flatest shootin gun??

B

BLKCLOUD

New member
for years I shot a 22-250..then I got a 6mm and have shot it for a while now..with all the short mag's out there now ( and a breif 5 years stunt as a skeet shooter) I have fallen from the list of "in the knows"..lol... just wondering..what is the flattest shooting over the counter round there is now?thanks,keith
 
I think there are many of the opinion that the .204 Ruger
has stepped into the lead for the flattest shooter, or at least
is in the top tier. I have heard many old crusty .22 centerfire
types say that the .22-250 is "better" or it's equal, but
the ballistic programs seem to suggest otherwise. It is
hard to get a clear comparision, due to the ratio of
bullet diameter to weight, IMHO but FWIW, this .22-250
shooter is looking at a new rifle, in .204 Ruger. I am not
selling the .22-250, but the .204 Ruger, or even the Tac 20,
seem like something I should own.

Squeeze
 
The Swift will shoot flatter than a 22-250. Now as for the 204 shooting flatter than a Swift, I don't really know. I guess some of the guys on this forum that own both, will have to answer.

How do you like your 6mm??? I've been thinking of building one myself...
 
I just love my 6mm..its a older remington i think a 788 lol cant remember..I've always shot factory ammo and have never had a single complaint..my longest shot was from a tree stand into a wild house cat..exactly 440 steps.. I aimed right at the shoulder and drilled it right in the shoulder..lol..
 
The flatest would have to be the fastest with the lightest bullet. I would think that would be the 223 WSSM at 4600 fps, now that would be a barrel burner. I have heard that you may only get 1000-1500 rounds through one.

You need to find the highest BC bullet with the fastest speed or some balance of the two.

My 6mm/284 will push 58gr VMax to 4250 fps and that's hauling for a bigger bullet but I don't load them that hot. As a rule of thumb to extend barrel life I keep everything below 4000 fps. I can push 70 grainers right about 4000 fps.

My next rifle will be a 204 and hopefully with VLD bullets in the 40 gr plus area I can achieve 4000 fps. That may be the flatest shooting. The 20 caliber bullets can obtain high BC's with out to much weight to slow down the velocity.
 
The BC of the bullet and the velocity - and not velocity alone - will determine what shoots flatest.

Sam: Who's making a 40 VLD in 20 caliber and what twist are you planning? What cartridge, also?

-BCB
 
Everything is a trade off. The .204 will maybe shoot flatter than a .22-.250 out to 300 yards with those little old light bullets it is spitting out. Now if you tried to shoot a .55 grainer out of that .204, it would not shoot it as fast or as flat as a .22-.250 would do with a 55 grainer. You can only shoot a bullet of any given weight just so fast through a smaller diameter bore. P.O. Ackley found that out years and years ago. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
In one of my old shooting magazines they had listings(before any of the short mags came out) of a 22-250,220 swift, 223, and 243. The 243 with 55g shoot flatter than any of the above. It wasnt by much, only about an extra 20-30 yards flatter but the kinetic energy was alot greater vs the other calibers. Always got exited about the 257 Weatherby for trajectory. It has to be up there in the elete class for flat shooting flat but just am not crazy about the open throats, not being able to turn it into a hard core tack driver. Stick with a .243/6mm configuration if you want flat some shooting. The only problem is every bullet you will find that shoots extremely flat will normaly ruin pelts in this caliber.
 
Quote:
Sam: Who's making a 40 VLD in 20 caliber and what twist are you planning? What cartridge, also?

-BCB

I don't know if anybody is at this point but there will be something available between 40-55 grains soon??

Berger makes a 204 50gr with a BC of .296 while a 224 55 gr ins .247. Now if someone made say a 204 55 gr that BC would be a lot higher. Just a thought on my part.

As far as twist is concerned I would have to do a little research on that.

If I should my PD gun's barrel out this year then I will look at replacing it with the 204. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
243ME,
You are correct of course. The 55 grain Nosler B.T. for the .243 has higher BC, and is being pushed out of a larger bore than any center fire .22. The larger bore allows you to shoot that 55 grainer at higher velocity than you could get with a .22 centerfire or any .204.
 
ive never shot or looked up anything on the gun but i hear that the 25-06 is pretty "lazer like" is this right and can you give me any other info on the caliber
 
You need to define the question a bit better. How far out are you shooting?
For instance, I have a 22-250 that is set up with a custom 1-8 twist barrel specifically set up to shoot in 1000 yard competitions. Utilizing the 80 grain Berger bullet it has the same wind drift and bullet drop to 1000 yards as a 300 Win. Mag. shooting 175 grain Matchking bullets. The round is technically a factory chambering but ammunition is strictly a handloading proposition.
In the target world, one of the flattest shooting combinations to 1000 yards right now is a 7mm Ultra Mag shooting 7mm VLD bullets.
If you are just talking inside 300 yards you really don't need one of the real flat shooting combinations. A .223 Cal. rifle with a 1-9 twist will shoot 64 to 73 grain bullets which have a decent BC.
 
marcus_rubbo,
The .25-06 shooting an 85 grain Nosler b.t. will nearly duplicate the trajectory of a .22-250 shooting a 55 grainer. Out to 300 yards or so anyway. I love my quarter bore rifles.
 
My cousin is shooting a 6mm-06, 10 twist 28" Douglas barrel... making 3650 fps with the Hornady 87 grain VMAX, which has a BC of .400, and actually flies better than that number.

It'll get to 600 yards with a mere 8 MOA of adjustment, and makes it easily to 1000 yards with just under 20 MOA, still making over 1500 fps.

A 240 Weatherby Mag will do the same thing with that bullet...

Dan
 
It's a law of diminishing returns, the 25-06 is a good start. But then you need to start looking at the .257 Weatherby, then on to the .257 STW, where do you plan on ending? The flattest shooting gun is a .50 cal sabot round out of a M1-Abrams @ something like 5,000 fps.
 
10-4 on the how far you're shooting. I found some time of flight tables that shows the differences at about 500 yds. Some of the heavyweights for a given caliber actually pass the lightweights @ 500 yds or a little better. A heavier projectile holds velocity better than the lightweights. I think it was a 75gr. against a 50 or 55gr.( but could have been a 40).224. Same caliber in top end velocity loads for each. I think NT Innovations was the website I believe.
 


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