Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Cost efficient rifle for practice?

Hi, what would be the best for cost efficiencies for practice if you didn’t plan on reloading for it? I certainly realize reloading would be best, but time is a premium and I rather spend it at the range. Appreciate it.

22 LR

.223 used to be cheap.

Practicing for what?

5.56

For distance. I am starting to extend my hunting ranges and would like to practice to 1000 yards or so, to be better at the 600-700 hunting ranges.

What are you intending to hunt?

For cheap range time and learn to dial and read wind 223 with heavies.
6.5cm or 308 to go further on the cheap.
To hunt with out to a 1000? 7 or 300 PRC. Obviously 300 win or 7 rem would be cheaper. I don’t know but Budget and long range just don’t mesh well

Thank you, I don’t think I would hunt to 1000, just practice. I have 6.5 prc with a short barrel so I think 600 or so would be max.

I live in Colorado and chase elk, deer, and antelope, rifle and archery. Set up 6.5 prc to hopefully cover them all. My previous elk have been .270 and .308.

Practice with a fast twist 223 Rem, 6.5 Creed or 308 Winchester.
Your drops and wind corrections will be different, but that is not a big deal.

Another option:
Get a 22lr and put your hunting scope on it and run it from 50 yards to 200 yards.

to learn accuracy just the standard 22 LR at 25 YD. pit then 50 yard pit when can shoot extremely well at 50 yards you will know the difference then. good luck

Another option:
Get a 22lr and put your hunting scope on it and run it from 50 yards to 200 yards.[/quote]

Shooting a good 22lr with a dialing scope out to 200-300 yards will teach you a lot about dialing and holding elevation and windage corrections and good rifle techniques

There are a bunch of really good 22 rimfires. In my opinion they will teach you more about long range shooting at less cost per round than anything.

This, 77 or 80 grain bullets in a fast twist .223 will get you to 600 yards. Nothing but a .22 LR would be less expensive for practice.

You have been given some great advice.
You can see there is more than one way to skin the cat...Which way are you leaning?

FWIW-a fast twist 223 will get you past a grand, even with a 15" barrel.

If buying factory ammo, a good .22LR and a fast twist 223 or 6mm Creedmoor.

I use a combination of .22LR out to 200yds and .223 with 69s and 77s out to 600yds.

I really like practicing with a .22LR and when I competed in silhouette had a .22LR trainer built to mimic my match rifle. I reload for everything I own except for .22LR, but without a doubt the 2 calibers I shoot the most are .2LR and .223.

Both will give you some exercise in reading the wind. For .223s I've got 2 bolt guns, one mimics a standard sporter and the other a precision rig. My backyard range goes out to 760yds, and once the hay is out in late JUL/AUG I set up a "hunting" CoF to practice field position shooting with steel plates at varying distances in prep for hunting season.

Any gun with low-BC bullets will give you wind practice at the right range.
Generally, you want something that eliminates extraneous factors, like recoil.

+1.

This super-cheap PSA AR is one of my more fun rifles (18" SS 223Wylde 1-8" barrel). It was a bit breezy Saturday morning so I did some 400yd shooting with 77's to see what kind of drift I'd get, and to check dope on a newly swapped scope. I only learn so much when I just shoot on the calm/still days. As much as I like bolt guns, I would have never thought I'd be grabbing an AR first thing to go do chores or stop by the range.