Long Range Hunting Rifle + Calibre?

blueoval56 said:
The .270 and 30-06 are both excellent hunting rounds, but long range rounds they are not...The .308 would be my pick.
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The .30-06 is totally a long range round and dominated long range competition in the U.S. for most of the first half of the 20th century until magnums started becoming popular. The .30-06 has a further effective range than the .308 and is just as accurate with match grade factory or hand loaded ammo. Although the .30-06 is not as popular as the .308 in competition, the .30-06 is still a very suitable round for long range applications. Also, I'm not bashing the .308 because I like it just as much as other rounds. I just wanted to rectify the .30-06 statement you made.
 
Welcome to CGN. This time last year I was in your shoes looking at the same questions. Moose or smaller within 500yd and LR plinking. I would have liked to get a T3 Varmint SS in .270win, but special order with a one year lead time and 50% deposit wasn't in the cards at the time. I went for the T3 Lite SS in .270win, put a Limbsaver on it, and have never looked back. It'll shoot factory Federal ammo under 3/4" and so far my handloads are running a little under 1/2" and I'm far from finished with tuning them. I need plenty more practise in the LR dept, but I have nailed a few 12" targets in excess of 850yd with it. It seems not many people can be bothered to try that with a sporter contoured barrel, but it's so darned accurate, why not?
 
You really need to contemplate what you consider to be long range and how far you are willing to push things in order to make an educated selection of rifle and cartridge that is right for your application.

I find the average accurate hunting rifle setup gets hard to hit with much beyond say....400 yards.
For this type of rifle I like to use controlled expansion bullets (most likely the shot will come at 50 yards). The 7mm's and 30 cals work well here...My fave is the 300Winchester

The rifle and optics you need to go farther than that look nothing like the traditional hunting rifle and well.....you wont want to pack it very far either. This is the serious rifle dedicated to long rang shooting and only long range shooting. I use carefully selected match type bullets in this combination, but be aware that you need to do lots of homework here.
For big game at long range I like the big 338's with 300gr SMk's. For deer sized game the 7mm are great...Though I still like the 300 Win better.

For this type of rifle 400 yards is generally considered a chip shot.
 
By the way, the rifle range is the worse place on the planet to evaluate your effective range.
A day shooting a hunting rifle 300-500 yards in rough field conditions will test the best rifleman's mettle.
Its not only a fun experience, but I think you will find the results illuminating!;)
 
if you want a long range hunting rifle i would have to say 7mm wsm shooting 168 or 180 bergers or a 6.5x284 will work as well. They both stay supersonic past 1000 yrds
 
Thanks all for the warm welcome and great advice. I have decided on a rifle and calibre now. Yes I have changed my mind completely, but its what I originally had in mind. I’m getting the Savage 10FCP in the McMillian stock. This is obviously in no means a light rifle. I thought long and hard about it, and since I will only be shooting Coyotes, Wolves and paper for the next year(until big game season), I will have time to save for my next true light weight “hunting” rifle. I’m considering purchasing both rifles now, but will probably just wait. The light hunting rifle will most likely be a Sako A7 in .270 or 30-06 topped with Leopold glass. I am still thinking out my options for my long range rifle‘s glass, but will probably go with a Nightforce and try not to lose sleep over the cost. Thanks again all for the advice.

Dave
 
Sounds like a good plan. What cal did you decide on for the Savage?
Looking forward to a range report.;)
 
zimbu said:
Sounds like a good plan. What cal did you decide on for the Savage?
Looking forward to a range report.;)
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Only comes in the .308

I've purchased the book "Applied Ballistics For Long Range Shooting" and can't wait until it gets here to start reading! I'm a member here for a while now, love this site... so you can count on a range report in the new year along with some pics! :)
 
DC I have that gun with the folding choate stock, it will do exactly what you are looking for, its very accurate straight out of the box, heavy to carry but fun to shoot. Nothing fancy but functional. Best bang for your buck, not paying for fancy, but sure get accuracy. If you can put a NF on it instead of a Luepy
 
Lots of good council here already but I'll throw my two bits in...

What you have described is two or three different rifles - not one. Shooting as a hobby is kind of like golf in that you don't use a putter to blast thew ball down a 500 yard fairway, you use a driver. In the same way one might use a 22-250 for varmints and 338 for bear hunting.

At what I have read your current experience level to be, early twenties and getting your first or second rifle, an all around hunting rifle in a lighter caliber is probably a really good place to start.

Starting anywhere from the 6.5x55 to a 3006 would be an excellent choice in a decent bolt action with good glass. Once you get it shoot it a lot out to 500 yards. WADR you may find being very consistent at 500 yards a challenge let alone 1000 yards.

IMO a good 1000 yard target rifle is not a good hunting rifle and vice versa. So start with a good hunting rifle get good out to 500 yards - this will take a while. At that point you will know if you want to go out further.
 
-DC- said:
Only comes in the .308

I've purchased the book "Applied Ballistics For Long Range Shooting" and can't wait until it gets here to start reading! I'm a member here for a while now, love this site... so you can count on a range report in the new year along with some pics! :)
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Ah yes. My bad. It's the 10FP that also comes in .223, not the 10 FCP. Enjoy!
 
MagnumPeanut said:
Very true. A 30-06 or 308 would have a hard time pushing the 210 and keeping up with the 162 Amax or 168 Berger in 7mm. The same weight in 30 cal goes down to .450-.470 on a 30 cal.

Too get enough steam outta the 210 g you would need to be shooting a 300RUM or a 300WM at the very least. Felt recoil would increase significantly. Plus powder usage and so forth so on. But it is an great option for those that are in love with the harder hitting 30 cal bullets.

Does anyone use the 210g in a 308? I am interested all of the sudden. I imagine the performance would pretty much stop at 800 yards.
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Several of the group of guys I shoot with use 190 to 210 gr bullets in their 308s and with VERY good results.
We are getting over 2600 fps with them. We were out today shooting gongs at 750 yards and needed 20.5 moa to get there, the 4" dia 1/2 thick gongs swung nearly 90 degrees when hit, so still plenty of thump left.
The furthest we have shot these to date is 1400 yards
Powder NOT to use is Varget, I found Vit N550 to be the ticket with the heavy bullets in 308.
 
westcoaster said:
Lots of good council here already but I'll throw my two bits in...

What you have described is two or three different rifles - not one. Shooting as a hobby is kind of like golf in that you don't use a putter to blast thew ball down a 500 yard fairway, you use a driver. In the same way one might use a 22-250 for varmints and 338 for bear hunting.

At what I have read your current experience level to be, early twenties and getting your first or second rifle, an all around hunting rifle in a lighter caliber is probably a really good place to start.

Starting anywhere from the 6.5x55 to a 3006 would be an excellent choice in a decent bolt action with good glass. Once you get it shoot it a lot out to 500 yards. WADR you may find being very consistent at 500 yards a challenge let alone 1000 yards.

IMO a good 1000 yard target rifle is not a good hunting rifle and vice versa. So start with a good hunting rifle get good out to 500 yards - this will take a while. At that point you will know if you want to go out further.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great post, it saved me a ton of wear and tear on my typing/trigger finger.
Sound advice!!
 
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