Which Short Action long range caliber?

Looking to buy a gun for long range shooting(500, 700, 1000 yds). Realistically, paper and steel. I am going with either a Remington 700 or a Savage 12. I'm at a toss up on what caliber. I know the shorter, fatter, steep shouldered "short magnum" cases are more efficient in design...and burn less powder in the process. The 6.5 Creedmoor is a good shooter. 300 WSM, 7mm Remington SAUM, or just the proven 308? Not interested in any 22 or other small calibers. I don't consider myself "sold" on all the hoopla about all these new fancy, improved cartridges in the past several years. But ballistically, speaking, they do beat out the older ones. A hot wildcat would be fun, but I do not want to worry about barrel life like the 264 Winchester Magnum or other super hot large case/small bore guns. I will be doing all my own reloading for whatever I do choose. I do like the aspect of having something out of the ordinary, but not so much that brass and other components are hard to get. I figure I will be looking at $1500 for the gun and scope and maybe a gunsmith tweak or two. Thoughts and/or ideas? What do you shoot?

 

I recommend the Remington Model 700 PSS in .308. Nice shooter out of the box and plenty of aftermarket stuff if you really want it. Most gunsmiths should be very familiar with the model as well. For a reasonably priced scope I would recommend the SWFA super sniper series. This combo will get you in a couple hundred dollars less than your spending limit, which will allow you to have some money for any "tweaks" you want.

 

Actually I think they call it a 700P nowadays.

 

308 if you want a basic simple shooter.

6.5x47 Lapua is nice, along with 243 AI shooting 115gr DTACS

260 Remington is very good too.

Anywhere in the 6mm caliber range are great shooters. the ballistic coefficients blow away the larger calibers.

 

6.5 remington magnum would be awsome in a long range gun but dont know how easy brass would be to get. There is also the .260 rem that would be good if you wanted to go out of ordinary. The 6.5 bullets buck the wind alot better than the .30's. Realisticaly getting out past 500yrds with a factory gun is probaly not very possible unless you get the one perfect rifle. Savages are iffy in that dept although i have a mod 10 predator in .223 that is super accurate. It will shoot 3/4in at 300yds. I had a savage heavy barrel .308 that would barely shoot .moa at 100yrds. Gonna need a good scope with enough elevation to get you out there to those distances too. I say rem 700 and have action trued and a good stock to rest it in. Bushnell elite tactical scopes are great and have alot of elevation especially with a 20moa base on rifle. They dont break the bank either.

 

the problems with truing a action, is that its a massive waste of time.

You spend what, 400 to true a 400 dollar gun, and more than likely change out the tube too.

So all in all, its smarter to buy a aftermarket action. I know dropping 900-1000 on a Surgeon action is spendy, but its built right from the get go.

 

I was even thinking about finding a heavier barreled 6mm Remington. I have a Rem Mdl 788 in 6mm with a 20" barrel that I have killed many deer and groundhogs with. And I am getting pretty familiar with its loads. I know the 308 has been around the block...and around and around. I guess it would be less expensive in the long run as well, brass is plentiful, 30 cal bullets are aplenty, etc.

 

6mm wont reach out there real far, light bullets go fast but shed velocity fast to. You need something that has bullet weights atleast 150gr. range and stay super sonic a good distance.

 

105 gr A-MAX will carry enough. I have shot 55 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips at 720 yds, popping balloons. Cross wind will really challenge a shot with lighter bullets, I understand this.

 

just get a 338!

i dunno you mentioned short action. . . . what happened to the 270 wsm? or wssm?

 

From what I know the super short mags lead to early throat erosion. Don't get me wrong, a 338 Lapua Mag would be icing, it's just not in the budget, not at all. Lots of options, like a kid in a damned candy store.