Selecting component bullets...

[TheEngineer]

What is a good place to start? My ultimate goal is long-range precision shooting but for the sake of getting started with reloading and getting accustomed to the rifle/scope, I am looking for a starting point. The rifle is a Rem 700 chambered in 7mm-08, is there some sort of reference for what grain bullet(s) people are using in this caliber?

I can only assume that ultimately, there are many more factors involved like the action/barrel work on the rifle, shooter skill, scope selection etc. Until I get there though, where is the tradeoff (in physics) between the heavier, higher BC bullets and the lighter, lower BC bullets with higher relative velocities?

Thanks in advance-

[C.G.]

Heavier bullets will get you out farther.

[bohoki]

Heavier bullets will get you out farther.

hmm i thought higher velocity went further as all objects fall at the same rate

of course i guess more mass means more inertia to prevent wind deflection

is it really the case that heavy bullets go further or would the faster lighter

i hear of no ar-15 match shooters using 55 grain

but they are using a twist rate designed for the heavier slower projos

so would it really come down to which bullet is right for the current barrel twist of the rifle

[Cypriss32]

Shoot 162gr AMAX, 168gr VLDS, 175gr SMKS, RL17 is the powder to try. It gets very good velocities with this round and these bullets. All 3 choices have a higher then .610bc rating.

[What Just Happened?]

The heavier bullets have a higher ballistic coefficient and get pushed around less. Also, because they're heavier, they tend to have a longer bullet which allows them to match well with faster twist rates, which also helps with long distance stability.

Not quite sure on this stuff, but it's my understanding of bullet ballistics. I'll let an actual long distance shooter who knows what (s)he's talking about.