Backfire LLC owns and operates this website. I asked around a few years ago and found 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum as the most overbore commercial cartridge. Please look into it. The .224 Valkyrie is the flattest shooting 0.224 caliber cartridge . Youre going to miss with any flat shooting cartridge out there and with a perfectly accurate rifle. Top 6 Long-Range Competition Cartridges - Guns and Ammo In 2015, Mann began contributing to Field & Stream to cover guns, ammunition, ballistics, and hunting. So lets roll with this! It makes for easy reading in an \all in one place\ comparison, rather than spending time trying to find this data all over the internet. Nosler Trophy Grade with a 150-grain Nosler AccuBond Long Range at 3300 fps. What do you guys think the flattest shooting caliber would be for hunting I have heard 6.5x284 but the bullet CE appears better on a 270. Nosler is loading the 27 with their famous AccuBond, which is one of the best big-game bullets ever crafted. I am curious to see how it does for a 22 that can push any bullet weight made for it. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. Thursday nights they do IDPA. Flattest shooting round for an ar15 sized gun? Varmint gun? - AR15.COM And while that pokey 300 grain 338 Lapua round drops quite a bit compared to the others in the list, its carrying a lot of energy: enough to take a deer at 1775 yards. Most often you just have to buy a Weatherby rifle to get one, and while that used to be an expensive proposition, its not anymore. I love that you have gone above and beyond here and I see tremendous value in this knowledge. . The .270 Winchester stays supersonic out to 1,400 yards, which is more than what 99 percent of hunters will ever need. Hey there from Melbourne, Australia. projectiles begins to add up and they shoot flatter at extreme range. But its so close to the 6.5-300 Wby. Loaded with a 130-grain bullet, it will carry more than 1000 foot-pounds of energy out past 600 yards. Top They have 1 particular cartridge thats something of a hot-shot for flat shooting, long distance devastation; the Weatherby .30-378. Developed form the military, Winchester . A rifle is suitable for flat shooting as long as the 500-yard impact range of the rifle falls below the 40''. How about our drops on the cartridges that made it? REX'S INDOOR RANGE - 77 Upward Rd, East Flat Rock, NC - Yelp Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent, .308 Winchester will win no ballistic awards. 1. . Its drop at 1,000 yards is 330.30 and at 500 yards its drop is 50.00. Terry Cross. Just $1 per month , These rounds have the reach and the power to put down big-game animals way out there, By Really enjoy your youtube channel. It just murders your shoulder, ears, and pocketbook at the same time . I'm not a huge fan of basing my decisions on bullet energy. bullet to offset wind deflection. Top 10 Low-Recoil Hunting Cartridges - SkyAboveUs Posted: 12/20/2020 9:01:19 AM EST [#22] There is a simple . That said, average shots on mule deer are often longer than what most hunters typically encounter on eastern whitetail hunts. Flattest shooting to 500 yds. | Long Range Hunting Forum Great information! (-200) throwing a 55-gr. But to do this, it must launch a heavy bullet and that means recoil can be stiff; from an 8-pound rifle, it generates more than 33 foot-pounds of recoil, which is more than twice that of the 6.5 Creedmoor. A popular western big-game cartridge, the 7mm Magnum doubles as an excellent tool for long-range target shooting. If you use a very good long range 6mm bullet like the 115 DTAC with a BC of .585 and a velocity of 2950fps, which is easy to get, it wipes the floor with the .308 with a 175 at 2700fps. Could you add a little explanation of why/how twist/spin rate make any given bullet/velocity shoot flatter? Granted I do live in New England, and we dont have that many long shot opportunities here, but you would think someone would want to have there firearms chambered in such a flat shooting cartridge. 223 Wylde chambered, 20" barreled rifle. bullet. The best varmint rifles are capable of accurate, repeated medium to long range shots from a fixed position, and are usually found in light, fast calibers that have a flat trajectory. It is capable of sending a 55-grain bullet from the muzzle at 3,700 fps. With the ability to handle more aerodynamic bullets than the .270 Winchester or the .270 WSM, the 6.8 Western and its 1-in-8 twist rate allows this cartridge to outperform both at distance. 2. Before we check that out, lets give a nod to the 240 Wby. Some Tips on Choosing the Best Varmint Caliber The wise longer range shooter errs on the side of a higher B.C. Right now, shooters are obsessed with flat-shooting rifle cartridges. Its clear that flat shooting is directly proportional to overbore. I would think this data is slightly skewed unless the bullets are shot out of the same length of barrels and the same practices of reloading. Pronghorn hunters have driven the search for flatter shooting cartridges for a long time. The 300WM with the 210 VLDs at 2950fps is pretty good also. Check out more F&S long-range shooting coverage, including advice for getting started in long-range shooting competitions, the reason why rifle groups keep shrinking, how Heavey did at Gunsite Academy, and what makes long-distance shooting so difficult. Taylor's formula calculates a less-inspiring TKO number of 37. However, the lead that the 25-06 has is pretty small. I understand this is an old thread, but want to reply anyway. I dont get it. . Flattest at 500 yards Weatherbys wildly overbore 6.5-300 wins again! Myth Busting Big Game Calibers - CHUCKHAWKS.COM I wonder if you could possibly make that load available to me, so I can compare which loads are the best? The best long-range cartridges are those that are flat shooting, feature aerodynamic projectiles and have enough power to go the distance. Sign up for Field & Streams newsletter to receive the latest and greatest gear reviews and expert hunting and fishing advice. 1.5" high at 100, would be dead-on at 250, and only drop 30" at 550. Good points, which are all things Ive considered. That's pretty dang flat. Nor are we maintaining that the flattest shooting cartridge/bullet is the ultimate determinant of a good hunting round. The .204 will work quiet well at 500 yards with good shot placement. Great info but my 7mm rem mag with Nosler 120 grain BT (.417bc) @ 3600fps has anything on this chart beat pretty soundly. 11 Best Deer Hunting Calibers - Big Game Hunting Blog YMMV Richard Mann Cheers. In general, lightweight bullets driven very fast shoot flatter than heavier bullets with better aerodynamics (high B.C. For most calibers, such as a 45 getting the impact to be on target at 75 yards, the impact at 50 will be an inch or so high and an inch or so low at 100 and 4 to 6 inches or more low at 200 yards. Fantastic information. +Nick Strother, he TOLD you right up front he was only including cartridges that can be found chambered in most any rifle. A flat shooting cartridge matters. . It seems a bit odd to consider a .22-caliber cartridge of any design suitable for long-range hunting of even smallish big game. So if you take flat shooting to mean aiming right at something far away and hitting it, theres not really enough difference between the main popular cartridges to get out of bed for. At 500 yards . For example, the .50BMG and the 6.5 Creedmoor both launch bullets at approximately the same muzzle velocity of 2,700fps. Just saying, excellent job to tell the nature of all calibers for hunting from 100 to 700 yards for medium game. Great work mate including .22LR what a hoot (Incoming!) If youre after critters deer-size and up, the field is dominated by .30-caliber, 6.5mm, and 7mm cartridges, with the best long-range options remaining supersonic out to at least 1,400 yards. From an external ballistics standpoint, it cannot compete with any of the cartridges on this list, but in the field where it matters, it works wonders, and only the 6.5 Creedmoor has less recoil. For flat shooting over a relatively close range you need a lot of velocity, BC doesn't matter that much over shorter distances. Searching for an Effective Small Caliber Sniper Round But as with the 6.5 PRC, there are not a lot of factory-ammo options to choose from. numbers which are not quite as accurate as G7 numbers in predicting trajectories of todays wildly long, sleek bullets. Whether or not thats true, my own success rate at 1,000 yards informs me to always stalk closer if I can and to forego shots at any distance unless Im supremely confident I can make them. projectile that you might crown that one King, especially since that 100-grain sounds a bit more reasonable for deer-sized game. It would help one decide on if a cartilage was up to a specific task and if one would be willing to take the kick. We are not going to include here the esoteric military sniping rounds engineered for 1,000 yards, 2,000 yards, even 3,000 yards. These are all under my extreme heading, because theyre all brutal on cost and recoil. (Curiosity? .25-06 AI with a Berger 115 VLD that's moving 3,600 fps That should be pretty close to flat. However, the .220 Swift and the .22-250 have been used to take deer out to distances a lot of folks got no business shooting, for a long, long time. Also, same bullet, but a .257 Wby Mag will also work if you hit the same velocities. 270 and 30-06 carry enough power out to 700 yards, 7mm pulls a bit further, and 300 win mag pulls a bit further still. However, I have a question to ask you. With its rebated rim and 1/2-inch diameter at the base, it is essentially a longer version of the 6.5284 Norma; ballistically equivalent to the .264 Winchester Magnum. I am impressed at all the data you went through to come up with the three chosen. Well, nothing will save you if you mistakenly range a deer at 700 yards thats really at 800. I too share your endorsement of Ron, his videos are a treat each week. Great chart and thanks for what must have been an incredible amount of work. Most Accurate Ammo for the 6.5 Creedmoor: My top 7 list during their trips downrange. After Weatherbys 6.5-300 Magnum did not win as many hearts and minds as theyd hoped, Weatherby rethought the 6.5mm cartridge and developed the 6.5 RPM (Rebated Precision Magnum). Still, if youre goal is to push heavy projectiles to the outer reaches, Noslers 28 may be the best 7mm option out there. You can argue that you can get the 243 WSSM shooting flatter, but that cartridge is already considered obsolete. Do we compare the fastest factory loads or top end handloads from select handloading manuals? The advent of precision rifle competitions and the laser rangefinder has increased the publics desire to go long. Beyond 600 or 800 yards, however, the efficiency of the high B.C. For bigger game, I could easily hunt with either the 240 or 6.5-300 Weatherbys. etc. Based on the 7.6239/220 Russian cartridge case, the Valkyrie changes the personality of the AR-15. At 1000 yards a .308 Winchester will have dropped around 400 inches (30 feet) where it has lost 55% of its velocity. Been there done that, so Im not playing holier-than-thou. This is not just a product of the .27 caliber bullet and its ballistic coefficient numbers. Why? A 100 yard miscalculation short or long will vary your hit by a vertical of 2.3-2.9 feet, enough to completely miss or wound the deer. As you can see, one of our gold standard flat-shooting cartridges (.270 Winchester) does not compare favorably with either of the Noslers or the Weatherby Magnum. Of course, the .270 Win was developed in 1925 when 1000 yard shots were effectively unheard of. At 600 yards, most common cartridges are running out of juice to take down larger game like Elk or Moose, though the 300 win mag/300 WSM still have a bit left in the tank. So its not like the flattest shooting rifle gives you a lot more leeway on ranging errors for super long range shots. Although its going to be easier to estimate drop for a 700 yard shot with a 30-378, compared to a 30-06, you still need to range your animal within +/-25 yards using the 30-378 to hit vitals. Thats what makes a long-range hunters heart go pitter patter, and its what has kept Weatherby in business since 1945. While at the High Bar Homestead with PSA, I was able to stretch their 6.5 Grendel out to 1,000 yards with Federal Premium 130 grain Bergers. inspired a lot of comments, dissent, and different candidates for the title, so lets take a more detailed look at the flattest of the flat. A relatively flat-shooting cartridge, hunters with skill regular make shots out to 400 and 500 yards with the cartridge on small gamesome hunters even farther. bullet twice that far. The .308 Winchester round shoots pretty flat out to 200 yards when it starts to drop. . I was surprised at the distance, so I asked my PH Thats just 155 yards? He got a stunned look on his face and said, No, TWO hundred fifty-five yards! Our miscommunication during the shot sequence didnt matter a bit, because I was shooting a .28 Nosler, which put the shot only 2.8 low at that distance. modifies results at some point. Caliber Flattest Shooting Load BC; 7mm R Mag: Hor 139 gr InBd HvMag.480: 270 WSM (1) Fed 130 gr Nosler BT.428: 300 Win Mag: Hor 150 gr InBd . Light bullets driven fast shoot flatter over shorter distances. Thanks for your video and the information on your website. Not only are new loads being offered, new ARs and even bolt action rifles for the Grendel are being introduced. .25-06 AI with a Berger 115 VLD that's moving 3,600 fps. Manners thumbhole stock, trigger tech trigger at around a pound. So, if you want to go long, there are some clear choices here. This cartridge existed in a cloak of obscurity for a long time; only recently have hunters began to see the potential it offers. Besides recoil, the downside is the limited availability of factory ammunition and rifles. Choosing the flattest shooting rifle cartridge in each caliber category seems fair, fun, and revealing, so well do that before identifying the all time top dog. What caliber is the flattest shooting? | The Muzzleloading Forum I was once hunting plains game in Africa when my PH told me, holding a rangefinder, that the wildebeest was 155 yards away. What a gentleman. Flattest Shooting Cartridge Ever! - YouTube and .30 caliber bore . In 2019, Nosler submitted the cartridge to the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Institute (SAAMI) for approval, and in 2020, you can expect to see Nosler and other ammunition manufacturers offering factory loaded ammunition and even rifles for it. The 6.5300 Weatherby magnum, as its name suggests, is based on the 300 Weatherby mag and has a case capacity of 98 grains of water. Best Ive been able to do is run ballistic charts on many combinations, knowing that muzzle velocity is of major importance and bullet B.C. But a reputation for burning out barrels ultimately doomed the cartridge. And it isn't just the 308 that the 25-06 can best at long range, I compared many other leading types of competition or "flat-shooting" rounds, such as .243, .243 WSSM, 6mm Rem, 6.5 Grendel, .270 Win, .260 Rem, 6.5 x 55 Swede. And it gets there with a lot less powder the either of the two Weatherbys. Great information you have come up with. From 600 to 1000 yards they use a 300 Winchester. What do you guys think . Nope, pretty much matches a 308Win to 500 yards. But the 7mm Remington Magnum will remain supersonic out to 1,400 yards or a bit more, making a good choice for cross-canyon hunting. All are welcome. At 500 yards, 5.56 will have roughly 339 ft-lbs of energy which drops to roughly 75 ft-lbs at 1,000 yards. Obviously Weatherby and Nosler, but are there other manufacturers, vendors, builders to consider? With those thoughts in mind, it is easy to see why the 26 Nosler, 28 Nosler and the 6.5300 Weatherby Magnums are the best flat-shooting cartridges offered to rifle shooters today. Ron Spomer Outdoors 1.1M views 6 months ago Head-To-Head: 6.5. I still shoot a .270 caliber cartridge and the same 150gr bullet, but with a 3gr powder charge boost. Yeah, 6.5s are all the rage, and their blinding popularity has taken some shine off the old .270, but the latter is still one of the very best long-range hunting cartridges. Obviously this list doesnt include every possible bullet/BC/MV combination, but it gives us a pretty good picture of the likely winners at three distances. It nearly matches the ballistics of the Winchester Magnum, but does so in rifles with faster-twist barrels and modern powders that extend barrel life. Preferred Caliber For 500 To 1,000 Yards And Beyond: 6.5 Creedmoor Preferred Rifle And Optic: A Rainier Arms precision rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and enhanced by H&H Precision with an Orias chassis from Killer Innovations. Recoil is negligible, making it a great option for hunter with sensitive shoulders. Again great job !!!!! Thanks, 26 Nosler 127 gr LRX 3602 Ft./Sec. That kind of long-range accuracy comes at a hefty price with this model starting at $11,700 from the manufacturer. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. rating, that 100-grain bullet is hanging in there. The article has really peaked my interest. I have neither the scientific knowledge nor mathematical skills to figure out the perfect blend of factors that produces the flattest trajectory winner. Despite its relatively low B.C. Considered by many to be the optimum long-range, large-game cartridge, the .300 Winchester Magnum has proven itself worldwide. Bullet B.C. It propels a 17 Grain bullet at 2,550 feet per second. The RPM does not have a belt or the customary Weatherby radiused shoulder, and it was designed to go with an ultra-light hunting rifle. My grandkids have a poem for this photo: Cartridge cartridge on the table, choose the flattest if youre able. Weatherbys Don't want it too heavy. Take a look at the MPBR column and note how close they all are. The 26 and 28 Nosler as well as the 6.5300 Weatherby Magnum all utilize heavy for caliber bullets with high ballistic coefficients that are stabilized by barrels with fast twist rates. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. (Essentially, you don't have to arc the 300 Win Mag's bullet trajectory in order to strike a target up . So since it doesnt work AT ALL for serious shooters, it doesnt get much air time, and then the average hunter who only shoots 2-3 boxes per YEAR never hears about it. I am looking for a really flat shooting cartridge up to 500 yards for a Remington rebarrel project I have. I see there are some others like 300Win mag as well and thats a very popular cartage so it should be there as well I would think. . again. Equally, cutting through the air slows the projectile down, eating away at its energy. Shooters have no real idea how much drop a bullet has at long ranges like 1500 yards. I already have a Swarovski Z6 3-18 bt. JavaScript is disabled. The best long-range cartridge in the world might be the .408 Chey-Tac. Dear Adriel, please be so kind to provide statistics on the following calibers as well: [wd_leadmagnet type="dressing"] Another one or two probably should have made the original list. Now if you pulled all of your data from Nosler and they shot their bullets out of the same length of barrel then I would trust the ballistics youre speaking of. However, it proved to be mostly a flash in the pan. I ran the numbers with the 180 grain Ballistic tip at 3420 fps. Heres a chart from my Popular Hunting Cartridges Compared article. For some reason it pushed Noslers 125-gr. 7 Best Deer Caliber Under 300 Yards - eatingthewild.com With their Vanguard line you can do it for less than $900. . They are normalized within caliber. and MV do. Twenty years ago, Winchester introduced the .270 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum). Mag. 3. I stopped there because few hunters are going to tolerate the recoil or rifle weight needed to operate a flat shooter above 338-caliber. My third point is to remind you that this is not a scientific, Newtonian examination of all possible permutations of cartridges, bullets, muzzle velocities, and Ballistic Coefficients that determine bullet drop over all distances.