Long Range Rifle: Cartridge Selection

Johnny_Canuck

Johnny_Canuck

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Situation:
Friendly: Johnny Canuck wishes to shoot things at a very long range with a designated Very Long range rig.

Enemy: A recent faulty transmission has dented his "50 cal" budget substantially.

Mission: Build suitable stop-gap long range rig with mostly affordable/available bits until funds are once again flush. (Yes I realise saving my money for now would aide that) now be quiet you silly reasonable logical person :p

Execution: Use a Savage action, off of a 300 win mag savage. Stick a medium heavy tube at or about 30-32" long on it. Attach a good piece of glass with plenty of resolution/elevation. The glass will likely be transferred to the "50" when it comes.

Service and Support: Fellow CGNers

Command and Signals: Decentralised control with the vast conglomerated interweb for communication.

So the question: What are, in your opinion, some of the best "Long Range Hunting" cartridges. I'm only limited by what will fit in a Savage long action with standard magnum bolt face. I know many cartridges that have my interest piqued, but for the sake of not making it a "this" versus "that" thread quite yet, I won't list them. If you were to build a LRH rifle (not concerned too much about barrel life), what would you build and why? Medium to big 7's and 30's? An overlooked oddity? How would you prefer to lob heavy for calibre, slippery, high bc, javelins at unsuspecting coyotes and such. Looking for edge of effective range to be near, if not quite, 1 mile. (No Jerry, I don't want to use a 223 :p )
 
Sharps 1874 45/70 with double set trigger and Semi Buckhorn rear sight...kinda like a vernier 34" heavy octagon barrel hahaha Quigley managed fine...well actually he ahd a 45/110 but that was black powder i figured i would save ya with using a modern cartridge, maybe i jsut like vintage style a bit too much
 
I have a batch of articles on my website that you will find very helpful.

You will also be linked to longrangehunting.com where you will find ALL the possible options explained, debated, used.

Bottom line for LR hunting is How Far? What type of Game?

The further you go and the larger the game, the larger the cal and bullet weight.

There is precious little that is hunted in NA even at very long ranges where a monster 338 can't put down. Making this a easily achived max, then we go to the 30cal and 7mm.

Smaller can work and has worked but when distances reach out, you really need mass and diameter to get the job done.

My personal LR rig was a Savage in 7RM pushing 162gr class bullets at best possible speeds. Muzzle brake, optics, all set up to engage game on the far side of any cut block I might hunt.

Jerry
 
Go with a 300 Winchester and add a 29 or 30" heavy barrel (not Bull barrel, but a good stiff one) with a 1-10" twist. 208 AMax or 210 Bergers can be made to trudge along at a pretty reasonable pace with a long tube like that. Add a 5.5-22x56mm NXS or an 8-32x56 NXS and you'll be away to the races.
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
6.5mm , some very slick bullets available and no need to remortgage the house to build something. Berger has some very high BC offerings in 6.5mm
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+1 on that. Any of the fast 6.5s should fit the bill beautifuly. 6.5-284 will move out a 140-142 grain bullet at 3000 fps or so without breathing hard. Combine that speed with the fact that your average 6.5mm match bullet has a BC of .600 or better and you have a recipe for long range goodness. For coyote size game the 6.5 will have no issues at any range you can hit them.
 
Deer and Antelope sized game will be on the ticket as well. I'm thinking about 6.5 magnums and up. The STW family is intriguing, especially as I believe*(correct me if I'm wrong please), having the smaller shank savage action and no CRF bolt head keeps me out of the territory of the RUM and their offspring.
 
If you are already set up to load the .300 Winchester, stick with that, you don't need an exotic cartridge to produce desirable results. Having said that, a .300 Ultra, built around the 240 gr MK might be interesting, but over 1000 rounds the difference in powder consumption, when compared to a .300 Winchester, would be noticeable. I would choose a 1:8 cut rifled barrel in the hopes that the grooves are a little deeper giving a bit more life than I might expect from a button rifled bore. I see no problem chambering a RUM cartridge on a Savage Action, the head size is the critical dimension and that is the same size as the common belted magnums.

My scope preference runs to S&B, but everyone has their own ideas. You might want a bit more magnification than my 4-16X produces, but I was able to get mine (used, with mounts) for a paltry $2K!
 
-Savage action

-Stick with 300 winmag

-Get a 28" shilen barrel from Mystic

-Stock of your choice, if this is a budget build the new choate tactical stock (A-5'ish) is about $300

- Nightforce NXS glass.

- 210gr Matrix bullets/H1000/Win brass

.. I can personally attest to this combination.
 
Call Sean at North Shore Barrels, he built my rig and did an absolutely fantastic job. Mine is similar to what you want except for the chambering, I have a Savage short action, 28" Shilen Select Match barrel in 260 remington sitting in a B&C Gold Medalist stock, all underneath a Vortex Razor HD 5-20X50.
 
Do you reload?

If not, it doesn't matter. factory ammo at long ranges is mediocre anyway.

If not, the 300 Win mag is athe winningest long range cartridge ever made.
 
Johnny_Canuck said:
Deer and Antelope sized game will be on the ticket as well. I'm thinking about 6.5 magnums and up. The STW family is intriguing, especially as I believe*(correct me if I'm wrong please), having the smaller shank savage action and no CRF bolt head keeps me out of the territory of the RUM and their offspring.
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This, plus the info in your first post, indicates, to me, a smaller round. I say this because you are on a budget.If the paln is to eventually get a big boomer, then why would you need two? I would go .243AI, as it would be a great partner to your eventual boomer, it is very easy, and economical to shoot, will zap the game you mentioned at distances, most likley, beyond what you can shoot, and last, but not least, would be a very inexspensive build. A 1 in 8 twist would handle the 105 A-max and Scenar. It will make you a better shooter for when you build the boomer.

R.
 
I would go the other way from what most would. I would go to a 338rum. Barrel life is pretty decent, slippery long range bullets are available, with BC's over 0.7. The 300gr sierra mk is a proven bullet on game at distances over 1000yards. You would be looking at not going subsonic until somewhere past 1500 yards, with give or take 1000ft-ibs of energy at that distance. If you can get some berger hybrids you can add 100 yards to that.

The one thing that a 338 does is almost require is a brake, so that is something to consider. I shoot my 300rum with no brake but the recoil is tiring after 20-30 rounds, my braked 338edge is much easier to put rounds down range with.

A 28" barrel from shilen, threaded for a brake, and a decent stock and your pretty much there. Decide after a few shots if you need a brake. If you are looking at putting your glass onto the 50 when your done then a S&B PMII should be on your short list, along with a NF. I wonder if the 10-50 Sightron would hold up on a 50? Hard to beat the magnification, and I like lots of magnification at longer ranges.
 
I do reload so oddities/wildcats are not an issue. Big is the ticket at the moment. I was under the impression I was limited in cartridge size by my shank size. After a bit of further research it seems it can be done safely (again, correct me if I'm wrong). This opens me to a heavy pushing 300 RUM or 338 Edge country >:) , which would make a nice bridge into 50 territory.

The Choate tactical with adjustable butt/cheek rest is on my short list for stocks. I know choates are known to be heavy, but as an oversize rig that will be working off of bags, bipod or berms I'm not too concerned with weight. Does anyone have experience with them/know who sells them in Canada?
 
Johnny_Canuck said:
I do reload so oddities/wildcats are not an issue. Big is the ticket at the moment. I was under the impression I was limited in cartridge size by my shank size. After a bit of further research it seems it can be done safely (again, correct me if I'm wrong). This opens me to a heavy pushing 300 RUM or 338 Edge country >:) , which would make a nice bridge into 50 territory.

The Choate tactical with adjustable butt/cheek rest is on my short list for stocks. I know choates are known to be heavy, but as an oversize rig that will be working off of bags, bipod or berms I'm not too concerned with weight. Does anyone have experience with them/know who sells them in Canada?
Click to expand...

I believe they are import only, but I would try to find someone to see how it fits you.
 
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