Which calibre for general plinking?

[Trigger73]

Being new I'm curious as to which calibre you guys use for general targets and plinking? I bought a T3 22 250 last year as it was passed for land and I've not really shot it much as I've gotten into targets more than I thought so it's now for sale. 

I was told that with the 22 250 being a "barrel burner" and having a short barrel life, to sell it and go for a 223 or 243, I read that 243 is more expensive all round? 

Allegedly the 243 is a flatter trajectory so lends itself more so than the 223, that said from what I've seen and read both are good out to a fair old range? 

Your thoughts are much appreciated. 

👍

[Popsbengo]

31 minutes ago, Trigger73 said:

Being new I'm curious as to which calibre you guys use for general targets and plinking? I bought a T3 22 250 last year as it was passed for land and I've not really shot it much as I've gotten into targets more than I thought so it's now for sale. 

I was told that with the 22 250 being a "barrel burner" and having a short barrel life, to sell it and go for a 223 or 243, I read that 243 is more expensive all round? 

Allegedly the 243 is a flatter trajectory so lends itself more so than the 223, that said from what I've seen and read both are good out to a fair old range? 

Your thoughts are much appreciated. 

👍

.243 is a hunting calibre, not a target shooting one, obviously it can be used as such if allowed.  .243 can exceed range velocity limits (22-250 most certainly does). Depends where you intend to shoot.  You could join a target shooting club and go to an organised shoot and/or military range (or the Army but that's a bit excessive😁).  

If it's just for fun at medium distances then .223 is cheap and versatile.  More than 500yds then .308 is also a cheapish alternative.  If you have money to spend then there's a whole lot of 6/6.5/7mm to choose from.

 

[DaveT]

 Relative to 308 or 6.5   the 243 is also a barrel burner.

It does make an excellent target calibre perfectly good for 1000 yards with the right bullet.

If you are getting into target shooting then your expectations about hitting at range will soon increase!

600 yards looks far away until you have worked out your drops and then suddenly you will only want to have a few shots before looking at 1000 and beyond.

308 or 223 will be cheapish options  BUT the 6.5 will improve your prospects at long range.....and you WILL very soon aspire to 1000 yards I promise!

 

[Trigger73]

Thanks for the replies.  Just to clear up my post, the land I have a perm for is where I would be plinking, that's passed upto most of the 22 calibres and there is a good few hundred yards available. 

I bought a 308 last week as I'm currently waiting on an email reply back from Offas Dyke membership which seems to be taking an age? 

I have a couple of rimmie's I'm currently shooting but want to move up to the bigger calibres. 

As already mentioned by you chaps the 22 250 isn't ideal, so I'm guessing 223?

Thanks for the current replies. 

[Ronin]

Plinking on land you have access to the rifle you have 22-250 will do nicely 

If you join a target or shooting club then that would possibly cause issue if there is a velocity restriction using the 22-250 as the example

223 is nice to shoot and with a rifle with a appropriate twist barrel you can reload with heavier bullets and go out farther accurately 

You have 308 which is again a suitable calibre to shoot targets or lawful quarry with and is with appropriate ammunition a capable calibre 

As you become more experienced or involved with target shooting you may wish to consider the more efficient cartridges available in 6, 6.5 and 7mm - there are many established “accurate cartridges” for which I would do research on to establish what you actually wish to do with your time and hard earned cash 

 

You may also want to consider steel target shooting which is growing in popularity and great fun - there are several pay to enter events in the UK each year usually notification of these can be found within this site and they are mainly friendly helpful like minded folk attending these events who would give advice where needed 

 

 

 

[Catch-22]

My thoughts, for what they’re worth 💩

If you’re joining ODRC (I’m a member - great club and you’ll enjoy shooting with us!) then note the shortest range is 600m (Rogiet and Kingsbury). A lot of the others are between 900m to 1300m. The range locations are such that the winds are a real bugger. Excellent to learn how to read the wind, but a bugger to shoot sometimes.

With the above in mind, if you’re planning to shoot often on said ranges, I would look at a good wind bucking calibre, or bullet for calibre, selection.

So as mentioned, the 6mm and 6.5mm are good and slippery in the wind. 6.5mm Creedmoor is a good performer, has lots of off the shelf ammunition available (unsure if you reload??) and lots of factory/semi-custom/full-custom rifles kicking around. Really any of the 6.5mm rifles will be a good fit (6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x47Lapua, .260rem, 6.5x55 Swede). 

Yes you can by all means shoot a .223rem, but the challenge will be what bullets will be suitable. So most factory rifles in .223rem have very slow twists (eg 1-14”, 1-12”, 1-9” twist). With these, you’ll likely only be able to shoot the 55gn to 69gn bullets accurately before stability falls off. If you want any hope of getting to 600m+, in heavy winds (15-25mph is common) and doing so accurately, you need to shoot the 77gn, 80gn, or 90gn bullets. These are very long and require a barrel with a fast twist, like 1-8” , 1-7” or faster. With that in mind, you’re likely going to need a custom barrel that is throated for those long bullets. This gets expensive for mere plinking and isn’t what I’d recommend...unless you see a second hand custom .223 with fast twist and long throat for sale at a steal.

You could go .308w, solid performer and cheapish to feed. Though if you want to push it out to 900m+ accurately, then I think you either push the good lighter bullets (eg 155gn Lapua Scenar) at fast speeds (2900fps+) or shoot the heavier bullets (eg 185gn+) though this again will be dependant on the twist and throat of barrel you have (eg 1-12” should stabilise up to 168gn bullets. If you want to go 185gn+, I’d say you really need 1-10” or faster). 

With all the above in mind, personally I think a good solid 6.5mm bullet is best. Most of the newer factory rifles in 6.5mm Creedmoor have an appropriate twist and will allow you to shoot the 140gn+ class bullets for which the cartridge was designed to shoot. This will give you great capability, in a mild shooting case, that’s cheapish to reload, all the way out to 1200m...possibly even more. 

I know a few people who shoot the Sabatti tactical rifles in various calibres, and each one has been an excellent shooter. They’re also incredible value for money. Also don’t discount a Tikka T3 or the newer Tac versions. 

Also have a good trawl through the Sale section here, some gems appear from time to time.

But before you buy, go speak to ODRC members and ask to shoot their rifle. I think most people would be only to happy to let you. I would. That will give you some real experience with different rifles and calibre's. Ask question about what they load, how far the shoot. Watch their targets on the line - who’s getting the v-bull 90% of the time. Go talk to them and ask about their setup. I’m sure that would really help you decide which direction you want to go in.

Pop over and say ‘Hi’ when you get your membership! 👍

[Trigger73]

Thanks again, for a noob like me the options seem like a minefield but I have been doing some research as I've started to venture into FAC. 

I was going to opt for the 6.5 over the 308 but when the FEO was round checking my cabinet etc I was asked if I wanted any other calibres solely for targets so I mentioned 308 automatically and forgot all about the 6.5.

Once I get into something I enjoy I like to get as much info as possible so I try to research as best as possible, experience from members like yourselves also is a great help. No doubt somewhere in the not so distant future the 6.5 will no doubt be making its way onto my ticket. 

@Catch-22 huge thanks for the offer, I'd happily take you up on that, but currently I'm still waiting for the membership secretary to get back to the emails I've sent him 😶😁

[Catch-22]

26 minutes ago, Trigger73 said:

 

@Catch-22 huge thanks for the offer, I'd happily take you up on that, but currently I'm still waiting for the membership secretary to get back to the emails I've sent him 😶😁

No problem, we’ve all been there and it can appear to be very daunting, joining a club, getting an FAC, THEN deciding what you want to shoot, reloading etc etc. 

Fyi, you can always ask the FEO to swap .308w for a 6.5mm. That’s a 1-for-1 variation and won’t cost you anything. 

Regarding ODRC, there have been issues with email accounts. Make sure you sent it to: odrcmembership@gmail.com

Other emails won’t work. Leave it a week or two and check your junk mail. If still nothing, try again or pipe up here and I’ll see if I can speak with him. Tbh, Simon is very busy and there’s often a delay with things. 

There is a shoot on 19th Oct at Rogiet. I’m hoping to attend but my rifle is currently away having an extra barrel spun up. If it’s back in time then I’ll come along. If you’re there just look for the gun that looks like a pile of scaffold tube. That’ll be me! 

[Trigger73]

Scaffold tubes? Haha, class! Will do. 

Ps.. Some of the chaps at my local range shoot at OD. 

👍