Long range hunting gun

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Freyr_255

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Doing my research into what I want to get for a long range hunting rig(sheep/goat) and wanted some opinions. Looking at about 500m shots and capable of dropping a griz at close range. So what rifle/chambering/scope/bullet would you use?
 
A Weatherby mark v in 340 would be excellent for your intended purpose. I am partial to the elite series of scopes. A 250 grain Nosler partition will do all that you ask and more. It will not tear up the smaller critters as bad as many other calibers, and covers every critter in North America.
 
I got a Rem 700 LSS in 300 rum with a redfeild rev 4-12x40 accurange retical that'd be perfect for the job :) It loves 200gr accubonds thats my choice in bruin country
 
Since you mentioned sheep rifle I assume you want it to be somewhat light. I would think about a 300 WSM with a 175 Barnes lrx. It should hold 1900 fps or more to your 500m distance and work well for any problem bears. I like the Sako 85 finlight, I have loaded for 3 of these and they all shot very good using reloader 19. I use a hold over reticle zeroed for 100 yards as opposed to 200 as there is less variation in the subsequent yardage marks at altitude when compared to the air density where you most likely sighted in.
 
Other than the grizz requirement, I think a 7mmMag would be about right for long range accuracy and power.

For a bear, a heavy tough bullet would be needed, whereas for long range, you want a bullet with real good BC.
 
300 Winchester would be my choice (actually, my LR hunting rifle is an ATRS-build M70in 300 WM). Use your Scirocco/Accubond/Berger/AMax as your LR bullet and keep a 180 NPT in the chamber while walking around. Of course, a true LR rifle will be rather useless at angry bear range due to the high power of the scope even set at the bottom of the range. But it all depends how you set the right up.
 
I really like the 7mm RM, and also the 7mm Wby Mag. They provide you with plenty of performance. I am launching 175gr Nosler Partitions at 2950 fps. The recoil is mild and it shoots plenty flat. I would not hesitate to shoot a grizzly with it.
 
Freyr_255 said:
Doing my research into what I want to get for a long range hunting rig(sheep/goat) and wanted some opinions. Looking at about 500m shots and capable of dropping a griz at close range. So what rifle/chambering/scope/bullet would you use?
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For the type of hunting and what you are looking for a 300 win mag. Load down to 150 or 180 grain and load 200 grain for grizzly. Ammo is available if you do not reload. That would really work in the Yukon. Scope depends on your budget. That is what I would buy if I lived in the Yukon. Dependable 300 Win mag. 7mm reg mag may be ok but not the ideal grizzly gun. 300 win mag is I think more ideal for big bears/griz.
 
Well you said two things: 1) Sheep/goat rifle. 2) long range rig. A sheep/goat rifle in my eyes will look very different from a true long rangehunting rig.

In my opinion the ideal sheep/goat rifle is a Kimber Montana in .260 or 7mm08 with a Leupold ultralight or maybe a compact Swaro. Under 6 lbs scoped and accurate enough to take shots to 500m providing you work up a good load and actually practice to that range, and beyond, in field situations (no big fancy rest.)

Ideal long range hunting rig is going to be in a larger cal (.30 or .338 mag), is going to have a heavier contour match barrel, quality stock bedded to action, aftermarket trigger and a big, quality piece of glass on top. Probably a hair under 10 lbs all said and done.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. A few of these I hadn't considered which is why I asked such an open question. Just to address weight concerns - it's down the list a ways for myself personally. Obviously I'm not looking for a 15lbs bench rest rifle but an accurate long range hunting rifle in one of the more powerful chamberings. Honestly I've refrained from saying what my initial thoughts are on what I would get to keep the discussion from focusing on that as I want what other people would shoot and not reviews of my initial choices.

Also I reload so caliber is limited only to what's available in a factory gun as I do not feel like getting into wildcats.
 
You could do a lot worse than picking the boreing old .300 Win mag. There aren't a lot of hunting situations where it isn't a good choice, assumeing the shooter can handle a bit of thump.
 
I'm at the same point as you except I have decided on the gun (Tikka T3 Varmint) or custom Tikka. But no Grizzly, just Moose, Elk, and deer. So i was looking at 7mag or 6.5-284, or .....
My problem is like everyones, no one cal does everything so we have to decide where to compromise. For me it's trying to get a small enough not to kick to hard but big enough to provide down range kill power, and yet be fun to shoot water balloons and gongs all day.
But I also kind of wanted a "none standard" caliber. I also am looking at 260ai and 6.5-06ai, but am worried about the down range energy.
 
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