GA Precision? Red Rock Precision? HS Precision? My neighbor has a 1,000 yard rifle range and I could not get my 308 to ring the gong. I was thinking about getting something to ring steel at 1,000 yards. 6.5x284 is also a consideration.

The problem is the Indian not the arrow.

308 will do fine at 1000. There is not a huge difference between them.  Certainly 6.5 has a better bc,but that's not what's holding you back.

You have to hit the target to make it ring. My 20" .308 clangs it like Thors hammer with 230 even with the 185s it rang pretty good. 

It's pretty easy to get hits at 1k  with a .308 unless your targets are real small (1moa) or your ammo is crap.

But, if you want to just throw money at the problem, get a GAP.

Ruger precision .. use the rest of the money on optic and ammo

What kind of 308 rifle were you using?  What kind of 308 ammo or bullet/load were you using?  How big was the gong?

Two VERY large variables and one important question there, of course behind "how good are YOU" and "was your dope reliable"?

The new Federal Gold Medal Berger 185gr Juggernaut is probably the very best factory 308 ammo available, but 175gr FGMM should do just fine (though it'll likely be transonic at low density altitudes) as should Hornady 178gr HPBT Match or ELD-M ammo.

Hell man the ruger American 6.5
Can ring steel at 1,760 ( 1mile )
Practice your fundamentals check your glass or change it up.
Go through your rifle and check every or have a smith do it.
If you want to replace the rig my vote goes to Accurate Ordnance here in Winder Ga.
If you don't practice fundamentals you'll never hit 1,000 no matter how much you spend.

Take a step back and do some research.  

308 can hit 1000 pretty easily with the right bullets, even at mag length.   There is really no reason to not shoot a 6.5 though.  Creedmoor is a good place to start as far as ballistics and barrel life.

It still comes down to being the indian and not the arrow.

Ruger precision or Savage 10t.

I ring the plates at 1k with both.

As stated the gun and ammo can do it - can you

But seriously, any of those or a tikka will serve you well.

If you're looking at GA precision price levels and just want a 6.5 Creed, I'd look hard at the SAKO TRG 22 they just released in 6.5. I bought one of the TRG-22's in 308 a while back, and it would shoot 5 round 3/4" groups at 300yards on paper, reliably. at $2700 to $3000, it's cheaper than a GA, and easily the most accurate rifle I've ever fired.

Size of target?

I just bought an AIAT with both a 24" 6.5cm and 17" .308 barrel. I'm pretty fond of it and have yet to actually fire a round thru it. Still waiting on glass.

Agreed. A good 308 will ring steel at 1k just as well as a 6.5 Creedmoor.

The bc will allow you to miss a wind call narrowly and still make a hit. That's the main difference.

18" steel circle plate AR500

Tells us about your rig...
No reason not to be hitting an18" target .

I recently bought a Savage BA Stealth in 6.5 Creedmoor and was finally able to get and shoot it today.  I got it sighted in at 100 yards and ran the round I was using (Factory Hornady 147 ELD) through a Ballistics App and went for the 10" gongs at 600 yards.  I had never shot past 300 yards and this is my first bolt action rifle.  Shooting at the gongs, I went 5 for 5 and was pretty excited.  So I said what the hell, 1K yards 24 x 24 plate here I come.  Got the scope adjusted and whiffed the first shot low.  I said I got this, aimed about 5" above center and hit it 2 in a row.  After my buddy shot a couple I ended up hitting 2 out of 3 again so 4 out of 6 for the day. I couldn't be happier with the rifle and for the money, it's a hell of a shooter with factory ammo and I was shooting it suppressed with my Crux Ark 30 suppressor.

A pistol/carbine shooter buddy recently asked this same question, moderate budget. I gave him a list to purchase:

6.5 Creedmoor Tikka T3 CTR 24"
Bushnell 4.5-18x LRHS Mil/Mil
TPS 30mm low rings
Harris 9" swivel-notched bipod
Triad stock pack

He came over, we bolted it all together for his fit and leveled it up inside of an hour, then went to the range and I had him hitting 550, 650, and 850 yard steel coyotes inside 1 box of 140gr ELD-M ammo. No 1000y gong or he would have rung that too.

It doesn't take $5000 to play this game, but without spending $2500 you will likely be fighting hardware rather than the wind over the life of your first barrel.

Savage 10BA Stealth

That's a sweet setup for the money!

A lot of relevant questions have been asked in this thread, OP. Answer them if you get a chance. 

What power scope is on your current rifle? I like the "1x per 100 yds" rule. What rifle? Is it properly bedded? Torqued to spec? Do you have a 20 moa rail or more? Was your scope able to track far enough or were you bottomed out? 

Ammo selection is a big deal too at 1k. 308 can do it but you need to find out what your rifle likes.

I'm going the sub $850 route with my new rig. Ruger American Predator 6.5 CM with SWFA 10x and TRX rings. Maybe I'll take it up to $1000 with a boyd's stock.

Rpr in 6.5 shooting 140s this morning at 1k.

Target is 18" tall

Attached File

Not high bucks, but I have a Ruger Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor that does everything you want.  Plenty of money left over for good glass. Lots of videos on You Tube about that rifle in that caliber. Just sayin.

Happy Trails.

well the gun I'm going to setup is a Rem 700 308 VLS model which is still in production but mine is probably 16 years old or older. I've got a Leopold vx3 3x9x40 so I'm thinking for now I'll just put a night force scope on it and shoot good heavy premium factory loads. I've rang the gong with my .50, a borrowed 6.5 creedmoor and a borrowed Palma (lucky)gun if you can believe that! I'm a decent shooter. Having a good place to see the splatter is so important so I'm thankful for that. I don't have my own 1,000 range but I'm thinking of building something long range on my place. Maybe I'll just wait on the new gun and put a scope on my old one and get to shooting.
edited to add, my rem 700 VLS has a 2.5 factory trigger that I like, it's bull barrel with a laminated stock.

Did Leupold make a 3-9x VX3?  I thought the VX3 line was a 3.5-10...

Regardless, shooting a 308 to 1000 yards needs somewhere in the ballpark of 30-40 MOA of elevation, depending on environmentals and bullet/velocity combo (you still haven't told us what kind of load or ammunition you were using).  Does your optic have 35+ MOA of elevation available from a 100yd zero?

That is going to be an extremely frustrating set up to try to shoot 1000 yards with.

I been using Federal Premium Gold Medal Match factory loads...............But I'm switching ammo and scopes. I'm ordering a Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x50 MOAR-T. Then I'm going to stay with Federal Premium but getting a heavier bullet. Federal Premium Gold Medal 175 grain Sierra Matching.

Using FGMM 168gr for 1000 yards?  There's your problem right there.  Well, that and your optic...

So I'm on the right track now?

Yes.

168gr SMKs do NOT transition into transonic/subsonic well; they tumble and go nuts.  The 175gr SMK does not have this issue, nor does the 168gr Amax.

Your (probable) 1:12 twist should also do fairly well with the new Federal Gold Medal 185gr Berger load.

the Berger load is on backorder at midway, might try those also

175's are the ticket in a .308

no problem on a 12x12 plate at 1k with my savage

6.5x284 for the win.....a friend on my team has won many 1k matches with his.

Against his advice I went with 6.5 Creedmoor since I can buy decent factory ammo......not that it sucked, just 6.5x284 is better. :)

I hope to try my 6.5 Creedmoor (Accuracy International AT/S&B glass) at a 1k match this year and prove him wrong. :)

Is the barrel shot out??? Also upgrade your glass and put a timney or jewell trigger in it.

Look at the vortex razor HD gen 2.
Used they can be had for 2k much better optic imo then a nxs

I wonder why everyone that I see bring a .308 to matches is always in the bottom placement positions out of 80-100 shooters, even at matches that hardly have any 1000yd targets, with most targets at 400-700yds.

Maybe you guys could come show the best shooters in the Nation how it's done I guess.

Sure, you can walk a 175gr onto a target at 1000yds, but your chances of 1st-round hit are next to zero, unless you put a large gong out there.

For you guys claiming this performance for .308, have you watched a 6.5 Creedmoor next to them in the spotting scope by any chance?

Time of Flight is night and day.  Trajectory is night and day, and wind drift is night and day unless you use Berger 185s against some lower BC 6.5, and even then, TOF and trajectory are way different.

.308 looks like mortar rounds going in.  When you do get the rare hits out of your string of fire, some of them bounce off the target at such a huge deflection and come back at about a 30°-45° angle, kicking up dirt in front of the target that registers as a miss, even at 800yds.

The 6.5mms look like a laser headed straight to the target in a low arc.

175s will look like a slow freight train chugging out vapor trails in a clear spiral that a blind man could see, so they are very easy to spot for, I'll give it that.

I do like the performance of the Hornady 178gr AMAX, and I imagine I will like the 178gr ELD-M too.

Had a fellow forum member bring his 20" SR-25E2 to one of my courses, where he shot a very tight group at 1000yds with the 178gr AMAX, but we were up at 6600ft elevation, which helps a lot with spin stability, trajectory, and wind.

Shooting the same distance with a 6.5 Creedmoor on a much smaller target is boring. Little marks are from 123gr AMAX/6.5 Grendel. Big marks are from 140gr AMAX/140gr SMK/6.5 Creedmoor

I just got a Tikka T3X CTR in .260 and a Bushnell Elite Tactical DMR scope.  $2,300 counting Steiner rings, Harris bipod, and 20MOA base.  I'm still getting over the fact that it's "entry level, bare bones" but I bucked my nature and didn't totally cheap out (like I usually do).  

Haven't shot it yet but I'll post it when I do.

by this rifle OP.

https://primaryweapons.com/store/product/mk2-mod-1-6-5-creedmoor/


its stupid accurate and fun as hell to shoot!