.308 long range capability

[long range erik]

what is the capability of a 308. the US army say's 800m but a lot of people shoot past 1000m easy so what is the range of a .308 win gun)

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

The US ARMY say's 800 meters for the M24 sniper system not for the 308win. The issued scope is the deciding factor in the system it lacks the elevation to take the round much past 1000 in most cases. Alot of advancements have been made however.

The ARMY record for a distance kill with the 308 win in IRAQ stands at 1250.

US MILITARY machine gun ranges typicaly go to 1200 yards.

I have seen the 308 win shot to 1400 yards on steel but I know it will go well well past that.

Its interesting the ARMY rates the M21 at 1000 yards and its barrel is 2" shorter than the M24.

With all that info in my head I would not push the 308 win on dear sized game much past 800 with out my own testing first.

 

[J E Custom]

what is the capability of a 308. the US army say's 800m but a lot of people shoot past 1000m easy so what is the range of a .308 win gun)

Every round has limits and 800 meters is about it for the 308 ,And the military use
(Killing People) it becomes inconsistent even in the hands of an expert marksman.


But for targets it is very capable out to 1200 to 1400 yards and it has been used for 2000 yard
Creedmoor matches all-tho not recomended.

The best way to answer your question is for you to look at the ballistic charts and energy will
tell you how far for hunting (1500 ft/lbs for Elk size game and 1000 ft/lbs for deer size game).

Of course it will kill with less energy but that is recomended for consistant performance.

For Targets you are limited buy ability and equipment.(Site set up,loads, bullets ETC).

J E CUSTOM

 

[LouBoyd]

There are only three things which matter in determining the supersonic range of a bullet. Those are the bullet's ballistic coefficient (BC) , it's muzzle velocity, and the air density. The highest BC .308 caliber bullets I know of are the Lost River Ballistics J40 220 grain VLD solids with a G1 BC of .928. The are very long for 308's and when loaded in a 308 cartridge will be way over SAAMI spec length so they must be fired single shot in most rifles. Few 308 rifles have a twist rate fast enough to stabilize them.

I have some of the LRB 308-220 bullets and could shoot them in my DPMS-LR-308 by loading them single shot . It's an unusual 308 in that It has a 10" twist 24" barrel. Normally even that's not a fast enough twist for the LRB 308-220, but I live and shoot at over a mile elevation. A Quickload simulation says I'd get about 2450 fps and that would give a supersonic range of over a mile with that elevation and bullet. Actually Quickload showed 1900 yards to the speed of sound, but the LRB's would probably go unstable first.

I'm not saying that would be a practical application. But your question was open ended. In fact you didn't mention if the "range" was supersonic or "effective" or maximum. I'd expect that same bullet to travel at least three miles if fired at about a 36 degree angle.

I have a rifle specifically built built to shoot those bullets. . It's a 30" barrel 300 RUM with a 9" twist. It still has to be fired single shot, but it's supersonic range is over two kilometers at a mile elevation.

 

[Oliveralan]

I just ran some numbers as well and my 208 A-max .308win load, running 2646fps at my elevation (just over sea level) is supersonic to 1400.

LouBoyd,
What ever happened to Lost River Ballistics?? I have numerous heard of their awsome bullets with off-the-charts BCs... Just ran the numbers and one of those 220gr .928 BC pills at 3100 from my 300 ackley mag.. WOW! Is it still possible to get them anywhere?

 

[groper]

based on what ive shot at the range and in the field, 800m is about right for an effective range. Beyond this, the 308win can still kill for sure, but the ability to make first shot accurate kills starts to diminish rapidly. Windage adjustments become extreme and the retained energy is low past 800m.

Personally, i would not try to engage an animal past 800m with my 308. I have already tried an 850yd shot on a feral pig but i missed, i still to this day cannot work out what i did wrong with that shot, my best guess is that the velocity of that particular round was below what it should have been perhaps due to a reloading mistake as i spotted the impact on the ground directly in front of him.

My goal for my 308 is make a clean kill @ 800. Beyond this, ill be using my bigger rifles.
Hope that helps?

 

[cva54]

Ok bigger is better I got that. what about the 7mm R.M. Thinking about selling it for a 308

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

7mm REM has a 1000 yard plus killing range on ELK sized game with the right load and shooter.

 

[Oliveralan]

The 7 RM is capable of 1k Elk. However that is The limit of the round, the rest depends on the operator.

If you are new to the sport. Sell the RM and buy a 308 and practice! That's much much more important than what cartridge you're using.

 

[cva54]

any one intersted in it it a 700 stainless steel in a wood floated bedded & painted flat green BLD stock had a trigger job done on it. shoots sub moa.

 

[Oliveralan]

Caliber and price? Long action or short?

 

[cva54]

Thougt about after I singed off short action