Long Range Question
 

I am looking to buy a new rifle. I have a few hunting rifles, but I am lloking to buy a rifle for long range shooting. I want something that has a flat trajectory, and has some pop to it in case I ever decide to take it out hunting. I was thinking about the 325 WSM, but the ammo is a little more expensive than your standard rounds, and can be tough to find. What do yall think? 308, 300 win, 7 rem mag?
Any advice would help. Thanks.

RE: Long Range Question
 

It would help board members to know what you would be hunting, and what you consider long range.

RE: Long Range Question
 

I guess I should add that I already have a 243, 303, 223, and an old beat up 30-06.

RE: Long Range Question
 

Sorry. Kind of new at this! im looking for it to perform well out to 400-500 yards.
If I did take it hunting, I would use it for whitetail, mule deer, and elk...That is if I can ever get off from work long enough to take the trip!!

RE: Long Range Question
 

By "pop", what do you intend to hunt that your old .30-06 can't handle? School buses?

All kidding aside, if you're shooting at North American game at ranges beyond what the .30-06 is capable of, you don't need to be shooting. Grab a radio and call in some artillery. Dismounts in the open, fire for effect.

Like many, I enjoy TARGET shooting our to 500 and 600 meters. If I'm hunting big game though, I want it to go down hard with the first shot with a better than 95% guarantee. Yeah, if I won the lottery and bought a Barrett M82 I might try a poke at that kind of range. But, until then I'm saddled with a .30-06 or .300 Wby Mag, neither of which I'm going to attempt shooting anything beyond 300 yards - maybe less.

If you plan to hunt Alaska, the .325 might be justified.

RE: Long Range Question
 

Haha. Like I said my 30-06 is old and beat up. It is a pump gun with iron sights and I cant justify putting a scope on it becauseI know I would rarely use it. A new 30-06 would be a great, but I would like to get something that I dont already have.

I want to target shoot out to as far as possible, but as far as hunting goes, I agree with you and wouldnt take a shot out past around 300 yards.

RE: Long Range Question
 

Gotcha. I have a "beater" .30-06 too, a 1903A3 (Remington) Springfield - and it's still a shooter. Just can't see turning it into a scoped sporter.

So, dumb as it may sound, I've also a Remington M700 in .30-06 too. Next up from that is the .300 Wby Mag and then a big step up to the .375 H&H.

And really, though I love just as much as anyone here the chance to buy a new caliber, it just doesn't seem like I gained a whole lot with the .300 Wby. Anythingthe .300 can do, the .30-06 can do, especially regarding the game you mention (whitetail, mule deer, and elk). Have you thought about dropping DOWN in caliber? Maybe a 7mm Mag? .270?

You're still not going to gain much over the .30-06 with either of those. Were I you, I'd still give a newer .30-06 a good look.

RE: Long Range Question
 

RR-

Just a guess. 26"+ HFB? 11.5 lbs n/incl bipod?

A buddy of mine has a .300WM that I've hit paper plates with at 1000 meters. Kicks like a .22. Not something either of us can carry for long in the woods. Of course, it hasn't BEEN in the woods. It weighs 36 lbs. Reminds me of my old M60 machinegun.

Let's be a little practical here. You drag that beauty (and honestly, it is) above 8,000 feet for a week with us chasing elk in the timber and over the deadfalls, and I'll be impressed. Carry a pack like the rest of us too andI'll be REALLY impressed. Come along on our next grizzly hunt in the alder thickets with that and I will truly defer to you as the bigger man than I.

No problem here, but I'm not carrying abeanfield rifle in the brush, either.

RE: Long Range Question
 

7MM Magnum. Plenty of ammo choices, plenty of energy.

RE: Long Range Question
 

RR-

No, can't disagree with that - 700 really Isn't that far if you think about it. But, it is WELL beyond the reach of most "hunters" whose shooting experience might only amount to a couple zero rounds before each season. I heard a couple of guys talking this season about some guys shooting elk at some gawdawful long ranges and then the comment, "I wonder what kindof rifle and scope I'd need to buy to do that?"

I think you'll probably agree here, long-range "hunting" is MUCH more than how much money you spend on the equipment. There's a degree of practice and discipline involved as well. Not to mention that I'll bet your 6.5 Gibbs cases aren't a dime-a-dozen at the Wally World?

Target shooting is one thing, I'm not worried about wounding a paper plate or a gong if I shoot at it with my rack-grade CZ 550 Varmint in .22-250, which puts a hole in the paper, but nothing more than peels the paint from the gong at 600 meters.Could I hit an animal at 600 or 700 meters? I probably could. Like you say, 700 meters really isn't that far if you're practiced enough to predict what's going to happen to that bullet on its way to the target.

But, for that average Joe like most of us, the more we hear of these fantastic long-range shots, the more tempted we're going to be to take one ourselves. And, the more likely an animal's going to wind up wounded. Additionally, the range I hunt (whitetail, mule deer, elk) simply does not permit shots over 250 meters, sometimesanything over 50. So, it's really pointless for me to believe that I NEED (other than for prairie dogs or the sheer amusement of it) topracticeat ranges in excess of 300 meters. If those species are what Gamecockhunter may one day pursue, it's likely that he'll experience the same requirements in his equipment. He'd find himself very well equipped with a .30-06, 7mm Mag, or even a .270 with nothing higher than a 3-9x (even better would be 2-7x) scope on top.

I appreciate and respect that you have the equipment and experience to pull off a shot like you did above, primarily because I spend quite a bit of time on the range myself and even so don't think I'm up to making a shot like that myself. Mygreatest concern is that someone elsemight get the wrong idea from it, oversimplify it, and try it themselves without understanding what it took you to get where you are.