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Rifle calibers at 100 yd range
- Thread starter Boston404
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Air Rifle, 22, 25, 30 cal, definitely good to 100 yards. Many options to choose from. Inexpensive per shot, easy refill of tank, quiet, low recoil.
Have been getting lots of time with a 22 at 100 yards.
Have been getting lots of time with a 22 at 100 yards.
DarthRevan
NES Member
Go green.
.22 can be used at 100 if you have the right kind of rifle.
.223/5.56 is another low cost option to start with. Different bullet weights cost more.
And it just goes up from there.
.22 can be used at 100 if you have the right kind of rifle.
.223/5.56 is another low cost option to start with. Different bullet weights cost more.
And it just goes up from there.
silversquirrel
NES Member
.22 WMR. Aka .22 magnum can be fun with a good rifle.
fencer
NES Member
If it has to be a bolt action, you might consider an old Springfield '03.
But if you really want to have some fun at 100 yards, I would recommend a lever action in 357/38 special. Plenty accurate and easy to shoot at 100 yards with just iron sights.
Paired with a nice revolver of the same caliber (s) and you have a super versatile combination that checks a lot of boxes. 38 special out of a 4" revolver is a pussy cat to shoot and awesome for introducing new shooters. Same is true out of a rifle. Recoil is not much more than a 22. Loaded with 357 mag and both the revolver and rifle become a formidable self defense combo.
And damn... Henry makes some sweet rifles chambered in 357mag.
Pistol Caliber Carbines also come to mind, and there are a ton of them available in a variety of calibers.
If it has to be a bolt action, one of the best values out there has to be the Savage 110 with Vortex scope. Comes pre-mounted and bore sighted in a bunch of calibers including 223, which is affordable to shoot. At 100 yards you could shoot the wings off a fly.
Rick O'Shea
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All of 'em,...
MaroonedinMA
NES Member
Comes down to cost. Best value is .22 match ammo (regular can be tough if you want accuracy). At double the cost of that you can get into low-end .223/5.56. At double the cost of that there is .30 of various sorts and (nearly) double that cost is Gucci/Target ammo.
What cost/round will allow you to spend the most time having fun at the range? For me, it’s .22 match ammo out of a CZ bolt gun with a great scope. YMMV.
What cost/round will allow you to spend the most time having fun at the range? For me, it’s .22 match ammo out of a CZ bolt gun with a great scope. YMMV.
Rockrivr1
NES Member
If it has to be a bolt action, you might consider an old Springfield '03.
But if you really want to have some fun at 100 yards, I would recommend a lever action in 357/38 special. Plenty accurate and easy to shoot at 100 yards with just iron sights.
Paired with a nice revolver of the same caliber (s) and you have a super versatile combination that checks a lot of boxes. 38 special out of a 4" revolver is a pussy cat to shoot and awesome for introducing new shooters. Same is true out of a rifle. Recoil is not much more than a 22. Loaded with 357 mag and both the revolver and rifle become a formidable self defense combo.
And damn... Henry makes some sweet rifles chambered in 357mag.
View attachment 775082
Pistol Caliber Carbines also come to mind, and there are a ton of them available in a variety of calibers.
If it has to be a bolt action, one of the best values out there has to be the Savage 110 with Vortex scope. Comes pre-mounted and bore sighted in a bunch of calibers including 223, which is affordable to shoot. At 100 yards you could shoot the wings off a fly.
View attachment 775091
Yep I’d go lever action in 38/357. Fun to shoot and accurate at 100 yards
any caliber, but, nothing really is as much fun as cz 457. those with bigger pockets get a voodoo or similar, the .22lr is most fun at a 100.
my higher caliber rifles are just too accurate to have too much fun at a 100, except maybe of .223 guns. shooting at 300 you see way more effects from improper handling of the trigger, how you hold your breath, handle the rifle overall, etc - it shows immediately on your groups. but it really wants a 1/2 or 1/4 moa accurate gun to show you where you screw up.
the whole game at a 100yds is to get a load that drills shots through the same hole. once it is mastered and is consistent - you want some element of unpredictability, and the 22lr is the best for it.
like here - 3 5rd mags of SK LR .22lr ammo from my cz 457.
but, really, caliber does not matter. if you reload - any caliber will be fun, to play with various loads and find that magical combination for your specific guns to work the best way they can.
.308 is a ton of fun to shoot, just eats powder faster than .223 or smaller ones. it all boils down to the cost of components once you begin to shoot more than average amount.
my higher caliber rifles are just too accurate to have too much fun at a 100, except maybe of .223 guns. shooting at 300 you see way more effects from improper handling of the trigger, how you hold your breath, handle the rifle overall, etc - it shows immediately on your groups. but it really wants a 1/2 or 1/4 moa accurate gun to show you where you screw up.
the whole game at a 100yds is to get a load that drills shots through the same hole. once it is mastered and is consistent - you want some element of unpredictability, and the 22lr is the best for it.
like here - 3 5rd mags of SK LR .22lr ammo from my cz 457.
but, really, caliber does not matter. if you reload - any caliber will be fun, to play with various loads and find that magical combination for your specific guns to work the best way they can.
.308 is a ton of fun to shoot, just eats powder faster than .223 or smaller ones. it all boils down to the cost of components once you begin to shoot more than average amount.
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If you are willing to handload, the 22 Hornet.
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If it is truly just for holes in paper at the range, then it probably does come down to whether or not you will reload. If you won't, then getting something readily available is a huge factor. 38/357 would work as would 5.56NATO or 9x19 (i.e. common 9mm parabellum). I have a 45acp on a Turk Mauser that I built years ago ... it uses 1911 mags and is a hoot to shoot. Recoil is comparable and and noise is less than a 22LR (but those quiet loads are handloads that I keep subsonic on purpose). So, if you are willing to reload, the options go nuts. But you would still want to stick with a bullet diameter that is plentiful ... .223" and 30 cal (.308") are always around ... 6mm, 6.5mm and 7mm are usually available as well. Russian and Brit 30cal (0.311" or 0.312") is much less common on the shelves and I'd avoid it, as would be the case with the 32 cal.
fencer
NES Member
Curious why the inclination for a bolt?
When I'm thinking about plinking, I want to ring steel and am typically not worried about shooting groups. All of my bolt guns are scoped, and even at 300 yards, they are boringly accurate. Even my AR's, with an optic, are super accurate at 300.
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If you are considering .22 mag, you might also want to look at .17 HMR.
The rounds have a lot of similarity, but also some significant differences. If you ever want to hunt with it, then .22 mag is better for coyote sized animals out to 75 yards, and .17 HMR is better for groundhogs at 150. But if you don't hunt, then that doesn't matter.
Some people find that .17 HMR is significantly more accurate at 100 yards, but others report that all rimfire ammo has some inconsistency, and you can't reload for either caliber. It looks like there is greater ammo availability for .22 magnum, but costs are similar between the two. And during periods of ammo scarcity, the less popular .17 HMR has at times been more available.
But all of this leaves out the most important factor. Which is that I can tell you with certainty that .17 HMR is a fun plinking round at 100 yards. A friend of mine, who is no longer with us, was a big fan of .17 HMR, and I shot his rifles quite a bit. It was always a good time.
None of this is intended as a knock on .22 magnum, which I also like quite a lot. I just wanted to suggest that there are options.
A lot of choices. The optimum choice would depend on what you want to do Now or in the future. If you want to only shoot 100 yards with most economical ammo, then .22 rim fire. You take .22 rim fire out to 200 yards and distances in between if you are willing to use a ballistic program etc
If you want to be able to go to 100 yards, then maybe later to 200 or 300 yards then go with .223 center fire. Its economical center fire ammo, and you can to 600 yards without too much issue. I tend to shoot more practice at 200 to 400 yards with .223 In 55grain ammo than anything else With a bolt rifle. But I also shoot the .223 out to 600 yards in an AR15,
First you really need to define your true realistic intent. So many guys go nuts on equiping a rifle so as to reach 1000 yds and never truly shoot past 200 yds. I shoot everything from .22 rimfire to 45-70 from 50 yds out to 1400 yds. A .223 Rem is perfect for out to 600 yds , ammo is plentiful, and respectively cheap. You can't shoot if you can't afford the ammo to continuously feed your rifle. 308 , 6.5CM and short magnum cartridges start getting REAL expensive. KTP has over a dozen used .223 Rem bolt actions for sale, many times you can pick up a used rifle already equipped with an optic.
For strictly plinking purposes, .22 Mag is just boring. At 100 yds is where I can see .17 HMR being a superior choice. Ammo cost is the same for premium ammo and even the cheap stuff is likely to shoot well and at a 100y zero, the drop out to 200y is less than 10 inches. That's insane for a rimfire.
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Learn to reload … any milsurp bolt action rifle 308 class or similar using the C.E. Harris “The Load”’of 16-grains Alliant 2400 under cast boolits …
Capable of nickle-sized groups @ 50-yards benched, you can do a TON of fun shooting, and learn useful experience, especially shooting offhand. Cannot beat it ‘for trigger time’!
Same load will also take a deer out to 200-yards.
Capable of nickle-sized groups @ 50-yards benched, you can do a TON of fun shooting, and learn useful experience, especially shooting offhand. Cannot beat it ‘for trigger time’!
Same load will also take a deer out to 200-yards.
This.
Also, select a caliber heavy enough to see and or hear the hits depending on what targety you decide to use.
Mark from MA
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This. .357 lever for fun and games. Easy to reload too, 100 is a stretch, but doable with a peep for me.
Bolt rifle....223, 7.62X29, 350 Legend if not reloading.
If reloading...almost anything, but I'd still go with the above calibers, probably leaning toward 350 because I shoot 357 magnums and can use the same bullets.
If your taking it out much farther than 100....don't go 350L.
You said centerfire, but .17 HMR is easily a 100 yard gun and one of the most accurate at that range for rimfire.
Mass-diver
NES Member
.38/357 still in short supply?If it has to be a bolt action, you might consider an old Springfield '03.
But if you really want to have some fun at 100 yards, I would recommend a lever action in 357/38 special. Plenty accurate and easy to shoot at 100 yards with just iron sights.
Paired with a nice revolver of the same caliber (s) and you have a super versatile combination that checks a lot of boxes. 38 special out of a 4" revolver is a pussy cat to shoot and awesome for introducing new shooters. Same is true out of a rifle. Recoil is not much more than a 22. Loaded with 357 mag and both the revolver and rifle become a formidable self defense combo.
And damn... Henry makes some sweet rifles chambered in 357mag.
View attachment 775082
Pistol Caliber Carbines also come to mind, and there are a ton of them available in a variety of calibers.
If it has to be a bolt action, one of the best values out there has to be the Savage 110 with Vortex scope. Comes pre-mounted and bore sighted in a bunch of calibers including 223, which is affordable to shoot. At 100 yards you could shoot the wings off a fly.
View attachment 775091
I own a S&W wheel gun in .357 and was thinking about getting a lever, but was turned off by the prices/supply for ammo last time I checked. (Of course this is less of issue for reloaders)
