Best Options for Long Range shooting?

A heavy barreled Remington 700 (700P, VS, PSS, etc) in .308 would be a good choice. Both the USMC M40 series and the US Army M24 are based on the Remington 700.

Chances are with every 20 responses to your question, you will get 20 different answers. When it comes to long range rifles and optics, you have lots of choices.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Anything in a 6.5. Gonna depend on how much you want to spend. A 308 will probably be your best bet, since no one chambers anything in a 6.5. Easy to customize a Savage though.

From: http://www.madogre.com/Archives/NOV_2007.htm

" Tactical .308 on the cheap. Lots of emails regarding the cheapest off the shelf tactical set up that will do the job. I've talked about this before, but I will again one last time and this time I will be specific. Remington makes something that will do not just nicely, but probably better than several other entry level tactical guns. The SPS Varminter in .308 gives you everything a tactical shooter will need. It even has the double sling mounts so you can sling on one and bipod the other. It has an 11 degree crown, bull barrel, a nice stock that features a rather cool flare on the forend that works well with bipods and looks slick. We are selling them for only $539.99 and you would have to spend a great deal more to get better. And it's a Remington so there are about 200 million things you can do with it down the road to upgrade it. Scope this up with a Mil-Dot from Millet, a huge coffee can sized objective, glass that is very bright for the money... about 300 for the scope. Done. Want a cheaper scope, the Nikon BDC scopes would serve the purpose easily and they are easier to use than mil dots. You can get a BDC for as low as 159... That's all you need guys. Sure the Marines have 23000 sniper rifles, but you don't need that to shoot well. The SPS takes to Krylon spray can camo jobs better than anything else. I've seen the SPS guns spray painted and the paint sticks like it was thermally cured."

Geoff
Who reads Madogre.com daily.

SC deer are generally pretty small, as are coyotes and varmints. I learned to hunt in SC. I think that a .243 or a .25-06 would be great medicine for the smaller deer.

Bean Field Rifle

One of the most successful custom long range rifle makers hales from SC. He made the Bean Field Rifle and if I remember correctly his caliber of choice was 25-06. It has light bullet weight for coyote/varmint and heavy enough bullets for SC Deer. The deer are not large bodied.

article | Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting, Part I - Rifle & Equipment

I grew up in Texas and New Mexico, and I just don't understand why everyone back east thinks you need some specialized long range cartridge. Hunting and stalking still work.

If deer are to be your largest prey and you want to really reach out there, I'd go for a .25-06. Plenty of power to kill the biggest deer cleanly if you do your part, one of the flattest shooting cartridges out there that doesn't burn a half pound of powder with every trigger pull, and very easy on the shoulder.

I live out west (Idaho) & hunt all manner of big game, varmints & birds. If you are hunting smaller sized game animals i.e antelope, doe deer or varmints my Remington model 700 ADL in 243 Win w100 grain core lokt bullets work very well. Moving on up to say cow elk or buck mule deer my Tikka lite hunter in 270 Win w 150 grain Nosler partitions is sufficient. Finally, when I go out for bull elk, moose or black bear I will go with my Weatherby MKV in 300 Weatherby magnum w 200grain Nosler partitions.

Good luck.

I believe the Beanfield Rifle was created by Kenny Jarrett of South Carolina, and his caliber of choice is the .280 Ackley Improved. His stuff is pricey, but brutally accurate. He makes his own barrels to benchrest standards.

www.jarrettrifles.com

Just my .02,
LeonCarr