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Hey fellow rifle hunters,

I think my next rifle purchase is going to be for personal long distance shooting goals. I'm looking for power and something that shoots flat. The first caliber that came to mind is a 30.06. I'm trying to be accurate at distances between 500 and 600 yards eventually. Would ya'll agree on that caliber or does anyone have any other suggestions? Will a 7mm Rem. Mag travel those distances accurately or should I just go with old faithful .06? I'm specifically looking at a Savage 110 GXP3.

Thanks,

Brandon

The 06 may be fine for what you're trying to do, but there are better choices. 500 to 600 yards is a LONNNGG ways out there. I'd look at a reloading manual or go back online to check some bullet drop/energy charts.
Are ya planning on hunting and shooting at this distance or just playing around?


HWD

I just looked quickly at the ballistic calculator on Remington's website (uses their ammo but you'll get the idea)

This is for their
.30-06 150 gr Accu Tip load

2910 fps at muzzle
a 200 yard zero - equals (43.7)" drop at 500 yards and 1193 ft-lbs at 500 yards

Thanks for the info guys. I had no idea a bullet reduced that much in height and power at distance. HWD-I plan on just messing around eventually at these distances but if I get good enough, and good enough gear, I might have the stones to take an animal at that range.

Here's another set of numbers....
Remington .338 Ultra Mag
225 grain Nosler - 3,000 fps at the muzzle with a 200 yard zero
2,200 fps @ 500 yards
2400 ft-lb @ 500 yards
36" drop @ 500 yards

So, you see that even shooting an artillery piece (and believe me, the .338 Ultra Mag is an artillery piece) you still need to deal with trajectory when you get to 500 yards..... you can count on gravity to work every time.

The criteria for a 500 yard shot is that it have enough energy at that range to give a clean kill, that the shooter can ACCURATELY determine the range, and that the shooter knows his trajectory. A .223 is fine for prairie dogs, woodchucks, and other small critters at 500 yards. A .30-06 is fine for whitetails at 500 yards. A .338 Win Mag is okay for elk at 500 yards.

The truth, however, is that even with a whole bunch of practice, VERY few shooters will ever be competent shots at anything beyond 300 yards, and most shooters really have a 200 to 250 yard limit. Even with a reasonably comfortable and stable shooting position, your heartbeat is enough disturbance to miss a deer at 300 yards.

I think I've decided on a 300 win. mag. What I read said it shoots about 1000 yds. I also looked at the .338 and you're right, it's huge, so I think the 300 will be a happy medium for shooting and hunting.