Mid-Long Range Hunting Rifle and what weight $1500 Budget

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colt7777

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I have hunted with lever guns ,and light weight bolt guns in the past. Seems like I am always in situations that could use a little more distance. I am in a pickle over what I should move too. Looked into the Bergara HMR, Tikka CTR, and Browning Hell Canyon LR, and liked all three. Deer and elk is majority of game. Would like to be accurate out too 1000 yards for fun on some steel but wouldn't take near that long of shots on larger game. 6.5 Creed seems like the right caliber as I like to watch my impacts without a ton of recoil, but open to suggestions. Really looking for advice on weight of the rifle. About 10km day hikes is the max walking I do with a gun in a rifle pack on my back.

1500 max budget for the rifle.

Thoughts???? Anyone have experience with any of these rifles. ?
 
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What is the actual distance you would be confident taking game at?....... Good old .308 will do the job if you put the bullet where it needs to go and people have been stretching that cartridge for years in long range platforms...
 
I am confident at 300 hundred and some with my grandfathers old 338 win mag. I would start there and progress out to hopefully 600 as my skills develop. Would 600 be ethical on an elk with a 6.5cm?
 
Another vote for good old .308, although 6.5 seems to be the new wonder flavour of the day. I’d look at one of the Savage 10TR. I think it comes in both cartridges. Light enough to hunt with, MOA or better with good ammo. And you can get one, and a good scope for $1500. Plus, it’s a great platform to learn on out to 1000.
 
I have an xbolt stainless 7mm Rem Mag with a M-carbo trigger and removable brake for sale for $800 plus shipping

Comes with talley 30mm high rings too
Should punch holes with good energy out there with 162 eldx I only took it out to 600 yards but it did the job well and its under 7lbs

I just posted it in the EE in the hunting section
 
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Are you set on the 6.5? 300wm 300wsm 7mm rem mag, 7mm wsm and as mentioned above .308 are all harder hitting if you're worried about ethics at longer range... from someone who hunts and dabbles with mid range shooting (600m) one is not really great for the other. Either invest in a target rifle or invest in a hunting rifle.

Alternatively you can work on your stalking game to close that distance to make an ethical kill. No shame in passing up a shot if it dosen't feel right.

Check out the podcast "cutting the distance" with Remi Warren for some amazing tips on getting closer to your game.
 
Any of the common belted magnums or short mags will take an elk at 600 yards. A 6.5 Creedmoor or 260 Remington would be a 600 yard deer cartridge in my books, 300 on elk. Yes, people have used 6.5 CM on elk further than I would recommend but some folks also enjoy using 223 Remington on deer. Doable, yes. Ideal, no. Some of the magazine writers say that a 338 magnum of some flavour is best for elk. But they are hunting in areas where if you have to track your elk, you'll probably find it with someone else's tag on it.

There are some new cartridges that tweak the old classics for incremental gains. The 6.5 PRC and 300 PRC, for example. (Compared to 6.5 Rem Mag and 300 Win Mag, respectively.) Or 26 Nosler and 30 Nosler for max performance from a standard length action.

In my books, 300 Win Mag does everything you'd need this side of a 300 RUM, 300 Norma, or 30-338 Lapua. Unless you jump to one of those longer/beefier cartridges, you won't see much difference under 1000 yards. Get a 1:8 twist barrel for a 300 WM with a tight, parallel throat and it really starts to wake up.

6.5 PRC, 6.5-284, or 6.5x55 Ackley would be my choices for a 6.5mm cartridge, whether for hunting or up to 1000 yard target shooting. Out to 600 yards punching paper and steel and deer you are probably better off with one of the 6mm target cartridges.
 
Neilm said:
6.5 cm is probably a max 300 yard rifle (ethically)
Click to expand...

A 7mm or 30 carries the energy and has the projectile size for wounding. If your like the dancing bananas poster and dont like belts....how about 300wsm, or a nosler 7 or 30.

Do you reload.....if yes pick a high performance boutique magnum. If you don't, 7 rem mag, 300 win. Something called magnum shouldn't bother someone accustomed to 338 win mag.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. I do not reload so I like the sounds of the 7mm Rem Mag and 300 win mag for my purpose. And still like the 308. I used a 308 many times for deer under 300 yards so am somewhat familiar with it, but curious peoples experience with it past that range on larger game.
 
Personally I would look into any 7mm-300wm or similar. Find a platform you like and fits you ( even if it's a budget rifle) and spend any additional $ on accurizing. ( if your handy you can do a lot on your own) all of my big game guns are capable of hitting a 10" plate at 1000 yds, yet are still light enough to carry hunting. Put a good quality 4-12,4-14, scope even a 3-10 can work for LR hunting. And your good to go. Shoot lots and verify dope and learn to build good platforms necessary to make first rounds hits and have fun
 
for elk to 300 yards i would not use a 6.5CM, sure some folks have luck with it but I think it is a bit on the low side for energy.

One of the 300 mag or short mag types should be a bit better suited. Shoulder the hells canyon, tikka etc and see what fits.

If your hunting 50-300 yards, I think a scope mag range of 3-18 would be good, or 2.5-20 nightforce if you have the funds. A 4-24 scope would work, but I think the 4 power minimum is a bit on the high side for thick bush hunting.

My younger brother has lots of luck with his A-bolt out to around 600 yards loaded hot with 200 grain NAB's and a 300WM with elk.
 
Considering you posted this in the hunting, not the target page, I assume the weighted balance tips highly towards hunting with limited LR target usage (?).
6.5’s with the right bullet and skill set are very capable but my thoughts would lean more towards a common belted Magnum (7RM or 300WM).
The advantages outweigh the disadvantages given your limitations and goals.
A selection of ammo is available and always will be pretty much anywhere.
However nothing is free, in this case with increased power comes increased recoil, lightening the gun makes this worse, adding a brake increases barrel length (a pain in bush) and can be harder on the ears (especially your hunting partner), or you have to pack the weight (if a couple of pounds in rifle weight is a show stopper it’s time to hit the gym...IMO).
Going this way I’d opt for a standard weight stainless offering with a full length barrel. Most manufacturers offer something like this within your price point so personal choice and fit/feel is only something you could answer.
My lingering thought is what’s your scope, much more than rifle or cartridge...
 
Some thoughtful upgrades to your .338 would make it more than capable for shooting at distant elk.
You may have to take up reloading to maximize it's long range potential.
 
So, I think the original post changed to question what the ideal weight is for a rifle of this function. You’d be ok with a standard rifle, but I’d lean towards a longer barrel with a magnum. For punching paper a heavier barrel would be better. That new carbon barrel savage would do the trick or one of the hells canyons. Actually browning has some nice options.

To be honest, I’m a bit split between telling you to avoid a heavy barreled rifle for long hikes, because you say you would carry it in a backpack with scabbard. When potential game is around your probably won’t have it in your pack and you’ll be carrying it in hand anyways, but the heavier barrel is better for target shooting, or rather for heat soak in your barrel not affecting groups. A sendero profile with fluting is probably about as heavy as you want to go at most.

When you add a scope that is competent for 1000 yards, you’ll be adding extra weight, I think all in it would be nice to keep it under 7.5-8 pounds to carry around, it’s easy to slip past that though, and you’ll be compromising one way or the other.
 
For your purposes and not reloading you are seriously hamstringing yourself from practicing enough to become proficient at longer ranges unless you are willing to pay a serious premium for ammunition. Your current .338 is a superior elk/moose round to a 6.5 Creedmoor, even at longer range. You may be better served with investing the $1500 in your .338 and gaining confidence with it to 600 yards if elk are a primary concern.
 
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