600yrd target rifle for the recoil averse?

[tackb]

6br or 6.5 creedmoor/ 6.5x47 , all low recoil options for you with performance to spare at 600m , then you can start with heavy guns . mods , brakes etc

[1066]

How about a straight .243 - something like a Howa should tick all the boxes.

[Laurie]

How about a straight .243 - something like a Howa should tick all the boxes.

I'd agree. The Howa 1500 Varmint with heavy barrel is a very good rifle - and cheap - if you can find a low round count example. I picked up a mint example in the early metal Axiom stock that had been fitted with the bottom metal for detachable AI magazines for a very low price a couple of years ago. It shoots very well. The standard 1 in 10" 243 twist rate is a bit limiting on bullets, but you can use 90gn match bullets, and now that the ban on expanding bullets has gone, there are some excellent varmint and deer models available to handload - the 87gn Berger 'Hunting VLD' was always designed as a dual-purpose deer / match bullet for standard twist 243s.

You can shoot a standard (12-inch) twist barrelled 223 at up to 600 yards with 52/53gn match bullet handloads, but beyond 300 the wind has a major, major effect. Getting a good 9 or faster twist barrel model within your budget isn't impossible, but you'd have to be be lucky.

308 is fine, and if you're a handloader you can keep you loads down to reduce recoil and they'll still work at 600. (I have a 308 Howa Stainless Varmint complete outfit with mat, Weather-Writer, bipod and scope I'm about to advertise cheap .... but you're a long way from Yorkshire!)

[38Super]

Thankyou for all the responses

Intended use is shooting at targets FTR style but not that serious (and plinking). I'd like to have a go at CSR but I don't shoot outside when it's cold

6.5mm of some sort seems to be the way forward so I feel a variation coming on as my slot is currently .223/5.56.
A Howa in 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5x55 is possible for the available funds.
6.5x55 is more available but I'm a bit wary of having to go long action should I ever want to change calibre.

I wondered about .243 but it seems to have scarily short barrel life.
Should I even worry about barrel life? .308's seem to last forever.

It seems anything but a .223 with a 12" twist would do the job. Maybe I should just find the cheapest thing I can get with a varmint barrel and get shooting.

[Dellboy]

i use a 223 Howa out to 600 without any problems (sometimes i hit the target too )

[GeeRam]

I was shooting my 6.5x55 that cost me £450 out to 500 yards on Saturday of a bipod wearing a T shirt with no recoil issues and it is not moderated or fitted with a muzzle break.

A good mate of mine has a targetised Carl-Gustav 6.5x55 dated 1903, very very similar to this one, and which cost him a similar price.

http://www.cwclassicarms.co.uk/product/carl-gustaf-6-5

His is very accurate out to 600yrds plus, and I agree is a lot 'lighter' to shoot than a .303, although, I'm hardly 'powerfully built' and I don't have a problem shooting my 4T in a tee-shirt, and I've suffered tendonitis in both shoulders previously as well. Now, the No.5 on the other is a bit different, and isn't so pleasant to shoot in a tee-shirt

[38Super]

I didn't realise that choosing a rifle calibre/cartridge was such a minefield of compromises.
My centrefire rifle experience to date has been just 7.62 and .303 where you shoot what you're given. Mostly military ball ammo.
There appears to be a whole world that I know nothing about.

It seems that just about anything from .223 to. 308 will do what I need. That makes it very tricky choose.
Rifle cartridge reloading is a whole new game as well.

Common options are:-
.223 - marginal at 600yds even with a fast twist
6mmBR - barrel burner
.243 - cheap barrel burner - hard to find with a heavy barrel - is there light load data?
.260 - rare/obsolete???
6.5 Creedmoor - rare in my budget
6.5x47 - very rare in budget
6.5x55 - needs long action
.308 - light load data available - balistically inferior to all of the above

Are any of these especially easy/cheap to reload?

[Alpha1]

.223 is cheaper.
6.5x55 and .308 more expensive but cheaper than bought ammo. Cases dies and components are average price.
6.5x47, 6.5 creedmore more expensive for dies components.

Keep it simple go for a 6.5x55 or the .308 they fit your budget and they both work. You are going to get recoil with any full bore rifle no matter what you shoot.

[Laurie]

Common options are:-
.223 - marginal at 600yds even with a fast twist
6mmBR - barrel burner
.243 - cheap barrel burner - hard to find with a heavy barrel - is there light load data?
.260 - rare/obsolete???
6.5 Creedmoor - rare in my budget
6.5x47 - very rare in budget
6.5x55 - needs long action
.308 - light load data available - balistically inferior to all of the above

Are any of these especially easy/cheap to reload?

223 marginal at 600 even with a fast twist? Not quite. I took 7th place in the GB F-Class League FTR Championship in 2011 with most league round matches shot at 1,000 yards. I was also a member of a scratch Scotland FTR team that beat the official USA team at Blair Atholl in the same year with a 1st at 1,000 in the individual matches, and 2nd highest score overall in the three team stages shot at 900/1,000/1,100 yards. That was no common or garden 223 shooting 90gn Bergers at just over 2,900 fps MV, but don't discount the 'mouse gun' with modern equipment and canny handloading. Even the antediluvian 80gn Sierra MK will reliably hit the standard NRA 2-MOA 5-ring target at 1,000 yards.

6mmBR - barrel burner? Who told you that? It starts to lose its Bench Rest level of precision after ~1,500 rounds with hot heavy (105gn) bullet loads but remains standard target shooting accurate for double that and for yet more rounds with lighter bullet, modest pressure rounds.

260 Rem - rare / obsolete? Neither, although factory rifles aren't as commonly found as in 308/243. A very competent performer although 6.5X47L and 6.5 Creedmoor are now replacing it in disciplines like McQueens.

6.5X55mm - needs long action? True, but I don't see what the problem is there. The practical difference between so-called short and long actions is very small in overall length, bolt throw, and weight. From the point of view of an affordable low recoil secondhand rifle, the 6.5X55 offers a good choice. The major problem is that as with 243 rifles, whilst common, there are far more light-barreled standard sporters in ghastly plastic stocks for sale than good well bedded heavy-barrel varmint versions that can be adapted to target shooting. Also, the US rifle companies have only recently discovered the 6.5mm calibre (ie post Creedmoor intro) so most used examples around are of European origin and are more expensive than their US equivalents.

Handloading cost wise, there isn't that much between most of them except that all 223 components are cheaper than equivalent grades in larger cartridges and it uses less powder than the others. 6mm BR Norma with reasonable pressure loads will see 100 new Lapua cases last a long, long time and it only uses ~30gn powder compared to 40gn and up for the others. With judicious component selection though, 308 Win can be as cheap to handload as anything, 223 aside, and with a huge bullet choice available can give good results without buying the most expensive models around.

[WelshShooter]

I used to have a Tikka T3 varmint in .308win. It had a 20" barrel and despite being in an aftermarket chassis (KRG X-Ray) it still had fierce recoil, which isn't so bad for stalking but not much fun if you intend to shoot it all day at the range. I have shot a friends 26" barrel Remington 700 with moderator, with more or less the same load and it was much more comfortable to shoot compared to the Tikka. I was actually surprised at the reduction in recoil.

So if you are considering a .308 don't forget to factor the barrel length in! Stick with 155gr bullets which are capable at getting you to 1,000 yards. Any heavier and you'll notice it in felt recoil.