+Nick Strother, he TOLD you right up front he was only including cartridges that can be found chambered in most any rifle. 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. Faster velocities mean flatter trajectories. It nearly matches the ballistics of the Winchester Magnum, but does so in rifles with faster-twist barrels and modern powders that extend barrel life. The 220 Swift would be my pick for coyotes, rodents, and probably pronghorn if it werent for the wind deflection issue. Best Long-Range Hunting Cartridges of 2023 | Field & Stream spitting a 100-gr. Flattest at 1,000 yards Heres where things start to change. Commissions are earned for links to Brownell's, Amazon, MidwayUSA, GoHunt, OpticsPlanet, Sportsman's Warehouse, and other retailers. Depending on the bullet style, it can be argued that the .22 Nosler is the fastest- and flattest-shooting AR-15 cartridge. First, some boundaries. In comparison to .300 Win Mag factory loads, the 300 PRC ammunition is loaded with either 212gr or 225gr bullets. The .224 Valkyrie (5.641 mm) is a modern long-range predator hunting cartridge designed primarily to be used in semiautomatic AR platform firearms. 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. The new Sako Finnlight II sports an innovative stock and Cerakote metal paired with the terrific 85 action. Pronghorn hunters have driven the search for flatter shooting cartridges for a long time. The Creedmoors detractors will say that it wont do anything that existing cartridges wouldnt do as well or better, but thats not exactly true. Considered by many to be the optimum long-range, large-game cartridge, the .300 Winchester Magnum has proven itself worldwide. However, the match-grade ammunition would give the best result if fired from a match-grade rifle purpose-built from the start for the long-range precision shooting. The .300 Norma Magnum was introduced in 2009, and soon, it has begun to gain popularity in the long-range shooting community. Ive updated the chart description so its more clear that it isnt in inches. Recoil is negligible, making it a great option for hunter with sensitive shoulders. Your email address will not be published. Fantastic information. While this feature enables .300 PRC to accommodate heavy-for-caliber bullets with a high ballistic coefficient, the extended cartridge overall length of a 3.7 requires a magnum length rifle action. Its a great choice for those who like to hunt elk and moose and must shoot great distances, and when youre in big bear country the .300 PRC has ample stopping power to anchor a bruin should the need arise. Chamber specifications are precise and most Creedmoor rifles come with slow-twist barrels that are designed to utilize bullets from 103 grains and up with ballistic coefficients of .500 or better. Mag. All Rights Reserved. G1 BC: 0 . While the .338-378 round will still be capable of supersonic velocity at 1,500 yards, it will have 831 foot-pounds of retained energy at the same distance. Ive seen the cartridge flatten whitetails and caribou, and tight tolerances make it capable of excellent accuracy. And it gets there with a lot less powder the either of the two Weatherbys. Im going to bookmark your website and keep checking for new details about once a week. While many authors describe it as a 6.5 Creedmoor on steroids, the .26 Nosler wasnt designed as a long-term target cartridge because of short barrel life and more noticeable recoil. Whether or not thats true, my own success rate at 1,000 yards informs me to always stalk closer if I can and to forego shots at any distance unless Im supremely confident I can make them. Second, we are not encouraging extreme-range shooting at game. That makes it an ideal choice for those who want to hunt large game like elk at extended ranges, but it also makes this a more forgiving cartridge than slower rounds. At 500 yards, the 27 Nosler drops almost a foot less than Jack OConnors sacred cartridge. 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. The longer the bullet is in the air, the longer gravity can pull on the object. When the .300 Norma Mag launches a 220 grains bullet at 3,200 fps, it will generate a whopping 4,400 ft/lbs of energy. Still, while the rimless .338 Lapua was made as sniper rifle cartridge with semiautomatic firearms in mind, the 338-378 Weatherby Magnum was developed as hunting style ammo and the biggest .33-caliber long-range commercial cartridge. That makes this a potent elk and moose cartridge. Lets start by acknowledging we can minimize our search by ignoring all cartridges within each caliber that dont produce maximum velocity in that caliber. Cartridge and chamber specifications helped improve accuracy, and recoil was manageable. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. The reverse, however, could . Recoil is stiff but not at all unmanageable or even unpleasant for experienced shooters. And once they started shooting, squirrels . The best long-range cartridges are those that are flat shooting, feature aerodynamic projectiles and have enough power to go the distance. Hornady 123-grain SST at 2580 fps. The .224 Valkyrie is the flattest shooting 0.224 caliber cartridge you can put in an AR-15. Created from the ground up for competition and very little hunting, the 6.5 Creedmoor has several advantages over the .308 and the other .30-caliber cartridges. We are not going to include here the esoteric military sniping rounds engineered for 1,000 yards, 2,000 yards, even 3,000 yards. Shot from SAAMI-mandated 1-8 twist barrels, the 6.5s long, slender bullets seem to almost defy wind and gravity and allow this cartridge to deliver clean kills at distance. The 5 Fastest Rifle Cartridges | Field & Stream When it came out in 1925, 300 yards was considered about the max distance for shots on game, and the .270 Winchester was quickly recognized as one of, if not the, best commercial option for that. Often theyre inflated. This is the darling diameter for American big-game hunters. On the other hand, wind speed and direction are inconsistent. Also, youll find more ammo options for the .308 Winchester than any of the others. 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. There have been several other new cartridges released since Hornady launched the 6.5 Creedmoor that have also done well. 30-06 case and plethora of bullet weights ranging from 75 to 120 grains, the .25-06 provides excellent ballistics and trajectory for the small game up for the deer-sized game. Combining the large case capacity of its parent . Most of the calculators out there show larger drop rates then your table. The .25-06 Rem offers a flat trajectory, and outstanding accuracy and low recoil for maintaining good shooting habits. 7.62x54 ammo might be cheaper . The drops are listed in feet for the really long range shots, so theyre pretty close to your numbers. Learn More: Top Ballistic in-Flight Behaviors [With Pictures]. There are 6.5 optimized long range scopes available, which you can browse here. Traditionally, the 30 caliber rounds are favorite of many hunters and shooters in North America, and Winchester also jumps on the bandwagon with its "Big 30". Hornadys 147-grain 6.5 Creedmoor Match load shoots flatter that their .308 168-grain Match load and carries more energy at long range. gundata.org has done all this for you already. And is it fair to include Risky Ralphs overstuffed, compressed-powder loads that exceed the highest handloading guides top loads by 400 fps and leave primers looking as if theyd been squashed on a train track? When zeroed at 150 yards, the tiny 20-grain WSM projectile will strike just 2.6 inches low at 200 yards. 301". There are countless rifle models from which to choose and a wide selection of ammunition, and the Creedmoor outcompetes stalwart target rounds like the .308 Winchester at long range. This is an example of how different loads in different rifles can produce different results. 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. Mag. Yep, me too. Do we compare the fastest factory loads or top end handloads from select handloading manuals? Sign up for Field & Streams newsletter to receive the latest and greatest gear reviews and expert hunting and fishing advice. | As the old system for measuring BC, the G1 model is based on a short, flat-bottomed bullet, while the G7 model is based around longer, boat-tailed bullets. Scott Rupp gets a chance to talk to Aaron Oelger about a few new products from Hodgdon and why reloading store shelves are empty. How about our drops on the cartridges that made it? The caveat here is that fastest becomes a bit murky. .22 WMR: The Most Powerful Rimfire of All Time | Outdoor Life Love it or hate it, the 6.5 Creedmoor was a game-changer. It's not as popular among match shooters as the .308 or a number of other lesser-known cartridges, but it's effective, nonetheless. Its like a shorter, beltless version of the .300 Winchester Magnum. Hornady Precision Hunter 143-grain ELDX at 2,960 fps. At 500 yards the 165-grain load carries 1,856 foot-pounds of energy, more than Winchester .300 WSM or .300 Win. always means more wind deflection. The .260 Rem is an outstanding mid-range cartridge developed from a .308 Win by necking case throat down to .264 caliber. Based on the antique .404 Jeffery cartridge case, the 27 Nosler is the first new .277-caliber rifle cartridge since the .270 Winchester Short Magnum, which was introduced almost 20 years ago. So far, I've listed cartridges . If youre after deeper penetration, look at the 139-grain Barnes VOR-TX Long Range load. Its just physics. On the same African trip we set up a shooting mat and were punching stumps on a cutover hillside over 1,400 yards away. This excellent .25-caliber round was the first wildcat to have been based on the .30-06 Springfield cartridge preceding the development of much more popular the .270 Win round. Mag. Though of modern design, the Noslers first proprietary cartridge was based on the old beltless .404 Jeffery case and retained the same length as the .30-06, so it will fit into standard-length actions. The 243 Winchester and 6mm Remington have reputations for shooting flat, but the lesser known 240 Weatherby magnum fires the same bullets at higher velocities, so its the flattest of the 24-calibers. Here's a chart from my Popular Hunting Cartridges Compared article. Based on the now almost-forgotten .284 Winchester, the 6.5-284 Norma was originally a wildcat cartridge and a very popular one, especially in bench-rest competitions. Accordingly, the Weatherby .338-378 can launch any given projectiles weight out the muzzle faster than any other .33-caliber cartridge. The .277 bullet earns a lower B.C. Considering that, the .260 Remington is equally suitable for the "recoil sensitive" and long-range competitive shooters, where long firing strings are expected. Though frequently compared to the .308 Win., the 6.5 Creedmoor is ballistically superior to the legendary "three-oh-eight" largely because of the 6.5mm aerodynamic bullets with an excellent sectional density and ballistic coefficient. One of the calibers with the flattest trajectory is the .17 Winchester Super Magnum, a sub-caliber rimfire cartridge. bullet faster than did the larger volume 30-378 Wby. I suspect Weatherby got wind of Noslers work on its superb 26 Nosler, so they released Roys old wildcat to steel some of Noslers thunder. The 6.5 140gr bullets really retain their velocity. I blog often and I truly appreciate your content. At the time, "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza," "The Rifleman," and dozens of Western films were celebrating horses, lever-actions, and revolvers. As soon as a projectile leaves the muzzle, the earths gravity instantly begins to affect the trajectory of the round. Bullet selection means alot. (Curiosity? Dear Adriel, please be so kind to provide statistics on the following calibers as well: The .45 Colt possesses almost the same ballistics as the .45 ACP. Thank you for the time it took to work all this data up in an easy to absorb article, where are you getting your information for the bullet drop? With the 30-06, we can only overcome 12 yards of ranging error at the same range before we miss the 6 of vitals. Some rely on characteristics that helped make the Creedmoor popular, but other popular new rounds strayed from the Creedmoors recipe and still managed to carve out a niche in the rifle market. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. It is also a very light caliber and has very little recoil. He just never made it official. Meantime, lets enjoy our deeper dive into flat shooting hunting cartridges (hand carried and shoulder fired. Compared to .223 Remington, at the 1,000-yard target, it duplicates the amount of energy of the standard .223 bullet. And here they are: Flattest at 300 yards 240 Wby. 6.5x45, 6.5 creedmore, 260 remington are all good choices. Nor could most of us scrape up a good excuse for owning one. The current 6.8 Western cartridge offerings from Winchester and Browning have BCs over .600, and when you combine that with velocities of 2,835 for the 175-grain Sierra Tipped GameKing load and 2,960 for the 165-grain AccuBond LR load you can see why this cartridge has the potential to take even the largest game at extended distances. The .25-06 is developed by simply narrowing down the case neck of the .30-06 to fit a .257-inch caliber bullet. bullet 12 inches at 500 yards, a low B.C. There is a lot more to it than inital velocity. also reigns as one of the fastest commercial cartridges around, breaking 4,300 fps with 20-grain bullets and 4,100 fps with 25-grain pills. Every farm kid had a .22 LR (or wanted one). Mag. Subscribe to my channel: http://bit.ly/RonSpomerOutdoorsSubscribeLinks:Website: https://ronspomeroutdoors.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ronspomerout. The 27 Nosler bests the .270 Winchester by about 400 fps with 150-grain bullets. Todays top seven long-range cartridges get the job done on big game and targets at great distances. In the shortest terms, you can conceive 7mm Remington Magnum as flat- shooting .270 and hard-hitting .30-06 round. Federals EDGE TLR .270 Winchester is another outstanding option. But truth be told, every Weatherby cartridge is a long-range cartridge. 98". With origins dating from the pre-war wildcat cartridge known as either the .25 Whelen or .25 Niedner, the .25-06 Remington rifle cartridge is the oldest in our list. I have not identified bullet make and type because that doesnt change impact drop. A 100 yard miscalculation short or long will vary your hit by a vertical of 2.3-2.9 feet, enough to completely miss or wound the deer. If you like the idea of a six-five for going long, but hate the Creed and want something a bit different, the 6.5-284 Norma is the way to go. Since nearly all long-distance shooters today use a laser rangefinder, does it even matter which cartridges shoot the flattest? Though it's primarily a hunting round, the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum will also work for shooting long-range targets. Also know that not all manufacturer-claimed B.C. numbers are accurate. With the highest BC bullets, the 26 Nosler remains supersonic beyond 1,750 yards. Youre going to miss with any flat shooting cartridge out there and with a perfectly accurate rifle. For example, the .50BMG and the 6.5 Creedmoor both launch bullets at approximately the same muzzle velocity of 2,700fps. bullet boasts a blistering 3,000-fps muzzle velocity making it a laser beam compared to 2,400fps from its slightly older .17 HMR counterpart. Nosler Trophy Grade Long Range, 175-grain AccuBond Long Range at 3,125 fps. Moreover, a manufacturer advertises at 400 yards their 6.5mm projectiles maintain the same velocity as the .260 Remington generates at the muzzle. And that light recoil not only makes you a better shot in the field; it also makes practicing more fun and productive. The .30/378 Weatherby. Based on the old .404 Jeffery case, its the same length as the .30/06, which means it works in standard-length actions. I hope this report clears up some trajectory confusion and perhaps settles some old arguments. The name undoubtedly plays in part on the success of the 6.5s, but this cartridge is an exceptional long-range and hunting round. Barnes Vortex | .300 Winchester Magnum. 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.

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