Best range for the buck....

K

kboczek

New member
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Hi, im interested in building a good rifle. just plain off, looking at basic balistic charts, 300wsm seems to be awsome.
now, i want longest range possible, and i do want to nock down swamp donkeys with it too.
I have a currently a 30-06, and know how versatile it is.

I figure i would want to build it on a 300wsm, but have noticed .308 and 300wm are popular choices. Obvious reasons that the 308 is popular since it is mostly used in military.

I would be just getting into reloading as well. So any suggestions on the 300wsm?? oh, i'm not interested in 270, but are there any other calibers i should look at? Keeping in mind bang for the buck to greatest distance.

Also i'm going to start on a bolt action, but i have questions on Semis. Obviously felt recoil is less, but how badly does it effect ballistics? am i correct in thinking i will lose a lot of performance? The only semis i'm familiar with are the blowback .22's, but i have noticed the bolt engages the barrel in highpower centerfires, so at what point does the action release to cycle the next bullet?:sniper:
 
For a rifle you can actually carry in a moose-hunting situation the .338 Lapua is pretty much the long-range king these days - though it is one of the most expensive calibers to set up for and to shoot. If money is a concern I'd say go with a .300 Win Mag - lots of different factory rifles set up for it, lots of ammo choices available - more so than for the .300 WSM.

If you're really serious about LR shooting avoid a semi-auto and stick with bolt guns. Achieving an equal level of accuracy with a semi-auto is more difficult and expensive than it is with a bolt-action, and your choice of calibers is also much more limited.
 
I watched a 300wm Ruger Hawkeye Stainless Synthetic blow a hole through 1/8" plate at 1100 yards. It also has a 2 shot group of 1/2" at 700 yards.
For a combination carry rifle it would be hard to beat!
 
I think it would be a waste of time and money to try and build an all-in-one hunting/long range target rifle. In the first place, the two ideal types of rifles you mention are built completely different. Second of all, the proper optics for both are quite different and to be honest, I think the optimal calibers are different too.
 
I had a Weatherby Vanguard in 300wsm. Very accurate rifle. Easily shot 1MOA. Recoil was a little stiffer that the 30-06 but I would say it was easy to managed. The furthess that ever shot it was 500 yards and it had no problem getting out there.
As for it's use as a hunting rifle...well I really didn't have much luck with it. 1 deer I lost it's track and could never recover it, 1 deer I shot through the chest from WAY to close and turned the deer into hamburger. I did take it moose hunting but never had the chance to take a shot.
To sum it all up, the 300wsm is a fun caliber to shoot at longer ranges, for hunting I'd stick with shooting stuff bigger than deer(my experiences may different than others). Hope this helps.
Oh and I only shot factory ammo so I really can't help you on the whole reloading aspect of it.
 
MadAxe said:
For a rifle you can actually carry in a moose-hunting situation the .338 Lapua is pretty much the long-range king these days - though it is one of the most expensive calibers to set up for and to shoot. If money is a concern I'd say go with a .300 Win Mag - lots of different factory rifles set up for it, lots of ammo choices available - more so than for the .300 WSM.

If you're really serious about LR shooting avoid a semi-auto and stick with bolt guns. Achieving an equal level of accuracy with a semi-auto is more difficult and expensive than it is with a bolt-action, and your choice of calibers is also much more limited.
Click to expand...

I have seen the info about the .338lapua, and as you said, it does come at a premium. The .300wm and .300wsm are more my speed. If i get into reloading, i should be able to load just about any combination no? I know as for factory ammo, can't beat the 300wm for availability. Seem every one has good selection of 300wm as they do the 30-06 stuff.

I will be most likely building a bolt. as a place to start, i was going to go either browning, winchester or remington, but have recently discovered montana 1999 actions (almost identical to my witworth 30-06) But concidering the remi 700 due to aftermarket parts available.
 
kboczek said:
Hi, im interested in building a good rifle. just plain off, looking at basic balistic charts, 300wsm seems to be awsome.
now, i want longest range possible, and i do want to nock down swamp donkeys with it too.
I have a currently a 30-06, and know how versatile it is.

I figure i would want to build it on a 300wsm, but have noticed .308 and 300wm are popular choices. Obvious reasons that the 308 is popular since it is mostly used in military.

I would be just getting into reloading as well. So any suggestions on the 300wsm?? oh, i'm not interested in 270, but are there any other calibers i should look at? Keeping in mind bang for the buck to greatest distance.

Also i'm going to start on a bolt action, but i have questions on Semis. Obviously felt recoil is less, but how badly does it effect ballistics? am i correct in thinking i will lose a lot of performance? The only semis i'm familiar with are the blowback .22's, but i have noticed the bolt engages the barrel in highpower centerfires, so at what point does the action release to cycle the next bullet?:sniper:
Click to expand...


I spend a lot of time shooting up to 900 yards at my range and now have shot up to 1400 yards thanks to tigrr. All I can say is that for a carry around hunting rifle, I consider 500 yards to be maximum range and only under excellent conditions. Don't get me wrong I have shot deer at further distances with my long range rifles but would never attempt it with even my best hunting rifle.

The difference between the two is any gun light enough to comfortably carry around hunting would not make a good long range rifle, not to mention al the extra gear you need to hunt long range.

Bottom line is, what ever the distance is, don't shoot at an animal until you can hit a 10" target every time at the same distance under the same conditions. This does not include shooting off a bench unless you plan on bringing one hunting with you.

If you can actually do this then I don't care what you shoot. In most cases, the problems I see with long range hunting are with the shooter not the rifle.

Back to your question though, I'd go with a trued up rem 700 in .300winMag. Get a custom barrel contoured similar to the sendaro style and then add a nice brake but do not let the barrel length exceed 26" w/brake.

I'd put that in a Houge full aluminum block bedded stock (just my personal preference). Then get a good quality scope (max 12 or 15X) with a 40mm objective so you can mount it as low as possible to the receiver. Get a dot reticule or something like that so you can figure out the distance each mark is good for. But actually shoot the distances and prove each mark under similar conditions that you will be hunting in. The gun would be heavy but not unmanageable and the recoil would not be enough to prevent you from practicing all the time.


Dave

Oh ya and the semi-auto thing. I can see one of two things happening. You will get frustrated and scrap the idea:( or you will spend alot of money and maby get something to work well for you.

Stick with a bolt gun.:D
 
well, i really like what you had to say. So i guess i was going the right direction as to a rem 700. Never got as far as the scope yet, but i will consider that suggestion. I would not go any longer than 26, but why would that be the limit including the brake?? Also what were your views on the 300wm over the 300wsm?(ballistics are almost identical as far as i see, but shorter action would be better no?)
I would set up my gun with two scopes. I basic one for the bush, and i would shed the gear, and a good one for the range (load up the pic rails!):cheers:
 
The 300WSM can only keep up with the 300 win mag using lighter bullets, but heavier bullets are better for shooting longer distances. In a WSM short action repeater you have to seat the heavy bullets so far into the case that you begin to loose case capacity. So unless you want a single shot I'd go with the Win Mag simply because it gives you more options. There is just not enough difference in the action length and weight to worry about. Some of the other things good about the .300 win are mag capacity, cost of brass, and availability of factory ammo.

As for the 26" OAL, I guess that is just what I see as a maximum length for a carry rifle. Most magnums from my understanding need at least a 24" barrel to burn all the powder so that would allow lots of room for a muzzle brake.

Just keep in mind if your going to be using two scopes and want to hunt long range you will have to reprove the hunting scope every time you put it back on and preferably at the max distance you plan to shoot, with a few in between. It would be better to just have one setup and learn it inside out. Why introduce another variable, there are already way to many.

Remember, a gun like this is not going to be great at either aplication you want to do. It will be a pain to carry around if you make it to heavy and no good for long distance if you make it to light. What I'm saying is I have to agree with the Obtunded's earlier post, you will not get the best of either aplication, just somewhere in between. Still, there's nothing wrong with that, just a choice you have to make.:D


Dave

Oh ya, remember to practice hitting that 10" target. You have to practice like you shoot in the field. You will just be fooling yourself if you think you can make a 490yard shot on a deer while resting on a fence post, just because you know the gun can do it from the bench.:)
 
well dave42, i had no idea about the true differences in the wsm vs the wm asides from ballistic comparisons of factory ammo. so you have me sold on the 300wm, guess you can just do more once you start reloading. thank you for that insight.

Now i forgot to mention, i wouldn't really use it for deer, but more for moose and bear access by atv. i tree stand hunt deer at close range with my excalibur exomax, good to 50yds easy. Moose and bear seem too dumb to duck or jump and run like deer do. Plus,unless i really go with a light bullets, like the other poster said, that caliber makes hamburger too easy out of deer (unless your into head shots, but that just seems wrong)

dave42, just for the a good drill down, i know you started to give me a list of what you would use to for a good setup, but how about a list of every thing that you would use? Any good places online i should look that are worth ordering from? what base model rem should i buy, since i would be replacing everything including the stock anyway? i'd also be looking at a good reloader too,entry level, not too pricey, need to use for that 300wm, 30-06, 40sw too

thanks for all the info
 
Last edited:
kboczek said:
dave42, just for the a good drill down, i know you started to give me a list of what you would use to for a good setup, but how about a list of every thing that you would use?
Click to expand...

Not sure I understand the question?:confused:

Before I give you a pile details, what do you expect to spend? Are you talking about doing a full custom build, or just putting on a custom pipe. There are good options for just about any budget.

Do you have a gunsmith?

As for the reloading, I'd get an RCBS rockchucker kit, a sierra reloading manual, and go from there.

Dave
 
i do have a gun smith i have used, but as for the build, i would stay with the original action and barrel, i would customize the trigger group, brake, stock, mounts, accessories. Put a bit of bling-bling in it, but not go all out totaly tacti-cool rambo on it. I like the houge over mold stock in dark green. The rem 700 is good starter, where down the line it could be hopped up once again. I also do like what i see over at montana rifles too... i could order a barreled action in any caliber, with any barrel, any style i want....price seems decent too. So as for buget, $1000-$2000 or more if i build one, but i would not put more than $1000 in one i pickup one bone stock at a local store.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom