Magnum caliber for 600-1000+

7mm Rem Mag
6.5 PRC

6.5 PRC or 6.5 SAUM if you are going to wanting 6.5 calibers. Why would you do a 28-30" barrel, the standard 24-26" will do the job fine, especially in a magnum.

I have 6.5prc, 300prc and 300wm. The 300prc would be my first choice but because the 300wm brass is easier to find now that would be the way I would go. You could always rechamber the 300wm to a 300prc later by setting it back .175". All three do an excellent job out to 1000yds.

The PRC cartridges give you a big push on recoil not a really sharp jolt like a 300wm. I really enjoy shooting them. I have tried 24" barrels but if you are serious about shooting 1k yds and don't want to waste ammo you need a 26" barrel. Any 4 port brake is fine. I use "Muzzle Brakes and More" products.

I use a 10 twist barrel. I can shoot a 4" group at 1k with Hornady Factory Ammo. 300prc 225gr ELD Match ammo. I tried a 8 twist barrel and the group opened up to 2'. Yes feet. I'm using a Criterion Remage varmint profile 26" barrel that I purchase from North Land Shooter Supply for $300.

Tactical_Hunter said:

I’m looking at building a new gun primarily for hitting steel from 600 out to roughly 1200yd. I already have a 308 that was my first long range build, and my 243 AI. This go around I’m looking at building something with a little more punch. I’m leaning towards 264 win mag, but am really wanting opinions on what to look into. My only requirement is the ability to be able to buy brass off the shelf for reloading, as I don’t really want to fire form another round. The plan is a 28-30” tube, manners T4a stock or similar, and to remount 4-32 Nightforce nx8 on it.

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My experience is with 6.5 PRC and 300 PRC. Either are more than adequate. All I've used to reload so far has been Hornady brass and I'm not disappointed. I did manage to get some Lapua brass that I will use eventually.

7 saum?

300 Norma Mag and 300 prc are the tits from what I've read and heard.

Pretty short ranges for magnums.

What are you looking to accomplish exactly? Spend more $ per hit?

You already have cartridges that are more then capable at those distances.

.284 Winchester?

Short action or long action ?
For the ranges you are talking about, that is well within the capabilites of the 6.5 or .260.
If you really want a magnum, then one of the 7mm varieties are always a good answer.
There is always the .284 it is an excellent choice with the 162's

kthomas said:

Pretty short ranges for magnums.

What are you looking to accomplish exactly? Spend more $ per hit?

You already have cartridges that are more then capable at those distances.

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I second this. 1k with 308 is fine. 260 rem and 6.5cm are still fine to 1200. If going to 300 PRC or even 300 win mag. It's more a 1760+ rifle then.

I wouldn't even spend the money if 600-1200 is the goal. Why get worked by a large magnum for those shorter distances. 6.5 PRC will be plenty.

MNTC said:

I second this. 1k with 308 is fine. 260 rem and 6.5cm are still fine to 1200. If going to 300 PRC or even 300 win mag. It's more a 1760+ rifle then.

I wouldn't even spend the money if 600-1200 is the goal. Why get worked by a large magnum for those shorter distances. 6.5 PRC will be plenty.

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I'd much rather shoot my 6BRA and .308 at 1,200 yards then my .300NM.

For steel that 243 AI is going to be hard to beat out to 1200 yards. The additional recoil and expense could be hard to justify. Even the 6 CM can make hits to a mile.

If you are looking for more energy on target for hunting or such, the 6.5 PRC is great and even better in a long action. Your options are almost unlimited between all the magnum cartridges. 7 RM, 28 Nosler, 300 WM, 300 PRC, 30 Nosler are all very popular and supported with factory ammo and brass.

For a reloader you open it up even more with 7 WSM, 7 SAUM, 7 LRM, etc. Also the new Sherman cartridges are really top notch performers.

I would pick a bullet that gives me the performance I'm looking for and use the best brass/barrel availability as a benchmark.

.300 WSM.

A lot of guys are running this in 1k yard comps (just completing one myself for this).
Pending world record just a few months ago.

So much easier to spot impacts with boomers...

7 saum
284
280AI

You could easily do 1200 with a 6 or 6.5MM but the 7mm will really shine if you go further than that yet are mild enough to enjoy at shorter range.

7 saum

Steel head said:

7 saum
284
280AI

You could easily do 1200 with a 6 or 6.5MM but the 7mm will really shine if you go further than that yet are mild enough to enjoy at shorter range.

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This

Tactical_Hunter said:

But the 147 eld-m look interesting.

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I used to shoot a lot of 147’s
In fact I busted my 1 mile cherry with them.

Then I started having issues with them blowing up in flight at 260 velocities.

Tactical_Hunter said:

Interesting, I should be able to solve that with the win mag out to that distance. What bullet did you end up swapping to?

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I built a 7 saum so my 260 was not my do everything rifle and I went back to shooting 130’s.

On a long action why not just go straight 284win with Berger 184 ?

Lapua brass
Berger 184 hybrid 7mm better ballistics than the 30 cal Berger 215 hybrid.
Less recoil
Easy to load
Tons of data

While I clicked on the "like" button on a few posts above. As there are no apparent practical reasons for a magnum.
I do how ever understand the urge to scratch an itch. I had the same itch a few years back and I picked up a 300WM to satisfy it.
It was that rifle I first scored hits beyond 1000 meters with and it has been a keeper since then. Its pretty much been a constant project rifle and I cant say that I regret anything of it.
However, if I were to start again with what I know today. I would probably go for a 284 winchester. It just makes a lot of sense, with great ballistics, available components and best of all, Lapua brass. Just like st1650 stated.

My winmag in its current and probably final stage:


(For inspirational purposes)

You need to add a lot more details about why you want a magnum, what specific qualities are you seeking from a magnum? Otherwise without that detail, we can and will recommend everything from a .17WSM to 50 BMG.

- Do you want high energy on target? Any plans to hunt with it?
- Are you looking for more recoil? What is your recoil tolerance?
- Are you looking to burn more powder? Or do you want something to be optimal for that target range without burning through powder jugs?
- Are you interested in moving up to a .338LM bolt face? Or just stick within the confines of a regular LA action?
- Do you want the flattest shooting cartridge possible?
- Do you want the ability to mag feed it? Or is single feeding okay?
- Is this cartridge for shooting a specific shooting discipline?
- Do you want a cartridge that has proven precision at distance (i.e. history in competitions)
- Do you want a cartridge that's easy to reload for? Are you okay with fireforming? Do you need factory ammo options?
- How important is barrel life to you? Are you okay with barrel burners, or do you want a cartridge that is somewhat easy on barrels?

If you can provide more criteria, it will be a lot more productive of a thread and people can really start steering you in the right direction.

Almost any of the 6mm 257 6.5 are capable.. why a magnum?

Tactical_Hunter said:

What rifle did you start with? And also what advantages would I have with the 184 hybrid over the 225 eldm? The Lapua brass is a very good point on the arguement as well.

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It started out as a bone stock Remington 700 Police. And has since been in different stocks and chassis, has been blueprinted and rebarreled and I have changed trigger twice. So there has been things going on over the years. I bought it in 2016, I think.

And without getting out Strelok Pro I would guess that you get equal or better ballistics with the 284, burning about 20 grains less of powder per shot in the process. Which ofcourse means less recoil, which is a good thing.

.284 with 180 class bullets and 30" tube

VargmatII said:

As there are no apparent practical reasons for a magnum.

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I disagree with this, based on my own experience.
One can lob .224 bullets over 1K yards- but good luck spotting the impacts (or trace) in anything other than perfect conditions.

Heavies pushed by a lot of powder equals more energy at impact.
More energy at impact equals bigger splash, and increased ability to spot those impacts.
I've shot everything from 6's to .338 LM at ELR ranges and I'll take the magnums. Last time we were out, there was a group next to us shooting at 1200 steel. All three were running suppressed 6/6.5 Creeds, and despite a high dolla Swaro spotting scope could NOT spot any of their berm impacts off the steel. If you're hitting the plate, it's one thing. But a miss into a soft, damp sand berm kicks up very little signature with a small bullet that's barely supersonic at best.

I subscribe to bigger is better when it comes to ELR. Flame away...

Wannashootit said:

I disagree with this, based on my own experience.
One can lob .224 bullets over 1K yards- but good luck spotting the impacts (or trace) in anything other than perfect conditions.

Heavies pushed by a lot of powder equals more energy at impact.
More energy at impact equals bigger splash, and increased ability to spot those impacts.
I've shot everything from 6's to .338 LM at ELR ranges and I'll take the magnums. Last time we were out, there was a group next to us shooting at 1200 steel. All three were running suppressed 6/6.5 Creeds, and despite a high dolla Swaro spotting scope could NOT spot any of their berm impacts off the steel. If you're hitting the plate, it's one thing. But a miss into a soft, damp sand berm kicks up very little signature with a small bullet that's barely supersonic at best.

I subscribe to bigger is better when it comes to ELR. Flame away...

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Spotting is definitely a factor and there’s a big difference between a 90, 110, 140 compared to 180, 210 or 300 grains.

If you just really want a magnum, and I can understand, its not what can do it ….Its What You Want to Do It With.

So, if a magnum is in the plans, why not go with the 6.5 x 300 Weatherby Magnum. When it was created it was called the 6.5 x 300 Weatherby Wright Magnum. It was built to compete in 1000 yard bench rest matches. The perfect blend of 6.5 long range bullets and a magnum round that was created specifically for the range you want to shoot.

Being old not only means I get to study history, Hell I lived it.

Tactical_Hunter said:

Yeah I’m not looking at it from a practicality or a cost savings standpoint. That’s why I am not really replying to the “why magnum” posts. It’s just what I want, and am going to get. Thanks for all who helped out. It got my head spinning on the 225 eldm and the heavier 7mm offerings. Going to do some research on those now and weigh out what looks best. The big down side to the 7 rem mag for me seems to be no Lapua brass which I could get for the 300 winny.

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You need to provide more criteria in exactly what you want out of a magnum, in order for you to get constructive responses.

Just saying you want a magnum leaves the door open to calibers as small as .17 to as large as 20mm, and everything in between.

Tactical_Hunter said:

Yeah I’m not looking at it from a practicality or a cost savings standpoint. That’s why I am not really replying to the “why magnum” posts. It’s just what I want, and am going to get. Thanks for all who helped out. It got my head spinning on the 225 eldm and the heavier 7mm offerings. Going to do some research on those now and weigh out what looks best. The big down side to the 7 rem mag for me seems to be no Lapua brass which I could get for the 300 winny.

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I believe ADG makes 7mm brass as well as some of the other high end makers

Might be worth considering availability of components for the various cartridges you are considering.

Tchitcherine said:

Might be worth considering availability of components for the various cartridges you are considering.

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He needs to consider a lot of things.

He's all over the place, and providing suggestions at this point is like throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Without further guidance on what the parameters are, I don't know how we can help the OP.

The question is whether you want to shoot solids - if not, then are you going to shoot 156, 195, or 215+ grains, in 6.5, 7, or 30. Run the ballistics calcs to see where you'd be happy with the windage figures compared to what you are shooting now. Then select the cartridge that will make that velocity on the projectile. I have a 6.5 max for 156's and a 300 rum with a barrel for 215/220's and another for 250's.

Tactical_Hunter said:

I feel like all you want to do is poke at me and try to get me to argue with you, while providing no information or reading what I have posted.

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No I don't want to poke fun at you, and that's not what I'm doing.

Do you not see how people are literally throwing every magnum at you in this thread? You have set almost no parameters for what you want to accomplish with a magnum.

In a previous post I asked a serious of questions, none of which you bothered to answer, yet would really help to narrow down your choices and provide suitable options for you application.

Or, we could just continue to throw every magnum we know of your way.

Tactical_Hunter said:

I’m looking at building a new gun primarily for hitting steel from 600 out to roughly 1200yd. I already have a 308 that was my first long range build, and my 243 AI. This go around I’m looking at building something with a little more punch. I’m leaning towards 264 win mag, but am really wanting opinions on what to look into. My only requirement is the ability to be able to buy brass off the shelf for reloading, as I don’t really want to fire form another round. The plan is a 28-30” tube, manners T4a stock or similar, and to remount 4-32 Nightforce nx8 on it.

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7mm RemMag, 160-170 match projectile (Berger 168 VLD and Classic Hunters for me), R-P Brass (Remington), Federal 215M primers, 68.5gr Reloder 26...

That gives me 2950 out of a factory 24" Tikka T3x Lite and supersonic out to 1500-ish depending on atmospherics. That rifle probably has 1500+ through it and still doing 3/4 MOA or better on the regular (Tikka does cold hammer forged barrels... makes them tough)

More than plenty good for ringing steel farther than my capability can consistently do.