I am looking at putting a 2nd long-range rifle together. It will be used only for shooting steel.

I currently have a .260 Remington. I am looking for a short action caliber that will shoot well beyond the .260's limit. I figure the .260 is good for out to about 1500 yards, give or take a hundred or so yards. I would like a caliber that will be a legitimate 1 mile shooter. The barrel manufacturers I am looking at are Criterion and Shillen. The action I am building this gun on is a Savage model 12 so I need a company such as the above that make a pre-fit barrel.

I am thinking of 300 WSM. What other calibers would be good to look at.

Look hard at the 7WSM. I think it fits the bill in a custom build.

I would pick one of the SAUMS, they are shorter than the WSMs, and will work better for the OAL.

6.5 Remington Magnum-one of the original short magnums.

.300 WSM.

7mm SAUM.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
.300 WSM.

The problem with this guy is that it is hard to make long range bullets like the 230 Berger work in a short action.

300 WSM in a long action is awesome.

I guess when you say shooting steel the size of the target matters, but there is no way I would call the .260 a 1500 yard cartridge - at least for first round hits on reasonably small targets.

The key parameter I look for a wind drift per mile of wind. At 1500 your wind drift is huge, and is virtually impossible to estimate since it changes even during the TOF.

A 140 gr Berger VLD at 2800 fps drifts 1.45 MOA for EACH mile of wind at 1500 yards. That is over 20 inches. TOF is 2.8 seconds. So if the wind changes 1/2 mile per hour from your estimate (assuming that is perfect) you are off by 10 inches.

Think I would just buy a Savage in .338 Lapua

I think.you have set quite a hurdle for yourself with the short action requirement. . I would start with the 7 Short RUM if you can get enough brass for.it. start with a long no taper contour arrel for the first 6" infront of the reciever ring . By the time you get your load work and practice done the original throat will be on its way out and you can have it cut and rechambered. . Will you be going with a 30" barrel?

6.5SAUM

quote:

Originally posted by JabaliHunter:
Think I would just buy a Savage in .338 Lapua

I have one and it is unbelievably accurate. But even a .338 bullet starts to lose steam past 800 when the wind is blowing.

Shooting at 1500yds is equivalent to some 85% of a mile which is certainly a long way, but that additional 15% in distance is no small feat. I don't have an answer for you based on your description of what you want, but you might want to give Sierra a call and speak with one of their ballistics folks, they are quite knowledgeable, and believe you will find them more than willing to discuss in as much detail as you would want. Just a suggestion.

The 7WSM is about the ballistic optimum in a short action. I've not seen brass in a long time, so maybe a 7mm-300WSM or a SAUM would be better for brass availability.

http://forum.snipershide.info/...ewfull=1#post2311421

I suppose you could always use a short action but feed a bigger cartridge as a single shot through the back of the action, taking the bolt out each time...

For 1600m I would want to be using something like:

.284 180 gr Match Hybrid Target (BC 0.674)
.308 230 gr Match Hybrid OTM Tactical (BC 0.719)
.338 300 gr Match Hybrid OTM Tactical (BC 0.818)