.308 good enough?

[chubbs88]

fellas help me out, im looking at an LTR with 20" barrel. im curious to see what yall's opinion is on a 20" barrel out to 800ish yards.

[Alpha Sierra]

fellas help me out, im looking at an LTR with 20" barrel. im curious to see what yall's opinion is on a 20" barrel out to 800ish yards.

It'll be just fine.

You, not the rifle, will be the limiting factor for quite some time.

[prdubi]

Lead instructor Jake Carroll has a 20 inch Remi with a Premier Heritage scope and he took his all the way to 1200 yards with no issues.

I prefer the m24 original length barrel and want all the velocity I can get throwing lead down range to 1200 yards.

800 yards is pansy work for a 20 inch...more or less it is the shooter not the gun sometimes.

[orkan]

800 yards is pansy work for a 20 inch...more or less it is the shooter not the gun sometimes.

Maybe where you shoot.

Here where I shoot, there is wind. Lots of it. Frequently. 10mph+ almost every day with 20-30mph happening at least once if not 10 times a month.

Distance is relative. Out here most days a 20" 308 will be solid to about 500-600yds. When its not blowing more than 5-10mph, its good to 800-900yds. When its dead calm... I've put hits on out past 1200yds.

I've been shooting and held between 3.5 and 5.5 mils for wind at 700yds with a 308.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vlONSxbDKQ

I've had guys from down south where it doesn't blow, come up to shoot with me. They get humbled in a damn quick hurry if the wind is +10mph.

Days like that, REALLY show you why cartridges like the 300WM and 338LM exist. It doesn't stop me from owning and loving my 18" 308... however, an 800yd rifle it is not. Not for me in the conditions I shoot in. I can only call wind down to about 2mph and that is only if its under 20mph. To make consistent hits in a 15mph wind on an IPSC plate at 800yds, you need to be able to call wind down to at least 1mph. I've not met many people that can consistently do that, especially up here in the flat featureless terrain I shoot in.

The 20" 308's will hit 600yd targets with AUTHORITY. 800yd targets as well, so long as the wind is within reason. If you are upwards of 1.5 mils for wind, shit gets tricky real fast, and talk is cheap. Most people can't hold a 2MOA target at 800yds with a 26" 308 in a 2mil or more wind.

Shorter barrel, slower bullet, much more wind drift. Simple as that. However, I run suppressed all the time. So before I got my DTA, an 18" 308 was my "go to" rifle. It is AMAZING what a short 308 like that will teach you if you go put a few thousand rounds through it at distance.

So, if you are learning... an 18" or 20" 308win is about the best investment you will ever make. If hitting your target is your only goal, go with something MUCH hotter.

[tuck]

I've had guys from down south where it doesn't blow, come up to shoot with me. They get humbled in a damn quick hurry if the wind is +10mph.

I had an instructor tell me once that the wind separates the men from the boys.

My avatar pic was the first time I got to shoot a serious distance in some serious wind with a .308. To say it was an eye opening experience would be an understatement.

I was shooting at 800 yds in a pretty consistent 20mph right to left crosswind.

[orkan]

I was shooting at 800 yds in a pretty consistent 20mph right to left crosswind.

At that distance, with that wind, using a 308... first round hits are drastically reduced. ... to the point that you would call the 308 a 600yd cartridge... nothing more.

[AmericanGunWorks]

I asked myself this same question, it's too bad I didn't ask it BEFORE I bought a tricked out .308. I now have a built up .300 RUM

[Sgt_Gold]

JAHO from someone who has shot more than a few 600 yard matches in both .223 and .308. Shooting in the wind isn't an issue, it's reading the wind that makes or breaks you. No wind and constant wind are the same thing. I recommend 'The Rifle Shooter' by David Tubb as some good reading. It's geared towards NRA high power, but there isn't a whole lot of difference between hitting the 'X' ring on the 600 yard target and scoring a head shot on an 'E' silhouette at the same distance.