Caliber for 300-1000 yard Large Game Rifle

Why not stick with your 300 and shoot an appropriate weight bullet? A 215/230gr Berger or long range accubond, even the 190gr bullet? A buddy of mine is a team savage shooter and run the 230gr Berger to 1800 meters. Me personally. I'd go 7mm. I shoot 7mm rem mag. The combo with a 180gr or if your rifle will twist it a 195gr Berger is effective to longer than 1000. A 280ai with a 180 is effective past 12-1300 for game. You already have the tool to do it. You just need proper component

My handloaded 300 WSM can push the 200 gr ELD-X to 2950 FPS MV. At 1000 yards that translates to 1740 FPS and 1344 ft/lbs. I don't see why you couldn't do better with the winmag.

Of course, you could shell out the clams for a custom rifle with a 28 inch Lilja chambered in 338-378 WBY . Pair it with a piece of German glass and you'd be set for only $7500 or so. I know a guy who did just that and shoots Bob Marshall elk at excess of 700 yards every year.

What do you plan to be hunting, out of curiosity? I think the 300WM is sufficient for just about anything on the continent, including out to 1000 yards. Hard to say anything can do it "better." A 408 CheyTac ain't gonna kill a goat any more dead than the 300WM. It'll get the bullet there more quickly, and you won't need to dial in as much elevation, and the *BANG* will cost you a couple dollars more. Is any of that better? You tell me.

It's kinda one of those things that if you have to ask what caliber, you might not be ready for the task of taking big game at 1000 yards. That said, your 300 will do the job with the right bullet.

300-to-1K yds ...

Get the original: .300H&H mag.

Every magnum after that is overkill.

50 BMG. Don't even think about a different caliber.

Learn something new everyday, I had no idea people were hunting at 1000yrds.

Hanzo581 said:

Learn something new everyday, I had no idea people were hunting at 1000yrds.

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While it certainly isn't the norm, it is not unusual to successfully harvest game at long distances here in Montana. Given an appropriate arm and training, it isn't outside the realm of possibility. I do put emphasis training though.

Besides, who really pushes the cartridge limitations to the very extreme anyway? I like to have 25% more range than I would actually use just to be certain I'm not running the margin on my farthest shots.

Anything over 400 yards is usually approaching the limits of good ethics for all but the best of shooters. Putting a bullet in an 8 inch vital area at 800-1000 yards from a stable bench rest under known and controlled conditions is difficult in itself, but to do so from a field position under field conditions is pushing it in my opinion. Hell a 1.5 inch group at 100 yards would be 15 inches at 1000. That's before adding in human error.

That being said, I think 300 mag in a good rifle with an even better scope and the right bullet would do the job. In order to get any real advantage over the 300 I believe one would have to make a big step up to something like a 338 Remington Ultra Magnum?

No offense meant, but not one man in 10,000 is capable of making a clean kill at 1,000 yards -- and that man knows how iffy such a shot is, and would ethically refuse to take such a shot.

Vern Humphrey said:

No offense meant, but not one man in 10,000 is capable of making a clean kill at 1,000 yards -- and that man knows how iffy such a shot is, and would ethically refuse to take such a shot.

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Yup. I think anyone who has aspirations of shooting over 300 or 400 yds should try it first. Not from a bench bur from real, honest field positions. Several years ago I set up a 600 yd range of the 4H kids to use prior to their annual trip to Camp Perry. Shooting at that range with nothing but a sling for support is both humbling and wonderful training.

35W

Yup. I think anyone who has aspirations of shooting over 300 or 400 yds should try it first. Not from a bench bur from real, honest field positions. Several years ago I set up a 600 yd range of the 4H kids to use prior to their annual trip to Camp Perry. Shooting at that range with nothing but a sling for support is both humbling and wonderful training.

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And that was shooting at a stationary target at a known range.

I was gonna ask, Have you ever shot at 1000 yds? Doesn't always work out like Quick Loads says it will. Its a humbling experience most of the time.

The 300 WM, 300 WBY mag and a couple of other 300's will out perform the 338 WM at distance with good bullets. The 338 Lapua or other 338 super mags will have a very slight edge at very long range, but the negatives outweigh the positives to me. There are several bullet options made by Berger, Nosler, Hornady, and probably others that will deliver the energy to take game elk size game at 1000 yards. Deer size game even farther.

You always get the ethics lecture when this comes up but I'd bet my best rifle that there are more game animals hit and not recovered every year from shots inside 50 yards than outside 500 yards. He said 300-1000. The OP never implied that he was going to go straight to 1000 yards. I read this to say he is going to start at 300, practice and work up the skills for farther ranges up to 1,000. Sounds reasonable to me, when he reaches the limit of his skills and equipment then that should be his maximum range, and 1,000 isn't unheard of for some people.

I don't consider long range to start until you get to 400 yards. Anyone who can hit a game animal at 50 yards can learn to hit at 300 with no special skills or equipment. Going to 400 yards isn't that much of a stretch.

Once you get past 400 yards the wind is the hard part. But if someone is willing to invest in good equipment, put in some practice, and have the smarts to not shoot when windy, then 500-700 yards is doable.

I'll not tell someone not to shoot 700-1000 yards or even farther. But at these ranges you really need good equipment and have put in a lot of practice time. If someone has the skills and equipment then that is a personal decision. And there are people who CAN make those shots.

Yup. I think anyone who has aspirations of shooting over 300 or 400 yds should try it first. Not from a bench bur from real, honest field positions.

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No kidding, you can't really appreciate how small a 5 inch target is at 500 yards until you're looking at one and you go to turn that scope up and realize you are already at 9 power. That said, it gets easier to do the more practice you get but it does take a lot of practice.

I've found that using 1 moa targets or smaller out to about 400 yards then going to 1.5 moa targets to 600 yards and staying on the lowest power possible helps to get you accustomed to how small everything looks at extended ranges. I've never seen a bench to shoot from in the field so I shoot from bi-pods, sticks and rucksacks. I'm certainly no expert but that has worked well for me, maybe it will help you in your long-range endeavors.

+1 on Vern's post.

Two bull elk ago, I had to take the shot, at a little over 350 yds., from a prone slung postion. Even at a known range shooting at a pretty large vital area, it was no cake walk.
Really the range isn't the difficult part, it's the wind. So it is with my 600 yd. range. Heck if there's no wind it's no big deal to get the proper elevation, but misjudge the wind by 5-10 mph or the angle by a.few dozen degrees and you'll miss!

35W

Shooting big game at those extreme ranges (read 500+ yards) is a stunt. Yes, people have done it and there are some who get their bragging rights this way. Interesting follow up question for those folks is to check and see if their "miss" was actually a miss by them hiking over to the spot to make sure that it was not a marginal hit, leaving some animal wounded. Usually some BS answer like "I can see through the spotting scope" or something similar, which means "no, I don't actually go check". Just my 2 cents.

A rifle capable of 1000 yards is different than a shooter that is capable of the same.....

Many rifles, few shooters.

Have you thought about the 30 Nosler.

.300 WM will certainly work, as well any number of other cartridges. Good luck on your choice. 40 years of big game hunting both in NA and Africa gives me a opinion on the other parts of your question, FWIW.

If 300 WM is all i need, Great!

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It's all you need. Put a quality scope on top, and start hand loading your ammo if you don't yet.