Starting from Scratch, .308 or 6.5 CM?

[w3453l]

Recoil has nothing to do with barrel life.

3k is about right. Depends on the loads you shoot and your shooting schedule as well. I figure about 2k before I prepare to get the ball rolling on a new .260 barrel for my AI.


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Sorry for the confusion. What I meant when I mentioned the lower recoil was that with a less recoiling round, I would be more likely to put more rounds through the gun in at one time. Whereas with something that's kicking you in the shoulder will keep you from shooting "too much at once". In which case, I'd be wearing the barrel out faster.

Although, I guess there's two kinds of pain when shooting. Getting your shoulder beat, and then getting your wallet beat.

No necessary directed at you, but just using your quote to make an observation.
3000 rounds/ 20 per box at $32 is $4800.00 of ammo.

My point if you can afford Around $5000 of disposable income for factory ammo for ONE firearm to "shoot out a barrel" you can probably afford a new barrel of your choosing or even a completely new gun by that time

Yes, this is true, but most of it is just the hassle of having to get the gun rebarreled. I guess I can wait until winter season to have the gun sent out, when I do less shooting. I just dread the hassle of shipping a rifle out. I know it's more of a "first world problem", but still.

[tylerw02]

Sorry for the confusion. What I meant when I mentioned the lower recoil was that with a less recoiling round, I would be more likely to put more rounds through the gun in at one time. Whereas with something that's kicking you in the shoulder will keep you from shooting "too much at once". In which case, I'd be wearing the barrel out faster.

Although, I guess there's two kinds of pain when shooting. Getting your shoulder beat, and then getting your wallet beat.



Yes, this is true, but most of it is just the hassle of having to get the gun rebarreled. I guess I can wait until winter season to have the gun sent out, when I do less shooting. I just dread the hassle of shipping a rifle out. I know it's more of a "first world problem", but still.

It's a good excuse to have two rifles


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[Travelingchild]

This is my set up,
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...-to-long-range

Was buying ammo before I made the decision to purchase the rifle, then the scope, then the scope base.
I actually purchased the rifle last

Trying to decide if reloading is worth it for me.

[Kenneth]

Precision rifle isn't about shooting loads of ammo.

I shoot about 20-50 rounds a week through mine and I feel like that's a lot.

Honestly shooting precision rifle gets boring pretty fast unless you have extended ranges to shoot at. I'm limited to 350 yards at my local range and that's usually all I shoot at. A few at 100 for tiny groups and the rest banging steel. I can only shoot steel so many times in a row before it gets old.

I load my own ammo so it's usually a constant version of testing. I shoot a few rounds then stop and tinker with something else. Then back in the bolt gun for a few more rounds. It's not uncommon for me to spend 5+ hours at the range and only shoot 50 rounds through my bolt gun.

To me long range precision is accurate SLOW fire. You will spend more time cleaning and learning about the gun then you will shooting it.

My advice if you want to shoot a lot is to take a long range precision class and get it out of your system.

Once you become a reloader you can shoot the round and reload it over and over. I have 150 pieces of Hornady brass that I am using until I open the 500 pieces of lapua I have. I'm on the 4 th firing of the Hornady.


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[caporider]

Precision rifle isn't about shooting loads of ammo.

I shoot about 20-50 rounds a week through mine and I feel like that's a lot.

Honestly shooting precision rifle gets boring pretty fast unless you have extended ranges to shoot at. I'm limited to 350 yards at my local range and that's usually all I shoot at. A few at 100 for tiny groups and the rest banging steel. I can only shoot steel so many times in a row before it gets old.

I load my own ammo so it's usually a constant version of testing. I shoot a few rounds then stop and tinker with something else. Then back in the bolt gun for a few more rounds. It's not uncommon for me to spend 5+ hours at the range and only shoot 50 rounds through my bolt gun.

To me long range precision is accurate SLOW fire. You will spend more time cleaning and learning about the gun then you will shooting it.

My advice if you want to shoot a lot is to take a long range precision class and get it out of your system.

Once you become a reloader you can shoot the round and reload it over and over. I have 150 pieces of Hornady brass that I am using until I open the 500 pieces of lapua I have. I'm on the 4 th firing of the Hornady.


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Your kind of precision shooting is definitely one kind of precision shooting...

But ask the guys and gals that shoot PRS or other LR competitions -- they'll talk to you about positional shooting, breath control after running, timers, target transitions, movers, barriers, low contrast targets, and a bunch of other "field" condition variables that require precision AND a host of other rifle handling/shooting skills.

At the very least, you could do dot drills, which IMHO are more challenging than shooting plain ol' groups.

[Colnago]

One more vote for 6.5 -- I find mine to be a real pleasure to shoot and most seem to be accurate with factory ammo. Save your factory brass and when you decide to start reloading, you can drive down your ammo costs and dial in some loads for your specific rifle.

[Kenneth]

Your kind of precision shooting is definitely one kind of precision shooting...

But ask the guys and gals that shoot PRS or other LR competitions -- they'll talk to you about positional shooting, breath control after running, timers, target transitions, movers, barriers, low contrast targets, and a bunch of other "field" condition variables that require precision AND a host of other rifle handling/shooting skills.

At the very least, you could do dot drills, which IMHO are more challenging than shooting plain ol' groups.

I should have maybe worded that a little bit different.

That's just what I find I do with my gun now. IF I had PSR around me I would definitely be trying to get into it. I swear everyone says Texas is full of shooting comps but NOT anywhere close to me. It's aggravating.

I do run around in the range every once in a while and shoot from the kneeling off a rear and other awkward positions just to mess around. It at 350 yards it's not that hard to make hits lol. I probably just look like a goober but it's fun to me.

The rifle class I took was 400 rounds in 3 days so I got a lot of shooting out of the way quickly and that taught me a lot of things about shooting at long range.

Once you get into a good shooting rifle and start making clover leafs groups or smaller you will always try and only get better. Shooting just for groups isn't all that fun. I like to do so just to see what I am capable of but banging steel is far more fun and you don't have to have the most accurate ammo. You can get away with sloppy reloads for shooting steel haha.


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[w3453l]

It's a good excuse to have two rifles


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Haha, I can't argue that.

This is my set up,
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...-to-long-range

Was buying ammo before I made the decision to purchase the rifle, then the scope, then the scope base.
I actually purchased the rifle last

Trying to decide if reloading is worth it for me.

Thanks, I remember reading your thread before starting this one. Did you buy the 20" or 24" barrel version? And how do you like the 3-18x magnification?

I've been doing more reading on optics, and I have definitely increased my budget for the optic.

Precision rifle isn't about shooting loads of ammo.

I shoot about 20-50 rounds a week through mine and I feel like that's a lot.

Honestly shooting precision rifle gets boring pretty fast unless you have extended ranges to shoot at. I'm limited to 350 yards at my local range and that's usually all I shoot at. A few at 100 for tiny groups and the rest banging steel. I can only shoot steel so many times in a row before it gets old.

I load my own ammo so it's usually a constant version of testing. I shoot a few rounds then stop and tinker with something else. Then back in the bolt gun for a few more rounds. It's not uncommon for me to spend 5+ hours at the range and only shoot 50 rounds through my bolt gun.

To me long range precision is accurate SLOW fire. You will spend more time cleaning and learning about the gun then you will shooting it.

My advice if you want to shoot a lot is to take a long range precision class and get it out of your system.

Once you become a reloader you can shoot the round and reload it over and over. I have 150 pieces of Hornady brass that I am using until I open the 500 pieces of lapua I have. I'm on the 4 th firing of the Hornady.


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I agree completely on the lower round count with precision shooting vs shooting the AR's (non-precision), and handguns. That's part of why I want to get into shooting longer distance. I read a lot about it, and I like the idea of fine tuning your own loads, reading wind, &c. It's definitely a whole new skill set that I want to learn.

Your kind of precision shooting is definitely one kind of precision shooting...

But ask the guys and gals that shoot PRS or other LR competitions -- they'll talk to you about positional shooting, breath control after running, timers, target transitions, movers, barriers, low contrast targets, and a bunch of other "field" condition variables that require precision AND a host of other rifle handling/shooting skills.

At the very least, you could do dot drills, which IMHO are more challenging than shooting plain ol' groups.

I am looking into taking some precision rifle classes, and actually found one somewhat close to me. It's not outrageously priced, and from research, it looks like it is quality.

Thanks everyone for your input, I appreciate it very much!

I know this is not the optic subforum, but I'll ask anyway, what would be a decent magnification range for optics on a 6.5 or 308 bolt gun? Let's say that shooting would be to 1000 yds max.

I read some articles on optic selection, and they suggested X-10x would be enough. Reading around here though, I see people going with optics ranging from 18x to 25x.

I'm going to look through some locally, but wanted to see if I can get a specific range to look at.

Thanks again.

[Travelingchild]

Thanks, I remember reading your thread before starting this one. Did you buy the 20" or 24" barrel version? And how do you like the 3-18x magnification?
...
I've been doing more reading on optics, and I have definitely increased my budget for the optic.
...
Thanks again.

20 inch barrel Mainly because I'll be hanging a 7.62 Rugged Razor suppressor off the end.
For the Distances I am starting at , can ring steel out to 600 at our range & my limited capability its fine.
How ever some did hang a 12 x 12 plate at around 1200yards, I think it lasered at 1128 yards using a vertronix terrapin. forgot the incline angle, Buddy of mine can ring it consistently using his custom Masterpiece Arms 6.5. ( But he competes and PRS is his passion)

For those distances the 3x18-50 Vortex Razor is fine. Regardless of Manufacture If your budget allows I'd go higher Should you really stretch it out.

[OrbitalE]

You will never wish for less magnification, only more. Though, at the high end mirage starts becoming a problem. I've been happy with my 4.5-27x Razor.