I can't decide.....why don't you decide for me

Farlsincharge

Farlsincharge

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Hey guys, I have been contemplating a long range rig for a few years now and I am just about ready to take the plunge. I know basically everything I want besides the caliber. This will be a benchrest type gun used from 500 to a maximum of 1000 yards. This will be something I will have for quite awhile and will eventually reload for, but for right now ammo availability and price is a factor. I am going to use it for some hunting as well, medium sized game (think deer, elk) and I would like it to be effective on an elk out to say.....600 yards. I think I have it narrowed down to a 7mm mag, 300 win mag, or 7mm stw. I wanted a .338 Lapua, but I like to shoot my guns lots and I really don't think I could afford it.

I am not dead set on these calibers, they are just what I have been looking into. What would you do?
 
gallen270 said:
inside those three? id take a 300 mag
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:agree: Get yourself a Savage 110FP in 300WM, Marlin at Frontier has great deals on Savage and is great to deal with, then pick up a Bell & Carlson Medalist stock from Rick at ATR for it, scope options are limitless, you cannot go wrong with a Bushnell 3200 or 4200, decent base and rings, and you are set. Gun is set up for a good out of the box target shooter, yest still light enough to hunt with.
 
Benchrest and hunting rifle are two terms rarely used to describe one firearm, especially something in a factory magnum configuration.

I'd just find a hunting rifle you like and, yes, probably a 300WM would be a good choice, but I seriously doubt any 30 caliber will humanely take an Elk at 600 yards. The optimal game weight of a 200 grain bullet is cut by 75% at 600 yards
 
Pick a caliber you can shoot a lot and reload for cheap. Just because the rifle can shoot 1000 yards doesn't mean you are capable of hits at that range. It aint a easy as it looks on TV. A 10 mph cross wind could cause a clean miss on an elk size target at 600 yards, or worse wound the animal that you will not be able to recover.
 
The word Elk in your post makes me also recommend the 300 Win Mag.

Unfortunately none of those choices are ideal for a benchrest target rifle... big cost for ammo, big recoil...

Also, a 600y shot on an elk is a rare proposition indeed.

Honestly if it were me, I'd get a very nice BR rig, and an inexpensive hunting rifle like a Savage with a good scope on it.
 
I think I should have been more clear....my bad. I'm not a "hunter" I am a shooter. I am not looking for a light mountain rifle to pack all over. I don't think I have ever taken tagged game at under 200 yards. My rifles are heavy and they are generally shot from bipods. This gun will be a range toy but I also want it to be capable. For the rifle I am thinking something along the lines of a remington 700 sendero, Bushnell 4200 6-24 scope with turrets and side parallax, and bipod.
I already do the small caliber .223 and .308 thing and now I want a Big Boy
rifle.
The 600 yard thing on big game would be the ABSOLUTE furthest I would take a shot, but I would like the gun to be capable of it. Also, think coyotes at 800....you never know

And yes I am open to caliber suggestion.
 
X2 on the Sendero in 300 win mag. However unless your loaded, even that's going to be expensive if you want to practise enough to become proficient.

I suggest a good heavy barrel 308, such as a Remington R5 with good optics and get real on the 600 yard elk idea.
 
Farlsincharge said:
I already do the small caliber .223 and .308 thing and now I want a Big Boy
rifle.
QUOTE]

Have you shot these two calibers at 1000 yards? If you are just punching paper they do the job quite well with the right barrel and bullet.

Big Boys are expensive to feed and with the pounding you get from them, they are not too enjoyable for long sessions on the range.
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From those choices, I think that the 7mm's have higher BC bullets which are important for long distance shooting. Take a .375 Ruger and neck it down to 7mm. That would be a fun project.
 
I've got a 700XCR tactical long range in 300WM and I love it, the weight of the gun,scope,bipod and everything sure soaks up alot of the recoil. I wouldn't think twice about hammering on an elk at 800 with it with the right bullet either.
 
i use a 7mm Rem Mag for hunting. it's a great gun and will drop any game in North America. however, i wouldn't reccomend it for a range gun where you will be firing a bunch of rounds in a sitting. i find 20 rounds is fine, then it starts to get uncomfortable. i shoot the 180 grain Remington Core Lokt ammo and it runs me about 34 bucks/box after tax, so it ain't cheap. get a hunting gun, even a cheap one, then get a range queen in a managable calibre. my 2 cents.
 
If you are building a heavy gun - I would recommend a 7mm Rem Mag out of the three you proposed. It has a lot of punch and with the right bullets it can easily shoot accurately past a km. Some of the best ballistic coefficients are with the 7mm bullets. Have you figured out how far you want to shoot? If it is further then say 1.2 km I would go with a .338 (either Lapua or RUM) and you should be able to get out 1.6 km - with a nice moon scope on top you could really easily drop an Elk and if you are reloading it actually isn't too bad to shoot the .338's (there definitely would be some high initial costs with setting yourself up but you could it saves big bucks in the long run).
 
A 7mm Mag is fine for hunting, but not so much for target shooting. Even though A-Max and Matchking bullets can be had. In a standard weight hunting rifle, it'll pound you. Mind you, so will a .300 Magnum. The matches you enter will have a bearing too. Not all of 'em allow magnums of any kind. Not all of 'em allow bipods either.
It's difficult to combine long range target shooting and hunting in one rifle too.
 
I would not go with a 7mmstw for a target gun.My reason being that although they shoot very flat,and can be very accurate,the barrel will heat up fairly quickly,and the barrel life will be shorter than for the 7mmremmag and 300 win mag.I have owned three 7mm stws,and it is still my favorite big game cartridge,but I would not have one for a target rifle.
 
I thought this was interesting.......In an older Sierra Reloading manual (I think 1995) they mention that the 7mm Rem Mag was chosen as the FBI counter sniper cartridge based on 1000 yd accuracy.
 
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