A big surprise from my 300's

[Hotolds442]

Spent some time this weekend punching holes in paper, getting several rifles dialed in. After I was done with the paper punching, I decided to take the 300's out to the canyon and see what they could do. One edge of the canyon has a spur road, with a dirt bank along its edge, and the other end has a road along the edge that allows shooting from 350 out to 750 yards. I shot most of what I had loaded up while shooting paper, but I had 2 rounds of 300 WSM, and 3 rounds of 300 Win Mag left over. I set up 2 steel targets, one 6" and one 8 1/2", and set up at 400 yards just because it was convenient. Had I known what was going to happen, I'd have gone longer. Neither of these rifles have shot long range, 200 is probably the most before today. They'll be reaching out further after this.
First up: Savage 116FLSAK in 300 Win Mag, 180 Nosler Accubond, 73.0gr IMR-4831@3000fps, iStrelok said 18 clicks, 17 probably would have been better. The first shot knocked the 8 1/2" plate off its post, so I had a different angle for the last 2 shots. Notice only one round completely penetrated the 3/8" stainless plate.

Next up, Savage 11 Trophy Hunter XP, in 300 WSM. 190 Berger VLD, 68.0gr IMR-7828@2900fps. iStrelok said 21 clicks for this one, and it was spot on. I wish I had saved a couple more rounds to shoot here, this rifle surprised me for being just a basic hunting rifle.

And the canyon:
Shooting from about the middle of the picture. Wind was not a factor.

[LongRange]

good shooting....now you need to stretch them out a little....see the ridge to the right in the back ground

[Hotolds442]

Yup. Silver Star Mtn. Very aware of it. 2 county roads between here and there, so shooting there is out of the question. There are better spots than that very nearby that should range out to somewhere in the vicinity of 1500 - 3000 yards with lots of backstops at different ranges.

[LongRange]

id start about 8-900yds and work back from there...your 300s will have no problem pushing the bullet farther but as you probably know thats about when you find out the capabilities of you and your equipment.

[yobuck]

Were permitted to shoot across traveled roads so long as were shooting above the line of traffic.
If you were traveling along interstate 80 and knew where to be looking, you would see groups of
long range hunters set up looking for deer across the highway. When we shoot from our yard, were shooting
across 2 paved roads. Now that said, you arent permitted to be walking along any road and shoot across it.
You must shoot from the side your shooting toward. We frankly hardly ever practice shoot further than the distances we
hunt.

[fgw_in_fla]

I really didn't need to see that.

I just finished a 300WM and set up a 500yd area out at our swamp. I even bought a bunch of those AR500 - 10" steel plates.
I was hoping they'd not get perforated too early on.

[Hotolds442]

Frank, you should be fine with the AR500. I was shooting 3/8" stainless and it was welded to a 1 1/2 x 1/4" post and solidly driven into the bank at 18" deep. The energy from the 300's bent the post, and spun them around wildly if hit off center. The 6" plate stayed in the ground, only because I had complete pass-through. The 8 1/2" plate was hit off center with the first shot and came out of the bank completely. My second and third shot were from an odd angle. Attach yours to a chain or something so that the energy moves the plates and you should have no problem with pass-through. Stainless is relatively soft, but I really didn't expect to shoot clean through it at 400 yards. Fortunately I have lots of steel to choose from at work, so a little penetration doesn't crash the party.

[fgw_in_fla]

Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Those miserable AR500 plates can get expensive. I believe I have the 3/8" thick plates.

I'll be sure to put up a pic or 2 if they get made into swiss cheese.



Edit: by the way, I originally got them so I could set up a pistol area but they make such a cool sound when hit by 200gr. of 30 caliber goodness at 3000fps.

[yobuck]

Everything has a price attached to it. That includes the WOW factor when shooting big cartridges at close targets.
Big hammers are nice to have for those times we need a big hammer. Or maybe think we need one lol.
But theres really nothing much to be gained by practicing with them under 1000 yds except the costly part of it all.
Sit behind and watch as a guy shoots a 308 and a 300 mag at 5 or 6 hundred yards and you wont see very much difference.
But the guy shooting will know the difference and obviously the steel targets will also.

[fgw_in_fla]

I agree, buck.
Unfortunately 500yds is about as far as I can go out on the property. Beyond that I'm in the real heavily wooded area complete with 2-4 feet of water.

We have gone to the other side of the creek and shot but it's difficult to find a clear line thru the trees.
Maybe one day I'll fire up the John Deere and run a swatch thru it.
Until then I'll have to suffer with what I have.
Life is cruel sometimes...

[BarrelNuts]

Everything has a price attached to it. That includes the WOW factor when shooting big cartridges at close targets.
Big hammers are nice to have for those times we need a big hammer. Or maybe think we need one lol.
But theres really nothing much to be gained by practicing with them under 1000 yds except the costly part of it all.
Sit behind and watch as a guy shoots a 308 and a 300 mag at 5 or 6 hundred yards and you wont see very much difference.
But the guy shooting will know the difference and obviously the steel targets will also.

This is the reason I've "downsized" a lot over the years. In my 20's I had to have the big boomer... had a .270 WSM, .30-06, 7mm Weatherby Magnum... right now my centerfire arsenal consists of a .270, .260, and a .25-06, and the .270 is hanging around for sentimental reasons. My longest shooting to date outside of svc rifle competition is 500 yards because that is all the room I have on the property. For hunting purposes I am not comfortable taking any shot longer than 300... lots of variables go into shooting from a modified rest 20 feet up a tree stand that don't come into play from a bench or bipod in the prone. For me the juice isn't worth the squeeze... or the recoil. The .25-06 has been my go-to deer rifle of late and 115 gr. ballistic tips drop them where they stand assuming I do my job. No sense wasting meat just to say I killed it deader with a larger bore. That being said... there is a new range about a two hour drive from here that goes to 1k; next build is going to be purely for long range target so the big boomers are in contention; but I will most likely go with a 6.5-06 or similar.

[yobuck]

This is the reason I've "downsized" a lot over the years. In my 20's I had to have the big boomer... had a .270 WSM, .30-06, 7mm Weatherby Magnum... right now my centerfire arsenal consists of a .270, .260, and a .25-06, and the .270 is hanging around for sentimental reasons. My longest shooting to date outside of svc rifle competition is 500 yards because that is all the room I have on the property. For hunting purposes I am not comfortable taking any shot longer than 300... lots of variables go into shooting from a modified rest 20 feet up a tree stand that don't come into play from a bench or bipod in the prone. For me the juice isn't worth the squeeze... or the recoil. The .25-06 has been my go-to deer rifle of late and 115 gr. ballistic tips drop them where they stand assuming I do my job. No sense wasting meat just to say I killed it deader with a larger bore. That being said... there is a new range about a two hour drive from here that goes to 1k; next build is going to be purely for long range target so the big boomers are in contention; but I will most likely go with a 6.5-06 or similar.

The original 1000 yd benchrest club known as Williamsport was actually formed as a result of a bunch of groundhog hunters arguing over cartridges.
Thats an absolute fact and not just something ive simply said. So cartridges like the 25/06 were pretty common there back then.
Actually since the availibilty of good factory and especially good (custom) bullets smaller cartridges are again very popular for 1000 yd competition.
I heard from a friend in PA just yesterday that a guy we both know who has only been shooting 1000 yds about 4 years shot a 10 shot perfect 100 score
with i think about a 5 inch group. His cartridge is a 6mm Dasher, and he built the gun himself the night before while waiting for a pizza delivery lol.
I just had to throw that last part in but the rest can be found on the Williamsport website im sure. So hold off on the big boomer till you visit the range and put your toe in the water.

[yorketransport]

That's a good looking spot! We shoot just north of Hwy 12 outside of Cinebar. Give it a couple trips out and you're going to be wishing that the Leica could range just a little farther. We my have to meet up one of these days and I'll show you our 2300 yard range.

Andrew

[yobuck]

Well in fairness to the Leica rangefinders and others for that matter, we need remember their designed for hunting primarily.
Shooting at 2000 yd targets falls way beyond the realm of practical long range hunting.
Thats not saying its not possible, just that its highly unlikly to hit and kill anything at those type distances.
But Andrew, if you wanna have a rangefinder shootout count me in and lets not stop at a mere 2300. lol

[Hotolds442]

That's a good looking spot! We shoot just north of Hwy 12 outside of Cinebar. Give it a couple trips out and you're going to be wishing that the Leica could range just a little farther. We my have to meet up one of these days and I'll show you our 2300 yard range.

Andrew

I'm not running a Leica. Made the mistake of going with the Bushnell 1 mile ARC. But it'll still range accurately out to 1000 on most targets. I've got more work to do to get out to 2300......Most of my shooting is north of Hwy 14(wait, isn't everything?)

[yorketransport]

I'm not running a Leica. Made the mistake of going with the Bushnell 1 mile ARC. But it'll still range accurately out to 1000 on most targets. I've got more work to do to get out to 2300......Most of my shooting is north of Hwy 14(wait, isn't everything?)

I've seen the ARC do pretty well under the right conditions. I ran an old Bushnell Yardage Pro up until about a year ago. On a good day we could range an 800 yard target. I sucked it up and bought a Terrapin and now I'm just trying to build a gun that can keep up with the range finder. The range finder is what raised the bar for us in long range shooting. It quickly went from "bet you can't range that" to "bet you can't hit that".

You'd be surprised how quickly you can move out once you get some good data out to 400 yards. We went from 450 yards to 960 in two trips out with surprisingly good results.

Andrew

[Hotolds442]

Three of my long range guns are dialed at 400, and iStrelok is spot on so far for each of them. Next time out, I'll go to 750 and 1000 and see what happens. I'm still trying to find a good load for the 4th that combines speed and accuracy. So far I can get one or the other but not both.

[fgw_in_fla]

Well, it looks like you're not alone my barrel nut brother. I took my 300 out to the swamp today just to try out a few rounds of 180gr Nosler BT. I was at about 250, 260 yds back from the AR500, 10in. x 3/8" plate and torched off a half dozen rounds.
The first 3 left a nice dimple. You can see what the rest of them did.

[Hotolds442]

What was the difference between the 3 that dimpled and the 3 that penetrated?

[fgw_in_fla]

I haven't figured that out yet.

The only thing I can come up with is I de-coppered & swabbed the inside of the barrel with a light coat of CLP the day before. After the first 3 I thought "this'll work out fine"...

I had a cardboard target hanging above the steel plate and on the 6th shot I saw a splattering of shrapnel run up the cardboard. That's when I looked a little closer thru the scope & noticed daylight coming thru 3 holes.

Guess that just don't make 'em like that used to.

Or I need to back off on the powder...

[LoganbillJ]

No offense but you got took on your AR500. We have a range and build all our own steel targets for it. A 300wm wont touch true 3/8" AR500 at 100 yds much less 250yds. Looks more like AR400 to me.

[fgw_in_fla]

Thanks for your 2 cents worth.
I also noticed one of the plates had a sticker that clearly states not to use with ammo exceeding 3000fps.

Another quality product from Sportsman's Guide...

No worries.
They work great for our pistol area. I'll just go back to shooting filled water jugs. Easier to see a hit and they look cool when they explode.





PS - I'm highly offended.
Ok. Now I'm better....

[Hotolds442]

So China is making AR-500 now? Awesome!

[big honkin jeep]

Your experience with the accuracy and power of good old fashioned hunting Savages mimics my own. Find a good hand load and you're good to go.
I see posts all over the internet by a lot of guys who spend too much time sweating the barrel length on rifles such as the 116 Bear Hunter in 300WM convinced they need a 26" tube or a heavy barrel or a dozen other things because of what they have read. They are scared to buy one because it doesn't have some magic combination they read about online. Maybe if they'd spend a little more time shooting and a little less time on charts, graphs and internet lore they would find out just what a quality modern hunting rifle is capable of. Though I enjoy tinkering my Savages as much as the next guy I haven't found one yet that wont respond to the right hand load.
My go to favorite is an old flatback 116FLCSAK in .30-06 just as it came from the factory (trigger adjustment only) that always turns heads with tiny groups and the ability to produce a .30 hole exactly where the crosshairs were when the trigger was pulled. Followed closely in favor by an astoundingly accurate 22" sporter 110 in 25-06 with a rattlecan camo stock.
Good luck with your long range hunting rifle endeavors. :)

[fgw_in_fla]

So China is making AR-500 now? Awesome!

Ya know, I bought 6 of them.

Maybe I was supposed to clamp them together?

6 will get you 3?