Any recommendations for a sheep hunting gun?

EJG said:
Stocks on both are the same weighing 28oz each, the Short action remmy and 20" hardy carbon barrel is a bit lighter than the long action 24" proof Sendero 7prc. The bare rifle of the creed is 6.6lb, scope and mounts are quite heavy but brings the rifle in balance that the COG is on the centre bore line making it easy to shoot. Recoil neutral.

We shoot at spots or marks on rocks, measure with spotting or scope reticle. Therefore can change targets quickly and keep it interesting, don't waste time setting up. In the winter we hunt deer in the area with the same or similar rifles. Sika deer taken at 635m with the creed and 25oz stock.

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edi
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So the creed is 8.5-9 pounds scoped up with suppressor? And the prc is heavier? I was looking at your rifle features and figured it was a tad heavier than what I’m running. I’m betting the weight of that suppressor probably helps keeping things on target too.

In all honesty these ultralights are a bit of a fad and packing one extra pound of rifle in your bag really isn’t the end of the world if it shoots better. There’s easier ways to get a pound off your back than sacrificing shootability.
 
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Bustercluck said:
So the creed is 8.5-9 pounds scoped up with suppressor? And the prc is heavier? I was looking at your rifle features and figured it was a tad heavier than what I’m running. I’m betting the weight of that suppressor probably helps keeping things on target too.

In all honesty these ultralights are a bit of a fad and packing one extra pound of rifle in your bag really isn’t the end of the world if it shoots better. There’s easier ways to get a pound off your back than sacrificing shootability.
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Around 9.5lb as is, scope is a Schmidt PMII 3-20x50 Ultra short. Suppressor is a Hausken which is very effective but weighs 11.3oz. I have had 7oz suppresors that worked well to. Today I received the new 3-18 ffp Schmidt& Bender Meta scope that would also save half pound. So overall there is potential for weight saving. Not a fan of going to titanium actions yet, not sure if they are stiff enough. Even the old Harris suits me well and I prefer it over several carbon versions we have. So more self inflicted weight... Once a year we have a hunt with friends from Germany, Sweden and Denmark. Some have mil background all are very experienced, all have very similar rifle setups. Lightweight but not super lightweight. After the hunt everyone gets one shot at the black dot of doom across a valley on a rock. Dot is about 3-4" at 440m and wind tricky. One year we all hit it.

Rifles in that year.
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edi
 
Iv packed 5 1/2 pound to 9 pound rifles sheep hunting, I could never tell the difference once strapped to my 60 pound pack. Compactness comes before weight for me.

On that note, I play a lot on our 1000 yard range. I’m not sure I have a 6-7 pound rifle that I shoot well enough to get past 500 yards. Bench rifles are a different story. No matter how much I practice though after that 500 yards seems to be where my inconsistency shows up with lighter rifles.

Any action that has a gap between the bolt and raceway is a no go for me. The customs Iv used have been bolt fluted and had a gap, always filled with twigs and water, not good when crawling through thick bush in bear country.

The tikka in a 6mm to 30 cal would be my choice, but am find of the 6.5’s and 7’s. Iv gone full circle with my sheep rifle, tikka to full customs, back to a tikka.
 
I hunted sheep for 25ish years in the muskwa region in northern bc specifically in the Battle of Britain range. All back pack hunting once we flew into Tuchodi lake.
2 days to get into the high alpine
Used my 30-06 mauser with open sights.
Longest shot was 175 yards.
Shortest miss was probably 35 yards😂.
Hard to shoot with a sandwich in one hand and a cup of tea in the other🤦‍♀️.
Other than good binos never felt the need for other glass.
The scenery is gorgeous and the time spent creeping as close as you can is where the fun was for me.
Enjoy your hunts regardless of the rifle you buy. Good luck.
 
A buddy put in for Cadomin mine for 25 then got drawn a few years ago. Took his .54 flintlock. Had a string of flashes and had to use his son’s rifle to finally shoot his ram after nearly a dozen flashes in the pan. IIRC, the ram was around 40 yards away. Very nice ram as can be expected from Cadomin.
 
4fifty8 said:
Sometimes you can get close sometimes you can't.
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On the only trip that I shot a ram, we spotted the band at about 10:00am just above our camp. We went up after them but on the end, they all bedded down in this bowl about 300-400 yards away and had all three of us pinned in the rocks for about 4 hours until they finally got up and wandered over the ridge so we could get back down to the horses and back to camp. Next morning went up the other side ov the valley thinking they would have gone around but found them again on in the same bowl they bedded the day before. We gave Dad first shot (because he is old) and my brother snd I flipped for second shot which I won. So, the plan was that my brother would go above the sheep and Dad and I would work our way to them thinking when the shooting starts the sheep will go up and over the ridge and pass right past my brother to do so. So, while Dad and I were working our way to the sheep, my brother was laying a a huge rock maybe 50 yards from the band looking over each one through the scope do he would know which one to look for when all hell broke loose. Meanwhile, Dad and I were almost on top of the sheep but could still not see them as they were just below cruise. My brother later said that he could see us snd the sheep and were only separated by maybe 40 yards and couldn’t figure out why we weren’t shooting or the sheep scattering. Then one heard us, stood up and climbed onto a huge rock and looked right at Dad and I from mane 30 yards. Dad had the cross hairs on it neck and suspected “when he turns his head, if he is legal he is dead”. Then the cream looked away, definitely legal and boom. Ram falls back off the rock, I jump up ready to shoot snd the sheep are nowhere to be seen. WTF, then Dad says “they are over there”. They did not follow protocol and instead of fleeing up and over the ridge, the ran below Dad and me and had went straight west. I turn to see a dozen white asses all running straight away so I run after them. They go though a chute and come out the other side confused and milling around perhaps 75 yards away. I hitched ground and shoulder my rifle prone, pick the ram I wanted And pulled the trigger……”click” WTF?????. So do I have a misfire or hang fire ???. Don’t really want to open the action if it a hang but I lean over Face the breech away from me and open the chamber, cartridge ejected but now I am laying on my ammo pouch so roll over, pull out another round and insert. Then get back tongue sheep and they are all on the run again 😩. I wait and watch and at about 150 yards the one I wanted turned broadside to go up hill and I shot it. Meanwhile, my brother is running along the ridge, stopped and shot, a hit but not a good hit. In the end he did get that ram but had to run them down for over a mile. His kill shot was 25 yards. The next day. IMG_3249.jpegA couple days later on the way out. IMG_3245.jpeg
 
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lastwest said:
I'm hearing a lot of good things about this gun and specially the 7mm PRC. Some people only swear by this caliber. I'm never shot one before. Thank you very much for the insight.
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That’s a Very Nice riifle at not to bad a price ? 👍
I Shoot a Tikka T3X Ember rebarreled with a BenchMark 24 “ Fluted ! Great cartridge the 7 PRC is 👍 JMHO 😊
 
remington jim said:
Why bother when theres the 7 PRC 🤪😃
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Twist rate and copper instead of lead cup core. That's all... Just my choice of projectile. Cheers Oh and recoil apparently though I would love to do a real world comparison..
The high twist on the 6.8 just loves the long heavy monos. It's really cool. The cartridge was designed to shoot long heavies of both types. Apparently the math comparison has them very close at distances.
Though I do have some 170grain HHT's for your PRC if you ever want to try a little unleaded fuel. They must have the 1-8 twist though. BTW he mentions the 6.8 as having a 1-8. It doesn't, it's 1-7.5. Spomer does a comparison that goes into the maths of the two cartridges. Shocking how they compare to each other. Cheers
I haven't done the maths but I think the added velocity from the Hammer bullets could change the the scales if you compared the same weight cup/core.
Sorry guys don't mean to derail this thread. Cheers folks...
 
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Licensed to kill said:
On the only trip that I shot a ram, we spotted the band at about 10:00am just above our camp. We went up after them but on the end, they all bedded down in this bowl about 300-400 yards away and had all three of us pinned in the rocks for about 4 hours until they finally got up and wandered over the ridge so we could get back down to the horses and back to camp. Next morning went up the other side ov the valley thinking they would have gone around but found them again on in the same bowl they bedded the day before. We gave Dad first shot (because he is old) and my brother snd I flipped for second shot which I won. So, the plan was that my brother would go above the sheep and Dad and I would work our way to them thinking when the shooting starts the sheep will go up and over the ridge and pass right past my brother to do so. So, while Dad and I were working our way to the sheep, my brother was laying a a huge rock maybe 50 yards from the band looking over each one through the scope do he would know which one to look for when all hell broke loose. Meanwhile, Dad and I were almost on top of the sheep but could still not see them as they were just below cruise. My brother later said that he could see us snd the sheep and were only separated by maybe 40 yards and couldn’t figure out why we weren’t shooting or the sheep scattering. Then one heard us, stood up and climbed onto a huge rock and looked right at Dad and I from mane 30 yards. Dad had the cross hairs on it neck and suspected “when he turns his head, if he is legal he is dead”. Then the cream looked away, definitely legal and boom. Ram falls back off the rock, I jump up ready to shoot snd the sheep are nowhere to be seen. WTF, then Dad says “they are over there”. They did not follow protocol and instead of fleeing up and over the ridge, the ran below Dad and me and had went straight west. I turn to see a dozen white asses all running straight away so I run after them. They go though a chute and come out the other side confused and milling around perhaps 75 yards away. I hitched ground and shoulder my rifle prone, pick the ram I wanted And pulled the trigger……”click” WTF?????. So do I have a misfire or hang fire ???. Don’t really want to open the action if it a hang but I lean over Face the breech away from me and open the chamber, cartridge ejected but now I am laying on my ammo pouch so roll over, pull out another round and insert. Then get back tongue sheep and they are all on the run again 😩. I wait and watch and at about 150 yards the one I wanted turned broadside to go up hill and I shot it. Meanwhile, my brother is running along the ridge, stopped and shot, a hit but not a good hit. In the end he did get that ram but had to run them down for over a mile. His kill shot was 25 yards. The next day. View attachment 1161230A couple days later on the way out. View attachment 1161231
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To be clear, the reason I shared that story as a response to a quote is to show that getting close is often possible but many would have been blasting away the day before when they were 300-400 yards away and maybe got one rather than “hunting” and getting three at close range. This is one of the great benefits of using horses. They can get you into places where those without can’t so you can spend days hunting a particular ram or band with little chance if another hunter spoiling you hunt.
 
Licensed to kill said:
To be clear, the reason I shared that story as a response to a quote is to show that getting close is often possible but many would have been blasting away the day before when they were 300-400 yards away and maybe got one rather than “hunting” and getting three at close range. This is one of the great benefits of using horses. They can get you into places where those without can’t so you can spend days hunting a particular ram or band with little chance if another hunter spoiling you hunt.
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At what distance, exactly, does the “hunting” start, and the “blasting away” stop?
3-400 yards?
Asking for a friend…

R.
 
9-ball said:
Mmmmm nope, you have no idea how dumb/determined I can be hiking
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Mmmmmmmm nope, you have no idea where a horse can take you and his far. You going to hike in 30 miles of muskeg snd brush, crossing rivers, then spend how long hunting before hiking out? You carry enough supplies in your pack for that,? I doubt it inevitable more than one pack horse to do it. Not to mention if you get something and have to pack that out. The skull/ horns are close to 20 lbs, then the salted cape, about 5 lbs then the meat maybe 30 pounds so if you fill your tag, that’s an EXTRA 55 pounds over and above what you brought in. Good luck keeping up with horses. If you were to take a couple pack dogs to carry out perhaps, just hiking on your own,
 
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Lol. This isn't a measuring contest. But yes I go for 12 plus days. Last time was 65 km one way.
And I know what a ram weighs.

Horses would be nice for sure. But I am also out hiking faster in the mornings because I am not finding hobbled horses, and going to bed while others are feeding horses. Benefits and draw backs to both. Of course on a heavy trip out I am wishing I had a horse, or wasnt so far in, but that is what makes memories.
 
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LittleBoyLefty said:
If you’re backpack sheephunting I’d build as light a rifle as you can get to balance and that you can still shoot well at that weight. Ultralites aren’t usually that well balanced, which I think lends to their reputation as difficult to shoot precisely.

From my sheep rifles over the years, my favorite Light weight or ultra light has been a Tikka SL with a bunch of Ti parts in a Peak 44 Blacktooth stock. Just under 5.5 pounds bare. But still balances well, even scoped. And is easy to shoot accurately.
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Thanknyou for your insight. That's currently my preferred path; custom building a light one. Thanks.
 
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