It combined flat-shooting ballistics with hard-hitting bullets in a package with lighter recoil than the .300 Weatherby Magnum, which debuted in 1944. With the popularity of this cartridge due to America's favorite rifle, the AR15, more and more people are stretching the . He has managed multiple gun ranges, and has hunted around the world. But it's still a better distance choice than the .270 Winchester past 400 yards (a great caliber as well). With a growing choice of ammo from 90-130 grain projectiles and the benefit of a great ballistic coefficient with the 6.5mm bullet, 500+ yard shooting can be almost boring. Shot from SAAMI-mandated 1-8 twist barrels, the 6.5s long, slender bullets seem to almost defy wind and gravity and allow this cartridge to deliver clean kills at distance. Even at 500 yards the Hornady 225 SST is traveling over 2,000 fps and carrying over 2,000 ft/lbs of energy. Prairie dogs?). Any cartridge that drops less than 40 inches at 500 yards or close to 200 inches at 1000 yards should be considered a flat shooting cartridge. Thanks Jim! Please look into it. I already have a Swarovski Z6 3-18 bt. If there was ever a cult cartridge, the .280 Ackley Improved is it. 6.5mm calibers Thats true, but the bullets have been vetted. If youre after critters deer-size and up, the field is dominated by .30-caliber, 6.5mm, and 7mm cartridges, with the best long-range options remaining supersonic out to at least 1,400 yards. . Shooting a 180-grain bullet (.507 G1 BC) at 2,960 fps and sighted in 1.5 inches high at 100 yards, the .300 Win. I believe the 6.8 SPC is that alternative. Great information! is the fastest at 3,500 FPS, and exits a rifle with a muzzle energy of 2,700 FPE. These rifles can hardly be considered to be flat shooting. Swifts 150-grain Scirocco at 3,036 fps delivers outstanding terminal performance. (Essentially, you don't have to arc the 300 Win Mag's bullet trajectory in order to strike a target up . A relatively flat-shooting cartridge, hunters with skill regular make shots out to 400 and 500 yards with the cartridge on small gamesome hunters even farther. Should you have other helpful info, please send it to me by email: [emailprotected]. With the 6.5 PRC, Hornady has created a better version of the old barrel-burner. Thanks again. Be aware that many of these bullets could have been target bullets. That's impressive but misleading. And is it fair to include Risky Ralphs overstuffed, compressed-powder loads that exceed the highest handloading guides top loads by 400 fps and leave primers looking as if theyd been squashed on a train track? Most center-fire rifles that are legal for deer hunting can take a deer at 300 yards. The rifle snobs might whine. Flattest Shooting Cartridges by Caliber Ron Spomer Outdoors 1.1M views 1 year ago Worst and Best Way to Sight a Rifle! Choosing the flattest shooting rifle cartridge in each caliber category seems fair, fun, and revealing, so well do that before identifying the all time top dog. Kind of underwhelming, right? I was once hunting plains game in Africa when my PH told me, holding a rangefinder, that the wildebeest was 155 yards away. Precision, varmint, big-game, and dirt cheap NATO surplus ammo for plenty of cheap shooting. The Government .45-70 can give you the perfect hunting experience as it is one of the top calibers used by hunters. Fast and flat shooting b#%ds. It outperforms the .280 Remington (also known as the 7mm-06 and the 7mm Express), and for years wildcatters and handloaders have been singing its praises. Modern high-ballistic-coefficient bullets is where the .375 H&H really steps out of its traditional box. Feb 17, 2023. It really is the best all-around hunting rifle caliber. It's still possible to get factory ammo for the cartridge, but current production .223 WSSM ammo normally uses heavier 50 or 55 grain bullets at . Drop is constant at the gravitational pull of 32 feet per second accelerating at 32 fps. Do we compare the fastest factory loads or top end handloads from select handloading manuals? How about our drops on the cartridges that made it? The Nosler AccuBond is one of the best all-round big-game bullets offered, and Weatherby has smarly offered the 140-grain version for their 6.5 RPM cartridge. For example, the .50BMG and the 6.5 Creedmoor both launch bullets at approximately the same muzzle velocity of 2,700fps. Up until that time, there had only really been two .277-caliber hunting cartridgesthe .270 Winchester and the .270 Weatherbyso the .270 WSM was almost immediately popular. Commissions are earned for links to Brownell's, Amazon, MidwayUSA, GoHunt, OpticsPlanet, Sportsman's Warehouse, and other retailers. etc. 2. http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource/ballistics-calculator, 338 Lapua with a 300 grain projectile (you can run 250s in the Lapua as well, but most run a 300). Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. So lets roll with this! Since nearly all long-distance shooters today use a laser rangefinder, does it even matter which cartridges shoot the flattest? modifies results at some point. By the time the 6.5 Creedmoor started gaining popularity, interest in the .270 WSM was fading. Well, theres really only one option in .22-caliber and thats the .224 Valkyrie. I have not identified bullet make and type because that doesnt change impact drop. Richard Mann wins again with just 218.5 inches of drop, the 27 Nosler moves into second place with its 150-grain bullet falling only 225.8 inches. It seems a bit odd to consider a .22-caliber cartridge of any design suitable for long-range hunting of even smallish big game. Required fields are marked *. Yeah, 6.5s are all the rage, and their blinding popularity has taken some shine off the old .270, but the latter is still one of the very best long-range hunting cartridges. For example, A 7 SAUM, 280 AI and 7 Rem Mag. I just want to quickly thank you for the great videos and for producing this table of bullet drop data. However, the .220 Swift and the .22-250 have been used to take deer out to distances a lot of folks got no business shooting, for a long, long time. The final two cartridges above are mislabeled. Run those numbers on JBM. Find out which ones made the cut. It's muzzle v. Deciding on the three best flat-shooting cartridges does not come down simply to one statistic, but a combination of all the factors inherent to a cartridge. Wondering if anyone can find anything flatter within that range, suitable to kill a whitetail deer with? When the .264 Winchester Magnum was introduced about 60 years ago, it became a sensation with shooters looking to extend their reach in the field. The muzzle velocity is a plus in windy conditions, with the bullet arriving on target with minimal drift. It takes a lot of practice to learn the aim point to bring the rifle on target. Recoil is stiff and some find it hard to master. While heavier bullets at low speed dont shoot as flat, they do carry energy further generally. So its not like the flattest shooting rifle gives you a lot more leeway on ranging errors for super long range shots. He is a well-known entrepreneur, having started many successful online brands, and lives in St George, Utah. View Quote. inherent in 6.5mm (.264) caliber bullets. Ive posted your article on my wildlife and hunting group on FB. With a recent elevated popularity, due in no small part to the rise of the six-fives, the Grendel is now getting the attention it deserves. However, the lead that the 25-06 has is pretty small. From an external ballistics standpoint, it cannot compete with any of the cartridges on this list, but in the field where it matters, it works wonders, and only the 6.5 Creedmoor has less recoil. I also appreciate the realistic exposition of the relevant comparison between effects of flat-shooting cartridge vs judging cross-wind! Great chart and thanks for what must have been an incredible amount of work. ), Hornadys Precision Hunter 178-grain ELD-X at 2,600 fps is probably the best long-range option, but look also at the new 168-grain Berger Hybrid Hunter load from Federal, RELATED: 6.5 Creedmoor vs. .308 Winchester. And they can change in your rifle and will change at different velocities. Ive included different bullet weights/BCs for most rounds to illustrate how BC changes drop at longer ranges. Im not sure Im reading this right but there seems to be a decimal missing. 6.5-300 WBY (-204) No, this is merely a fun exercise in ferreting out the cartridge/bullet combination that shoots the flattest at reasonable hunting distance with a bit of extreme range (1,000 yards) thrown in for spice. Whether or not thats true, my own success rate at 1,000 yards informs me to always stalk closer if I can and to forego shots at any distance unless Im supremely confident I can make them. The rifle would be used for game to 600 yards (self imposed limit) up to the occasional Elk. The biggest deficit is the roughly 57 feet of drop at 1,000 yards. the max load is the distance load. Death in the Long Grass: A Big Game Hunter's Adventures in the African Bush .by Peter H. Capstick, Dino Paravano, Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders (Volume 1) Paperback, The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game: Volume 1: Big Game, Horn of the Hunter: The Story of an African Safari Kindle Edition, Use Enough Gun: On Hunting Big Game Hardcover, Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail: Upland Birds and Small Game from Field to Feast Hardcover March 1, 2018, The Easy Venison Cookbook: 60 Simple Recipes for Deer, Elk, and Moose Kindle Edition. Hunters can take advantage of flat shooting rounds to extend maximum point blank range, the distance over which a center-of-target aim results in the bullet remaining within the kill zone, never climbing above it at mid-range and remaining in it until maximum point blank range is reached. All three cartridges also offer ample case capacity, allowing enough powder to send bullets at drag-defying velocities. Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent, .308 Winchester will win no ballistic awards. For example, the 7mm Weatherby Magnum will shoot the same bullet as a 7mm Remington Magnum, but it will do it about 10 percent faster. I wonder if you could possibly make that load available to me, so I can compare which loads are the best? A big 7mm like the 7rum can put a 140 with nearly a .500 bc downrange at over 3500 fps or a 120 with about a .400 bc in the 3600+ fps range. I appreciate the kind comment. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. At A Glance: Our Top 5 Picks For Long Range Calibers in 2022 Best for Beginners: 5.56mm/.223 Remington Minimal Recoil: 224 Valkyrie Best for Long Range: 243 Winchester Best for Seasoned Shooters: 6mm Creedmoor Best Value: 6.5mm Grendel Another one or two probably should have made the original list. The reason why 6.5mm cartridges are exploding in popularity is because they are ultra-efficient. The quicker it gets to 200 yards the less time gravity has been working on it and the less it will drop. Answer (1 of 5): Trajectory flatness is a function of muzzle velocity. Could you add a little explanation of why/how twist/spin rate make any given bullet/velocity shoot flatter? Not to mention the different variations in grains in each individual caliber,Ogive and BC. In general, lightweight bullets driven very fast shoot flatter than heavier bullets with better aerodynamics (high B.C. = 3002 inches = 250 foot = 76m above target at 1000 yds now thats a challenge ! The 300 Win Mag is definitely on the list. Nevertheless, flat shooting cartridges have long fascinated hunters and driven cartridge development and sales. How can I get all the data in a spread sheet form like you showed in your video? 30-378 weatherby (214). . I know its a great round, but its by a long shot the best selling rifle chambering of the last several years. It is flat shooting, powerful, has a manageable amount of recoil, and there are dozens of great hunting rifles chambered in this outstanding cartridge. What are the best long-range cartridges: .22-250 Remington .308 Winchester .300 Winchester Magnum .338 Lapua Magnum .300 Weatherby Magnum 6.5 Creedmoor 6.5-284 Norma 26 Nosler The new Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent load with a muzzle velocity of 2825 fps shoots flat and the bullet is tough enough to handle up close impacts while still delivering good. For a moose and caribou combo hunt, it's certainly an easy choice..270 Winchester - Like the 30-06, this is a classic caliber that can take on any of North America's big game species. Second, we are not encouraging extreme-range shooting at game. 6.5 CM The 6.5 CM is a newcomer to the shooting world. MY 45 cal ball travels at 1633fps with a standard charge, and 74-5gr for a full charge (2040fps). They have 1 particular cartridge thats something of a hot-shot for flat shooting, long distance devastation; the Weatherby .30-378. The Liberty Ammunition .308 Win. You can't go wrong with a .308 for a 500 yard rifle. Its like a shorter, beltless version of the .300 Winchester Magnum. Dear Adriel, please be so kind to provide statistics on the following calibers as well: http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource/ballistics-calculator. I had to calculate this one out, as Weatherbys ballistics charts dont go past 500 yards. It is about the easiest caliber to hit with at that range you can imagine. Your Knowledge is greatly appreciated! You are cordially invited to any of our matches. If going after larger game is the preference and the hunter is looking for real stopping power within 300-yards, then the .308 would be the go-to caliber. +Nick Strother, he TOLD you right up front he was only including cartridges that can be found chambered in most any rifle. The 27 Nosler bests the .270 Winchester by about 400 fps with 150-grain bullets. The .277 is an oddball bullet diameter, in that it doesnt fall into the much more common 6.5mm, 7mm, or .30-caliber categories. Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia and has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. The good news is that these bullets might shoot even a tad flatter than these numbers indicate. But truth be told, every Weatherby cartridge is a long-range cartridge. It was also a resounding success and has remained popular with hunters looking to stretch their effective range. In any caliber the cartridge that attains the highest muzzle velocity wins the flat shooter award, so theres no sense arguing that the 6.5 Grendel might shoot as flat as the 27 Nosler. Also know that not all manufacturer-claimed B.C. If you are looking for the flattest shooting caliber to 500 yards, you should read anything else. This cartridge is the .270 GIBBS and is based on the 30.06 case with the shoulder moved forward and at a 35 degree angle. Thanks Jim. But again, that just my opinion. numbers are accurate. Not only are new loads being offered, new ARs and even bolt action rifles for the Grendel are being introduced. That said, average shots on mule deer are often longer than what most hunters typically encounter on eastern whitetail hunts. My take away on all this number crunching? The 26 Nosler cartridge was designed with the high ballistic coefficient (B.C.) The story of an old humpback Browning that's Sign up for the Field & Stream newsletter and get the latest intelligence straight to your inbox. It's a shame the .25-06 is in decline at the moment. Hornady's ELD line of bullets is considered the most precisely made, and the flattest shooting for any specific caliber. The round is on the cusp of energy at 300 yards, but it is a favorite among short to mid-distance deer hunters. Yeah, yeah, I know theyre cartridges and not calibers, but lots of people call them calibers so I thought Id roll with it. I truly don't believe a senseable person would use ANY .22 caliber rifle for deer hunting. bullet to offset wind deflection. He just never made it official. Of course, the .270 Win was developed in 1925 when 1000 yard shots were effectively unheard of. and .30 caliber bore . After Weatherbys 6.5-300 Magnum did not win as many hearts and minds as theyd hoped, Weatherby rethought the 6.5mm cartridge and developed the 6.5 RPM (Rebated Precision Magnum). I know it is very uncommonly talked about. Good video! unfair comparison, Hornady makes a 139 grain BTSP for the 7mm mag very flat shooter, Great info, thanks for your difficult work. Bullet B.C. Top muzzle velocities with the same combination of powder, primer, and bullet can vary by 100 to 200 fps. Nice summary of the subject for those of us who do not understand things like Coreolis Force and aerodynamic jump. A benefit of that, you can fing .308 ammo off-the-shelf for any practical application. Now, the .280 AI is finally a SAAMI-approved cartridge, and while ammunition options are sparse, its performance is right there with the 7mm Remington Magnum. What a gentleman. What caliber rifle shoots the flattest? I\m also a huge fan of Ron Spomer so well done for the recognition of his great work too. Impeccable analysis here. Just curious if you included the 300 Norma or maybe I missed it. A bullet starts to drop as soon as it leaves the barrel. A 100 yard miscalculation short or long will vary your hit by a vertical of 2.3-2.9 feet, enough to completely miss or wound the deer. Great job. via the Davenport formula. The wildly overbore 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum wins or places near the top of the flat-shooter podium at most ranges to at least 1,000 yards. Like the 26 Nosler, the 28 is based on the 404 Jeffery case and will remain supersonic out past 1,750 yards. What do you guys think the flattest shooting caliber would be for hunting I have heard 6.5x284 but the bullet CE appears better on a 270. Copyright Ron Spomer Outdoors document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Lots of hunters consider the .270 Winchester one of the best all-purpose, short- and long-range cartridges of all time. bullet. Nosler is loading the 27 with their famous AccuBond, which is one of the best big-game bullets ever crafted. A flat shooting cartridge matters. The new Federal Premium, 130-grain Terminal Ascent load with a muzzle velocity of 2825 fps shoots flat and the bullet is tough enough to handle up close impacts while still delivering good expansion at distance. Our blog and video on the Flattest Shooting Cartridge Ever! rating, that 100-grain bullet is hanging in there. When a bullet is fired, many forces are immediately working against it: gravity, wind, and atmospheric drag. The flattest shooting caliber and load I could find was the .300 RUM shooting a 150 grain bullet. The drops are listed in feet for the really long range shots, so theyre pretty close to your numbers. The 257 Weatherby Mag. Pretty impressive for a low B.C., 55-grain bullet. Don't want it too heavy. The vast offerings of ammo and rifles on the market today is why the 338 Winchester Magnum is probably one of the best elk cartridges a hunter can carry. JavaScript is disabled. Developed form the military, Winchester . This is more a theory question than anything. . 243 and 25-06 had to be left out because it didnt have enough at 600 for even deer. Those, then, are my conclusions. For most calibers, such as a 45 getting the impact to be on target at 75 yards, the impact at 50 will be an inch or so high and an inch or so low at 100 and 4 to 6 inches or more low at 200 yards. What do you guys think . When considering cartridges for their ability to shoot flat, overcoming drag is critical. At a 100 yard zero sight in the 500 yard drop is 37. On the other hand, wind speed and direction are inconsistent. Ditto the 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5-300 Wby. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. The issue with the Nosler cartridges is barrel life. Though that shot didn't take advantage of the 7mm Mag's flat trajectory, it convinced me of the cartridge's superior qualities. Now, you might think this cartridge is new and unproven. In 2015, Mann began contributing to Field & Stream to cover guns, ammunition, ballistics, and hunting. Something like a 7mm Ultramag shooting a 120 TTSX would be pretty flat shooting to 500. I still shoot a .270 caliber cartridge and the same 150gr bullet, but with a 3gr powder charge boost. Thursday nights they do IDPA. The .22-250 is accurate, fast and delivers devastating performance at long ranges. Flattest at 500 yards Weatherbys wildly overbore 6.5-300 wins again! I have neither the scientific knowledge nor mathematical skills to figure out the perfect blend of factors that produces the flattest trajectory winner. Barrel length will change MV. Just curious have you ever looked at the 284 Winchester for flat shooting. But there is a big contender missing I think. Always amazing to me its not even on those lists. By the way, while the 6.5-300 has been on the market just five years, Roy was shooting it in the mid-20th century. Most often you just have to buy a Weatherby rifle to get one, and while that used to be an expensive proposition, its not anymore. A long-time favorite of snipers, the .308 Winchester will remain supersonic out to around 1,200 yards. Flat shooting, minimal recoil and low noise, the .17 HMR is one of the top performing cartridges for shooting ground squirrels out to 200 yards easily. It is capable of sending a 55-grain bullet from the muzzle at 3,700 fps. It just murders your shoulder, ears, and pocketbook at the same time . With its rebated rim and 1/2-inch diameter at the base, it is essentially a longer version of the 6.5284 Norma; ballistically equivalent to the .264 Winchester Magnum. I\d be curious to know what the minimum cost is for just the rifle or a quality budget build. The rifle has five caliber offerings . Cheers. Introduced by Remington in 1962 along with their Model 700 bolt-action rifle, Remingtons Seven-Mag was the beginning of the end of Winchesters .264. So, if you want to go long, there are some clear choices here. Before we check that out, lets give a nod to the 240 Wby. Montana! Danny. What a great tool that you have built. Mag. due to its larger diameter which increases drag. Recoil statistics are offered for reference. Below is a chart indicating the three best flat-shooting cartridges and their muzzle velocity, drop, energy levels, and felt recoil. Muzzle velocity certainly makes a difference in how fast the bullet reaches the target, but it is by no means the only factor to consider. Thoughts on this? Lets start by acknowledging we can minimize our search by ignoring all cartridges within each caliber that dont produce maximum velocity in that caliber. The .204 will work quiet well at 500 yards with good shot placement. So what if we shoot further than 300? Your email address will not be published. Target Rifle- Caliber Question. The 6 mm ARC flattens the curve, and as a 2020 introduction, it could be nicknamed the "Corona Cartridge." . The non-bonded bullet should deliver good terminal performance up close and at distance. With the ability to handle more aerodynamic bullets than the .270 Winchester or the .270 WSM, the 6.8 Western and its 1-in-8 twist rate allows this cartridge to outperform both at distance. Even the heaviest Weatherby factory load (120-grain Partition) leaves the muzzle at 3,305 feet per second and retains 1,221 foot-pounds of energy at 500 yards. But what are the flattest shooting rifle cartridges? I see there are some others like 300Win mag as well and thats a very popular cartage so it should be there as well I would think. Based on the antique .404 Jeffery cartridge case, the 27 Nosler is the first new .277-caliber rifle cartridge since the .270 Winchester Short Magnum, which was introduced almost 20 years ago. It was introduced in 1962 and essentially knocked the .264 Winchester Magnum several notches down on the popularity list after hunters and shooters put the 7mm Mag to the test. A good hunting cartridge has to fit in a rifle thats comfortable to carry all day and wont kick you so hard that you cant shoot it well. Only a handful of .277-caliber cartridges are made today, but the .270 Winchester is still by far the most popular, given all the guns and loads out there for it. Obviously this list doesnt include every possible bullet/BC/MV combination, but it gives us a pretty good picture of the likely winners at three distances. Jim Harmer is a host of the Backfire Youtube channel. Hey there from Melbourne, Australia. Here we go! Awesome indoor range. UPS has officially stopped shipping guns? That, combined with their relatively small size, means that compared to cartridges of similar powder capacity, the 6.5s will almost always do more, in terms of external and terminal ballistics, with less recoil. 17. I love that you have gone above and beyond here and I see tremendous value in this knowledge. All same bullets for each of the numbers that are then averaged. And for all of you whove just learned your flat shooting champion really isnt, sorry. One argument for a flat-shooting cartridge is that it covers mistakes. If youre planning on buying a gun to shoot long range shots this is recommended reading. Twenty years ago, Winchester introduced the .270 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum). Below is the information Ive gleaned from 17-caliber through 338. Nosler Trophy Grade Long Range, 175-grain AccuBond Long Range at 3,125 fps. Nosler Trophy Grade with a 130-grain Nosler AccuBond at 2900 fps. 1.5" high at 100, would be dead-on at 250, and only drop 30" at 550. .25-06 AI with a Berger 115 VLD that's moving 3,600 fps That should be pretty close to flat. Take another look. Nonetheless, 7mm bullets can be extremely aerodynamic and, as legendary elephant hunter Karamojo Bell proved, effective on even the largest animals. 26 Nosler. Now, one manufacturer specializes in fast, powerful, ridiculous cartridges, and thats Weatherby. I was surprised at the distance, so I asked my PH Thats just 155 yards? He got a stunned look on his face and said, No, TWO hundred fifty-five yards! Our miscommunication during the shot sequence didnt matter a bit, because I was shooting a .28 Nosler, which put the shot only 2.8 low at that distance. And yes, the .223/5.56 even dominates that match. It started with the .30/30 and continued with the .30/06 and .308 and right up to todays .300 Blackout. Thanks for the chart for bullet drop but for Big Game Hunting I would rather see the down range energy. At 1000 yards a .308 Winchester will have dropped around 400 inches (30 feet) where it has lost 55% of its velocity. . Bullet selection means alot. The advent of precision rifle competitions and the laser rangefinder has increased the publics desire to go long. We like the 257 STW we're loading 115 gr bullets around 3600fps with 1/2" groups.We can run it hotter and a Berger vld would be pretty flat. However, at 400 yards it increases to 11.2 inches. As much talk as there is about the .270 Winchesters ability to shoot flatly, it does not compare with these three flat-shooting options. Also, youll find more ammo options for the .308 Winchester than any of the others. Once again great effort appreciated. These cartridges all drop less than 255 at 1,000 yards. When it came out in 1925, 300 yards was considered about the max distance for shots on game, and the .270 Winchester was quickly recognized as one of, if not the, best commercial option for that. always means more wind deflection. While at the High Bar Homestead with PSA, I was able to stretch their 6.5 Grendel out to 1,000 yards with Federal Premium 130 grain Bergers. RELATED: 6.5 Creedmoor: The New King of Cartridges? Check out their concise ballistics charts. With the highest BC bullets, the 26 Nosler remains supersonic beyond 1,750 yards. The .25-06 is the flattest shooting, hardest hitting, lowest recoiling cartridge available. Enforcermj, Im not sure if your comment is sarcastic or not. Indeed, some deer also live in places where a 50-yard shot is much more likely than a 500-yard shot.