High-volume target shooting is a great way to drill to improve your proficiency, accuracy, and to break bad habits. It can also just be an enjoyable way to enjoy a day outside and get the most out of what we like to call “range therapy.”
But you don’t want to do your high-volume target shooting with .45-70 Government or .416 Dakota, because, well, you know why.
The other reason is because as the cost of rifle ammunition increases, so too do the cost of range therapy sessions. It’s no fun paying a dollar or more per round.
So, with that in mind, if you’re thinking about adding a new gun to the safe, and you’re looking for a light-kicking, relatively flat-shooting cartridge, make it one of these.
.22 Nosler
The .22 Nosler, a common AR-chambering, is well known for three things: blazing speed (up to 3,500 FPS with 55-grain bullets), laser-flat trajectories, and mild recoil.
It’s also similar in cartridge dimensions and weight to the ubiquitous .223 Remington, so if you’re looking for a higher-performance cartridge that’s light-kicking and easy to carry, this might be the one.
It’s also great for long-range competition and hunting of medium-sized game. Just be prepared for one thing: .22 Nosler will wear barrels out, fast.
.223 Remington
This is everyman’s AR cartridge and has a lot going for it. The .223 Remington cartridge is very light-kicking, flat shooting, and offers decent ballistic performance making it great for target shooting and hunting.
The other thing? It has to be one of the most popular centerfire cartridges of all time, so everyone carries it, and it tends to be cheap.
5.56x45mm NATO
Pretty much everything about the .223 that’s good is shared with the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge, which is it’s military-brat cousin.
They offer basically the same recoil and ballistic performance, with the 5.56 being just a bit hotter. But realistically, they’re both cheap, both widely available, and both produce light recoil.
.224 Valkyrie
This cartridge is basically a modification of .223 Remington that enables it to shoot a heavier bullet.
As a result, a few things change about performance. One is that .224 Valkyrie hits harder, which means it produces more recoil. It also means the trajectory is not as flat.
So, it might not be as good for high volume target shooting, but if you use the same gun for hunting, it might make sense.
.300 AAC Blackout
The .300 AAC Blackout cartridge is definitely a popular caliber and probably second only to .223.
It is also highly specialized, and delivers performance similar to the 7.62x39mm cartridge. That is, it hits harder and produces more recoil, and doesn’t shoot as flat.
But, again, if you use your rifle for defensive purposes or hunting and not just for target shooting or competition, this is a good tradeoff, and it’s still a pretty light caliber.
7.62x39mm (7.62 Full Metal Jacket)
Lighter than .308, but more powerful than .223, 7.62 full metal jacket has a lot going for it. 7.62x39mm is cheap, widely available, and produces pretty low recoil.
Just like .300 AAC Blackout, it offers a good balance of features and if you shoot soft point or hollow point rounds instead of 7.62 full metal jacket, you can use it for more purposes than high-volume shooting.
7.62x51mm NATO
Moving up a ways, we have 7.62x51mm NATO, which the 5.56 NATO was actually designed to replace.
This cartridge hits harder and produces more recoil, but in the grand scheme of things as far as recoil is concerned, it’s pretty light.
It’s also a versatile cartridge that can be used for defense and hunting.
.308 Winchester
Pretty much everything we said about the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge can be said about the .308 Winchester. They offer near identical ballistic performance and are both widely available, fairly affordable, and fairly low on recoil.
6.5 Grendel
The 6.5 Grendel is a great round that can be used for long-range shooting as well as high-volume target practice, in part because it has a high ballistic coefficient and can remain supersonic beyond 1,000 yards.
With very mild recoil and excellent ballistic performance, considering the size of the casing, it’s a great caliber not only for target shooting but competition and hunting.
Last but Not Least… .22LR
Last but not least we have the .22LR, arguably the most ubiquitous cartridge in the history of firearms.
The .22LR rimfire cartridge cannot stack up to any of these centerfire cartridges in terms of effective range or performance, and it is not a suitable long-range cartridge, but there are a few things you need to know.
One, neither your wallet nor your shoulder will notice if you shoot through 1,000 rounds. It produces almost no recoil and you can get a brick of this stuff to drive down the per-round cost to less than 10 cents.
It is dirt cheap, produces almost no recoil, and easy to get, pretty much anywhere.
If that doesn’t make it the king of high-volume cartridges, nothing does.
Stock Up at Bucking Horse Outpost
Whether you’re here to stock up on cheap 7.62 full metal jacket or rimfire rounds, check out our current deals. We have great prices on both of these and many of the other calibers mentioned here. Don’t let local stockouts get you down - Bucking Horse Outpost has your back.