Hi, I'm new to the forum but not to new on guns. I do not currently have a rifle but was hoping someone could help me choose what to get. I am looking at getting one rifle as that is all I can get right now. I hunt everything from coyotes to whitetail deer. But I also want to be able to shoot elk with it and target shoot out to about 800-1000 yards. I just don't know enough to know what the ideal cartridge is for that range of uses.

What's your budget?

What else besides coyotes and whitetails are on your list of "everything from coyotes to whitetail deer?"

Have you ever done any shooting at 800-1000yrds in the past? Have you ever carried a ~15lb rifle all day after elk?

Most importantly, see top...

What is your budget?

I use a 7mm mag but budget is the most important thing as a quality scope will cost more than the gun. I haven't shot a 1000 yds yet but I'm working towards it one day as my goal is 500 right now. Good luck.

Darn good advise - including the 500 yard goal first !!!

+1 good luck

A 300 Winchester magnum will do what you require, and then some.

Yep...On the short list I would include a 30-06, 7mm Mag and 300 Win Mag...

And, if you aren't use to controlling recoil you will be hard pressed to shoot these calibers enough to get proficient out to 800 yards..

You might be better to forget elk (although a 7mm-08 and .308 would do for elk) and look at a .243, 7mm-08, .308 or a 25-06...Then once you learn how to really shoot a rifle, include a .300 Win Mag...

That's a very tall order to fill with one rifle. If I had to go back to just one chambering, it'd be the .30-06. I'd consider the 7mm Remington Magnum, but I already have the .30-06 and am comfortable with it.

I've used the .30-06 on coyotes. It's not too great if you plan on selling any hides. 80 rounds out of an '06 over a prairie dog town will make you remember the experience if you're shooting from prone. But it's just fine as pronghorn/deer/elk/caribou/moose rifle and it's also perfectly adequate for black bears, and with a heavy, well-constructed bullet will take down a grizzly.

As far as the 1000-yard "target shooting" goes, the kit I use for that isn't at all at home come hunting season. I use a .308. It weighs 13.7 pounds all on its own. The optic on the lowest power is still too high for the timber I hunt elk in. Long-range hunting/shooting is a game of specialization. What you're asking is for your workaday F-150 to take on Z06 Corvettes at Laguna Seca. Particularly at the price point you specify, you're likely to find yourself disappointed.

Instead, you might focus first on being the best hunter you can be out to 200 yards.

Thanks for the advice. I have shot to 400 hundred yards and my ultimate goal is 1000 yards. I was also looking at the 308 Win. as I have heard a lot of good about it as far as accuracy. It will be a couple years before i take on elk and I might get a bigger rifle by that time. as far as what I shoot I shoot coyotes and whitetail mostly and my buddies and I like to go out rabbit hunting with our rifles to. As far as budget I want to keep it under $1000.

Another vote for 30.06, 7mm, or 300 win.

308 is great, but a 30.06 is more powerful/ versatile. .