THE BEST CARTRIDGE FOR MILITARY SNIPING
Over the years, long before we became Northwest Magnum, one of the favorite over-the-counter subjects brought up by customers was "what's the best sniper round?" Most of the time in the 1960s through perhaps most of the 1980s, the discussion boiled down to the 30-06 and the 308. Carlos Hathcock's success with the 30-06, during a period when the 308 was supposed to be in charge, convinced a lot of WW II vets that the slightly more powerful 30-06 had made the difference. Probably not. The reason for Hathcock's remarkable record in such adverse conditions was due to his extraordinary fortitude and amazing shooting ability.
Since the mid- to late-1980, the 300 Winchester Magnum has entered into the mix. Desert warfare, longer shot opportunities. Armchair cartridge experts will find some things they don't like about the 300 Win Mag, such as the short neck, but ordinance guys work around that issue very well, and the round performs beautifully at ranges extending far beyond the capability of the 308. At its extended best, 240-grain bullets can be used with fast-twist (9-inch or tighter) barrels.
At about that time, the 338 Lapua Magnum surfaced. All kinds of bright stories about its capability came with it, sort of like providing someone with a coveted award because you think they will deserve it someday. I think the accolades were premature. The 338 Lapua is indeed a large-capacity cartridge that can move bullets of up to 300 grains across the terrain in a hurry, but my personal testing has found that the 338 Remington Ultra Mag can do it just as far and as fast with consistently better accuracy. So my question is, "Why not have the best?"
In practical terms (which you cannot even get to in a casual discussion of opinions, you must resort to mathematics at some point), there is not much of an advantage in using a 338 Lapua over a 300 Win Mag set up for extended distances. Of the two, I would rather carry the 300, as it is usually configured in a much lighter and easier-to-handle rifle. Getting the shot off is a required part of the process.
Rifles used for military sniping operations certainly aren't babied in the field, but they do get superb care and the utmost attention between missions. Therefore, long-term barrel life considerations can be set aside as a secondary factor, as re-barreling will occur when necessary. Anyone reading this will already know that I believe a good handling rifle is very important, which makes me wonder about what's going on in the minds of some of the folks who come up with such weird stock designs. And who approves them?! Come on, people... Tactical field shooting is not like competition from the bench! Okay. Past that. We need effectiveness out to about 1200 yards. You were hoping I'd say 1500 meters? Ain't gona happen! The math isn't there. No, not even with a 338 Lapua. Yeah, I heard about longer shots. What we're talking here is reality, not about slinging enough rounds in a direction to finally hit something.
The right cartridge for the practical military field sniping rifle may already exist. Two comparative 7mm rounds without an apparent long-term future are possibilities; the 7mm Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum, and the 7mm Winchester Short Magnum. Both are extremely accurate, produce surprisingly tight standard deviation numbers regarding velocity, have modest enough recoil to package in a better handling rifle, and long 7mm bullets produce wonderful performance. Think about it.
The purpose in publishing these thoughts is to open a discussion on this subject. We hope to get responses from many of you.
JDC