Ballistics

[USAPatriot]

In case some of you are rifle reloaders but don't have access to ballistics software, ask me and I'll help you cook your loads up.
My database contains information for most cartridge cases, nearly all commercially available slugs in all calibers and weights, will suggest powders based on charge weight as well as kick out all the downrange specs, including a click chart for your scope tied to the output of the computations. -Rod-

[exitwound]

I have ChairGun, a Windows app that is top shelf for calculating non-powder-burner projectiles ("airgun" pellets and bullets), but I don't have any good powder burner calculators.

If we actually get the house we looked at today with 70 acres of prime rural Maine property attached (multi-year rental, not to own -- although we will have the option of buying some of the property at a later date)....I'll definitely invest in a good all-around rifle (maybe something between .240 and .270?) and get a whole hand-loading setup for the basement.

So you may be called upon soon enough :-)

Basically, I'm looking for something where I'm not going to have to be calculating huge amounts of bullet drop for shots in the 200-300 yard range and which won't have so much recoil that the wife will flinch if she tried to fire it.....figured something in the mid .2XX range would probably go for that but I haven't decided which factory load to base my rig around -- maybe .245 Weatherby? Dunno :-)

The science of ballistics is damn cool, and although it ain't always pretty or pleasant, terminal ballistics is even cooler :-)

[USAPatriot]

Forget the Weatherby's. Any of them. While they are passable shooters they fall short of being exceptional and are costly to boot. Nor will you be finding much brass for them if you want to do any reloading.

A short list of good calibers for that range, and light in the recoil department, would be:

.223
.243
6mm Rem
6br
.308

I'd counsel against the 6mm Rem. It's a great round but pretty much duplicated by the .243's ballistics and the 6mm is not exactly common these days. The .308 might be on the heavy side recoil wise though it's misleading since the noise rocks ya more than the gun.

I wouldn't goof with the .270. Even more recoil than the .308 (it's a necked down .30-06) but doesn't have the ballistics. While it's great on Coyotes, deer, antelope, chucks, etc., it's not something you'd ever want to take target shooting. Shooting 1" or 3" groups at 100 yards just sucks.

A Remington 700 VS short action, or one of the Savage heavy barrels is your best bet, even a Winchester Mod 70.

Of the 5 calibers in the short list, I'd probably pick from .223, .243 or 6br. All 3 just happen to have reloading brass made by Lapua (on top of Remington and other companies) and Lapua is the absolute best there is. It's Finnish made, a bit pricey, but the cost is not far from Remington's much inferior brass. In heavy barrel mode the .223 (in a Rem 700 VS) can reasonably be expected to give you 1/2" 5 shot groups at 100 yards with a sturdy rest. Mine shoots 1/4" when I do my part, all the way out to 300 yards and with proper reloads. It's good out to 600 yards with experience. A good .243 will do 1/2" as well, factory gun, mind you, generally good out to 600 yards but some are using it in 1000 yard shoots, while a built 6br should do 1/4" at 100/200/300 and absolutely will be a bell ringer at 1000.

There's also the wildcats, custom rounds on custom guns. You don't want to go there even though there's some top notch guns floating around. -Rod-

[exitwound]

I'd be fine with .308 or larger any day of the week, but I want to avoid spooking the neighbors (who aren't close but aren't far enough away that rifle fire would be unheard) with excessive noise or getting something that wouldn't be comfortably usable for the lady of the house.

I also don't want something that's going to break out of the property even if there's a tree or two in its way.....the last thing I need after we finally find a nice private place is to be blowing holes in other people's property and drawing negative attention to ourselves.

Whenever I can, I really enjoy firing custom airguns; I have a special passion for spring piston rifles but they top out around 35FPE for a .25 "magnum".....so I might get one of the new Daystate Ranger pre-charged pneumatic rifles (up to 120FPE muzzle energy in .25, with field-variable power settings and a barrel that has an integrated sound suppressor at its muzzle). But those things cost even more than a good powder burner, so I'll probably get the powder burner first.

.223 just seems too lightweight for me, but then like I said I'm used to big calibers and my experience is pretty heavily weighted in the sub-sonic. It's a lot easier, quieter, cheaper and more practical to put 5,000 rounds through a spring piston rifle than a powder burner.....

I'd forgotten that .270 is a necked-down cartridge. I was thinking of the proportionally cartridged round in that caliber range -- maybe it was .275 I was thinking of?

In any case, I was thinking of something with a 'better' ballistic coefficent and a little more mass for expansion at the target than .223 (I've fired quite a few .223 rifles and for hunting, it seems like there's a little too much icepicking but that could just be the tightly jacketed rounds I've mostly used in .223). But really, the changes I want are mostly subtle so .243 sounds like it's probably for me.

I've been told this before (that .243 is probably what I want) in chats with other shooters but wanted to get your take on it too.

[USAPatriot]

Actually, at any range under 600, I'd use my .223 on anything under Coyote sized game, with one exception...handloaded .243's using 55 grain bullets. One thing you can't do with a .223 is get 4000fps out of it, but it's pretty easy to do with a .243 though ya have to work up to it with a chronograph and watch for pressure signs. Still, at 3600fps a smokin .224 (.223's actual diameter) at 60 grains in weight packs a lot of wallop and for the most part any caliber above 24 is going to be going at somewhere between 2700 and 3000fps. That 20% velocity advantage makes a huge difference in downrange energy versus the costs to shoot and wear and tear on the shooter. My own .243 will handle pills from those 55 grainers up to 105's and 107's. When they get past 90 grains and at the velocities I push them at, they pack a substantial punch, both forward and backwards :) -Rod-

[USAPatriot]

EW, here's a pic of my Rem 700VS .223. It's got a Jewel trigger set at 4oz pull, a fast lock firing pin (Reduces the travel time from trigger release to primer impact) and a Weaver T36 benchrest scope. That's 36x and I've literally popped flies that have landed on my targets...just for the fun of it :) -Rod-

http://www.vengers.com/223.htm