But to do this, it must launch a heavy bullet and that means recoil can be stiff; from an 8-pound rifle, it generates more than 33 foot-pounds of recoil, which is more than twice that of the 6.5 Creedmoor. From an external ballistics standpoint, it cannot compete with any of the cartridges on this list, but in the field where it matters, it works wonders, and only the 6.5 Creedmoor has less recoil. What a great tool that you have built. Just curious have you ever looked at the 284 Winchester for flat shooting. 223 Remington, or 5.56 NATO is more than capable of shooting over 500 yards with accuracy. Another issue is recoil. What bullet weight did you select for the .270 Winchester? Shots are usually quick. The .22-250 is accurate, fast and delivers devastating performance at long ranges. and MV do. Id consider a base of: Among these cartridges, the 25-06 offers the highest MPBR (Mean Point Blank Range) or the max distance that you can adjust a scope to and be +-3 with the most common bullet weights per caliber. Taylor's formula calculates a less-inspiring TKO number of 37. Meantime, lets enjoy our deeper dive into flat shooting hunting cartridges (hand carried and shoulder fired. Before we check that out, let's give a nod to the 240 Wby. There's currently no better option for the AR-15 when the range extends much past 500 yards. Then look at the available options for reloaders, nearly endless, bullets for every application imaginable. numbers which are not quite as accurate as G7 numbers in predicting trajectories of todays wildly long, sleek bullets. Considered by many to be the optimum long-range, large-game cartridge, the .300 Winchester Magnum has proven itself worldwide. Flattest-Shooting Cartridges Ever - YouTube Hornady Precision Hunter 143-grain ELDX at 2,960 fps. But lets have a round of applause for our antiquated 220 Swift, just 0.2-inch off the record! that are blowing the ceiling off gun sales, instead of 6 5 CDM? I had to calculate this one out, as Weatherbys ballistics charts dont go past 500 yards. gundata.org has done all this for you already. Always be open to new possibilities. Flattest Shooting Rifle Cartridges by Caliber - Ron Spomer Outdoors No exotics just yet, theyll come later. The .17 HMR is based upon the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire casing, necked down to .17 Caliber. What caliber rifle shoots the farthest? These cartridges all drop less than 255 at 1,000 yards. And that light recoil not only makes you a better shot in the field; it also makes practicing more fun and productive. Just curious if you included the 300 Norma or maybe I missed it. The flattest shooting caliber and load I could find was the .300 RUM shooting a 150 grain bullet. I know you won't find them in the US, but just wanted to mention them because it's fun. They have 1 particular cartridge thats something of a hot-shot for flat shooting, long distance devastation; the Weatherby .30-378. The wildly overbore 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum wins or places near the top of the flat-shooter podium at most ranges to at least 1,000 yards. A long-time favorite of snipers, the .308 Winchester will remain supersonic out to around 1,200 yards. In fact, we may say that its the only thing that matters; however, factors that lead to time of flight changes are important to consider. 10 Best Calibers for Deer Hunting - Gun News Daily 2. For serious shooters, thats a non-starter. With the popularity of this cartridge due to America's favorite rifle, the AR15, more and more people are stretching the . This should be recommended reading for all shooters learning to shoot long range shots. Norma offers a 156-grain Oryx load that wont shoot as flat but provides great terminal performance. Thanks for your hard work and entertaining videos, your passion shines through! .25-06 AI with a Berger 115 VLD that's moving 3,600 fps. Don't want it too heavy. I was surprised at the distance, so I asked my PH Thats just 155 yards? He got a stunned look on his face and said, No, TWO hundred fifty-five yards! Our miscommunication during the shot sequence didnt matter a bit, because I was shooting a .28 Nosler, which put the shot only 2.8 low at that distance. At 500 yards, 5.56 will have roughly 339 ft-lbs of energy which drops to roughly 75 ft-lbs at 1,000 yards. Since this article originally went live, several excellent long-range big-game cartridges have it the market. Most of the calculators out there show larger drop rates then your table. 17. I wonder if you could possibly make that load available to me, so I can compare which loads are the best? Here we go! flattest shooting 500 yard deer rifle cartridge - The Firing Line It takes a lot of practice to learn the aim point to bring the rifle on target. Bullet selection means alot. Still, a flat-shooting cartridge will often perform well with wind as well, because it is in the air for less time between the shot and hitting the target. And yes, the .223/5.56 even dominates that match. The Liberty Ammunition .308 Win. Top 6 Long-Range Competition Cartridges - Guns and Ammo Great info but my 7mm rem mag with Nosler 120 grain BT (.417bc) @ 3600fps has anything on this chart beat pretty soundly. If you dont have good range finding equipment, youre hooped either way; humans will have extreme difficulty judging 700 from 725 without physical land markers or other range finding signs. This is more a theory question than anything. After Weatherbys 6.5-300 Magnum did not win as many hearts and minds as theyd hoped, Weatherby rethought the 6.5mm cartridge and developed the 6.5 RPM (Rebated Precision Magnum). The non-bonded bullet should deliver good terminal performance up close and at distance. Thanks. It may be a bit rough on barrels, but this cartridge shoots so flat you probably wont care. It's still possible to get factory ammo for the cartridge, but current production .223 WSSM ammo normally uses heavier 50 or 55 grain bullets at . Thank you. For most calibers, such as a 45 getting the impact to be on target at 75 yards, the impact at 50 will be an inch or so high and an inch or so low at 100 and 4 to 6 inches or more low at 200 yards. As for targeting game at extreme distances, yes, I realize there are thousands of dedicated, well-trained long range shooters who are as good at 1,000 yards as many of us are at 500 yards and some of us at 200 yards. 11 Best Deer Hunting Calibers - Big Game Hunting Blog Nope, pretty much matches a 308Win to 500 yards. Yes, the article most definitely included the 7mm Mag, but the specific cartridge mentioned by Nick is what the original article would have included as an exotic version, NOT something found chambered in most any rifle. So I find it strange you dont have it on any of the lists from what I have seen. I love your work and what you share with us. Myth Busting Big Game Calibers - CHUCKHAWKS.COM A good hunting cartridge has to fit in a rifle thats comfortable to carry all day and wont kick you so hard that you cant shoot it well. Manners thumbhole stock, trigger tech trigger at around a pound. Kind regards. If going after larger game is the preference and the hunter is looking for real stopping power within 300-yards, then the .308 would be the go-to caliber. Unless youre shooting really far. Your Knowledge is greatly appreciated! Excellent work!! Check out ShootersCalculator.com By Adriel But it's still a better distance choice than the .270 Winchester past 400 yards (a great caliber as well). It seems a bit odd to consider a .22-caliber cartridge of any design suitable for long-range hunting of even smallish big game. The 6 mm ARC flattens the curve, and as a 2020 introduction, it could be nicknamed the "Corona Cartridge." . I took the shot prone and then stood up after the wildebeest tipped over after a perfect shot. Case capacity is literally and figuratively the driving force here: Both Nosler offerings are based on the 300 Remington Ultra Magnum and both boast case capacities of 93.5 grains of water. Best Long Range Calibers in 2023 | Outdoor Life Thanks Jim. If the hunter is looking for a flat shooting caliber with good energy and speed of distances around 400-yards, then the .270 would be the obvious choice. Frequent question: What is the flattest shooting rifle? Is flatest of all youve listed. Do we compare the fastest factory loads or top end handloads from select handloading manuals? 5 Cartridges to Consider for Hunting Mule Deer - Exo Mtn Gear It's a shame the .25-06 is in decline at the moment. Just saying, excellent job to tell the nature of all calibers for hunting from 100 to 700 yards for medium game. rating, that 100-grain bullet is hanging in there. What are the best long-range cartridges: .22-250 Remington .308 Winchester .300 Winchester Magnum .338 Lapua Magnum .300 Weatherby Magnum 6.5 Creedmoor 6.5-284 Norma 26 Nosler (Curiosity? Despite its relatively low B.C. A 25 yard miscalculation at that distance will vary your hit by half a foot and outside our 6 imaginary circle of vitals. Enjoying many of your video\s whilst stuck in lockdown. This cartridge is the .270 GIBBS and is based on the 30.06 case with the shoulder moved forward and at a 35 degree angle. Its just human nature to celebrate and admire the biggest, bestest, and flattest. The good news is that these bullets might shoot even a tad flatter than these numbers indicate. Shooters have no real idea how much drop a bullet has at long ranges like 1500 yards. HOWEVER after going through Cartridges of The World by Barnes and Skinner it has come to my attention that 7.21 Lazzeroni Firebird is ever more overbore. Obviously Weatherby and Nosler, but are there other manufacturers, vendors, builders to consider? With the 6.5 PRC, Hornady has created a better version of the old barrel-burner. Also, youll find more ammo options for the .308 Winchester than any of the others. unfair comparison, Hornady makes a 139 grain BTSP for the 7mm mag very flat shooter, Great info, thanks for your difficult work. The best varmint rifles are capable of accurate, repeated medium to long range shots from a fixed position, and are usually found in light, fast calibers that have a flat trajectory. Great information you have come up with. But can it defend that title at 1,000 yards? The new Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent load with a muzzle velocity of 2825 fps shoots flat and the bullet is tough enough to handle up close impacts while still delivering good expansion at distance. The new Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent load with a muzzle velocity of 2825 fps shoots flat and the bullet is tough enough to handle up close impacts while still delivering good. If you use a very good long range 6mm bullet like the 115 DTAC with a BC of .585 and a velocity of 2950fps, which is easy to get, it wipes the floor with the .308 with a 175 at 2700fps. That does not appeal to my simplified physics understanding of the subject. However, I have a question to ask you. If Ive left out an obvious winner or near winner, write in and state your case. Think 30-30 necked down to a .25 cal. Underwood Ammos 110-grain Lehigh Controlled Chaos bullet at 2800 fps is another great option. Nice summary of the subject for those of us who do not understand things like Coreolis Force and aerodynamic jump. Share: Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Email Share Link. For example, A 7 SAUM, 280 AI and 7 Rem Mag. Sight in 3" high at 100 yards and 6" low at 400 yards. What I have come up with is the .270 Weatherby Magnum with a 135gr Sierra Matchking and 7828. Hey there from Melbourne, Australia. Notice that it is only 3 grains lighter than the 150-grain .264 atop that Weatherby. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. 6.5-300 WBY (-204) How hard would it be to add a 223wssm to the mix. I was surprised the 308 warbird was not included with the 208gr or 212gr bullet. Muzzle velocity certainly makes a difference in how fast the bullet reaches the target, but it is by no means the only factor to consider. The reason why 6.5mm cartridges are exploding in popularity is because they are ultra-efficient. I would think this data is slightly skewed unless the bullets are shot out of the same length of barrels and the same practices of reloading. Ive included different bullet weights/BCs for most rounds to illustrate how BC changes drop at longer ranges. Before we check that out, lets give a nod to the 240 Wby. By the time the 6.5 Creedmoor started gaining popularity, interest in the .270 WSM was fading. Now, one manufacturer specializes in fast, powerful, ridiculous cartridges, and thats Weatherby. These rifles can hardly be considered to be flat shooting. The 50 BMG is still supersonic past 1200 yards. The Nosler AccuBond is one of the best all-round big-game bullets offered, and Weatherby has smarly offered the 140-grain version for their 6.5 RPM cartridge. Searching for an Effective Small Caliber Sniper Round However, it proved to be mostly a flash in the pan. My take away on all this number crunching? projectiles begins to add up and they shoot flatter at extreme range. I know it is very uncommonly talked about. You cant pull data from different sources with different lengths of barrels and different loading methods and expect to get true results. Hornady Precision Hunter 212-grain ELD-X at 2,860 fps. Must be true since it was posted on the internet. 95% of your shots will be inside 500 yards, and probably 80% inside 300. . Factory rifles and ammunition options are limited here, too, but based on the ballistic abilities of this cartridge, thats likely to change sooner rather than later. Nor are we maintaining that the flattest shooting cartridge/bullet is the ultimate determinant of a good hunting round. Links or names greatly appreciated, Thanks! So what can we learn from these numbers? In 2015, Mann began contributing to Field & Stream to cover guns, ammunition, ballistics, and hunting. Most service rifle matches include stages at 200, 300 and 600 yards, from various positions, some timed, while others are slow-fire. What is the flattest shooting rifle? - RWrefuge Some Tips on Choosing the Best Varmint Caliber Recoil statistics are offered for reference. I too share your endorsement of Ron, his videos are a treat each week. Flattest at 1,000 yards Heres where things start to change. With the ability to handle more aerodynamic bullets than the .270 Winchester or the .270 WSM, the 6.8 Western and its 1-in-8 twist rate allows this cartridge to outperform both at distance. I believe the 6.8 SPC is that alternative. . If you are looking for the flattest shooting caliber to 500 yards, you should read anything else. Some of those 26 and 28 Nosler rifles only have 600-900 shots of total barrel life. Required fields are marked *. "Animal Instinct ammunition is optimized to deliver . The .25-06 is fast, shoots flat at 200 yards, and has just a 6.5-inch drop at 300 yards. Commissions are earned for links to Brownell's, Amazon, MidwayUSA, GoHunt, OpticsPlanet, Sportsman's Warehouse, and other retailers. .25-06 AI with a Berger 115 VLD that's moving 3,600 fps That should be pretty close to flat. For optics, I use a Leupold Mark 6 with a Horus reticle. This is one of the flattest shooting bullets available on the market, with a plethora of different size bullets available that range from 75 grains for small game, all the way up to 120 grains for deer. The best long-range cartridges are those that are flat shooting, feature aerodynamic projectiles and have enough power to go the distance. At 150 yards the target is a 6 inch hole and the gong is behind it. A 100-grain .243 bullet with a G1 ballistic coefficient around .400 at a muzzle velocity of 2,960 carries just over 800 foot-pounds of energy at 500 yards. Love it Jim ! Cheers. Also, same bullet, but a .257 Wby Mag will also work if you hit the same velocities. Richard Mann For bigger game, I could easily hunt with either the 240 or 6.5-300 Weatherbys. Something like a 7mm Ultramag shooting a 120 TTSX would be pretty flat shooting to 500. Hello Jim, But what are the flattest shooting rifle cartridges? Shane Olson, nope, no sarcasm involved, simply pointing out a straight fact, which I stand by. At 500 yards even the flattest shooting rounds are going to be dropping somewhere around 30". If you had to choose one cartridge to hunt with for the rest of your life, you could do a whole lot worse than the .30-06 Springfield. What caliber is the flattest shooting? | The Muzzleloading Forum Even though high-BC .30-caliber bullets need to be heavy and pushed hard to shoot flat, many American hunters love them enough to tolerate the recoil. Besides recoil, the downside is the limited availability of factory ammunition and rifles. wins again with just 218.5 inches of drop, the 27 Nosler moves into second place with its 150-grain bullet falling only 225.8 inches. Kind of underwhelming, right? For 500 yards just raise the cross hair up to the top of the back but stay in the hair and have a sharp knife ready. If youre planning on buying a gun to shoot long range shots this is recommended reading. The 10 Best Varmint Cartridges | Field & Stream Outstanding job!! http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource/ballistics-calculator. What caliber rifle shoots the flattest? 223 Wylde chambered, 20" barreled rifle. Omg I wish I seen this alot earlier than I did.. Ive literally spent hours on hours on ballistics calculators trying to figure out which new cartridge was the flattest shooting but also had enough energy for an ethical kill at long range and it took me countless hours to basically come up with what your chart told me in seconds grrr.. In any caliber the cartridge that attains the highest muzzle velocity wins the flat shooter award, so theres no sense arguing that the 6.5 Grendel might shoot as flat as the 27 Nosler. always means more wind deflection. All three cartridges also offer ample case capacity, allowing enough powder to send bullets at drag-defying velocities. The muzzle velocity is a plus in windy conditions, with the bullet arriving on target with minimal drift. In ballistic terms, a 235-grain .375 bullet at 3,000 fps exits the muzzle with lots of energy: 4,695 ft-lbs. Since I have shot my .270 Winchester primarily with the Hornady 150gr spire point and I know at 500 yards it drops close to 50 inches. Its a top choice of military snipers and can launch heavy bullets with high speed and exceptional precision. Generally, a 300 Win Mag's 150 grain bullet delivers a 3,260 fps muzzle velocity, while its 180 grain bullet achieves approximately 3,000 fps. again. The caveat here is that fastest becomes a bit murky. I\m also a huge fan of Ron Spomer so well done for the recognition of his great work too. So it Im guessing to summarise it doesnt really matter what you shoot as long as you know distance to target & your maths Mag. The URSA gongs are 37 inches round and if you get 4 out of 10 you advance in 500 yard increments. I also want to give credit to a couple of long-range AR cartridges that deserve honorable mention. The Best Caliber for Long Range: .300 Win Mag - Firearms News So if you take flat shooting to mean aiming right at something far away and hitting it, theres not really enough difference between the main popular cartridges to get out of bed for. Want to run your own ballistics numbers? Great chart, I appreciate all your work on this. We like the 257 STW we're loading 115 gr bullets around 3600fps with 1/2" groups.We can run it hotter and a Berger vld would be pretty flat. Find out which ones made the cut. Equally, cutting through the air slows the projectile down, eating away at its energy. It takes 200 rounds to fully break in a barrel, so theyd finish it off in just 2-3 competitions (where you fire 200 rounds in a weekend). Check out more F&S long-range shooting coverage, including advice for getting started in long-range shooting competitions, the reason why rifle groups keep shrinking, how Heavey did at Gunsite Academy, and what makes long-distance shooting so difficult. The 257 Weatherby Mag. The way in which cartridge manufacturers develop rounds to overcome these forces is the twist rates of the barrels in the rifles the cartridges are chambered in, developing longer, more aerodynamic bullets with narrower ogives and case capacity. Required fields are marked *. 1 Normal load using the most popular factory ammo, one heavy load for each, one light load. With a growing choice of ammo from 90-130 grain projectiles and the benefit of a great ballistic coefficient with the 6.5mm bullet, 500+ yard shooting can be almost boring. Awesome indoor range. 4 Stunning Long-Range Rifles That Will Shoot Past 1,000 Yards The 6.5 PRC can remain supersonic out beyond 1,600 yards or so, but ammunition options are limited. All in all, here are six bonus cartridge, all highly capable of reaching way out there. These are all under my extreme heading, because theyre all brutal on cost and recoil. Indeed, some deer also live in places where a 50-yard shot is much more likely than a 500-yard shot. And while that pokey 300 grain 338 Lapua round drops quite a bit compared to the others in the list, its carrying a lot of energy: enough to take a deer at 1775 yards. Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia and has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. By the way, while the 6.5-300 has been on the market just five years, Roy was shooting it in the mid-20th century. Flattest Shooting Hunting Calibers | The Hunting Gear Guy The 7mag is one of the calibers he mentioned for the original 7 in the test. Flattest at 500 yards Weatherby's wildly overbore 6.5-300 wins again! rating, that 100-grain bullet is hanging in there. Trust but verify. A highly accurate, easy to shoot rifle with a flat trajectory will make for confident hunting. Best Deer Hunting Calibers for 2022 | Outdoor Life For example, the 7mm Weatherby Magnum will shoot the same bullet as a 7mm Remington Magnum, but it will do it about 10 percent faster. Preferred Caliber For 500 To 1,000 Yards And Beyond: 6.5 Creedmoor Preferred Rifle And Optic: A Rainier Arms precision rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and enhanced by H&H Precision with an Orias chassis from Killer Innovations. View Quote. When you havent time to engage a laser rangefinder, knowing you can reach the kill zone with a dead-center hold at any distance out to 373 yards is pretty comforting. Misjudging a 5mph crosswind as 8mph will make a 5.3 difference at 500yd with my favorite varmint load (BC0.400/MV3,400). RELATED: How the Brand-New 27 Nosler Revives the .277. 260 Rem Dear Ron: What's the flattest shooting rifle? As you can see, one of our gold standard flat-shooting cartridges (.270 Winchester) does not compare favorably with either of the Noslers or the Weatherby Magnum.
flattest shooting caliber to 500 yards