Long Range Shooting .308 vs 7mm rem vs .300win vs.....

[LSUTiger]

I currently have a Remington Model 700 ADL in 7MM Rem. Mag. I am not particurlary attached to it or the cartridge.

-Ammo is expensive. Decent ammo is about $42/20.

-Recoil is not pleasant but bearable.

-The real pain in the but is the belted ammo has to be fed into the gun in a certain staggered fashion so the top cartridge does not jam on the cartridge under it when you work the bolt.

I am not to heavily invested in this platform so I am ok with abandoning it if necessary.

Either way I am looking to procure a long range rifle (800-1000 yds)(probably bolt action, however semiauto is not out of the question) for Zombie Apocalypse purposes.

Without getting into a long range vs battle rifle argument ( I already have an AR and AK) I am simply looking for some practicle advice.

I understand the 7MM Rem Mag is a good cartridge but for its intended purpose would I be better off with another rifle in .308 Winchester? In terms of performance, cartridge availabilty, price, recoil.

Aside from a .50 cal what are the latest trends in the shooting community for this type of application? .338 Lapua, .300 Win Mag.....etc?

My question is, should I just stock up on 7MM because it will do the job or should I just sell it and get something else, and if so what?

[Middle Age Russ]

7mm Mag. and .300 Win. Mag. are both belted magnum cartridges harkening back to the .375 H&H magnum. Since they both have the belt, the feeding issue you mentioned would not be substantially different.

There are a number of cartridges developed in the last 50 - 60 years that would probably do the job for you depending on the exact needs you have. I believe the WSM and WSSM cartridges were developed with propellant efficiency and consistent burning (thus consistent velocities and arguably better accuracy potential) in mind along with magnum velocities. One of them might be a good choice to go with the three cartridges you mention, but I would expect commercially loaded ammunition to be a bit more expensive.

I'll certainly be interested to hear what others think about this topic.

[Skiprr]

I'm not a long-range guy, but I think if I had to choose--and cartridge cost wasn't an issue--my uninformed opinion would be to go with the .338 Lapua Magnum.

I seldom go beyond intermediate distances, so .308 is my utility, go-to caliber. A big plus there is its long history as a NATO round, so it's readily available everywhere at reasonable prices. But its trajectory just isn’t flat enough to really make it a 1,000-meter+ round.

I really don’t know where I originally found this, but here is a chart comparing .308, .300 WinMag, .338 Lapua, and .50 BMG trajectories at 1,200 meters and beyond:



Some militaries (notably the SAS) have started switching to the .338 Lapua as its preferred sniper round because of its excellent downrange velocity, good terminal performance, effectiveness out to 1,400+ meters, and relatively flat bullet path. Another reason is that the cartridge is slightly heavier than .308, but only half the weight of .50 BMG. That weight can be a huge factor for “individual operators” and small SpecOps teams.

The big downside? Talk about some pricey ammo. Quality ammo (Hornady, Federal Premium, etc.) will run you about $4 to $7 per round. So it’s no cheaper than .50 BMG...the difference is that you can find .50 BMG milsurp, and I’m not aware that there is ever (at least yet) any milsurp .338 Lapua.

But if price wasn’t an issue, I think I’d be all over one of the AW (Arctic Warfare) .338 Lapua Magnums from Accuracy International.

[LTUME1978]

You may want to look at something in the 6.5 caliber. I have been wanting to learn how to shoot at 1000 yards also. After doing a lot of reseach, I ended up at the 6.5 caliber (info I saw indicates it duplicates the performance (bullet drop/distance to subsonic) of a 300 Win Mag with a lot less recoil/cost). I struggled between the 260 and the 6.5 creedmoor and ended up with the creedmoor because I did not want to form brass for the 260. Shortly after I got my rifle, lapua started making 260 brass. Anyway, there is virtually no difference between the two cartridges and the creedmoor is nice. I bought the Savage long range precision rifle and am extremely pleased with it. Have shot groups under 1 inch at 300 yards with it and could keep shots in the X ring of a 600 yard target (5 inch diameter) with no trouble (using Hornady 140 grain A-Max factory ammo). Waiting on a scope to come in that has enough travel to get to 1000 yards. Also have neck sizing dies on order with Lee and should have them in a couple of months. I look forward to making a run at 1000 yards and learning how to get proficient at that.

A friend of mine has a similar rifle in 260 and we can't tell any differenct in the way they shoot (he does have a 30 inch shilen barrel on it so there is a little differnce in what can be achieved on muzzle velocity).

Google up 260 vs 6.5 creedmoor and you will find some good articles on this. There is one giy that shoots ( and wins ) a lot of long range sniper competions and he is a big fan of the 260. He also states that many other folks that compete in that game are shooting some form of 6.5.

Hope this helps.

[The Annoyed Man]

It's kind of a numbers game for me. I would pick .308 for anything out to 1,000 yards. Snipers have been successfully shooting the 175 grain Lake City Match load out to that distance with reliably repeatable success for decades now. I've shot that ammo in my R700. It's a bit hot and delivers a thump, but it's quite accurate. I build a handload with a 175 grain SMK that is more accurate yet. And although I haven't tested my handload to 1,000 yards, the numbers say that it should still be supersonic at that distance.

Beyond that distance, I would probably go with either a .338 Lapua or a .50 BMG. Both are easier to source than .408 Cheytac or one of the other very good, but also very proprietary, cartridges. But also, if there is something that needs killing beyond a 1,000 yards out from me, then artillery is probably preferable, and I really need to be somewhere else.

Between .308 and 7mm Rem Mag, I'd take the .308 every time. It may not be quite as flat shooting, but it is definitely more comfortable to shoot, and it is such a predicable and forgiving cartridge. I love .308.