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""Best"" "other" caliber for .308 AT rifle?

F

FORESTBARBER

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Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 21, 2010
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Fort Worth, TX
I have an AT in .308 and love it so far. I shoot .308 because of good commercial ammo availability, have several rifles chambered for it, and I reload for it too. Considering another caliber. I do not compete, so far, in any precision rifle matches or hunt. Just shoot steel and paper on my range - out to about 1200yds.

What calibers have best history, do not eat barrels, have brass available, and lot of reloading info available? Will these calibers be inherently more accurate than .308? Why should I even change?

Thanks,

Forest
 
The list of inherently accurate cartridges that dramatically out perform the 308 is far too extensive to list.
Barrel life is the 308s best quality. Any of the 6.5 intermediate rounds should serve you far better at the 1200+/- and then there is the magnum category (any of which) are far better suited to those distances. All of which will cost you in barrel life, NO way around that.
Windage is were the 308 looses it's shine at distance. Lots of reasons to branch out.......but there is no free lunch.
Better than average will cost more than average............6.5 creedmoore, 300win or a big 338 (depending on how much you wanted to move that steel) is how I would go.
 
D.ID said:
The list of inherently accurate cartridges that dramatically out perform the 308 is far too extensive to list.
Barrel life is the 308s best quality. Any of the 6.5 intermediate rounds should serve you far better at the 1200+/- and then there is the magnum category (any of which) are far better suited to those distances. All of which will cost you in barrel life, NO way around that.
Windage is were the 308 looses it's shine at distance. Lots of reasons to branch out.......but there is no free lunch.
Better than average will cost more than average............6.5 creedmoore, 300win or a big 338 (depending on how much you wanted to move that steel) is how I would go.
Click to expand...

AT is a short action
 
I would say 6.5 creedmoor. You still retain fairly decent barrel life with the ability to purchase match ammo off the shelf if needed.
 
6.5 creedmoor gets my vote too. Good cheap factory ammo, good ballistics, pretty good barrel life, if you reload, brass is cheap and if you don't, your spent brass sells quick on here.
 
A 6.5 Creedmoor would definitely be the easiest choice based on the availability/price of match grade factory ammo. It will handily outperform 308, as will all the other short-action 6mm, 6.5 and 7mm cartridges.

Because you mentioned "barrel eating", I'd suggest you stay away from the 6mms.

I'm a big fan of the 7mm-08 and 7mm Creedmoor cartridges. They drop slightly more than the 6.5s but beat them slightly in the wind, hit steel a little harder, and are easier on the barrel. Downside is they recoil a bit more, match grade factory ammo is not available, and there isn't as big a selection of long range target bullets as 6.5.

Bottom line is there's no one special magic cartridge. Once you step "up" from a 308 to any other short action non-magnum 6, 6.5 or 7, you're really splitting hairs. All will work much better than the 308.
 
Thanks. I have an AWSM in 338 and do love the "BONG" when I hit steel at 1000+. Just thinking I want something not as affected by wind as .308 and different than the .338. Sounds like the 6.5 Creedmore or perhaps 260 Rem might be the right choice for me. I do like Lapua brass and that will probably be the determining factor for me.
 
If you are shooting beyond the envelope of the 308, its time to change, if you are not than stick with it. Any other smaller bore caliber will give increased long range performance over the 308, but barrel life is always going to be a factor. To me, 243/6mm is the bullet of choice, and the most I have been able to get out of a 6mm barrel is upwards of 2500 rounds. I also consider a barrel to be a "consumable" item, like bullets, its part of the game when you are looking for maximum performance. With the 6.5s, you will get increase barrel life over the 6s, and still get substantially better performance over the 308.

IMHO, I would stick with the 308 until you get to a point where the round is holding you back. As far as inherent accuracy, the 308 has it, the 308 is a great round to train on as well. Where the smaller faster 6/6.5 bullets really exceed is UKD and wind drift, sounds like most of your shooting is on known distance targets. If you decide you do want to go with another caliber, I would look around for brass availability and bullet selection, finding the loading components will be a big factor in your decision. Back to barrel life, one thing to consider is the cost of loading components, its all about raw materials, a 115gr 6mm bullet will be less expensive than a 175gr 308 bullet, so it slightly offsets the shorter barrel life, another factor to consider.

Kirk Roberts
 
I have had exceptional results both hunting, and on steel out to 1200y with my three 6.5 creedmoors. Amazing little cartridge in my opinion
 
I do reload and went with 260 Rem and Lapua brass with Lapua 139gr. Senar or Berger 140 gr. bullets over 45.7gr. H4831 with amazing results past 1000 yards compared to the 308. Would not use anything else now since that combo filled all my needs. 26" 260 with 1:8 twist. Good Luck. You have a lot more fun in your future!
 
I will be building a 6mm creedmore. If you tone down the speed to say 2950 fps the barrel life great increases to around 2500-3000. Brass is available from Lapua and it will reach out to 1200.
 
Between 6.5CM and .260, I prefer the .260 for *1* reason: the brass can be easily formed from one of the two most commonly found center fire cases in the US. Although the ammo/component shortage (finally!) seems to be easing a bit, during the next one (and you know there WILL be a next one, at some point) I figure that it will be easier to find once fired .308/7.62x51 cases than 6.5CM. IMO 7mm-08 would be another excellent option for the same reason.

That said, I *do* have an appreciation for the shorter/fatter nature of the CM case...
 
Pick or choose your 6.5 of choice, just understand that you are going to make some barrel life sacrifices to gain an advantage over the 308. My AT is running a 24" 260 barrel from AINA and with the 139gr Scenar leaving the muzzle at an avg of 2811 fps it's more than capable of the distances you specify.
 
sib1948 said:
I do reload and went with 260 Rem and Lapua brass with Lapua 139gr. Senar or Berger 140 gr. bullets over 45.7gr. H4831 with amazing results past 1000 yards compared to the 308. Would not use anything else now since that combo filled all my needs. 26" 260 with 1:8 twist. Good Luck. You have a lot more fun in your future!
Click to expand...

Are you using 4831 or 4831SC?

Thanks,

Forest
 
FORESTBARBER said:
Thank you.
Are you using 4831 or 4831SC?

Forest
Click to expand...
H4831 45.7gr was recommended on the front of a 1lb cannister. I decided to give it a try and went out and shot 6 groups from 0.38 to 0.16 MOA at 100 yards. Best shooting I've done since I started shooting 2 years ago and just started reloading in December. You know I'm now sold!
 
ZombieMonkey said:
Pick or choose your 6.5 of choice, just understand that you are going to make some barrel life sacrifices to gain an advantage over the 308. My AT is running a 24" 260 barrel from AINA and with the 139gr Scenar leaving the muzzle at an avg of 2811 fps it's more than capable of the distances you specify.
Click to expand...

Precisely why I advocate 7mm08 and 7mm Creedmoor - in terms of exterior ballistics/trajectory, it's a wash between them and their 6.5mm counterparts, yet they provide a sizeable increase in barrel life.

You pay for that increase with a bit more recoil.
 
Not sure about AT's firing pin hole/firing pin size, but in my ae 6.5 cm anything over2825 will pierce primers. My go to load is 43.0 gr h4350 and 139 scenars@2805 and 42.8 gr h4350 and 142smk@2813. While the 260 can be hotted up in other bolt guns, in the AI AE they both can only be run at about 2800ish. To me that makes the two a wash in velocity. The only 260 i had was finicky in load work ups and staying in tune, and the fact that nosler and lapua 260 brass developed donuts turned me off of 260. The 6.5cm is just more effecient, fits ai mags better with oal to chase rifling, and seems as easy to load for as 6br.
 
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