Need advice on choosing a caliber

[ar15barrels]

Need advice on choosing a caliber

The next logical question is what model 700 to choose. I am looking to replace the stock with the AICS system so that does not matter to me, more concerned with the action and barrel.

Remington SPS Varmint for a heavy barrel which will better balance out an AICS stock.
It will be a great target rifle but not one to carry very far from the truck...

[LynnJr]

Get the action here http://www.nwactionworks.com/#!group-buy/c1uug

For a barrel Bruno Shooters Supply usually has them in stock as well as most decent scopes.If not SWFA has plenty of scopes.

The good news is with a 700 action you can swap barrels out in less than 5 minutes when you tire of the 308's lackluster performance.

[JMP]

.308 is a good caliber to get started on. It's cost efficient, cheap, and abundant to learn on. Then, later, you might consider getting t rechambereding it as the situation warrants it.

[DannyInSoCal]

Just to stir the caliber pot -

I prefer the Howa / 338 WinMag....

[Wrangler John]

While I pretty much gave up making cartridge recommendations to newbies, here is my advise:

Don't fall into the magnum trap. The little 6XC cartridge is doing just fine shooting competition out to 1000 yards. The recoil will punish you and the expense will deplete your wallet faster than a painted woman in a saloon.

Look for something easy on the shoulder, something that won't result in a concussion from recoil and muzzle blast. The easier it shoots, the more accurate you'll shoot it, and that makes it fun so you'll shoot it more.

It should be available, both loaded ammo and brass for loading your own. One thing I look for is easily convertible brass. For example, I have necked down .257 Roberts brass to 6mm Remington, 7mm Mauser to .257 Roberts and 6mm Remington, .308 Winchester to 7mm IHMSA (within a few thousands of the .7mm-08), or the .284 Winchester to 6.5-284. That allows me to use various on-hand stocks of brass, or find a supply of inexpensive brass when it is available.

If I were looking for a first rifle and I absolutely had to have a Remington 700 SPS, I'd go with either the .308 Winchester or the 7mm-08 Remington.

Just remember, if you make a decision and aren't happy with it, that one learns far more from a mistake than doing something right the first time. Like my decision to buy a Cooper in 6.5-284, some day I'll have it rebarreled to something useful. What the hell was I thinking?

[NapalmCheese]

Buy the hunting rifle, shoot it at far away (non-living targets), enjoy.

.308, 7mm-08, .30-06, 7mm mag.

If you only plan on ever buying one hunting rifle, it'd be pretty hard to beat .30-06.

[BLACK LION]

I want to build up a remington 700 due to its ease to acquire and accessories widely available. I was thinking about 300 WM but then got turned to looking at .338 lapua. However to start that build would be more expensive. So I am looking at trying to get a rifle built to go hunting with and shoot long distance (nothing competition worthy) so I am stuck at 3 calibers and would like some advice from what others have done.

.308 , a common round, military, cheap (relatively), easy to get and can go long range

.300 WM another decent round, still easy to get, a little more expensive

.338 lapua great round, expensive, hard to find in stores, expensive to build up, unstoppable

Just curious on what others have done. I do plan to still put this on a ACIS stock on it. Any advice would be great, thanks.

I found myself in your shoes recently but my choices were .300 win or .338 lapua.
I went with the Lapua becuase I found a good deal on a Remington 700 but feeding it became another issue all together. .
Here is what I found:
The Lapua has extreme capabilities but at an extreme cost. Every round fired is damn near equivalent to 1 gallon of gasoline. Although reloaders will say it gets cheaper when you start rolling your own, you are still shooting a big mac down the tube with each pull of the trigger.
Ammo... I was able to get ammo from Prvi Partisan for around 70.00 a box when it was available.
Chassis... arent cheap but the Mcrees precision chassis is by far the best economical solution to that.
Magazines.... are reasonably priced if you shop around but you will not pay less than 65.00 a mag.
Optics... arent that big of a concern as far as price but make sure you have 4" of eye relief so you dont earn yourself any new facial scars. You will need at least 24x magnification if you want to reach out really far and see the effects. I made the mistake of getting a 15x and I really couldnt see much detail at 800 meters. I would suggest a 32x.
Weight... holy s*** my rifle was heavy once I had optics, a full mag and a bipod.
It wasnt unberable but it would have taxed my *** if I had to hump it through the brush on uneven terrain. I could do it but not comfortably and the last thing I would want on a stalk is a rifle that I cant present at will becuase it taxed me so hard along the way. I mean it was over 3 feet long and weighed over 15 lbs...thats a big baby to carry through the brush.


With all that said I had fun with my Lapua while I had it but I ended up selling it because it was too heavy on the wallet and too much gun to lug around with all my other kit so........... I went looking again and almost settled on a .300 win mag due to the vast support the cartridge has but remembered why I walked away from my Tikka T3 in .300 win years before. It wasnt "enough gun" for me as I was already bitten by the bigger .33 caliber bug and I wanted something that could truly shoot and kill any animal I may come across, including the man in the brown suit.
I stumbled on the .338 win mag and soon found out why its called the "king of the elk cartridges". Not only would I be able to get close to the same terminal performance as the Lapua but it could be done from a much ligher and much handier package, not to mention the price of ammo was 2 to 3 times less than Lapua depending on how I shopped around. No, its not a super long range cartridge like the Lapua, its a "hunting" rig and I wouldnt be taking mile long shots on game. Thats not to say I couldnt hit a 1000 yard gong with it which would still tickle my pickle but I am not in it to set a new long distance record, I needed something that is light, weildy, cheap to feed and deady as sin.
I ended up getting a Savage 111 "hog hunter" in .338 win mag. I have been getting ammo at the gun show for 35.00 a box and thats Hornady match ammo.
I plan on getting a chassis from MDT that will set me back a whopping 350.00 but it will give me the ability to put an AR stock and grip on it and I can utilize a detachable magazine. With an optic and bipod I will still be under 10 lbs wet, the goal being around 8 lbs.


So to make a long story short .300 win mag may not be enough and .338 lapua may be too much so why not consider the .338 win mag? Did I mention I can find ammo at Big5 if I had to buy it off the shelf.....

[BLACK LION]

Just to stir the caliber pot -

I prefer the Howa / 338 WinMag....

Ill drink to that.... good form!!!

Oh, it will burn your barrel out a lot slower than some of the other choices too....

[Coyotegunner]

I am not such a fan of the little calibers like 308,due to being a lover of elk meat.Having used a 300 Win mag for 37 years now.
Anything more I would step into a 300 Remington Ultra Mag.338 RUM,check the ballistics on that one.Way less of a problem than 338Lapua.
I own several of the smaller calibers like 30-06,308,7mm-08.For deer here in Calif.Fine.Elk sure,but the magnums still retain over 2000ft/lbs past 400 yds.
Example:Someone mentioned 338 Win Mag.Another favorite of mine.More energy at 400yds than a 30-30 at the muzzle?What does that say to you?
I hate to say the magnums are not for many people in southern Calif.More expensive ammo and recoil.Yes recoil can be a issue for many.Lighter hunting rifles,a person pays for it in their skeleton.

[JMP]

The Lapua has extreme capabilities but at an extreme cost. Every round fired is damn near equivalent to 1 gallon of gasoline. Although reloaders will say it gets cheaper when you start rolling your own, you are still shooting a big mac down the tube with each pull of the trigger.

The .338LM is one of those calibers that you must reload. Factory ammo is a bit weak for serious business and too powerful for gentle applications, so you need to reload it to realize the full spectrum. After obtaining the hardware and brass, it costs me $0.90/round for a lower energy round that is very accurate and still hard hitting for short range shooting to distances such a 1 km. You basically load it for what you need, not more. There's no reason to burn out your barrel in 1,000 rounds.

[ScottsBad]

If you are hunting look no further then a 30-06. It has factory ammo for 110gr-240gr with tons of different bullet types. Plus every store that has ammo carries 30-06. It will kill anything in North America. You need to consider carrying a 10 plus pound rifle on a hunt. That will be hell. Buy a HUNTING rifle in 30-06 and then buy a target rifle. Ive carried a "target" rifle for hunting for years. I just recently had enough and bought nice hunting rifles (7mm-08 and 375 Ruger) both short and light.

Yeah, I don't know why you didn't include the 30-06. Common round which is very good for hunting.

If you decided you need something to shoot freaking elephants with why go with the 338 when you can go with 300 Win Mag which is more common and easier find for practice shooting.

I agree also with others who have said you want to buy a light rifle for hunting, not something that weighs a ton like a sniper rifle.

[jtv3062]

You said you want to build up a rifle. Forget the .308. It's on a short action. Get a caliber on a long action and then you'll be able to use it to rechamber for the .338 LM.

[EmptyMags]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtlwoNCNnFA&list=PLJUaiRIEduNXoal2_PkBZi0vDCIcEPxUn

This is a great video on cartridge selection.

Out of the 3 choices in the OP I'd recommend .308.

IMO ammo availability can hurt you if you choose a popular cartridge and everyone else buys it up during a panic.
I'd consider the 6.5 and 7mm calibers too.

[sjb269]

We americans are funny. We love the big boom.
OP, what is your experience with centerfire rifles? High power rifles? Rifle shooting in general?
What do you already own?
You ask for opinions, but provide too few details to give any educated, thoughtful responses to your question.

IMO .308 win and .338 Lapua rarely belong in the same sentence.

You say you don't want anything "competition worthy" whatcha mean?
I hope it doesn't mean you are looking for an inaccurate rifle.

[chun12]

Wow, even more help, thanks all. I am seriously looking at the .308 for multiple reasons. Eventually, I want to own the M1a and a RFB, both of which eat .308, so having a 700 in .308 would help on feeding these things. However, I am not opposed to the .338. But being new into the military and loving shooting, getting a rig for the .338 is very expensive and feeding it would be expensive, meaning I could not get out and shoot it as often as I would like.

@ ScottsBad For the .30-06, I own a beautiful M1 Garand and love that cartridge, however I only feed it surplus ammo or Garand load ammo when I can find it. I am trying to limit how much ammo I have to buy.

@sjb269, I meant I was not looking for a gun built specifically for competition only (for just the bench). I would like to take the thing hunting (yes I realize what I am saying, trying to haul a heavy rifle around the field would be interesting to say the least). I do want an accurate rifle, but I am not going to p
put a lot of money into making it super accurate, stock barrel, action, some nice glass and the AICS system would be it for a while.

Thank you all for your responses, this gives me more to chew on to decide how to build this. I would love to have this done by the end of the year (only on a 2LT salary so takes some saving time).