Long range rifle build.

[jthod]

I'm working this out in my head to build a long range rifle, 300-1000 yards. This will be a antelope/deer/varmint gun. I'm failry set on using a Howa Action, as I LOVE the one I have. I have a new 700 VTR, and I perfer the howa action over it.

Stock wise I will likly get a Boyds rough stock, and finish and bed it myself.

Barrel will be a varmit heavy/bull barrel, probably a Pac-Nor or Ershaw.

Trigger will be stock for the time being, but eventually will get a Timney

I'm still debating caliber. I want to got either a 6mm/.243, or a 7mm. I found a perfect candidate tonight at scheels, a used Howa 1500 7mm Rem, stainless, boyds thumbole sporter. pretty good deal at $500, great condition.

I was just kind of looking for opinions on caliber, is 7mm WAY too much for varmints? I shoot prairie dogs quite a bit, and I have a Howa 1500 super varmint in .223 for the shorter range shots. I want a little more than a standard .243 or 6mm rem. Like I said, it will also be a deer/antelope gun.

Thanks!

 

[Camshaft]

7mm rem is a great choice, just choose your bullets wisely. A 6.5/284 would also fill the bill quite well.

 

[eyeballjr]

7mm rem is a great choice, just choose your bullets wisely. A 6.5/284 would also fill the bill quite well.

+1 on the 6.5, great all round caliber

 

[roninflag]

the 6.5-284 and a krieger, do you have a gunsmith? my 7mm mag witha vais kicks less than my 6.5 -284 it is still a little bit much.

 

[jthod]

I guess recoil isn't really a huge factor for me, it will be a fairly heavy gun when done, and the varmint rounds will probably be pretty light.

by the looks of the ballistic charts, the 7mm seems to be one of the flattest shooting factory rounds available.

What are my advantaged of a .284 over a 7mm?

 

[Camshaft]

.284-7mm same bullet. Different designation.

 

[strombeckj]

+1 on the Krieger barrel, although most are good. I would look at one of the big 6's shooting a berger 88gr varmint/match for yotes & PD's and the 115gr VLD's for the others. Then I would move up to a 25-06 AI. A 6.5mm and a 7mm really aren't a "varmint round" although a new rifle in a new cal. Is always a good choice in my book.

 

[jthod]

.284-7mm same bullet. Different designation.

I guess i was talking 7mm rem mag vs. .284 rem

 

[jthod]

+1 on the Krieger barrel, although most are good. I would look at one of the big 6's shooting a berger 88gr varmint/match for yotes & PD's and the 115gr VLD's for the others. Then I would move up to a 25-06 AI. A 6.5mm and a 7mm really aren't a "varmint round" although a new rifle in a new cal. Is always a good choice in my book.

I had also thought of going with a 6mm of some sort, ppc or remington BR. But 7mm is going to have more knockdown power, especially at longer ranges.

 

[strombeckj]

The 7mm has more knock down power for sure. But how much do you really need. look at the info below. may shock you a little bit. (both rounds are putting out over 1000 ft lbs of energy @ 800 yards) the 6mm will have a little more drop at 800 yards but with the higher BC it will deflect the wind better, IMHO I have a easier time correcting for drop then I do drift. Now I would not take a shot on any deer sized game past 300 yards with either if a good broad side shot was not present. However the 7mm with even heavier bullets will close the error factor with poor shot placement. the only reason I bring this up is because you mentioned VARMINTS in your game for hunting. I believe a 7mm is to much for PD's and yotes but perfect for deer sized game. Again this is just my 2 cents worth.... in any case it sounds like your on your way to creating a shooter!

Sorry this has carried over the way it did.

115gr VLD @ 3300 fps...example 6-06 AI
[FONT=&quot] 115 gr., .546 B.C.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Range (yards)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Muzzle[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]100[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]200[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]300[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]400[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]500[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]600[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]700[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]800[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]900[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1000[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Velocity (fps)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3300[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3113[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2934[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2763[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2598[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2438[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2285[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2136[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1994[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1857[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1727[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Energy (ft.-lb.)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2781[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2475[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2199[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1949[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1723[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1518[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1333[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1165[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1015[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]881[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]761[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Trajectory (200 yd. zero)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]-1.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-5.1[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-14.7[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-29.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-49.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-77.2[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-112.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-155.7[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-209.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Wind Drift (inches)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]0.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]4.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]8.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]13.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]19.3[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]27.2[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]36.8[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]48.2[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]61.7[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Come Up in MOA[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]-1.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-1.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.6[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]5.6[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]7.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]10.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]13.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]16.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]20.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Wind Drift (moa)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]0.00[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.42[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.89[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.39[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.92[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2.48[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3.07[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3.71[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]4.39[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]5.12[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]5.9[/FONT]​

140gr VLD @ 3400 fps...example 7mm RUM

[FONT=&quot] 140 gr., .510 B.C.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]www.hornady.com[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Range (yards)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Muzzle[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]100[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]200[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]300[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]400[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]500[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]600[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]700[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]800[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]900[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1000[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Velocity (fps)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3400[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3196[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3001[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2815[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2636[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2464[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2299[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2140[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1987[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1841[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1703[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Energy (ft.-lb.)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3593[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3175[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2799[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2462[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2160[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1887[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1643[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1423[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1227[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1054[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]901[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Trajectory (200 yd. zero)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]-1.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-4.8[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-14.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-28.1[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-47.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-74.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-108.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-151.3[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-204.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Wind Drift (inches)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]0.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]4.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]8.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]13.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]20.1[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]28.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]38.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]50.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]64.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Come Up in MOA[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]-1.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]-0.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.0[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3.3[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]5.4[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]7.6[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]10.2[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]12.9[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]16.1[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]19.5[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Wind Drift (moa)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]0.00[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.43[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]0.92[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.45[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]1.99[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]2.58[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3.20[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]3.87[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]4.59[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]5.36[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]6.19


[/FONT]​

 

[jthod]

Thanks for the info, I found the Hornaday Ballistic chart a while back pretty helpful. varmint wise, this will be secondary to my .223, probably just for the LONG shots.

 

[roninflag]

I guess i was talking 7mm rem mag vs. .284 rem

there is a 284 win and a 280 rem . f for what you are talking about a 6.5-284 would be great.

 

[bigduck73]

maybe look at the 280 ackley improved, I have no personal experience, but from what I have seen it performs nearly as well as the 7mm rem mag.
Another to look at is the 6mm ackley, I just got mine put together, havn't shot it much, but am excited to see how it works with 75 grain pills

 

[jthod]

another concern I have is of barrel life, and from reading, the 6.5-284 typically lasts 1000-1200.

7mm also has a better selection of bullets, brass, and such.