Long Range Shooting 101: Top 5 Rifles and Calibers for Survivalists

The art of shooting long distances engages a different set of skills and techniques than tactical, cowboy-action, or skeet shooting. Some may say long distance shooting is golf, whereas tactical shooting is basketball.
Repetition, attention to detail, and the proper equipment can make an enormous difference when it comes to long distance accuracy. And, of course, these are just preparations you make to offset all the less-than-ideal conditions that you’ll almost certainly be dealing with in any real-world scenario.
Back to the Fundamentals
The key to performing nearly anything requiring precision under pressure is, to oversimplify a bit, practice. To be more specific, we have to fall back on an old football coach’s favorite saying. “Practice doesn’t make perfect,” he was fond of saying, “Perfect practice makes perfect.”
The key here is to realize that target shooting is never really just shooting at a target; it’s also training. The level of focus, patience, and expectations you bring to shooting at paper targets will inevitably impact how well you shoot in competition, hunting, etc.

An old marine once explained why he was able to shoot 1-inch groups consistently at 100-yards while the rest of us were satisfied with 4-inch groups. He explained that back in the time of his basic training, Marines were made to dry fire their rifles a minimum of 1,000 times before they were allowed the privilege of live ammo.
To date, it sticks out as the most important and instructive thing we’ve heard regarding shooting accuracy. Consider how much time, not to mention mental energy, it would require to practice your aim, breathing, and trigger pull a thousand times with no live ammo. It’s a great exercise, when you think of it. With no anticipation or recoil, you can practice perfectly, building all the right habits, techniques, and muscle memory.

But for goodness sakes, how damned boring would that be?
To tell the truth, the amount of time and effort it takes to become a truly excellent marksman is daunting. This is why you can’t afford to waste any time with improper training and the wrong tools.
On the other hand, we have much better tools at our disposal than the Korean War era Marine who was such a good shot. Since you probably don’t have the time or patience to dry fire thousands of times before you start plinking, you’re going to want to use these superior tools.

Remington 700 VTR

The “VTR” in this version of Remington’s venerable Model 700 stands for “Varmint Tactical Rifle.” Why would someone hunting varmints even need to get very tactical? It’s not like a gray fox is going to return fire or anything.
Either way, you’ll notice that there’s a strong link between rifles designed for precision shooting and those designed for varmint hunting. In the off-the-shelf market, they’re one in the same.
The 700 VTR comes chambered in both .260 Remington and .308 Winchester, both excellent rounds for shooting at long distances, as we’ve already established.
Other perks offered by the 700 VTR are Remington’s X-Mark externally adjustable trigger, the “Super Cell” recoil pad, a contoured 22” barrel, a picatinny rail system, and a tactical barrel with muzzle breaks.
While it’s not exactly “cheap” by most standards, it does have all of the upgrades in one nice and tidy package. Upgrading all of these pieces individually would make this a $2,000 custom rifle, and you still wouldn’t have a scope on it.
RETAIL: $789

Ruger Hawkeye Varmint Target Rifle

With a laminated stock, this “Varmint Target” rifle just looks like a piece of precision equipment, capable of sharpshooting excellence, which it is.
If you’re already a fan of the Strum and Ruger rifle catalog, you’ll recognize the familiar integral scope mounts, which are basically just indentions machined into the top of the receiver. There’s nothing new about the scope mounts, but this is still a feature worth pointing out.
The heavy contour barrel has ben cold hammer-forged and, most importantly, features “ultra-precise” rifling that delivers better accuracy and easier cleaning. The Hawkeye Varmint Target also features Ruger’s 2-stage trigger, consisting of a “take up” stage, followed by a crisp tension stage.
Chambered in .308 Win and 6.5 Creedmoor, this is a finely tuned piece of target drilling machinery. However, it doesn’t quite have all the bells and whistles offered by the Remington 700 VTR,
RETAIL: $909 

Savage 12-BVSS

For many years, Savage has built quite a business around rifles that cater to the target and varmint-hunting niche. Bull barrels, aggressive styling, and tactical stocks are nothing new for this manufacturer. Savage was doing this before it become cool.
One of Savage’s greatest “claims to fame” when it comes to long distance shooting is its famous AccuTrigger. Developed by Savage Arms in 2002, lots of competitive shooters swear by this trigger system and its user-friendly design.
Every shooter has his preference in terms of pull weight, creep, and over-travel. The AccuTrigger’s core promise is that shooters can customize their trigger to suit their shooting style.
The 12-BVVS comes outfitted with a heavy stainless steel barrel, which is fluted, no less. It’s available in .22-250 Rem, .223 Rem, and .308 Win, quite the donut hole in terms of calibers, but it makes sense when you consider that varmint hunters (the official target market for this rifle) will prefer the smaller calibers, while long-range shooters will opt for the .308 Win.
RETAIL: $1,039

Howa Classic Heavybarrel Varminter

Howa was a Japanese industrial machinery company that got involved in firearms manufacturing during WWII. Since then, they’ve become a mainstay for civilian shooters by specializing in heavy barreled hunting rifles that are known for quality, accuracy, and being easy on the wallet. You might think of them as the Honda of rifles.
With it’s heavy barrel construction, laminated stock with cooling vents and a raised cheek rest, and 2-stage match trigger, the M1500 has been recognized by many as a natural sniper rifle. In fact, the Japanese Nation Police Agency adopted the “Varminter” as its official sniper rifle. It’s also reportedly used by Ukraine’s Special Forces.
RELATED: Eyeball Test: Can You Spot These Heavily Camouflaged Snipers? 
The rifle itself is pretty plain Jane, which is kind of the beauty of it. Its laminated stock offers some head turning flair, as well as utility. The short action, magazine conversion capabilities, and heavy barrel configurations (stainless or blue) are nice features. The rifle also comes chambered in two of our favorite calibers, .243 Win and .308 Win.
RETAIL: $650

Tikka T3x TAC

Did we save the best for last? Lots of fanboys of this Finnish rifle manufacturer think so. Regardless, it’s very hard to argue that this rifle, which being a bit more expensive than others on this list, won’t at least make you feel like you’re shooting a helluva lot better.
To be fair, Tikka does offer other variations on the T3x that are under $1,000, but this one is certainly the most well-appointed version for driving tacks at 800 yards.
The tuned accuracy, heavy barrel, and smooth action are standard fare when it comes to Tikka. The adjustable check rest, fancy recoil pad, integrated picatinny rail, and 5/6 round magazine are what really set this rifle apart from the pack. The T3x is available in .223 Rem, .300 Win Mag, and .308 Win.
RETAIL: $1,550

Bang for Your Buck: Top 5 Long Range Calibers

For such a high-end and specialized hobby, you’d be surprised by how much agreement there is about the “best” rounds for long-distance shooting. That is, if money is no object. And of course it is.
That’s why we’ve configured our list around calibers that are excellent for distance shooting but also useful for hunting and/or widely available. This is why you won’t see the .338 Lapua, .50 BMG, or the .416 Barret on this list.
RELATED: Eyeball Test: Can You Spot These Heavily Camouflaged Snipers? 
There are lots of excellent choices that are nearly always available at your local sporting goods store. And for our money, at least, we feel confident that our shooting skills will be the greatest limiting factor, not the size or diameter of our ammunition.

.308 Winchester

First things first, the .308 is by far the most popular sniper round. Despite the constant emergence of “new and improved” 30-caliber rounds, they will always be measured against the .308 Winchester.
The fact is, it’s very hard to improve on this cartridge. The ballistics profile of this round hits the sweet spot, traveling long distances with accuracy and consistency, and it even behaves predictably in the wind.
There are hotter and heavier rounds out there. Certainly, there are trendier ones. The generations of military field-testing behind the .308 makes it unique. The US Army caps the recommended range of the .308 at 1,000 meters.
You could certainly hit a target at over that maximum reliably with the .308, however, if you were so inclined.

7mm Remington Magnum

Although this cartridge recently celebrated its 50^th birthday, it’s only gotten better with age (and technological improvements). Because of its excellent reputation, the selection of .284 bullets out there is massive.
The amount of power behind the .284 projectile is impressive as well, pushing the 160-grain version at over 3,000 fps. According to Sniper Central, the 7mm is recommended for military applications out to 1,000 yards. However, its history as a sniper round is primarily within the US Secret Service, not the military.
The combination of velocity and knockdown power has made the 7mm Rem-Mag one of the most popular rounds for big game hunters. The “7 Mag” offers advantages over the .308 at distances, but it is often overshadowed by the bigger .300 Win Mag (including in the recoil department).
Just like with the .300 Win Mag, the popularity of the 7mm Mag is its own benefit. It’s widely available in a wide range of configurations.

.300 Winchester Magnum

When it comes to long-range calibers, the keys are speed and mass. The 300 Win Mag has plenty of both, one of the primary reasons that the US Army has made a push to adopt it in recent years.
This popular hunting cartridge can fling a 150-grain bullet at 3,200 fps, which, as you can imagine, creates quite a bit of momentum and a predictable flight path. Given its raw power, it creates significant recoil, which can be managed by a muzzle break and proper technique.
This round is also widely available at sporting goods stores, with lots of selection to choose from. Reloading is certainly not necessary with the .300 Win Mag. If you do decide you want a very specific set of specs, you can most likely find what you’re looking for from one of the trusted ammo brands.

.30-06 Springfield

If you’re looking for bang for your buck, look no further than the .30-06 Springfield. This round served as the primary sniper round for the US from WWI through the first half of Vietnam, when the Army and USMC decided to jointly adopt the .308 as their standard.
Don’t let that be the reason you overlook this round because many shooters do. It’s inexpensive and available virtually everywhere ammo is sold. Not to mention, many factory made long-range rifles are chambered in .30-06.
The .30-06 can launch a 175-grain bullet at over 2600fps, and many shooters would argue that it has better long-range ballistics than the .308. To top it all off, the recoil from this round isn’t nearly as punishing as the .300 Win Mag.

.243 Winchester

For shooters who want long distance capability without the notorious recoil of the 30-calibers (which really should be most of us), there are plenty of smaller calibers that are capable of hitting at 1,000 yards. Plus, it wouldn’t be right to overlook all the great 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges out there.
The trouble is, of course, deciding which one to include. Should we go with the .260 Remington or the 6.5 Creedmoor? Both are excellent rounds, and both are considered to have stellar long-range ballistics.
A simple search on the Cabela’s website for ammo was the tie-breaker we needed: Both failed.
As we’ve already discussed, the affordability and availability of ammunition are two of our most important qualifications. While there are literally dozens of manufacturers producing the .243 Win, only a couple were supplying the .260 Remington or 6.5 Creedmoor at scale.
Then we read an interview with champion tactical shooter George Gardner. When asked why he selected the 243 Win for his competition rifle, Gardner answered, “Why would I run anything else? Think about it. I’m sending a .585 BC 115 at 3150 fps–that’ll shoot inside the 6XC and .260 Rem with ease. I’m pretty sure I have found the Holy Grail of Comp Rifles.”
The .243 uses the same brass as the trusty .308 Winchester, necked down to a 6mm bullet. That gives you the advantage of being able to use .308 magazines interchangeably. There are also a multitude of match grade bullets available, similar to the 30-cals we’ve listed.
The .243 Winchester fires a very fast bullet with a very flat trajectory. The bullet is smaller and lighter, but so is the recoil. If you are into reloading, many shooters prefer the Ackley Improved shell, which can launch a bullet at an impressive 3300fps.
Conclusions
If it seems like we’re trying hard to sell the merits of the 6mm category, it’s because we really are. Despite the popular notion that heavier bullets make better long-distance cartridges, that really depends on your definition of “long-distance.”
If your definition ranges from 400-800 yards, then any of the calibers we’ve listed are more than capable. If you just can’t stand the thought of being limited to 1,000-yard shots, then the .300 Win Mag is probably your best bet