Sheep Rifle

AR15meister

AR15meister

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So I sent a deposit this week on a Rocky Mountain Bighorn hunt in southern BC bordering Kootenay National park for this coming September. Of course, I am extremely excited for this opportunity and naturally I am planning a big KUIU order and working out 5 days a week with a personal trainer, etc.

I have never hunted in the alpine "backpack" style before. I have done Africa and been to Alberta a few times to hunt deer but never needed an particularly longer range or accurate rifle. Having hunted Mule Deer in the foothills in zone 305 in AB this year I am inclined to purchase a longer range flatter shooting rifle than my 1980's vintage M70 .308 featherweight topped with Swarovski Z3.

Outfitter told me we are going to do our best to get inside 200 yards and I should be fine with my .308 and part of me is attached to this old rifle for nostalgia reasons. I am seriously considering it. I also spoke at length to some of the advertising dealers on here and both guys I spoke to told me that I shouldn't buy a rifle unless I "want" one.

That all being said I am having a confidence issue internally that is making me wonder if I am confident enough with this rifle out to 400-500 yards.

So I am considering some options. I am a smaller guy and I was considering the following rifles and wanted some input and also some suggestions I might be missing.

1- Stick with old reliable.
2- Purchase Win M70 Extreme Weather with 22 inch barrel in .270WIN. Swarovski Z5 with ballistic turret.
3- Christensen Arms Ridgeline in 6.5 creedmoor or 26 Nosler. Swarovski Z5 with ballistic turret.
4- Sako Finnlight in .270WIN Swarovski Z5 with ballistic turret.

One other note is I am 5"7. not the biggest dude out there and I like smaller nice handling rifles.

I want to stay under 5k ish money wise.

And final note, I do really love my old crappy Winchester post 64 Model 70 but I am not able to practise 10000 rounds at long distance with it. I live in dtown Toronto and I cannot really get to handle any of these guns.
 
In that area it's bighorn. The necessity of getting a real good look at a ram means trying to get reasonably close anyway. I feel OK packing my 35 Whelen up there and it's not a long range outfit (sadly, it's also not very light and it's getting harder to carry. Then again, my old carcass is getting harder to carry). Practice with your 308 and go hunting. Forget about the five and six hundred yard crap. Both you and the ram deserve better.
 
If you can't practise with it,stick with option 1. There is a ton of advantages to packing something you are 100% familiar with. Also, the LOP on the Finnlight is probably too long to fit you. A new gun, while fun, does not automatically give you the ability to shoot longer range. Use your 5 grand budget on things like boots, binos, and a lightweight pack. Maybe go with the ballistic turret scope on your existing rifle if you feel like turrets give you that much more of an advantage. My nickel, take it for what it's worth.
 
You'll be fine with the 308.

Forget the gym membership, you live in a city full of stairs.

Horseback? If so you're not limited to ultralight gear. You can expect anything from +30 to winter weather.
 
Stick with the gun you know , your 308 will be just fine . If you are worried about shooting 300-400 yards , just go out and practice , practice . What type-grain bullet are u using ??
Sheep aren't that hard to kill . Stop watching all those u-tube dial + prayer videos on shooting 1000+ yards , that's not how it works in real life .
Great into " sheep shape " that will be the #1 factor in you getting into shooting range of a bighorn range . That some very tough-rough country in SE BC .
Good luck and enjoy your hunt .
 
Complaints about clients can be summed up as "can't walk, can't ride, can't shoot", take care of those would be my advice.

Also, if it is a horseback hunt, I would be tempted to bring a pair of rubber boots, camps are usually beside creeks and the hunting grounds tend to be on the other side. Stash the boots at the creek and use them coming and going.
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a .308 for hunting sheep. I have many other rifles/cartridges, "just because" but would not feel handicapped with a .308 for hunting everything, just like I started out. I used a .308 for the one and only sheep i ever shot. The sheep didn't seem to think it was "under killed". ;-)
Forget about 400-500 yards. Especially if you can't get out to practise at that range with a new rifle. Your guide probably won't let you shoot that far away in any case. And a slightly flatter shooting rifle won't help if your field marksmanship isn't up to that challenge. Don't be misled by long range bragging on this or any other forum. Most sheep, like most other types of big game, are shot at under 200 yards. For most hunters, 300 yards is a long shot. Go forth and shoot a nice one., and brag about stalking close, not shooting far.
Spend your money on the best pair of binoculars that you can afford in a moderate size and power. i use Swarovsi EL 8.5 x42's - wonderful image quality and rugged, and a very important hunting tool.
 
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I just recently Pick up a 308 for a Alberta sheep hunt/moose ,deer ,elk ,goat ,extra
I am limited to about 200 yards marksmanship and will try to get my range out to 300 yard at the range but that is more of a personal Challenge and not necessarily a hunting goal
It would be nice to get my confidence up to taking advantage of Maximum point blank range but I'm not there yet but working on it
I don't realy see a need to go Beyond Point blank range or having ballistic Torret if your working with in the 308 Point blank range

I definitely Think a good light hunting pack and boots shood be priority no matter wear your hunting or for what your hunting
 
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As best as I can recall, I had only two sheep hunters kill sheep at over 250 yards. The rest were much closer, one at about 25. I myself only killed one beyond 400.

Kind of like charging grizzly bears. They are the exception. You rarely hear about the thousands of bear encounters that do not make good hunting magazine stories. The very nature of sheep habitat makes it relatively easy to get well inside 300 yards. Many sheep are taken by bow hunters.

If asked, always told folks to bring the rifle they handled and shot the best. Of the most comfortable hunts I ever guided, twice I was standing beside a guy with an ancient 250-3000 Savage 99 who knew how to use it. He was from Montana, and his name was Jim Scott. IIRC, he was 89 years old the last time I guided him. He killed everything with a single shot.

Your 308 will be fine. Park at least four blocks away, stop using the elevator no matter what floor you are going to, run some bleachers a couple of times a week, and you will be as well.

God bless you hunt,
Ted
 
My thoughts are different than the rest here. . If you can afford it, why pass up a reason to buy another rifle? . . My choice would be option 2, the Extreme Weather with Z5.

The Extreme Weather is difficult to obtain here in Canada at this time. . There aren't any, at least out west, I've been waiting for one in 300 WM to use on my ATV. . If you can find one grab it as you have plenty of time to sight that rifle in and feel comfortable carrying it.
 
Well I'll chime in on the proposed optics, mainly because I have just purchased the Z5. Great scope for sure. I went with the 5-25x52 with a plex and the ballistic turret. The BT that it comes with isn't too bad, but it does leave some room for error with only 3 settings (red, yellow, green... 300 400 500 yards type thing) You will still need to know clicks for all the yardages in between. Getting a full on custom turret, which is available, will take up some of your time. Especially if your working with a new rifle. I'm just stepping away from a .308 myself and work at dialing in a Creedmoor for this falls hunting season. I totally agree with the previous 'bino' comment and buy the best you can afford. You will spend a lot of time with those to your eyes, but they don't come with crosshairs and they aren't mounted to something the goes bang...

Good luck
 
The only way to confidently make a 400-500 yard shot is to become competent by regularly shooting at 400-500 yards. That is well within the limitations of a good .308 rifle loaded with quality ammunition. Take the time to learn the trajectory of you rifle, not from a table or ballistics program, but observe the actual drop of your bullet, fired from your rifle. Learn the effects of wind drift, and develop a fast and dirty formula that compensates for it. Learn the effect a steep angle shot has on trajectory. Shoot from field positions, there are no bench rests in the field.

Once you begin shooting beyond 300 yards, the importance of the accuracy and precision of your rifle and ammo is increasingly important, and some tweaking of the rifle and it's ammo might be necessary. Forget pie plate accuracy at extended ranges. At a minimum, you have to ensure your rifle always puts a cold bore shot within a couple of inches of your intended point of impact, or you have to move closer. Determine your maximum range to ensure you don't take marginal shots. When an opportunity presents itself, you should immediately recognize its viability, because you know from experience what happens when you shoot from there.

Generally speaking, equipment doesn't compensate for marksmanship, but there are a couple of things that can help. A laser rangefinder takes the guesswork out of range estimation, resulting in calculating a more precise firing solution. A B&C reticle or a Christmas tree reticle, allows you to rapidly adjust for range and wind drift. Taking a month to burn up 500 rounds at paper or steel, where you have to lase or guestimate the range will do far more for your confidence than purchasing a new rifle will. If you still want a new rifle, go ahead and get one, but you'll still have to burn up 500 rounds learning it.
 
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