What Is The Fastest, Flattest Shooting Shoulder Fired Rifle?

[M-Tecs]

I shoot a 220 Swift with 50 grain Berger Moly bullet out of 1-12 twist that does 4100 FPS and 1/2'' without anything fancy. Who knows how fast a 40-45 grain bullet might go? I've heard of bullets blowing up out of the Swift at over 4000, it depends on the twist...

Twist is one factor but so is jacket construction. J4 jackets tend to be thinner than Sierra jackets. The solid copper bullets should take more RPMs than the Sierra's. When I first started shooting prairie dogs used the Speer 22 Cal. 52 grain flat base hollow points in both the .223 and the 220 Swift. They were only available in 1,000 bulk packs. It didn't matter how fast you pushed them they performed superbly. I went thru 8K without issue than Speer introduced the TNT bullets and they changed the jacket to the TNT design. After that I could blow them up with a 9 twist .223.

[white eagle]

204 Ruger factory ammo can average 4500fps, handloads can average over 4900 fps

30-378 maybe but who want's to shot that twice in a row from the shoulder

horse pockets!

[BigAlofPa.]

I think he loads Nosler bullets for his 220. I'll ask him tomorrow if i remember.

[444ttd]

444ttd; Are those the 50BMG based "Varmint" rounds that Skeeter wrote about in "Shooting Times" several decades ago? Those were some great articles.

they might be, i seen them when i was looking at something.

[M-Tecs]

https://www.grandviewoutdoors.com/pr...break-4000-fps

[stubshaft]

DeEarsBsplitten Loudenboomer 22-378

This was originally built on a 50 BMG case and load extrapolation determined it would need a 100' barrel to burn the powder.

[Tripplebeards]

I’m going with a 17 Remington. At long range the wind blows them off course so bad it defeats the purpose. I’ll throw in the 243 wssm with a 55 grain bullet. Had a special run stainless 17 Remington chambered in a stainless 26” model 700 bolt action. Bought it for predator hunting. It was had to load for and finicky so a pawned it off for a good old POF P415 that shoots tighter groups. I remember reading an old article back in the late 80’s before all the short mags and ultra mags came to town. It listed the 17 Rem, 243, and 257 Wheatherby. As the three flattest factory loaded calibers. I don’t remember which ammo was used but the 243 was loaded with 55 grain bullets. I know with Nosler ballistic tips my 22” AR 10 shoots over 4100 FPS and my 26” bolt gun shoots over 4250 FPS. I flat to 400 yards and a little farther. I stick with my good old 243’s because brass is cheap and easy to come. You can run 308 brass through a 243 die and call it a day. I own four. 2 AR 10’s, a 1967 Remington 600, and a Rem VLS I replaceplaced with an HSprescion stock. The VLS will shoot .2” groups at 200 yards loaded up with a 70 grain Nosler ballistic tip loaded at 3650 FPS. It’s about 2 grains over book but no signs of pressure. It will blow a coyote almost in half if you hit a bone. It doesn’t hardly recoil with the heavy barrel as well so it’s fun to shoot...same with the AR10’s. The little 600 has a good kick though. I just Remember...I think the 220 swift was in that article as well.

[Drm50]

I shot a lot of groundhogs for years. My main .224 cal guns were 222 Rem, 223 Rem and 220 Swift
I used Hornady 55gr bullets in all them. These bullets would explode at 3200fps and much more accurate than lighter bullets. The 240 Gibbs, 243Win & 6mm Rem I shot the same way, 85-87 gr bullets did best for me. The 25/06, 7mm mg and 300Win rounded out my GHog Guns. The only bullet I used that didn’t blow up was a 130gr Speer HP in the 300mg. I believe longest GHog kills were between 600-700 yds.

[Tripplebeards]

I’ve loaded my 300 RUM WAY over 4000 FPS with 125 grain Nosler ballistic tip. It kicks like a 243 with my KDF installed. It will cause your ears to bleed with no hearing protection after a couple of rounds...I can tell you first hand. I shot two Pronghorn with the load. One at two hundred yards. I could throw a coffee can through the hole it made. The other was at a 1000 yards. I poked a bullet diameter hole in and out. The Pronghorn ran in a 40 yard circle and fell over dead. The closer one was lifted up and off its feet like it was hit with a Mac truck. I don’t use that load anymore. Not hunting imo. I like getting within spitting distance. They only thing I use the flat shooting calibers for now are drive by coyotes so I don’t have to judge distance. If I see a coyote with my eyes without squinting I just aim and shoot with my 243. Heck my 20” 1/8 twist 223 chambered Remington LTR shoots close to 3850 FPS with just under a max load of benchmark along with a 40 grain Nosler ballistic tip. It shoots .3” 200 yard groups all day long. The barrel will last a lot longer then a faster caliber barrel burner and still shoot flat to almost 400 yards with similar to 22wmr Recoil. Now if I could just find some Remington 7 1/2 primers for my pet load life would be good.

I get a kick out of Nosler trying to reinvent the wheel with basically calling their “RUM” loads “Nosler” now for marketing purposes. We will see how long they last or how quick they die out like the RUMs did. I still have my 300 and 375 RUMs. They sure burn a lot of powder and neither of them get shot in WI woods where I shoot most my deer in bow range during fun season. I use my 300RUM when I get drawn for bear but will use my 35 Whelen next time around.

If you like shooting..and want to shoot the gun a lot...and burn out the barrel...anything 25 cal or under at 4K plus velocity is a joy to shoot imo.

[Three44s]

How about a .257 STW?

Three44s

[Norske]

I used to work with a young man who thought the Wby. 30-378 was the perfect mule deer rifle. He never used the muzzle brake, but his girl friend sewed a suede patch to the shoulder part of a Stearns life jacket. The 1/2" of semi-rigid foam spread the recoil over such a large area, it wasn't too bad. H didn't use the muzzle brake on his 340 Wby. either.

[Texas by God]

They aren’t the flattest, but my 22-250 and 25-06 make hitting things out there a ways easier. In my country I don’t need anything magnum because I won’t shoot past 400 yards.

[country gent]

My 22-250 is flat shooting and very good but bullet selection is also a big factor in this. It is built on a ar 10 platform with 1-7 twist barrel. From 200 yds to 300yds drop is from top of x ring to bottom of x ring from 300 to 600 7 mins up. I shoot the original 80 grn JLK vld bullets at around 3500 fps, But am only expecting around 1500-1800 rounds out of the barrel.

In making a flat shooting rife bullet selection is as important as cartridge. round nosed, Spire points will have more drop just do to the shape. Also while light for caliber bullets will shoot flatter out to 300-400 yds after that the velocity lose and light weight makes wind and drop more than a heavier well designed bullet. As an example look at the 22 cal 40 grn bullets and compare realistic data to the 80 or 90 grn vlds at realistic velocities at around 400 yds the heavy surpasses the light one. This becomes even more apparent in the bigger heavier bullets say 110 grn 30 cal and 185 grn vld

[white eagle]

yes they start out fast but loose it fast as well
heavier seem to hold their velocity longer and further

[gumbo333]

I was thinking 30 years ago some guys were loading the 257 Weatherby up close or into the 5000 range. Anyone remember?

[dangitgriff]

.338 Lapua Mag.

[Ozark mike]

378 is hotter than 338 lapua

[dangitgriff]

How does the .338 BC & SD compare to the .378?

[Larry Gibson]

The fastest hand held rifle I've ever shot was a 22-284. It pushed 4300+ fps with a 45 gr jacketed bullet over my Oehler chronograph back in the mid '70s. Barrel life was very short........

[Ozark mike]

Sounds about like a swift hyper but short lived