Just out of curiosity, what kind of Covid precautions does your local range have in place? I ask this because I think you are in a better situation than most of us (in this thread) since you're able to reload your own ammo.
Currently it does not have any safety precautions whatsoever.
There is a theoretical rule to wear masks, but the owner of the range and me are the only people wearing them, nobody else wears any kind of protection. For a short period of time we had to make reservations, and during that time only members of the range could shoot (no guests), but that was dropped quickly, now people come and go as it pleases them.
I hate to say it because I have many friends at the range, but they all are ultra-conservatives. They all either believe the virus is conspiracy, it does not exist, its no worse than the flu or they go into total denial. I'm not mad at them, they are free to have their own opinions, but their actions is what makes me stay away from the range. We have the worst surge of new infections right now, almost 2100 new cases per day, that is a lot for such a small country like Austria, there is only 8 million people here.
I'm actually assigned to range officer duties next week but I am not going to attend.
I know you've stated multiple times in the past that there is no significant ballistics difference between the .308 Win and 6.5 CM.
Well, there is some but I don't think its all that significant. It has a little less drop, the thing is you can easily dial that in in your scope and you are good to go. Both cartridges are still super sonic at 1000. IMO people get too hung up on trajectory, remember that trajectory has little to do with accuracy if you know how to compensate for it. And if there is wind that gets you into trouble with .308 you wont have a great day with the 6.5CM either, then you need way more horsepower.
And that little improvement in trajectory is most often bought in blood so to speak.
But when we go beyond that distance and I compare it to the 215 gr Berger Hybrid .300 Win Mag (G1 BC .691) from Federal and 147 gr ELD Match 6.5 CM (G1 BC .697) from Hornady that my buddies shoot; I kind of wish I had one of those calibers instead.
Beyond 1000yds is definitely not .308 nor 6.5CM territory, that is big magnum territory. If you are planning on shooting beyond 1000 on a regular basis you need a 300WM with a 26''+ barrel or a .338 Lapua Magnum, maybe a 7mm ultra magnum but that one eats barrels for breakfast. Or a .416 if you can afford it. With those calibers its a totally different game altogether.
I have no personal experience with the Horus H37 reticle but I like the way it looks. What I like most about that reticle are the windage markings. But the concern I have with that reticle in a FFP or SFP scope is how much of the reticle is visible at 20x or more zoom? Plus if I am not mistaking, in a SFP scope the subtensions of that reticle are only true at whatever the max power (zoom) is of that particular scope.
That only comes into affect if you go below max magnification, but you wont do that at 1000yds shooting. You'd only have to dial it down at 100 meters maybe.
I have no personal experience with that particular scope either but I do know its a very popular scope among long range target shooters and it might be worth checking out.
I am glad that we're having this conversation and I can't thank you enough for all the info you've shared with us. The ballistics data you posted for the .280 Remington, is that one of your custom loads or is that factory ammo? If I could find this ammo with those ballistics locally or online, I'd gladly take this over a .300 Win Mag or 6.5 CM. What do you think about the 6.5 PRC and .300 PRC?
The .280 Remington I mentioned is a load published by Vihtavuori, but since they have to stick to the cartridge specs you can definitely increase the OAL of the cartridge and get more out of it. A friend of mine has a .280 and he uses it for 1000 meters, he drives Hornady 180 grain ELD's ( BC of .796 !!) to 2850 fps. Hot load! Run those numbers!
In general I'm a HUGE fan of the 7mm projectiles, just browse them for a bit, they have magnificent BC's and there are great 7mm cartridges with little recoil. They are not magic bullets and no, they won't outperform .300WM or .338, but all things considered they are an extremely elegant solution for most long range work, their efficiency is so high.
Problem is, I don't know if there are any factory target rifles chambered in .280. You probably would have to get a 30-06 Remington 700 or Savage and re-barrel it to 280. If you do, get a 30'' instead of a 26'' barrel for another 50-70 fps more.
By the way, you should totally start reloading your own ammunition. If you shoot long range the ability to make your own ammunition and tune it to your rifle opens a door to a whole new world. I'm still mad at myself for not having started earlier - and so will you!
Some dudes shooting .50BMG, .338LM, .26Nos and .280 Remington at 1000 and 1500. The rifle in the maple stock appears to be the 280. .280 1500yd hit at 6:00.