Deciding long range caliber for blaser
As some of you know, I’ve been wanting a 300 win mag barrel for a little while now. However, after talking to an ex-sniper and current long range shooter about it, he showed me something that talked about the big magnums not being good for long range target shooting. Something about them being designed for power out ot medium range, but accuracy starts to suffer after medium range. Don’t know how 100% accurate it was, but it seemed believable.
But that got me thinking. I saw blaser offers several other calibers for the lrs2, and some looked like they would be an even better choice for long range targets. There’s a 6mm and a 6.5×55. I know the 6mm is supposed to be a great shooter, but I know nothing about the 6.5×55. What would you guys reccomend for long range targets?
Anybody have any experience with either of the two? I’m thinking about using it for 1000 yard competition. These both have 5 round mag capacities, so I could use them in high power competition as well, which would be awesome.
I was having a hard time saving up for a new barrel. If I can find one of these that will work well for me, I may look for a trade or to sell my .223 barrel to get one. I like the .223, and it fits what I do well, but if one of these others can do it better, I’d like that even more.
The only real hunting I do is white tail deer out to 100 yards, and occasionally squirrels out farther. But the point is, this will be mainly for target use, so it doesn’t have to be a cannon like my 300 RUM, just a great one to punch holes in paper, close together, a long way away. 😀
Thanks guys!
Good thing about this rifle is that parts are so expensive it gives me lots of time to think about what I’m getting before I actually get it. 😀
All Replies
Llama, what would you rec’d for a good 300 to 400 yard shooter?
mainly paper, bench rest type shooting.
I’m leaning to a 6mm Remington but thinking a bit about something in 6.5mm for those nice 140 grain bullets.
Want to build up a rifle purpose built for bench shooting.
Any thoughts?
Walter….
i have a box of those and they are LOOOONNNNNGGGGG…he he.
Watcha gonna do lama?
Question for you if you know, what brass should i use to reload the 6.5×55. Lapua, Norma, winchester? Winchester is the cheapest
Hey Tofu, Lapua is more expensive but their brass is usually better so you can get more mileage out of them. It all evens out at the end. Their 139 gr HPBT 6.5mm has a BC around .6 Amazing stuff.
I would but it only has a 4rd capacity in my gun, which means I couldn’t use it in the competitions I like to.
And 300 Win Mag holds more??????
No. I was originally going to buy a 300 win mag barrel, and keep the 223. Use the 300 for long range, and the 223 for the high power stuff. But I’ve found I could get one of the two mentioned to replace the 223, and be used for both. So I could recoup some of the expense for a new barrel by selling the old one.
I would but it only has a 4rd capacity in my gun, which means I couldn’t use it in the competitions I like to.
And 300 Win Mag holds more??????
Lama, you’d have to reload those yourself + Relatevely short barrel life.
.300 WinMag on other hand is one of the best long range sniping rounds, 1000 meter capable. Those who say it’s not accurate probably developed a flinch due to recoil and long shooting sessions. I want .300 WM myself but with minimum of 26″ barrel and a muzzle brake. Extra weight of the gun is a plus also. The next step up from it is .338 Lapua Magnum – probably best antipersonnel round ever, 1500 yard capable. Ammo is expensive and Match option is limited. So between the two, I’d go with 300.
snipercentral and 6mmbr.com have plenty of info on this subject.
Airtramp, thanx for the info. Thats awesome stuff.
Question for you if you know, what brass should i use to reload the 6.5×55. Lapua, Norma, winchester? Winchester is the cheapest
Lama,
Tofu was right in that the 6.5mm bullets have some of the best BC and weight combination for LR competition. The 6.5×55 (Swede) is a very good round. Lots of elks have been taken with that in Europe and it’s still very competitive in Service rifle matches today. In fact, a lot of tactical match shooters have been migrating from the good old .308 to the 6.5 in the last few years (260 Rem, 6.5 Creemore, 6.5×47 Lapua). They have lower recoil, flatter trajectory, less wind drift, more retained energy at 800-1000yd. You have to go above 200 grain with your win mag (with twice the recoil) to even come close so what’s not to like?
On the other hand, the rule book is going to dictate what you can or cannot use e.g. F-class LR/T. If there is no restriction, following is my perception of some of the more dominant rounds.
100-200 yd. 6PPC (no mag fed though)
300-600 yd. 6BR and variants e.g. 6BRX, 6XC, 6mm Dasher etc.
1000 yd. King of the Hill is the 6.5×284 but it’s a barrel burner. Very close behind are the 6BR variants which were developed initially for High Power I think.
If the Blaser 6mm barrel is chambered for the 6BR, I would suggest you go with that instead of the 6.5×55. The lower recoil will usually give your more consistent vertical (the 2 factors are related). Good brass are readily available, no fire forming or neck turning needed which make life a lot simpler. Oh yeah, you will have to hand load to be competitive. The 6mm is easier to tune than the 6.5 as well. You can always rechamber the barrel for one of the variants say 6BRX later if you want more velocity. ( edited : Just make sure there is no problem feeding with your magazine though)
My 2 cents.
HE HE…to funny lama. I have always been a .308 man. After a lot of research i decided 2 buy a TIKKA T3 6.5x55mm. I wanted something that was ACCURATE and had less recoil than the .308 but could kill just as effectively. What i found was that the 6.5 round is 1 of the most accurate around (not the most) and that the 6.5 bullets have some of the HIGHEST BALLISTIC COEFFICIENTS and SECTIONAL DENSITIES around. The 7mm/.284″ bullets do to. I never really knew that. It has been compared that the 6.5mm/.264″ 140 grain bullet hits like a .308 winchester cartridge loaded with 190 gr bullets. So you can viably kill elk with the little ole 6.5 round loaded with 140 gr bullets at about 2600 fps.
Here are some pics of the bullets and case compared to the .308:
l-r: Hornady .264″/140 gr A-max – Sierra .308″/168 gr BTHP – Hornady .308″/168 gr A-max – Nosler .308/165 gr Ballistic tip
l-r: same bullets. rear/l-r 6.5x55mm case – .308 winchester case
I was thinking the same,cause of the drop from the 6.5 would be greater.
I would have to pick the 6mm since I have shot one for the past 6-7 years..It is my favorite rifle and would grab it first for any long range shot I had. here is a pretty good read on it.
http://longrangehunting.com/forums/f22/best-overall-1000-yard-long-range-varmint-cartridge-23913/
Need at least a 5 round magazine capacity for the timed sitting and prone shoots. And unfortunately 4+1 doesn’t count. (which is what the 308 is) 🙁
how many shots do you need in the shoots?
I would but it only has a 4rd capacity in my gun, which means I couldn’t use it in the competitions I like to.
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Tofu, not sure. I’m really liking the 6mm. Seem accurate, and low recoil. Plus I have read a lot about them setting real records at the range. So that’s looking really good. Plus, I have read they are easy to tune for handloading, which since I will just be getting started, that is a VERY big plus.
Walter, I think the 6mm would be plenty for you. From what I’ve read, the 6.5mm only really gets an advantage out past 600ish yards. So if you’re going between 3 and 400, I think the 6mm may be perfect for you. Here’s a good website you may want to check out. Has a lot of great info on a decent selection of calibers.
http://www.6mmbr.com/index.html