Caliber for 600 yard range

[Brian in Montana]

The OP said he doesn't handload, lots of recommendations in this thread are not really conducive to shooting factory ammo.

Anyway, I second the .243 as there is lots of good factory stuff out there in that cartridge. An underrated range gun in my opinion. And a 6.5 CM is actually designed for that sort of thing. It's only more recently found a niche as a hunting cartridge. And range and competition shooters have been knocking over 600yd targets with a .308 for many decades.

 

[D4570]

In my mind, a 6mm/243 or any of the 6.5's would be a much better choice for factory load shooters.
You looking at an AR or Bolt?

 

[Fire_9]

Without question I would go with a fast twist .223

 

[6mm Remington]

6mm Remington surprise!

 

[buffybr]

A couple of years ago I bought Weatherby Vanguards in .308 Win and .223 mainly for plinking steel. At that time the longest berm at time our range was 430 yards. A couple of weeks ago we put in a 500 and 550 yard berms. I haven't had a chance to shoot at them yet.

Without a spotter, and in a stiff cross wind, its very hard to see or hear hits on the 430 yard gong with my .223, and I'm thinking it would be almost impossible at the 500 and 550 yard gongs. Our gongs are 2" thick by 15" diameter steel that weigh 60 pounds, so there is very little movement, even at close ranges, with .223 hits. Lighter weight A500 steel would move more with small caliber hits.

 

[Doublegunner]

223, 6.5 creed and 308 with the 223 being the cheapest while the 6.5 probably is the best performer. If you went with a 6mm then 243 win is much more popular than other 6mm rounds. Barrel life will be long on the 308 and a little less with the 6.5 and even less with the 6mm. I shoot at 540 yards regularly at my local range and the 308 and 6.5 are a little more satisfying than the 223 on steel. Fast twist barrels are iimportant on the 223 to stabilize the heavier bullets need to buck the wind.

 

[OhHeyThereBen]

I'd say that if you're looking for boring accuracy at 600 yards on steel go 6.5 Creed, .243, or .308. All have reasonably priced factory ammo. If you'd like to have a fun challenge with reading wind and drop with less expensive ammo, then go .223.

 

[std7mag]

My answer on cartridge using factory ammo?

None!

Factory ammo is just that.
Handloading allows you to taylor the cartridge to YOUR gun.
How you set up your gun, and components for the gun itself are big issues.
Then there is optics!
While with lower priced, and lower powered optics, you might be able to see that there is a target there, and hit it, you can't see WHERE on the target you hit. Much less see and correct for a miss.

Which leads me to the 223 Rem.
While it will certainly travel, and can be accurate to 600 yards, they leave tiny holes.
Tiny enough that at 300 yards you cannot see impacts with an 18 powered scope, much less at 400 and beyond.
So your just flinging bullets out there hoping they connect.
(Ask me how i know)

308 is a good option.
But you really need to handload to bring out the very best of it.

Long distance, accuracy shooting aligns alot with racing.
Speed (accuracy) costs money.
How fast (accurate) do you wanna go?!

 

[recurveman]

You will lean a bunch from the .223. It will do great at 600 and under. The other good part about the .223 is it will drift plenty at that distance so you will learn how wind affects the point of impact of the bullet.
If you get the bug and shoot quite a bit then you can either reload the .223 or maybe even change setups and get something different. Either way I think the .223 is a good starting point.......Personally......I'm way WAY down the rabbit hole.

 

[buffybr]

Back on post #25 I wrote that our range had recently put in 500 and 550 yard berms with a 60 pound 15" diameter steel gong at each one, and that I had not yet shot them. So Wednesday afternoon I was at the range doing my weekly gong plinking with my .223 and .308 Vanguard rifles, lying prone with a Harris bipod.

There was a stiff left to right wind and to hit the 430 yard gong I was holding about 6" left of the gong with my .223 and the left edge of the gong with my .308. Again I didn't have a spotter, but with the light recoil of my .223 I could see the misses hit the dirt behind the gong, and I could hear the hits with my .308.

So after I had shot 15 shots with each rifle at the 200, 300, and 430 yard gongs, I thought I'd try a shot at the 550 yard gong. I've never shot paper at that range, so I just took a guess and turned the range dial of my Leupold VX 3i 4.5-14x40 CDS scope that I have on my on my .308 a quarter of a turn, from its 8.1 setting to 12. Since I had been holding on the left edge of the 430 yard gong, I held 1 windage hash mark left of the edge of the 550 yard gong and squeezed a shot off. I was pleasantly surprised a second or two later when I heard the ring of the 150 grain Sierra bullet hitting the 550 yard gong, as did my 2nd and 3rd shots.

Without a spotter, I would not have been able to see misses or hear hits on the 550 yard gong with my .223.

I'm now anxious to try my 7 mm Rem Mag and .300 Weatherby rifles at the 500 and 550 yard gongs.

 

[FLS]

MagnetoSpeed T1000 Hit Indicator

The MagnetoSpeed Hit Indicator is a rugged target hit indicator with a weatherproof enclosure and long battery life!

shootsteel.com

These have become standard at most long range steel matches I shoot. Tactical division is a 223 With a max bullet weight of 77 grains or 308 with a max bullet weight of 175 grains. Since the Magnetospeed indicators came out we see fewer 308 shooters, since you’re not depending on audible impact, or target movement to get your hits called.

 

[std7mag]

I'm now anxious to try my 7 mm Rem Mag and .300 Weatherby rifles at the 500 and 550 yard gongs.

Be careful!
That's an expensive rabbit hole that your peering over the edge of!

 

[cwitherow]

Our local range actually finished this project, so this question has turned into less of a fantasy and more of a reality. They put in steel at 350, 450, and 600. I have a heavy bias toward Tikka, with my other two rifles being that platform. The next question really comes down to cartridge. I have a .22LR and 30-06. On one hand, a .223 would be much cheaper to shoot, on the other, a .243 or 6.5CM could be used for hunting applications (deer, antelope).

The THIRD option would be to get real damn good with my 06, spend new gun money on ammo.

 

[MJE2083]

yeah a .223 with a fast twist barrel capable of shooting heavier bullets is probably a good place for you to be. Funny I just got back from the range, breaking in the barrel on my new 223 AR-15 that i'm going to be using for the same purpose as you.

 

[std7mag]

So use the 06'.
It is definitely capable.

I've witnessed a guy using a Ruger 77 MKII in 257 Roberts shooting 75gr Sierra HP varmint bullets put rounds in the X ring at 1,000 yards.
Now that is good shooting!!

600 yards is considered mid range in competition circles, and most cartridges and guns are capable of hitting.

The bigger considerations are wind & shooter.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Our local range actually finished this project, so this question has turned into less of a fantasy and more of a reality. They put in steel at 350, 450, and 600. I have a heavy bias toward Tikka, with my other two rifles being that platform. The next question really comes down to cartridge. I have a .22LR and 30-06. On one hand, a .223 would be much cheaper to shoot, on the other, a .243 or 6.5CM could be used for hunting applications (deer, antelope).

The THIRD option would be to get real damn good with my 06, spend new gun money on ammo.

Most modern centerfire rifles can hit at 600y, but that doesn't not mean they do it well. 6mmBR, 6mmcreedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .243 will all do better at 400--600 yards than a .223. Also, a rifle set up to do well at 600y is not really a rifle I would carry into the field for hunting. Thicker barrels, hair triggers and heavy stocks make for nice 600y shooting, but not for hiking up and down a mountain.

So, a cheap AR .223 or your 30-06 hunting rifle can ring steel at 600y, but neither will do it well as a rifle and cartridge better fit for the task.

 

[Mule man]

Our local range actually finished this project, so this question has turned into less of a fantasy and more of a reality. They put in steel at 350, 450, and 600. I have a heavy bias toward Tikka, with my other two rifles being that platform. The next question really comes down to cartridge. I have a .22LR and 30-06. On one hand, a .223 would be much cheaper to shoot, on the other, a .243 or 6.5CM could be used for hunting applications (deer, antelope).

The THIRD option would be to get real damn good with my 06, spend new gun money on ammo.

Tikka in .260 rem and don't look back. The accuracy will put a smile on your face, great hunting round also

 

[Ernie]

If you were to add a gun to your collection as a dedicated range gun, with the max range being 600 yards, what caliber would you choose? I do not reload, so factory offerings only. I am leaning toward .223.

Fast twist 223 Remington, 6 Creed or 6.5 Creed

 

[2rocky]

I shoot a 223 for some local tactical matches that only got out to 6-700 yds. I load 77 SMKs over TAC on a Dillon 550. I buy match prepped LC brass and pump them out 500 at a time. I can’t think of a more economical way to shoot mid range. If you want to learn to read wind and be a better long range shooter, get a 223 to practice with. It’s way cheaper and you’ll have 2-3x the barrel life of a 6 or 6.5 mm. I put 10x the rounds down my 223 match rifles than I do my 6.5 match rifle.
If you don’t reload, the 75grain Hornady Frontier has been really accurate and before the corona foolishness you could get it pretty cheap. The Black Hills 77 SMK and TMK loads are better but more expensive and harder to find.

For the heavier bullets what barrel twist would you need? I think 1:12 is standard in a lot of bolt rifles, but I understand some ARs are 1:7

Pairing Barrel Twist Rates with Bullet Weights for .223 and 5.56 NATO - Guns and Ammo

A guide on how to pair .223 and 5.56 NATO rifle barrel twist rates with bullet weights. Conventional wisdom says slower twist rates wouldn't properly stabilize a heavy bullet. On the other hand, faster rates could over-stabilize lighter bullets. This is correct in theory, however, modern ballist

www.gunsandammo.com

 

[Ernie]

A 7 or 8 twist 223 Rem will easily get you to 600 yards.
I have killed pd's past 600 yards with my 15" center-grip H-S Precision HSP 223 Remington, and have connected on steel beyond a grand.
I have used 73 ELD-M's, 75 grain Hornady BTHP both in factory ammo, and it shoots great!