caliber suggestions!

A

awesomeame

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Hi, i'm looking for a new rifle so i figure caliber is the place to start for now. Basically I want to be able to take whitetail deer out to 500yrds, and moose/bear out to 300yds with the least recoil as possible-meaning not going overboard on the cal. I have no desire to enter any competitions. So what do you all think? Lets keep this thread just to calibers..

--matt
 
7mm Rem Mag in a heavier gun like a sendero. I have a 300 win mag in the sendero and it kicks less than my .270 and .25-06 in sporter weights.
 
Maybe wrong forum.


270, 30-06, 308, 7mm-08, 257 wetherby, ummm depends what you want really, they will all do a moose in at 300 yards with a decent bullet.
 
I can't make a first-hand recommendation because I would never hunt anything from 500 yards away larger than a coyote. I would suggest this is a question best posted in the hunting forum.

300 win mag would do the job IF you can hit it
 
awesomeame said:
Lets keep this thread just to calibers..

--matt
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but what you want to do has less to do with the cartridge choice and more to do with bullet choice and the guy behind the gun. Anything from a .223 to a 50 BMG will kill a deer at 500 yards. You just need to decide how much energy you want to deliver. Remember all thing being the same with the muzzle energy/gun weight/muzzle brake etc... the cartridge has nothing to do with recoil.

If you want a calibre that does what your asking why not decide exactly how much energy you feel it takes to kill a deer and a moose. Then use a reloading manual to make a list of cartridges that maintain the energy you require at the distances you want.

Have your better half pick one off the list cause it makes no difference how the bullet gets there just as long as you have the mass and velocity to give you the energy you require when it does get there. Remember the deer or moose does not care what cartridge you use to send the bullet, only how hard that bullet hits.

From there work up a load with a good hunting bullet to maintain MOA out to 500 yards. The bullet you use is more important than the cartridge if you are delivering the same energy. Under 500 yards a good bullet needs to retain mass while opening up upon impact at high velocity. Past 500 yards is a whole new ball game with high B.C. bullets that need to open up at lower velocities.

Most important thing you need to do though is practice out to 500 yards and not just once off the bench. I mean put up a piece of paper and then walk to what you think is 500 yards, or range it if you have a LRF that you plan to hunt with. Take one shot, if you can hit it 90% of the time, you are doing better than most.

If you don't hit it 90% of the time, I hope you are a good tracker. Either that or get the 50cal like suggested.

If all this makes no sense then I'd just get a 30-06 like every one else. There is a reason it's the most popular choice out there.

Just another 2 cents.


Dave
 
Just a suggestion, poll the hunters in your circle or even on here and see how many people actually shoot game at those ranges. Most are taken within 100yds.
 
X2 for what Dave said.
Certain bullets are designed to operate at certain speeds and a bullet that opens up too soon or too late is no good for you, you,ll have to research what will work at 500, even in the same caliber the load will likely be alot differnt at 100.
What us F class shooters do means very little to hunting after the paper has a hole in it we don't care what the bullets do. With animals you,ll need to be specific as to results.

M.
 
i've been hunting for 30 years, do mostly the east slopes of the rockies, and found i really need at least 2 calibers- the 308 for just about everything, and the 338 for the REALLY big stuff- your expectation to take deer at 500 yards is unrealistic- i don't know of any cartridge that had a mpbr of better than 400, even the big magnums, and the bullets all drop like rocks at ranges over 400 anyway-and if you want to take deer at that range, you have to go big and heavy at all shorter ranges to carry the energy - and that means recoil, and lots of it, moreover the bullet has to be designed for it- that means you'll little expansion at shorter ranges, and longer it'll blow up on the surface- most of my game is taken at 250-300 yards with 308/180s b/c that's what's in my scabbard, and i know the 338/250s ( and 275's- which i prefer for dangerous game- read grizzly) can reach out to 400 with really good bullets and make a kill-you definately DONT WANT TO WOUND AT ANY RANGE- which is what you'll do if you overreach the cartridge
 
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I have not shot deer at 500 but would not hesitate to try one with good conditions and confirmed distance, I have shot a 200+lb whitetail at 420y with a instant kill, using 7mm 140gr Nosler Partition at 3250 fps. I was using a 7mmwsm case custom gun on 700 action.
I found the recoil to be a considerbly more that a 30.06 as gun weighed 6.6lbs. My new build this year will be with a 284win case, my brothers .284 is driving 150gr Noslers at 3000fps and recoil is acceptable.
 
manitou210 said:
I have not shot deer at 500 but would not hesitate to try one with good conditions and confirmed distance, I have shot a 200+lb whitetail at 420y with a instant kill, using 7mm 140gr Nosler Partition at 3250 fps. I was using a 7mmwsm case custom gun on 700 action.
I found the recoil to be a considerbly more that a 30.06 as gun weighed 6.6lbs. My new build this year will be with a 284win case, my brothers .284 is driving 150gr Noslers at 3000fps and recoil is acceptable.
Click to expand...

^^ My gun now :D

I took a mulie buck with it last month, but at a much more modest ~75 yards. :) (same bullet, same result)
 
thanks for the tips! calibers are pretty much what i was expecting to hear. i'm favoring the .257 weatherby mag but i'll do the research that was mentioned and go from there.

as for optics--right now i have a leupold vxiii-3.5-10x40 on my .30-06. would that be "strong enough" for shots out to 500, or what would you guys suggest?

--matt
 
the rule of thumb is 3x/100 yards- however, i would suspect the bullet drop on the 06 at 400 is substantial= on the order of about 40 inches- that's certainly beyond my comfort zone
 
How long are your yards?

I once shot at a moose at 425 yards. Looked like a dog with antlers.

A deer at 500 would look like a golpher.

My suggestion would be the long range version of the 30-06, known as the 270 Win, or its metric cousin, the 280. I prefer the latter because of the better bullets for big moose.
 
the '06, 270,280,7mm will all do just fine on deer at 500. pick the right bullet, and be able to put it in the right place.
the '06 and 270 ammo can be found anywhere that sells ammo.
i've shot a few deer at 400 yards, and had the bullet pass right through.
actually i've never recovered one of my 270's, nor had an animal go more than 75 yards across a field after being hit.
 
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