paper anything will do.
I guess we have to wait for the OP to tell us what he plans on shooting, paper or game, if game are we talking prairie dogs or elephants.
I guess we have to wait for the OP to tell us what he plans on shooting, paper or game, if game are we talking prairie dogs or elephants.
Well, not being from Iowa, that's a very interesting observation that I would never have thought of.
Do any of the big bore straight wall cartridges perform satisfactorily past 300 yards? Hunting is one thing but are they accurate to 600 yards for competition? I suppose one could hunt Iowa cornfields across 500 yards and longer but it's not my idea of hunting - just a personal observation. YMMV
I checked and the 330 Dakota and 300 Jarrett are not straight walled so they are included in the "not for Iowa hunting" category. Great idea, however!
Do any of the big bore straight wall cartridges perform satisfactorily past 300 yards? Hunting is one thing but are they accurate to 600 yards for competition? I suppose one could hunt Iowa cornfields across 500 yards and longer but it's not my idea of hunting - just a personal observation. YMMV
I checked and the 330 Dakota and 300 Jarrett are not straight walled so they are included in the "not for Iowa hunting" category. Great idea, however!
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Fishinfool
Member
Ok, I am going to assume range / target use. 300 to 600 yards, both the 6.5cm and the .308 are good choices. I would choose the .308 strictly based on ammo cost and availability. That changes if you reload, with the 6.5cm being a more pleasant round to fire.
I would go with a bolt action. AR's can be accurate, but dollar for dollar, your best chance for a truly accurate rifle is with a bolt. Savage, Remington 700, Tika, Bergara, to mention a few, all make target models that are proven accurate. A Good trigger and an adjustable stock are good options.
For glass, a good 4x16, or 6x24 scope would be a better choice than a 3x9. Leupold, Burris, Vortex all make good glass with lifetime warranty's. A good front rest or bipod, along with rear sandbags are needed as well.
So, what was my answer to your question?
A Bergara chassis rifle in 6.5cm (Under $1000.00), Vortex 4x16 FFP 30mm scope ($325.00), Talley one piece mounts and a Harris bipod. 1 1/4 inch 5 shot groups at 300 meters with cheap S&B factory 140 grain ammo, slightly under 1 inch with my handloads using Serra 140 Matchking's. Lots of bang for the buck.
Larry
I would go with a bolt action. AR's can be accurate, but dollar for dollar, your best chance for a truly accurate rifle is with a bolt. Savage, Remington 700, Tika, Bergara, to mention a few, all make target models that are proven accurate. A Good trigger and an adjustable stock are good options.
For glass, a good 4x16, or 6x24 scope would be a better choice than a 3x9. Leupold, Burris, Vortex all make good glass with lifetime warranty's. A good front rest or bipod, along with rear sandbags are needed as well.
So, what was my answer to your question?
A Bergara chassis rifle in 6.5cm (Under $1000.00), Vortex 4x16 FFP 30mm scope ($325.00), Talley one piece mounts and a Harris bipod. 1 1/4 inch 5 shot groups at 300 meters with cheap S&B factory 140 grain ammo, slightly under 1 inch with my handloads using Serra 140 Matchking's. Lots of bang for the buck.
Larry
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Sounds to me like a problem a good scout rifle in .308 could solve handily . . .
Funny thing, I was thinking about one semiautomatic that might fit that bill and it's a Springfield M1A. They come in both calibers named by the OP, my preference being .308 (I used to have one), and in a host of configurations for hunting or long range competition. The calibers won't hunt in Iowa, as noted earlier. But a great rifle!
The Norseman
Member
Always in Fashion
270Win, .308Win, 30-06Sprf, and 270Win Short Mag.
I have these, shoot these, reload these and
like them. All good to 600 yards. In good
times ammo is usually easy to find, just saying.
As for a 600 yard Scope, I would go with something
like 14 power or higher, but I have rarely seen
600yd shots in the corp land here, usually 100-200yds.
As for a Rifle; pick the price range you can afford.
The best to you and your endeavors.
270Win, .308Win, 30-06Sprf, and 270Win Short Mag.
I have these, shoot these, reload these and
like them. All good to 600 yards. In good
times ammo is usually easy to find, just saying.
As for a 600 yard Scope, I would go with something
like 14 power or higher, but I have rarely seen
600yd shots in the corp land here, usually 100-200yds.
As for a Rifle; pick the price range you can afford.
The best to you and your endeavors.
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Charlie Foxtrott
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I am going to assume that you are looking at target shooting.
There are people that can and do hunt ethically out past three hundred yards. But not many of them. And by the phrasing of your initial question I do not think that you are in this group of very skilled hunters.
So if target shooting is your aim. You do not have to necessarily go with a thirty caliber rifle. You can do quite well even utilizing .22 centerfire rounds with the right rifle and ammo. 243 Winchester is certainly worth taking a look at. I have an Accuracy International in that round that I do pretty well with out to 1,000 yards.
And certainly if you are looking to go out to six hundred yards you will want more than a 3X9 scope. I would want at least 12X magnification to go out that far and depending on what I am shooting at, likely more.
There are people that can and do hunt ethically out past three hundred yards. But not many of them. And by the phrasing of your initial question I do not think that you are in this group of very skilled hunters.
So if target shooting is your aim. You do not have to necessarily go with a thirty caliber rifle. You can do quite well even utilizing .22 centerfire rounds with the right rifle and ammo. 243 Winchester is certainly worth taking a look at. I have an Accuracy International in that round that I do pretty well with out to 1,000 yards.
And certainly if you are looking to go out to six hundred yards you will want more than a 3X9 scope. I would want at least 12X magnification to go out that far and depending on what I am shooting at, likely more.
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When I did this I ended up with a Savage 110 in .270win with a
Leupold 3.5x10 VARI-X III shooting Sierra 140gr Game Changers.
I chose the .270 cause it's common as dirt and is Elk capable to
600yds easily. The .308 should do you good.
Leupold 3.5x10 VARI-X III shooting Sierra 140gr Game Changers.
I chose the .270 cause it's common as dirt and is Elk capable to
600yds easily. The .308 should do you good.
Buick
Member
.300 Win Mag all day. It can always be loaded down to 308 levels if desired.
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