Sniper Rifle Ammunition

Popular NATO Sniper Rifle Cartridges (Long Range Class)

308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO)

The T-65 cartridge was introduced in the 1950s as a shortened 30-06 with the same caliber bullet. The new case length is 51mm. In 1957 the US Army adopted the M14 rifle in this 7.62x51mm round.

30-06 Springfield (7.62x63mm NATO)

This cartridge has also been known as the 30 Government M'06 and is made from an adapted 30-03 back in 1906 for the Springfield model 1903 Service Rifle.

The 30-06 is a longer, at 63mm, than the 308 and can hold more powder. The 30-06 was superseded by the 7.62x51mm (308 Win) but in Europe the 30-06, designated 7.62x63mm, is still widely used.

The 30-06 is considered the most flexible, useful, all around big game cartridge available to North American hunters. Although loads up to 220 grain may be used, many expert hunters consider 180 grain loads the best choice for a wide variety of medium to heavy game under almost any hunting condition. The 220 grain load is generally recommended for large African game, but remains inadequate for the heaviest species.

300 Winchester Magnum (7.62x67mm)

Introduced in 1963, the 300 Winchester Magnum is considered in the same class as the 300 Weatherby and suitable for any North American game.

The U.S. Army is upgrading its M24 bolt-action sniper rifles to fire the .300 Winchester magnum (7.62x67) round. They will become known as the M24E1. The rifle previously fired the less power 7.62x51mm round.

338 Lapua Magnum (8.58x71mm)

The cartridge that is supposed to fill the gap between the 50 BMG and 308 Winchester. The 338 Lapua Magnum launches a 250 grain bullet at 3000 fps and is reported to be very effective at over 9/10ths of a mile (1500 meters, 1640 yards). The commercial soft point bullet is for hunting very heavy game.

The cartridge was developed as a specialized rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge for military long-range sniper rifles. It has been put into service, performing well in the Afghanistan War and Iraq War. The military wanted a cartridge capable of penetrating five layers of military body armor at 1,000 m (1,094 yd) and still make the kill.

The 338 Lapua is a 416 Rigby case necked down to take a 0.338-inch (8.6 mm) bullet, which is more efficient for modern smokeless powder.

The 338 Lapua Magnum has been designated a "cartridge of interest" by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). It is being groomed to replace the 300 Winchester Magnum and the 50 BMG for anti-personnel long-range service in the U.S. military.

NATO Sniper Rifle Cartridges (Super Long Range / Heavy Class)

50 Browning / 50 BMG (12.7x99mm)

The 50 Browning Machine Gun cartridge was adopted by the US Military in 1918 for use in the Browning machine gun. The cartridge has been adopted in the civilian world as a large sporting round used in long range competition shooting with some events exceeding 1 mile in distance.

The world record for distance on a kill shot made by a sniper as of 2010 is 1½ miles (2,430 meters, 1.51 miles) by Canadian sniper Rob Furlong using superior U.S. ammo with a .50-caliber McMillan Brothers Tac-50 rifle and ammunition loaded with 750 gr Hornady A-MAX ammo. The inferior Canadian ammo would not have served to make the kill according to the sniper. Before the war in Afghanistan introduced several new records, the record had been held for 35 years by Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock in the Vietnam war, also firing a 50 cal. from a Browning M2 machine gun (although a machine gun is not a sniper rifle, the long range and power of the 50 BMG is still relevant.)

The 308, 30-06, and 300 Win Mag Debate

Some of these points vary depending upon source and so called expert opinion. Here is a culmination of various talking points from different sources.

• the .300 Winchester Magnum is superior to the 308 [7.62x51 NATO]'
• The 30-06 is a longer cartridge than the 308 and can hold more powder
• The 308 has slightly less power but was a good compromise
• The M1A is a civilian legal semi auto M14
• 30.06 =7.62 X 63mm long
• 7.62mm = 7.62 X 51mm long
• Reports that 7.62 X 51mm is slightly more accurate
• 7.62x51 (.308) is 180 grains. The 7.62x63 (.30-'06) can load 220 grain
• The .30-06 round has more power (barely) and theoretically longer range
• More precision ammunition is made for the .308 Winchester rifle.
• The .308 also has less recoil and barrel life will be longer,
• The .308 is a short-action rifle that is less expensive and more common
• .308 win. and 7.62x51mm/NATO are technically different and arguably interchangeable
• there is a larger variety of ammo types offered for the 30-06 than any of the .308 win. and 7.62x51mm/NATO combined.
• The .300 Winchester Magnum military designation is (7.62x67)
• The US Army is upgrading .308 (7.62x51 NATO) to .300 Win Mag (7.62x67)

According to a 1000 yard bench shooting expert, to achieve 1000 yard accuracy it is necessary to keep the bullet above the speed of sound until it passes though the target. The .308 does so well due to its extremely low muzzle velocity spread, because too much velocity variation results in open groups at 1000 yards. This is why the 308 outperforms the 30-06 at 1000 yards, even though the latter gets a little more velocity.

Sniper Long Range Ammunition

Cartridge	Weight	fps	Description 
			
.223 Rem 	69 gr 	2800	69gr HPBT Match 
.223 Rem 	75 gr 	2700	75gr HPBT Match (Hornady T1) 
.223 Rem 	77 gr 	2680	77gr HPBT Match 
.223 Rem 	80 gr 	2650	80gr HPBT Match 
.223 Rem 	90 gr 	2600	90gr HPBT Match 
5.56x45 NATO 	69 gr 	2800	69gr HPBT 
.260 Rem 	123 gr 	2800	123gr HPBT Match (Lapua Scenar) 
.260 Rem 	142 gr 	2700	142gr HPBT Match 
6.5x55 	142 gr 	2700	142gr HPBT Match 
6.5x284 Norma 	142 gr 	2840	142gr HPBT Match 
6.8 SPC 	110 gr 	2680	110gr VMax 
6.8 SPC 	115 gr 	2625	115gr HPBT Match 
7mm Rem Mag 	162 gr 	2950	162gr Amax Match 
7mm Rem Mag 	168 gr 	2950	168gr Berger VLD Match 
7mm Rem Mag 	168 gr 	2950	168gr HPBT Match 
.308 Win 	155 gr 	2860	155gr HPBT Palma Match 
.308 Win 	155 gr 	2875	155gr Amax Match 
.308 Win 	155 gr 	2860	155gr HPBT VLD Palma Match 
.308 Win 	168 gr 	2600	168gr Amax Match 
.308 Win 	168 gr 	2625	168gr Berger VLD Match 
.308 Win 	168 gr 	2625	168gr HPBT Match 
.308 Win 	175 gr 	1090	175gr HPBT-Match Sub-Sonic Moly 
.308 Win 	175 gr 	2600	175gr HPBT Match 
.308 Win 	178 gr 	2600	178gr A-Max Match 
.308 Win 	190 gr 	2500	190gr HPBT Match 
7.62x51 NATO 	168 gr 	2625	168gr AMAX Match 
7.62x51 NATO 	168 gr 	2625	168gr HPBT Match 
7.62x51 NATO 	175 gr 	2580	175gr HPBT M118LR Equiv. 
.30-06 Spr 	168 gr 	2790	168gr HPBT Match 
.30-06 Spr 	175 gr 	2650	175gr HPBT Match 
.30-06 Spr 	190 gr 	2600	190gr HPBT Match 
.30-06 Spr 	208 gr 	2700	208gr AMAX Match 
.300 WSM 	178 gr 	2900	178gr AMAX Match 
.300 Win Mag 	168 gr 	3150	168gr HPBT Match 
.300 Win Mag 	185 gr 	3100	185gr D46 FMJBT Match 
.300 Win Mag 	190 gr 	2900	190gr HPBT Match 
.300 Win Mag 	200 gr 	2850	200gr HPBT Match 
.300 Win Mag 	210 gr 	3050	210gr Berger Hunting VLD 
.300 Win Mag 	220 gr 	2836	220gr HPBT Match (Mk248Mod1) 
.338 Lapua 	230 gr 	3137	230gr T-50 Match (Solid) 
.338 Lapua 	250 gr 	2911	250gr HPBT Match 
.338 Lapua 	300 gr 	2735	300gr HPBT Match 
.338 RUM 	230 gr 	x	230gr T-50 Match (Solid) 
.338 RUM 	250 gr 	x	250gr HPBT Match 
.338 RUM 	300 gr 	x	300gr HPBT Match 
.338-378 Weath	230 gr 	x	230gr T-50 Match (Solid) 
.338-378 Weath	250 gr 	x	250gr HPBT Match 
.338-378 Weath	300 gr 	x	300gr HPBT Match 
.50 BMG 	690 gr 	2910	690gr Armor Piercing 
.50 BMG 	750 gr 	2700	750gr T-50 Match (Solid) 
.50 BMG 	750 gr 	2719	750gr AMAX Match 
.50 BMG 	773 gr 	2650	773gr T-50 Match (Solid) 

Competition Shooting

To shoot accurately at long range, one must have the proper rifle. While a 25-06, 270 or even a 30-06 will shoot a long way, one must have an even more powerful, flat shooting rifle to reach 1000 yards or more, with precision. This requirement is how the 6.5-300 was born. The 7mm-300, the 30-378, 308 Norma Magnum, 300 Ackley and others, all came about through wanting a rifle that would shoot long range with extreme accuracy. This accuracy is exercised in long range varmint hunting, and in sport shooting such as popular 1000 yard bench rest shooting competition.

A Modified 308 Winchester

The world record set for 1000 yard bench rest shooting was in 2003 by a competitor using a rifle firing the small 6mm BR Remington cartridge. The BR is for Bench Rest, a designation for a round based on a modified Winchester 308 necked down and standardized in 1978. This modified 308 Win has a small rifle primer pocket, thinner walls and annealing to facilitate reforming. The factory load is 100 grain with muzzle velocity of 2550 fps and muzzle energy of 1444 fps. It is also considered a good varmint shooting round.

A More Efficient 300 Winchester Magnum

In 2009 the record was broke again by a shooter using a 300 Winchester Short Magnum (300 WSM) with 210gr Berger VLD bullets. The 300 WSM is more typical for record shooters, considered to be a member of the popular big 300 class of cartridges typically used in 1000 yard bench shooting. The 300 WSM was introduced in 2000 and chambered in short, light Browning and Winchester rifles. The round could duplicate 300 Winchester Magnum velocities while consuming 10 percent less powder. The SSK Industries AR-10 has been re-barreled for the 300 WSM.