Long range rifles

Discussion in 'Knives, Gear, Guns And Other Tools' started by ManOfSteel, Feb 15, 2018.

  1. ManOfSteel

    ManOfSteel Member

    Messages:
    4,391
    Likes Received:
    9,950
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    NJ
    You guys know how I get every time I find a new toy or hobby.

    I need this to be a place of discussion, pics, tips, tricks, questions from noobs like myself, and DEFINITELY pics of game you’ve taken with them.

    I’ll start..


    I just ordered a brand new Tikka T3X CTR in .308 with a stainless barrel and receiver. I will be mounting my Leupold VX-R 4-12x50 with 30mm tube on it as soon as it arrives. Now I need to pick out scope rings, order my Blackhawk rifle sling adaptor, and get an Atlas bipod. I already have a stock bag/ammo carrier that I’ll be putting on it.

    I have a couple questions for you long range studs. I had a Browning X-Bolt .300WM but the .300WM was just way overkill for what I do. I didn’t have any accuracy issues but I’m not a pro shooter. Is the whole barrel break-in thing a myth? What is your procedure with a new high power rifle? I need this thing to be perfect and last a long time.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2018
    Ballenxj, The Marsh Gorilla and Zeek like this.
  2. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

    Messages:
    21,001
    Likes Received:
    15,831
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    United States
    Some say yes, some say no, id say do a break in just in case. There are a few of them on Snipershide.com i suspect. You may look into bryan litz on accurateshooter.com
     
    Zeek and ManOfSteel like this.
  3. ny700

    ny700 Member

    Messages:
    305
    Likes Received:
    807
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    DFW
    Absolute myth in modern era high quality rifles

    Simple fact is you are far more likely to damage or introduce ware through cleaning then you are shooting.

    Swab the barrel to remove any packing debris or oils that are in there. Put a very light coat of oil downt the bore and swab it again and your done go shoot.

    The barrels being produced are very good most are already lapped to some degree and you are gaining nothing through shoot clean shoot clean that you aren’t going to get just by shooting

    A lot of the “internet wisdom” dates back way long ago or comes from benchrest shooters. Benchrest is a very specific sport with very specific needs that does not translate to most other shooting disciplines.

    To be honest I have stopped cleaning my barrels. Ok not entirely. But like most guys who learned from relatives who hunt they shoot a couple times a year so they clean they go to the range when they are done they clean again and so on. Now I clean when the barrel tells me it needs it. With my tikka sporter 6.5x55 it’s about every 450 rounds. I know this because I keep a shooting log and I can see when it starts to open up a bit.

    I know plenty of guys with $4k accuracy internationals who clean even less and with a low pressure round like the 308 you will probably be able to go even longer.

    Now ifninknownim not going to touch the rifle for 6+ months then yea I’ll clean it before input it away and I’ll put a heavier coat of oil in the bore and swabbit out before my next range trip.

    Here is an article from Gail McMillan on barrel break in http://www.6mmbr.com/GailMcMbreakin.html

    MOS if you think you are going to get into long range shooting it can be an addiction. Biggest piece is keeping accurate notes and starting a shooting log. There are a lot of cool apps out to take a lot of thebguess work out ifnit but at the end of the day knowing what your Bullet will do at a specific distance, altitude, temperature and wind call all comes down tonshooting it and logging it
     
  4. Blake G

    Blake G Member

    Messages:
    43
    Likes Received:
    64
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Northern Ontario
    I've done barrel break in, and I've owned rifles that the barrel did not go through any break-in process, and I'm going to speculate that the difference between the two is probably about the same as the difference between two identical barrels from the same manufacturer.

    My last .308 PR barrel went about 4K before I really started to notice a difference, and it was broken in. The one before that went about the same, and it wasn't. I'd speculate (again) that staying on a cleaning schedule every 30-50 rounds does as much for accuracy as anything.

    I'm sure someone has an answer that's a bit more "science-y"...
     
  5. Zeek

    Zeek Member

    Messages:
    5,550
    Likes Received:
    11,338
    Location:
    bangladesh
    Yeah I agree with what these guys are saying.

    One of my favorite YouTube channels is TiborasaurusRex. Check out his Sniper 101 series. The videos may be a little long but very informative.
     
    ManOfSteel likes this.
  6. ny700

    ny700 Member

    Messages:
    305
    Likes Received:
    807
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    DFW
    Depending on what someone intends to do with the rifle, ie stylenif shooting, is it a hunting rifle that gets shot 10 times a year or a weekend shooter that get 50-75 rounds a month or a competition rifle that sees a couple thousand rounds a year really impacts this along with the caliber and barrel life.

    A 308 barrel is going to last 10k rounds if it’s a good barrel. A 243 is going to last 3k or 4K
    Your 300wm maybe 2K. I had a 6.5x284 on a premium barrel and and 400 rounds the throat was near shot out and we expected it to run about 1200 rounds.

    Now what % of your barrel do you want to spend on a break in refining that has not real backing of doing anything?

    To me the proof is simple. All these years and there isn’t even a slight consensus on doing one or not never mind if so how to lead me to believe that there is any need what so ever.

    The one thing all the top shooters and barrel smiths agree on, cleaning a barrel improperly can and likely will damage the barrel and most likely the crown. So if you do, do it right. Get a good bore guide a quality coated cleaning rod and properly sized jags and pat aches and go slow.

    But for real, just go shoot!
     
    Delkancott and ManOfSteel like this.
  7. KMCMICHAEL

    KMCMICHAEL Member

    Messages:
    800
    Likes Received:
    1,547
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Irving, Tx
    I still do it somewhat but is probably probably some what of a dogma in my mind. Today heavy rifles will shoot less than .5 moa. I cannot shoot less than that. At long distance the wind is such a major factor that accuracy beyond that seems irrelevant.
     
  8. ny700

    ny700 Member

    Messages:
    305
    Likes Received:
    807
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    DFW
    Damn straight!
    How good can you read the wind!?! Me I suck at it!!!
    And once you start pushing 500yards plus. Mos reading the wind by 5mph can easily be a miss!
     
    Delkancott, Zeek and ManOfSteel like this.
  9. ManOfSteel

    ManOfSteel Member

    Messages:
    4,391
    Likes Received:
    9,950
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    NJ
    The Creedmore apparently bucks the wind better than old .308 but I prefer to keep NATO cartridges so I can easily get surplus ammo as well as use it in an AR platform without being overly expensive on anything.
     
  10. Bcamos

    Bcamos Member

    Messages:
    2,587
    Likes Received:
    5,307
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Tejas
    I've heard the same - break ins are more of a tradition than a recommended procedure.

    The biggest thing (and I guess you could consider this as "break in") is to shoot until you've built up a bit of copper in the barrel. Then zero your optic to the load you intend to stock up on. Just like NY700 said, keep a log of things and as soon as the spreads start to consistently open up, give it a light cleaning. You don't want to remove that copper from the barrel, or else you're starting over from square 1.

    Also, ditch the metal rods and cables for cleaning. Get a good set of one piece carbon fiber rods and a bore guide.

    The farthest I've ever shot is 530 yards but that was done with bulk box Federal .223 out of a 16" AR and my 18" Mossberg MVP. Neither of which are to be considered precision rifles. If you're looking to shoot minute-of-target, you're going to have a lot of fun doing it. If you're looking to shoot sub MOA and hold that type of accuracy out to several hundred yards, you're going to lose your mind getting obsessed in working towards perfection. Plus it'll be expensive.
     
    ManOfSteel likes this.
  11. ManOfSteel

    ManOfSteel Member

    Messages:
    4,391
    Likes Received:
    9,950
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    NJ
    @Bcamos you know I hate expensive so that idea is out LOL
     
    Bcamos likes this.
  12. ny700

    ny700 Member

    Messages:
    305
    Likes Received:
    807
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    DFW
    ECA5E1E1-AE06-4157-8F86-6CDABCEB47D4.jpeg MOS I think you will be surprised how easy it will be to hold let’s say sub 2 moa to 500 yards with the CTR and quality ammo.

    Ammo consistency at distance is huge. Just to put it in perspective I took the gold standard for 308 ammo 168gr federal gold medal match into my ballistic computer. Federal says it runs 2650fps at the muzzle. Assuming a variance of just 50fps from the listed velocity that’s three inches of drop at 500 yards.

    But once your dialed in with quality ammo your just going to be playing the wind game. That’s enough for you to pull your hair out. Definitely get a log book. This is what I run
     
  13. ManOfSteel

    ManOfSteel Member

    Messages:
    4,391
    Likes Received:
    9,950
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    NJ
    Dude it’s crazy how many factors come into play with ballistics. I 110% know for fact that I’ll be minute of deer or pig at 3-500yds. I want to be minute of prairie dog.
     
    Zeek and The Marsh Gorilla like this.
  14. ny700

    ny700 Member

    Messages:
    305
    Likes Received:
    807
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    DFW
    Here is the big question do you have the property to go out 400-500 yards or a range near by?

    Your going to be surprised how quick you get this. I took a buddy out to the range I shoot at. Goes 1200 yards. The furthest he had ever shot was 300 yards and usally it was inside 150 from a deer stand. We had his stock Remington 700 in 243 ringing steel at 500 yards inside 5 rounds
     
    The Marsh Gorilla and ManOfSteel like this.
  15. Delkancott

    Delkancott Member

    Messages:
    2,522
    Likes Received:
    4,206
    Location:
    SEMA
    What power scope do you need to accurately see a target at 500 yards?
     
    The Marsh Gorilla and Zeek like this.
  16. ny700

    ny700 Member

    Messages:
    305
    Likes Received:
    807
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    DFW
    I guess this begs the question what size target are you shooting at? The scope I run on my precision rifle is a 5-25x. But I usually run it around 16x-18x and that’s out to 1K yards.

    The problem with high magnification scopes is most folks aren’t dropping serious money on their glass and by the time they get to those high magnifications the image is so degraded by the poor glass you can see much.

    Anyone starting out if your not using it as a hunting scope I would highly suggest a fixed 10x like the SWFA SS or the ior Valdata or bushnell 10x. Fixed power scopes are going to give you a much better image quality compared to a variable at the same price point and 10x is enough magnification to hit a 20” target at 1K yards

    If you want a variable stick to to 4-16x or 3-15x range on a 30mm tube with a 50mm objective. The 50mm will allow in plent of light and the 30mm tube will give you enough elevation adjustment to shoot out to 600-800 yards without needing a canted scope base however I generally will always suggest a 20moa scope base. This will allow you to zeronyour scope at 100 yards at the lower end of the adjustment range
     
  17. ManOfSteel

    ManOfSteel Member

    Messages:
    4,391
    Likes Received:
    9,950
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    NJ
    We have a 140 acre farm I can shoot on any time I want. We also have another property where I can shoot 400yds. I’m dying to drop a trophy buck at 4-500.
     
    The Marsh Gorilla and Zeek like this.
  18. Zeek

    Zeek Member

    Messages:
    5,550
    Likes Received:
    11,338
    Location:
    bangladesh
    I have Vortex HST 4-16x44 on mine now. It's O.K but I'm saving up for some HD glass. I may go back to Leupold. There VX-5HD series seems very well priced. Also want to try the illuminated FireDot Duplex reticle
     
  19. ny700

    ny700 Member

    Messages:
    305
    Likes Received:
    807
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    DFW
    Absolutely jealous !!! You will be able to set up a sweet range!
     
  20. ManOfSteel

    ManOfSteel Member

    Messages:
    4,391
    Likes Received:
    9,950
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    NJ
    I don’t own it by any means but I’m able to use it
     
    The Marsh Gorilla likes this.

Share This Page