Effective range for 7.62mm...

by bmize, Monday, July 18, 2016, 11:19 (3053 days ago) @ Byron

I started shooting 1,000 yd F class matches a few years ago.
We have a lot of new guys show up with there tactical 20-24" 308's shooting factory 168's.
the guys shooting the 20" guns usually give up after a dozen or so rounds.
They might get a few on paper(60" paper)but all are coming through sideways.
The 24" guns(unless the humidity is way up) usually can stay on paper, but groups are somewhere in the 24-36" range.
The 168's usually go subsonic somewhere between 900-975yds. You can easily hear it in the pits when they come over your head.
Whats suprising is the 175 factory match ammo hold up at 1k out of the 24" rifles, but I doubt it would make it another 50yds.
All the above is at best I remember 1400' elevation. get on up in the 5-6k range and it will carry a little further.
If you want to shoot 1k with a 308, get a longer barrel and load 175-185 bullets with as much varget as is safe for your rifle.
Just as an example, last weekend a new 308 record was shot at Raton NW, 200-14x (5"x Ring)
Was out of a 30" barrel shooting 185 Bergers

Also, the 155gr match bullets will stay supersonic to 1k when you load them yourself, but are affected much more by the wind.