rifle and ammunition questions

[Bigjakeag]

Howdy, i stumbled upon this site looking for some rifle information and that is part of my first question.

First off let me say that here in the past month i have become very interested in long range shooting and external ballistics. I've hunted all my life but was never really interested in the understanding of guns as far as what ammunition to use in certain situations and what rifles to choose for different game, if that makes sence to anyone, basically i just enjoyed the kill and the meat. Although at the momment i cant really afford any guns i'll be graduating from college in a few months and plan to start purchasing/collecting guns.

As far as guns i plan to purchase so far are the:
.243 winchester and the .284 winchester

I have had alot of experence with these guns, the .243 being the first gun i ever hunted with, it was a great shooting gun, very successful with it on every hunt i used it on same with the .284.

But as to my questions:

I'm looking for either some good websites and/or books on external ballistics and details on rifles, specifically for longer range rifles with great accuracy and stopping power but also shorter range rifles(within 300 yards). I'm also looking for some books with more detailed charts of ammunition loads. I dont understand why one gun may have a drop of say 8" at 400 yards but another gun has a drop of over 20" at the same distance. What makes the first gun better than the second and vice versa.

So far the only book i have is a 2004 version of the shooters bible, has alot of good information, especially charts on ammunition but i'm really lookin for some information on what makes a gun or bullet do what it does and what makes one better over another.

Thanks for any links/information you can provide to me.


i'n not sure if i enabled members to send me email but incase i didnt its:
Jacob01@neo.tamu.edu

[Karys]

Check the back of the Sierra reloading manual. It has a pretty extensive ballistics section.

[OneLungMcClung]

I remember that The Ultimate Sniper by major John Plaster had detailed data charts for common firearms, but that was only for military-common calibers (.223, .300 WM, .308, .338 LM).

Looks like there is an update for the 21st Century, having been released in 06! I am sure it still centers around military calibers, but worth a look anyway IMO.

Hope that helps!

-Lung-

[aubie515]

I dont understand why one gun may have a drop of say 8" at 400 yards but another gun has a drop of over 20" at the same distance. What makes the first gun better than the second and vice versa.

There are a lot of factors that affect drop, such as; temp, wind, elevation to name a few. Another factor that will determine your drop is the length of the barrel. Lets compare a 20" barrel to a 26" barrel and assuming both rifles are the same caliber. The longer barrel will give you faster velocities out of the 26" rifle and that makes a huge difference when you are talking about longer ranges.

I am in the process of buying a ballistics program for my computer and PDA. There is actually a group buy on snipers hide. And to be quite honest, you should join that forum for better answers.

Here is the link for the ballistics program.
http://www.patagoniaballistics.com/

Hornady has one that I use as well.
http://www.hornady.com/ballistics/ba...calculator.php

Good reloading link and they have a forum as well.
http://www.reloadersnest.com/index.asp

Snipers Hide
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubb...s.php?ubb=cfrm

ETA: As much as I love my .243, that caliber burns barrels too fast...have you considered the .260 Remington? Better ballistics compared to my beloved .308.

[deth502]

I dont understand why one gun may have a drop of say 8" at 400 yards but another gun has a drop of over 20" at the same distance. What makes the first gun better than the second and vice versa.

mostly bullet speed.

although there are many other things to cinsider.

[Chazman321]

Bullet weight, size of the powder charge, length of the case, width of the case, ballistic co-efficient, barrel length, rifling rate of twist. There are thousands of things that effect bullet drop, velocity, and energy.

I could only wish for 20 inches low at 400 yards lol my 30.06 with 220's would probably hit 10 feet infront of the deer at that distance... Then again, you're from Texas, and you have a lot of chances to take longer shots. Where I hunt, 50 to 100 yards is as good as it gets...

BTW, a 7mm STW is a good, hard hitting, flat shooting gun... Or you can buy one of those .257 Hot Tamales... It is merely a 7mm STW necked down to accept a .257 bullet

[Xringshooter]

There is a program out there called QuickLOAD. You can see it at www.neconos.com. It is an internal and external ballistics program. You load in what you are reloading and it will give good estimates (from what I have read and heard) of the chamber pressures, and the external ballistics. It is however, not too cheap, but in its defense it is a theoraticians dream.

[PA Rifleman]

There are a lot of factors that affect drop, such as...

Snipers Hide
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubb...s.php?ubb=cfrm

...

I'll second Aubie. What many appear to be saying is choose your ammunition based on what you shoot at, and the distance you fire at.

And add, see http://www.snipercountry.com/

Pay particular attention to the section "ammunition and handloading" (link) and "ballistics" (link).

[deth502]

There is a program out there called QuickLOAD. You can see it at www.neconos.com. It is an internal and external ballistics program. You load in what you are reloading and it will give good estimates (from what I have read and heard) of the chamber pressures, and the external ballistics. It is however, not too cheap, but in its defense it is a theoraticians dream.

try a google search. there are many avail on the net to download for free.

[Chazman321]

Remington has a program that is free for 30 days. Might be worth checking it out.