So I either need a sticky or some advice on a rifle build

[willyCJ]

So my apologies if I'm missing a sticky/pinned post with the advice I'm after. A brief bio: I'm a PhD student in mechanical engineering. But I try to avoid the nutshell academic stereotype and stay grounded. Obviously, I'm a bit longwinded.

Anyway, I've been shooting somewhat seriously for about 7 years. I find the side of shooting that I enjoy the most is shooting of a bench and going for the smallest group I can get.

I got the bug from my 223 and about 5,000 rounds. I went from really bad groups to capable of 1moa groups in a factory Rem700. So I started improving my gear, namely optics. I then realized my rifle was likely limiting my accuracy. So I picked up a used 22-250AI which the previous owner claimed was capable of .2s. My best group is 5 shots into just under .4. It was off bags, but not a real front rest.

So while i love the 22-250, it seems like a waste to shoot it at 100 yards. My local range peaks out at 300 yards. Which is the bottom end of a 22-250, imo. I only expect the barrel on the 22-250 to last about 1,500 rounds. So I want to build a rifle for primarly 100 yard use and get a good barrel life.

So that leads me to the good question: if you had a spare .308 based action, what would you do? Being honest, I'm not too likely to shoot competition. I enjoy competing against myself. I have basic machining skills and would like to try my hand at truing an action and installing a barrel. I still need to settle on a caliber for this build.

For better barrel life,4k rounds or more), I'm leaning towards a larger caliber. Since I'm not building a comp rig, I feel like I should build a 308. But I really enjoy wildcats and tweaking rounds. I really like the idea of a 30BR,and I don't know quite why).

I think I could do a 308 pretty easily, but I'm not that excited about it. My concern in going too crazy in a wildcat build is getting in over my head in two different ways. 1) Picking all the chamber specs. I have no idea what bullet, neck, etc...to pick and 2) I'm concerned about the brass sizing,neck turning, necking up/down).

So if I missed a sticky/faq that answers all my questions, that would be great. Otherwise, what are your thoughts?

 

[treeman]

22br or 6br shoot both and love 'em. my 22br has a 243 neck turning brass is a pain. my six-br has a 272 no turn neck. last sat. my wife shot some 16 rounds at 600 yrds to get come ups for a 3X600 match next week end. it was the new F-class target[3"X-ring/6"10-ring] she shot 3-9's and 1-8 and hit the 3" spotter 4 times. if it were the old 600 yrd target she would have only droped 1 point. the 22 and 6mm br are real easy on barrels and very accurate. I don't think you'd be disapointed with either if you use a good quality barrel._____treeman

 

[fdshuster]

willyC: With the requirements you described, range limitations, barrel life, etc. it's really tough to beat a 6BR. With the larger calibers, like the 308, recoil, and the cost of components goes up, and at todays rate: way up! Price a box of 168 gr. Sierra MatchKing: you're looking at close to $30/100. And of course, more powder, ex: 30 gr w/ 6BR vs 45 gr w/ 308. I'm not saying the 308 is not a great round, it is, but may be more than you need for your purposes. I have 2 6BRs' with .265" necks, and 1 with a .272" no turn neck. All 3 are great shooters, and my type of shooting is similar to yours.

 

[rstreich]

Lynn's advice is pretty sound. Just for an alternative thought, how about picking up a used 6 PPC BR rig from Shooter's Corner? It'd save you the time and hassle of customizing your current rifle.

Neck turning, brass forming, etc. aren't really that big of a hassle unless you have a pile of cases to prep. For the type of shooting you're doing, you only have to do enough to make the trip to the range worthwhile--no big deal. Jump in! The water's fine!

 

[willyCJ]

So it seems like everyone is a fan of the 6BR. So I went back and read the 6BR link on the main page. Here is my only concern. I know I'm a high volume shooter. So barrel life is one of my main concerns. The 6BR gets an estimated 2,500 rounds while the 308 gets 5,000. I'm assuming its due to bore size as the 308 burns 50% more powder, but the bore diameter is 66% bigger. I think that is part of what draws me to the 30BR. It seems I get the best of barrel life, reduced powder/recoil.

Is my logic sound or would the 30BR be a better rifle to do after a 6BR?

 

[fdshuster]

willyC: I don't understand: on one hand you speak of the 308, citing a barrel life of 5000 rounds, and then you mention the 30BR. Which is it? If you want the true barrel life/count of a typical 308, check out the article in "Precision Shooting", Sept. 1998, titled "Meanwhile 17224 rounds later", written by Kevin Thomas of Sierra bullets. 5 different barrels were tested, side by side. They started to lose accuracy at 3800 rounds, and by 4000, all were ready for the scrap barrel. If you mean the 30BR, then, yes an excellent round, with better barrel life than the 308,,less powder, same bore dia.), but greater recoil and more $$$$ to reload, than the 6BR. Tough choices to make,, there are a lot of excellent cartridges out there), but your choice to make: we've all "been there, done that".

 

[willyCJ]

Sorry for making it confusing. I was talking about 3 different calibers in my last post.

The 6BR will do everything I need it to. My biggest concern is the barrel life at ~2,500 rounds. A 308Win will have better barrel life than a 6BR,4-5k). But I don't nned a round which is good out to 1,000 yards. So if you shorten a 308 case, you get a 30BR. It burns less powder than a 308, thus the barrel life should be even better than a 308Win. As a result, it seems very interesting.

The downside I've heard about the 30BR is that the BIB bullets are popular, but expensive.

I hope this made better sense.

 

[tightneck]

Do the 30BR, you won't be disappointed. As far as bullets go, ALL custom made BR bullets are expensive but you will be miles ahead with the number of rounds down the tube before you need to rebarrel your 30BR. I've been shooting this round for a couple years in competition and feel that its as accurate as any chambering out there for 300yds or less.

 

[CJ6]

Just a thought,But why not consider a 6x250 imp. or a 6.5x250 imp.you allready have the brass,SAVE start up costs)taper expand the necks and anneal them. The 6.5 version would be close if not better than the 6.5x47 Lapua.just my thoughts