it'll be tough to beat the 7mags or 300 mags for what your talking about. There are several smaller calibers that would be good also.

Actuallly, I agree that the 270 is the best for all around hunting. With the 130 and 150 grain options, it is the perfect all around caliber.

I agree with ELK.....most of the shooting I run into is inside of 50 yards. Its basically cut timber/briar patch where I hunt..although there is the ol hayfield on top of mt in case ya wanna take a long shot. With this being said my 270 has performed absolutely perfectly with the 130's at ranges from 5 to 300 yards. HARD to go wrong with the 270 although there are plenty of others that will do as well.

Those that can shoot long range know what calibers to use. If interested go to longrangehunting.com Some of us have the skill and take the time to be able to shoot long range..

I hate those that make the statements that because you get closer you are a better hunter. Sometimes things will not allow that.

I love to hunt with my bow. I've taken deer as close as 3 yards. That takes patience and skill(try drawing on a deer that close). And I've taken animals at past 800 with a rifle. Each one takes as much skill and effort as the other. Simply using different skills and efforts. We are all hunters. Lets not split us up. BTW I've taken plenty with pistols, MZ etc.... all between those 2 distances. And while I have not shot much past 800, I will if I have to. And I'm 100% confident in 2 things. 1 is I can do it. 2 is that most others will not devote the time needed to have any business shooting past 200-300 yards.

We are all in this together!

Anyway any caliber you feel good with on deer out to about 300. My 243 has many shots that far and a bit further with no losses. Get a bit more HP if going 400-500. I'd prefer a 7mag or 30cal mag. My personal arsenal skips from 243 to 300 and then to 338. It handles almost anything I have attempted yet. Though I'll go larger for dangerous game if the time arrives.

Jeff

Longest shot I made on a white tail in PA, was just over 500 yards. It was with a 25-06. For any long distance shots that is the gun I chose. I have a 25-06 for the sole purpose of long distance shots, killed several deer with it. It is not my normal deer rifle of choice, that is a 308, however, terrain is the decieding factor on which rifle I carry. I am not a magnum guy, so I dont own any mag's, cant help you with those. I do believe the 25-06 is the caliber to go with (not including the magnum rounds) if long distance is your prime goal. However, no caliber can overcome the lack of practice, that means whatever you plan to hunt with, you need many hours of practice. During the summer months, Ground hog hunting is great practice for your deer rifle of choice. Good luck in whatever you choose.

It depends a lot on what you consider long range.To some people long range would be anything 300 yards or more.To others it may be 500 yards and to some people it may mean even further.My own favorite for shooting deer out to 500 yards is the 7mmstw.One thing is certain and that is that it takes a great deal of practise at long range to develop and maintain the skills necessary for accurate shooting at long range.It also takes very good equipment which includes an accurate rifle,a dependable scope and a laser rangefinder as many so called 500 yard shots actually turn out to be closer to 300 yards.

Stubble, did ya ever use Nosler Ballistics tips in that STW? I was wondering how they performed at the real high speeds.

If I were you, I would try to choose a rifle that would be an " All Around " good caliber for everything that you may want to hunt. It's Whitetail now, but who knows, 3 years down the road you may want to hunt Elk or Moose. I Personally would choose either a 7mm Magnum or a 300 Winchester magnum. They are both excellent deer cartridges, have lots of loading variables, and also are big enough for Elk out to 400 yards. Just my opinion.

Leave the long range shooting for the target range which is a fantastic sport in itself .
Sure , there's going to be examples to contrary , but they are just examples and do not pertain to the majority of hunting situations , let alone ethical hunting . The further the distance , the greater the chance of error . The objective is to kill cleanly and as humane as possible . A slightly missplaced shot , no matter what distance , and that critter is going to run . This does happen alot more than some will admit to ....no matter what size of caliber , and then the shooter has to cover the distance he just shot plus the turf the animal has covered . Even a wounded Whitetail can cover alot of ground in seconds .
Military snipers take out targets at 600yd+ using .308 and 30.06 which takes a helluva lot of training , ammo and time to do. If you don't reload , pick a good common , less expensive caliber that will be friendlier to your shoulder as well . Less $$ / pain = more practice = more experience =genuine satisfaction .

Lets toss in some information. At 300 yards both your group size and conditions come into play. If you know where to hold(IE how far your bullet drops at 300) then you also need to know how far to hold off for the wind. How fast is that wind? What angle is it coming from? Wind from 3 oclock is full value but wind coming in at 130 or so is worth half that or less for windage.

Now lets factor in say 400-600. What temperature is it? That will affect the impact height. Along with wind drift. Because it affects the MV. Wind is still a factor and you need to know it to within less than 5mph exactly and the angle of it. What about altitude changes? Barometric pressure starts to come into play. And a few other items that you have to factor in. And thats assuming you know the yardage very close. 25 yards or less. And assuming you've come to learn by actual firing at each yardage increment.

Be very careful. IT takes a lot of work.

I can be totally sure that my first round will be a center hit way on out there. Given good circumstances I have no doubt out to around 1000 yards. But it comes from shooting out to 1000 yards for 15 years and during the season shooting every weekend and practice during the week. No less than 50 rounds and up to a couple hundred rounds a weekend. Yep it can be done but it takes a bunch of work. 300 yards is a long way for most.

So you don't get scared off -- time of flight is not a big issue in shooting game. They can't move much in the time it takes a bullet to get there. And if you are shooting a mag, you are fine there. But note how many times I've said it takes practice. When I started shooting I could not keep all my shots at 200 yards inside a 12 inch circle with open sights. But I've progressed way past that with practice. And it has to be good practice. Not just shooting to shoot. You have to see progress.

Go to the site I mentioned earlier and get some info if you are serious. Then get a good rifle-- in fact I"d suggest starting with a good 308 bolt gun and learning to shoot 300 yards. Shoot and shoot and shoot. Then move out. Get involved in FClass competitive shooting and you'll be doing yourself a favor.

Good luck, Jeff

I should add the anecdote on finding long range deer. My friend used my muzzleloader to shoot a buck at 218 yards last fall. I watched and we had the hit. Went to find it on the mountainside and could not. Luckily I marked the spot we shot from and had made a bunch of mental notes as to the shot and where we last saw the buck. I still had to go back to the shooting spot and we were about 80 yards off in the search. Hand signals till he was standing at the spot and sure enough theres the hair. Still lost the trail and I had to go back again to signal him to the last spot. Sure enough he looks down and blood again. Followed from there to the buck. But most folks would not have the knowledge to mark those spots so well in the mind and do all the hiking back and forth and the work required to hit the trail and find the deer. Most would probably say-- I musta missed..... And thats not even close to long range.

Jeff