Advice on caliber selection

[fed13]

Hi everybody, I'm new to the forum and new to the sniper/marksman/long range shooting world. I'm looking for advice on caliber selection for targets at ranges out to 1200+ meters. I'm not talking about just being able to hit paper at distance. I'm in law enforcement and will hopefully be getting on a tactical team as a sniper/observer. I'm looking forward to putting in the time and effort into learning the trade, but don't want to waste a lot of money in buying and shooting something that can't effectively and consistently get the job done. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The calibers I'm considering are:

.308
30-06
7mm mag
300 win mag
also thinking about .260 but not sure.

 

[TEAMSENDIT]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

since you are in le I would definetly say 300wm great round if you need to take that 1200meter shot, plus if they are going to buy ammo for you at least you have chosen a caliber with some descent target factory ammo. don't get me wrong I only handload but I am not in le or militarty.

It is not on your list but if you are a handloader might I suggest a 284 it has the foot pounds of energy you need down range with needing a shit ton of powder to do it. mind you I am bias because I just built one but damn the thing is a laser. I am pushing 162 amax at 3030fps which gives me just over 1000ft/lbs energy at 1000yds all with under 55gr powder.

 

[desertHK]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

Still think 308 is a great caliber to train, get comfortable with long range shooting, especially when you are new to the long range precision shooting. I think there are very instances where in Law Enforcement arena, you have to take a 1200 yards shot to neutralize the BG. Are you going to shoot at 1000-1200 yards more often than say within 800 yards? if so, then yes, the 300WM will give you and edge in terms of oomph, otherwise, a 308 will accomplish most situations. Just saying.

 

[jasonk]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: fed13</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm new to the forum and new to the sniper/marksman/long range shooting world. </div></div>
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: fed13</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm in law enforcement and will hopefully be getting on a tactical team as a sniper/observer. </div></div>
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: fed13</div><div class="ubbcode-body">don't want to waste a lot of money in buying and shooting something that can't effectively and consistently get the job done. </div></div>

all of the above = .308

The average LE sniper engagement is well under 100 yards, lots of factory ammo (and maybe some your dept will give you free), the US standard for LE precision shooting. All that also equals one thing.... 308.

 

[skinnypitt]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

I went through this same train of thought trying to balance range, recoil, barrel life, ballistics, etc. I had almost decided on the 300WM and as a last item on the check list and went out shooting with Chad-TRG42 here on the hide to see how comfortable I felt behind my rifle of choice. I was amazed at how well his muzzle break reduced recoil but in the end was not real fond of the blast. I finally decided on the 260 because the ballistics are closer to the 300WM with recoil less than the .308 so I can shoot a lot without the fatigue. Also the 260 has significantly better barrel life than the 300WM. There is now some good factory loaded match ammo for it, though I would never give up the added accuracy of hand loading.
The Surgeon Scalpal I had built is shooting consistently at 0.3 MOA ( http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showgallery&Number=1776178 )so I guess you could say i am biased.
Besides, I am not sure what your agency rules are but SOP for military is way short of 1000 yds....

Either way, you cant go wrong with a 308
Good Luck!

 

[fed13]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

Thanks for the responses everyone. I know that the "typical" "average" shot for regular LEOs is around 100yrds, however I would say that the situations and terrain I would be in probobly 90% of the time will be more of a military mission than PD requiring me to be able to stop a threat at 1200+. So keeping that in mind...any more advice? I was also wondering about barrel life with these calibers? It's not a "huge" deal when you get down to it, I'm just looking for the info for my own personal knowledge.

 

[260shtr]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

Barrel life is a big deal if you are a operational sniper and your weapon is at the smiths getting the barrel changed. You can't have it tied up for weeks in line at your smiths shop. Have a new barrel on hand and when the time gets close and the smiths lathe is free make arrangements to have it changed ASAP. Better yet (especially with a 300 Mag) have 2 barrels done up when the rifle is built. Then go through barrel break in, zeroing, and verifying drops in your case out to 1200 M. Just a few things to think about that go with a high performance round and your job.

 

[Lindy]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

Not very many law enforcement agencies in my experience allow caliber choice, that being determined by the agency.

Given that, I'd advise you to personally train with a .308, as being cheaper to acquire and shoot. The skills you obtain with a .308 will transfer to shooting long distances if necessary with a more capable caliber.

 

[psinclair]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

^^^+1

 

[Lindy]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

I had similar thoughts. However, there's no potential harm in answering that question, i.e., there's not an operational security issue.

 

[Lindy]

Re: Advice on caliber selection

Do you know the person who asked the original question, so that your post is somehow relevant to his? And where are you located?