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What to do with my 308? Ranges out to 1500 yards

pump the brakes a bit, the .308 DOES have the "horsepower to go past 1000 yards and make hits." although I have not personally done it, plenty of people have. and those that have shot way out there, they are usually running some sort of adjustable rings/base setup like an ivey. the guys in "precision shooting at 1000 yards" (craig slack and bruce artus) had essentially home made ring/base combination to be able to hit out that far. and if I'm not mistaken, a 220 grain bullet from that .308 was recovered and it was banana peeled. so, I would say that if it has enough velocity to banana peel that bullet, it has enough horsepower for.........

No offense but the "I personally have not done it" comment above is not helping with this topic. The OP was asking for real world feedback. I have shot a mile and beyond and it was certainly not with a .308.

It's all done at 1,000 and 1,250 is a stretch. Yes, people have done it, however, its far and few between and in ideal conditions. Those that shoot ELR choose a far better BC/caliber.

I have many .308's and love them. I just know their limitations.
 
I have had very good success with the 175 tipped out to 1 mile. I am now working on the 195 tipped. Rem 700 / 26" Criterion making 2850 with the 175s & IMR 4064 & 2580 with the 195s & Varget. Just ringing steel.


BW
 
I built a 284 on a short action and shot the 162 AMAXs in it. I have shot the 284 out to a mile with the 162s. My second choice would be the 260. I have shot the barrels out of 4 of them and they are a nice long range round with the 140s. I would NOT go back to a 308 if your looking at rebarreling. If your going to exceed 1000 then go with a 284. If most of your shooting will be 1000yds in then go with a 260. You can even size down your 308 brass and make 260 brass out of it....
 
I have shot my .308 in adverse weather at 1300 yards, I ran out of windage AND reticle on my scope once the wind picked up.
25" Barrel shooting the OLD SMK 155 palmas (2155).
 
It's an extra 2moa vice 4moa to go the extra 40 yards at Bridgeville.

There are many SA cartridges which will make it easier ( than with the 308) to hit consistently at more than 1000 yds.

Other important considerations include barrel life, costs of entering a new caliber, etc.

There is nothing inherently wrong with using ballistics to solve the problems of recoil, wind reading, max elevation limitations of scopes, avoiding the transonic region, etc. This is why there is a large adoption of the 6.5's.
 
Thanks for great suggestions!

Ok, I think I might stay away from the 308. I like the thought of a 284 or a 300WSM. The problem as I see it with the 284 is brass, more specifically donut issues. Even when single feeding, I doubt I can seat the bullet far enough out to avoid the donut? Especially not with 180 Bergers? Considering I have a short action.

The 300WSM has more recoil, but my rifle is fairly heavy (15.5 pounds, so nowhere near the Open guns though), and I will be shooting suppressed 90% of the time.

6.5x47 or 260 might be the most wise choice, but maybe not for the 1500 yard shots. Decisions, decisions...
 
IMG_2397.PNG IMG_2396.PNG

I threw together a quick calculation on my phone app. Pics attached.

If you can push the 230gr hybrid from a 308 at 2500fps muzzle, you'll be at 1200fps at 1500 yards. I seat at 3.09in OAL with 44.4gr of RL-17. You should of course work up your own load, because mine might not work in your rifle.

I've personally pushed those bullets from a plain old 308 chamber at 2525fps using RL-17. If I wanted to extend the throating to .200 or something similar, I could push the velocity even more.

It's worth a try just for the experience of feeling the 308 act a bit like a short magnum. Hits on an 12" steel plate at 1000yards are stupid easy.

I think the 30-284 or 308AI would probably be the next step up if you want to stay with 30-cal and the same action.
 
I looked at chambering my SA .308 into .284 Winchester. From what I can see and discussing this with some of the guys a the last F-Class Match, you can single feed the rounds in but will have to pull the bolt if you ever have to eject a loaded round. No other way to get it out.

I decided to stay with my .308, just ordered my first custom barrel from Benchmark. Now the wait starts, looking at 3 plus months based on their standard lead time.
 
I looked at chambering my SA .308 into .284 Winchester. From what I can see and discussing this with some of the guys a the last F-Class Match, you can single feed the rounds in but will have to pull the bolt if you ever have to eject a loaded round. No other way to get it out.

I decided to stay with my .308, just ordered my first custom barrel from Benchmark. Now the wait starts, looking at 3 plus months based on their standard lead time.
I shot the 308 win with Berger 185 vlds with a saami chamber. Although I couldn't mag load the rounds, I used a bench rest follower and single fed the round and was still able to eject the live round without pulling the bolt. I can't remember the exact OAL but I was running them pretty fast around 2700+ from a 26" barrel. Loved that round tho.
 
The 308 doesn't have the horsepower to go past 1000 yds. and make hits all the time..
Damn. We Aussie & British match rifle shooters have been labouring under a misconception all these years we've been shooting to 1200 yards & occasionally 1500.

The .308 will do that distance with correctly selected components and hold the competition 2 MOA bullseye in the hands of a qualified shot.

See http://matchrifle.org/
 
Damn. We Aussie & British match rifle shooters have been laboring under a misconception all these years we've been shooting to 1200 yards & occasionally 1500.

The .308 will do that distance with correctly selected components and hold the competition 2 MOA bullseye in the hands of a qualified shot.

See http://matchrifle.org/

Hello,
I shoot .308, I would appreciate it if you were to share your components and configuration to achieve your results. I have read of your countrymen achieving such results, would appreciate anything that you would be willing to share.
 
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The 308 doesn't have the horsepower to go past 1000 yds. and make hits all the time.. When I shot 1 mile the 308 shooters gave up at 1200 yds. and they were pushing big bullets.. The 308 can't push them fast enough. when shooting past 1000 yds. don't bring a knife to a gun fight... You need to push bigger bullets faster than a 308 can do...Good luck and keep them in the center..Going past 1000 yds there are a lot better choices than using a 308...
I'll say this. I've used a 308 at 1000 plus on prairie dogs and ground hogs before I realized I'm losing the battle on hits to misses. It's not that it can't or won't make the range, it's that it requires an attitude to find the right bullet to powder to barrel combination to make it run that far. I did not have that drive so decided to find another option. There are better choices and I think the dedicated 308 guys know that. They just make the 308 work. I hit many prairie dogs at 1100-1200 yards but percentages were low compared to my 6s, 6.5s or 7s. Kudos to the guys that can and do make it work with the 308. You guys can shoot. Takes knowledge of your 308 round to make it work at next zip code ranges. Today my 308 will take the 168 TMK to about 600+/- with a 10 twist barrel and the longer ranges are succeeded by my 6.5s or 7s. It's just my choice to make it easy on myself. I just give my 308 a personal 800 yards maximum limit in the 10 twist barrel even with the 185s. My accuracy is maxed out at 800 yds
 
I like the idea of the .308 AI myself. Chamber with around .180-.190 FB and drive some Warner flatlines(180gr) out of a 26" tube around 2800 fps. Sounds like fun to me. I run 185s out of a 22" barrel @ 2690-2700, straight .308. Otherwise 284 and its variants would be close second choice.
 
I reckon a .308 could do a mile. The bullet drop in my palma rifle is only 4 moa from 900 yards to 1000 yards using 155gr projectiles.
Yesterday it dropped 3.6 moa from 800 yards to 900 yards at the state championships.
This is what I use:
Bartlein 28" 5R 1/11
Optimus projectiles coated with HBN and pointed with the Hoover Pointing System seated 23 thou off the lands.
46.9 gr Varget.
Batched Fed 210M
MV 3180 fps
Time of flight to target:
300 metres: 316 milliseconds
800 yards: 970 milliseconds
900 yards: 1160 milliseconds.
 
Here is the deal, I have two rifles, one 22LR and my trusty 308. The latter is ready for a new barrel. I have shot quite a bit out to 1000 yards with it, although not F-class.

Now I want to shoot out to about 1500 yards, maybe a mile. Keep in mind that I do not seek extreme accuracy at these ranges, I do not hunt or compete and would rather hit a large target than miss a smaller one (if that makes sense...). Getting a new rifle is not budget friendly at this moment, but I can be persuaded about this.

I still have lots of brass, dies, bullets for shorter distance work, hunting rounds and so on in 308, I would stay with this caliber if possible. So I guess it boils down to these options, in order:

1) Get a 28" 9 twist barrel throated for 215 Bergers. I have understood that the 215s are harder to shoot than the 185/200, which are more used in FTR. But since I want to shoot 1500 yards, would the added benefit of the higher BC from the 215 make it a better option than at 1000 yards? Experiences really appreciated.

2) Screw the 308 and go 260, 7-08, 284 or even 300WSM? Keep in mind I have a short action.

3) Sell my 308 (or keep it and sell my car ;) ) and buy a more suited LA caliber. Then my 22LR would be my main short range rifle, so I do not have to burn up my barrel at 50-100 yard work. (?)

Inputs from more experienced guys much appreciated!
It's going to cost you portions of time and money. Spotting misses at 1500 is important. Heavier bullet, bigger signature. With relatively limited boiler room capacity, trans sonic flight characteristics become important, as does available come ups. New high bc solids may help, but not in a worn out bbl, and they are expensive. Heavy bullet may pound you ? Apply your own criteria and do the calculus
 
I reckon a .308 could do a mile. The bullet drop in my palma rifle is only 4 moa from 900 yards to 1000 yards using 155gr projectiles.
Yesterday it dropped 3.6 moa from 800 yards to 900 yards at the state championships.
This is what I use:
Bartlein 28" 5R 1/11
Optimus projectiles coated with HBN and pointed with the Hoover Pointing System seated 23 thou off the lands.
46.9 gr Varget.
Batched Fed 210M
MV 3180 fps
Time of flight to target:
300 metres: 316 milliseconds
800 yards: 970 milliseconds
900 yards: 1160 milliseconds.


Have you checked JBM how many MOA you need to 1760 with that load?
 

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