1000 yard rifle ?

[Dellboy]

get a .308 and learn to shoot.....

[Sim G]

or be a real man and do it with .223

I have a spare barrel fit my .223 RPA that is a 29 inch, 1 in 7" twist Krieger.....

How many "man points" dies that score in the 1000yd shooting stakes?!

[Pete]

We've had some good results shooting 223 at 1000yds with 80grain bullets...............and some better ones with 6BR, 6.5x47 and 308..............

Pete

[safetyfirst]

I've had no luck at all with my .22 short bench rest rifle at 1,000, perhaps I need to get it blueprinted.

[TattooedGun]

or be a real man and do it with .223

I have a spare barrel fit my .223 RPA that is a 29 inch, 1 in 7" twist Krieger.....

How many "man points" dies that score in the 1000yd shooting stakes?!

I'd say a fair few.

I know (Laurie?) shot competitively with .223 a few years back, and possibly still does.

After having only shot mine (Rem 700) out to 600 I know that it's accurate to there, but takes some true skill to be in the v-bull consistently, 1000 yards is considerably further and I bow to anyone who can shoot competitively at that distance.

My plan is get good with the .223 and then .308 should be a doddle...

6.5/other higher BC bullet capable rifle just seems like cheating!

[Laurie]

Back in 2010 / 11 I won some FTR stage medals in GB F-Class Association league rounds and ended the season 11th in the FTR Championship with my custom 223 based on a Savage PTA action. That was with a 31-inch barrel and 90gn Berger VLDs at 2,910 fps using a VERY long freebore chamber that made the rifle a 3-bullet gun (90gn Berger and JLK VLDs and 90gn Berger BT LR) these loaded with 2.7" COALs. In an 18lb supported rifle, the 223 is a joy to shoot there is so little recoil and torque - the crosshairs hardly shift on the aiming mark.

As well as seeing a couple of International team matches out, the 223 Savage's other highlight was 10 rounds in a practice shoot at 1,200 yards on the Glen Tilt Range at Blair Atholl (actually 1,225 yards) in 'quiet conditions'. It held the 1,000 yard target 4-ring with 9 out of 10 shots and got two or three V-Bulls.

Coincidentally, I've just returned from Diggle where I've been doing some load development with both my 223 Savages with Reload Swiss RS52 powder and it looks very promising. I actually have a yen to take my original FTR 223 and turn it into an F-Open rifle for short-distance club matches with a really heavy profile 31-incher up front.

Since 2011, 308 Win improvements in both powders and bullets now make it unfeasible for 223 to be fully competitive beyond 600 yards in top-level FTR, and in this day and age you find 'top-level' performance in the better attended club matches and regional open comps etc. Anyway, it's such a demanding little cartridge that needs everything perfect for this sort of performance that only handloading nerds should consider it.

Going back to the OP's question, 6.5X47mm Lapua, 6.5mm Hornady Creedmoor and 260 Rem will all perform very well out to 1,000 yards with a good factory rifle and decent handloads (or even Hornady's factory match ion the case of the Creedmoor). I shot a 7.1-inch 1,000 yard 5-shot group at Diggle six weeks in a BR comp with an out of the box and barely run-in Savage 12 Long Range Precision with 26-inch barrel.

So far as the sevens go, 7mm-08 doesn't offer any ballistic benefits over the 6.5mm trio (although I'm doing my best to find some with another custom Savage in this chambering), 7mm-08AI might just, but you've really got to go to the 'straight 284' to get a noticeable boost.

[Sim G]

So far as the sevens go, 7mm-08 doesn't offer any ballistic benefits over the 6.5mm trio (although I'm doing my best to find some with another custom Savage in this chambering), 7mm-08AI might just, but you've really got to go to the 'straight 284' to get a noticeable boost.

I also have a 7mm-08. 130, 150 and 168gn SMKs and a smattering of 162 A max. I was of the opinion that the cartridge didn't really have the legs for useful 1000yd use.

Would love to hear otherwise!

[safetyfirst]

Great post Laurie!

[Racalman]

I have a Remington 700 .308 with Armalon barrel and AICS chassis and it performs very well at 1,000 yards against other rifles in 6.5mm.

185gn Berger Juggernauts and N550 are a good combination on a windy day.