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I'm new on this site, but I'm not new on this planet. I'm going to get around to asking about bullet selection for my situation but I'll give you some background first, I'm developing strategies for continuing to hunt as I get older. Part of my plan is to become able to ethically shoot out to the limits available on my property. If I don't move dirt, that's about 400 yds, maybe 600 if I cut a few shooting lanes. That may only seem like medium range to some of you, but it's far enough to need a strategy to improve into. This is mainly to fill the freezer and manage the whitetail deer population by hunting does in the Late Antlerless season which is in late December in Northern Michigan. I also plan to pop any coyotes that come into view. Conditions will usually be sub-freezing with 10-20mph crosswinds.

I've been practicing out to 300 yds. I'll stretch that when I get the blind in place where the shooting lanes intersect. I've been learning how to develop loads for my rifles, researching scope options, setting up a blind with good stable rests, and working on my shooting form. I'm prepared to devote significant energy to develop the skills I'll need. What I don't plan to do is sink a lot money into my rifles. In their own way, each seems adequate to the task. I might buy some better scopes, but my rifles seem to be capable of sub-MOA, so I want to work on getting the right hunting bullets for them.

My two "distance" rifles are a Browning A-bolt Medallion in 7mm Rem Mag and a Howa 1500 in 6.5X55 Swede. I also have a Ruger American in .308 Win, but I see that as a MPBR gun for use in the wooded areas of the property, although I do plan to work up loads for longer distance shooting. The A-bolt has a 4-16X42 Nikon Monarch BDC scope. The Howa 1500 has 3.5-10X44 NikkoStirling Gameking AO. The Ruger American has a 3-9X40 Sightron SI HHR.

I have some ideas about hunting bullets for each, but it seems like there are a few people around here with way more long range experience who enjoy recommending things, so I'm willing to be convinced that what you know is useful in my strategy. So thanks in advance for reasonable suggestions.

If I'm reading correctly, your saying: "I have these 3 guns, and I want to be more proficient in LR shooting and hunting. What do you recommend?"

IMO...

1) Grab the Ruger American 308. Bc its likely to be all the accuracy you'd want.
2) Add an SWFA SS 10x w/Mil-Quad in rail and rings. Known scope for LR.
3) Go buy some Fed Gold Match or Prime 308 or any other known 308 ammo.

If the ammo shoots - buy 500 rounds and never look back.

Thank you for pointing out my lack of specificity. I'm specifically asking which bullet(s) should I develop loads for, for each of these rifles. I will choose the rifle and load that I am most comfortable with, which may change over time.

7mm - 162/168/180 of Berger, Hornady, or Lapua variety.

6.5 - 130/139/140/147 of Berger, Hornady, or Lapua variety.

308 - 155 Scenar.

^ Add to that list a SWFA SS 10x, 3-9x, or better yet a LRHS 3-12x for each of those rifles, depending on budgetary restrictions, and you're ready to move forward without spending a ton of money.

Thank you. Somewhat surprised not to see any Nosler or Barnes.

I'm a Berger fan, out to 600 yds don't get caught up in alot of B.C numbers why they do count accuracy trumps. I would get the best scope your budget allows and pick one rifle and get to know its drops with your best handloads. I didn't used to think you needed 20X to shoot 500 and beyond but the more i shoot those distances and have a 5x20 on my dedicated ELR at times i have wished i had more. The old saying aim small hit small i think is true and with the crosshairs start covering the vitals when your stretched out there it becomes more difficult.

IMO the most important thing (after getting a decent load) is shooting a lot in windy conditions.

It is the only way to learn how to call wind. The more rounds you shoot during windy conditions the better you will be at it. You can can have the most accurate rifle around, but if you can't judge wind speed you'll miss a lot.

I hear that, and it's something I need to work on, but I get a lot of practice doing. My 300 yd target is an 8" gong and missing it on the first shot could mean a deer that goes far before dying. The prevailing winds at my site always seem to be crosswise to my NE shooting vector. One of these reasons that I'm not focusing on the .308 is the superior wind resistance of the longer narrower bullets in the 6.5 and 7mm.

I'm a fan of higher magnification also. If/when I change scopes, it will be a minimum 20X. And I like thin crosshairs, but I don't think I can stick to one rifle only unless it is the lowest recoiling. I may not be able to handle the 7mm RM for all my remaining years in the field, but I don't want to miss out on its benefits now. The 6.5mm is mild in comparison and I expect it to become my primary rifle eventually, but until that has to happen, I won't limit myself to it. The other two rifles are just superior in certainty of lethality, at least in my hands. That may change as I get more experience with the Howa.

I was really hoping to hear from more people about bullet selection. A friend favors plastic tipped bullets and especially those designed for expansion and weight retention. ballisticstudies.com lists many and talks about superior wound channels, but doesn't seem to take into account the optimum weight range for various twist ratios. The A-bolt has 1:9.5". The Howa has a 1:8". The Ruger has a 1:10". I'm favoring Alliant RL23 for the Howa and RL26 for the A-bolt and magnum primers for both, but if there are particular bullet/powder/primer combinations I should be considering, please let me know.

In the Howa, I’d look at the 143/147 ELDs from Hornady, the 139 Lapua Scenar, or the 130/140 Bergers,

The 162 Amax will always be the gold standard 7mm bullet.... but I don’t know if a short-boxed 1-9.5” twist is the best place to run them. Doubt you’ll get any of the 175/180 to stabilize in the A-Bort. I’ve shot the 160 Accubond out to 1/2 mile, and killed a buck with one at 550 yards last fall. It’s a pretty good all-around 7mm bullet.

Plenty of good advice given already. I agree with the berger comments. 168VLD in the 7mag is where I'd start. I would recommend testing loads at 300+ and see how they group. Also are the rifles currently bedded? How's the accuracy currently?

Thank you. For the 7mm, the 140 Accubond and 150 Accubond LR is the way I was leaning with a plan to also test the Barnes 145 LRX. For the Hornady, I've heard bad things about the SST, but the ELD looks pretty interesting. I can see adding that to the roster. The A-Bolt has a 26" barrel, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't stabilize the heavier bullets, but I've read that 140-160 is the right range for it.

It's not the barrel length on the A bolt. It's the twist rate that limits your bullet selection.

If it was me I'd load up some some 155 scenars for the .308 and be done. 45-47 grains of Varget is a proven accurate load. That bullet will do anything you want out to 600 with relatively mild recoil.

Thank you. The rifles are just standard factory rifles, but Browning and Ruger are both shooting sub-MOA at 100 yds with Nosler Partitions. I just don't like the variability I've seen with the soft tips of the NPs, so I don't plan to use them past 200 yds. The Howa is still in its factory recommended breakin plan so every shot is a fouler or a second shot. I'm about to start shooting 3-shot groups with it so I'll know more what to expect then.

I will definitely be see how all the bullets that I test group at 300+ ranges, but that might not be until warmer months and I will be attempting to use these for hunting when it is very cold. Will the results of testing during warmer months still be valid in cold weather? I can do some additional testing during early December but it will have to be at shorter ranges.

147 ELD in the 6.5, 180 ELD in the 7RM, 155 Scenar in the .308. Done.

I'm not even seeing Scenars mentioned in ballisticstudies.com's knowledgebase, so could you provide data on how they perform at various velicities?

Pat has done a few ballistics studies with the 155.....