Long Range Rifle For Whitetail?

[Sulaco]

Longe Range Rifle For Whitetail?

I have a 30/30 to cover the stalking (inside 100 yards), a 7mm-08 to cover the tree stand (up to maybe 200 yards or so) and a .270 to let friends shoot. Sometimes I take out the .270 instead of the 7mm-08, but not a lot. Anyway, I am looking for something to suit my needs as a longe range deer gun.

I know, you say, why so many different rifles. Well, because I like them, thats why.

I was looking at those new short action magnum cartridges that are out now and the 300win mag as well as the 7mm's. Anyone know what would be an ideal caliber for shots up to somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-350 yards?

I would obviously want the flattest shooting, hardest hitting caliber I can chamber and still shoot without the pain inflicted by a .338 Lapua Magnum.

I haven't decided on the rifle yet, I wanted to get close to the caliber and then see what was available in a given model of gun. Thanks for the help.

 

[iamkris]

http://www.chuckhawks.com/ultra-long-range.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/game_range_caliber.htm

This all assumes that you have the shooting skills to ethically harvest an animal under hunting (vs. benchrest) conditions at those ranges.

 

[makdaddy03]

300 Winchester Mag. a fine gun.

 

[cratz2]

If you're wanting a new rifle - which I certainly understand - then the short magnums would probably serve you well but unless you routinely see 350+ deer around your parts, don't think for a second that a 150 Gr 270 slug won't do plenty fine in that roll... 7mm-08 just as good.

Given proper shot placement, the 338 Lapua would be effective to probably 1,500 yards. Assuming good bullets and proper shot placement (always a good thing) the .260, 7mm-08, .308, .25-06, .270, .280, .30-06 and 6.5x55 are all plenty fine 400 yard 200 lb whitetail rounds and don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise.

 

[Soap]

.270 Win or 7mm-08 would do just fine

 

[Art Eatman]

I've had DRT one-shot kills at 350 and 450 yards. .30-'06, 150-grain Sierra SPBT. I doubt any of my 40+ other deer were shot beyond 175 yards or so...The 350-yarder was cross-body; high heart hit. The 450-yarder was frontal, low in the chest. While certainly not alone in its glory, the old '06 will play Ma Bell just fine, thank you.

As a handloader, starting from scratch on a 30-caliber, I just might go with a Short Maggie.

Art

 

[JShirley]

see if this works...

260 Remington
270 Win.
7mm-08 Remington
.............................................100 150 200 250 300 400 500

Premier AccuTip 120 ABT .........1.6 1.5 zero -2.8 -7.2 -20.7 -41.7
Remington Express 130 PSP CL 1.5 1.4 zero -2.8 -7...-20.9 -43.3
Remington Express 140 PSP CL 1.8 1.6 zero -3.1 -7.8 -22.9 -46.8

Notice the big drop is between 300 and 400 yards...

John

 

[seeker_two]

Hornady Light Magnum loads

You already have the rifles. Just improve the ammo...

 

[Art Eatman]

That Remington 140-grain Express is almost identical to a .30-'06. Actually, from .243 (100-grain) on through the '06, almost everything is very similar in trajectory. (Leaving out things like the .264 Maggie and suchlike.) Out beyond 300, you better be feeroshus good at guesstimating range, and sure-nuff know your rifle, no matter what sort of whizbangohboy! you're using.

Art

 

[Byron Quick]

On the hundred acres, where I do most of my hunting there are a few 300+ yard shots.

I've got a thousand yard laser rangefinder. I don't try to range deer with it...they'll be gone before I quit fiddling with gadgets. What I've done is to range landmarks from my stand. So, I know that the treeline over there is 308 yards and that tree is 230 yards etc. Works pretty well.


You don't really need another rifle for that range...as opposed to want Study the ballistics of the round you're shooting, practice at those ranges, range some landmarks where you hunt, and you'll do OK.

 

[cratz2]

Yeah... I have a large ballistics spreadsheat on my hard drive with many chronographed factory loads and all the hand loads my buddy does for me and it is really amazing that regardless of bore, case length, amount of recoil (withing reason) and whether it's an old or new cartridge, all the main cartridges are very very similar.

I think right now the 140 Gr Remington 7mm Ultra Mag or the 150 Gr 300 Ultra Mag - not the shorties - are about king of long distances and the numbers are pretty impressive... zero'd at 250 yards, the bullet never rises more than about 2.2" before 250 yards and are only down about 11.5" at 400 yards and only 26" at 500 yards! For anyone that feels a need... those are pretty humbling numbers.

 

[BusMaster007]

Combination of Hubble Telescope & Plasma Beam --- The Ultimate Long Range Deer Getter!

Just kidding...

I like the ideas above about the Light Magnum ammo or the Remington Ultra Mag in 7mm.

 

[Sulaco]

Fist of all, thanks for all of the input. I like to think of myself as a fair shot in the woods. I have done a lot of hunting and have taken some fairly impressive shots that took more than a steady hand to pull off.

As for the ability of a 7mm-08 or .270 to do what I want, I agree. In a gun other than the 20" barrel Model Seven, I would have no problems. One has a 2-7 and one has a 4x mounted. I can't really see all that well at 300 plus yards out of such small, cheap (read plastic lens' and low overall quality) scope and I don't want to put a larger scope with more magnification on either rifle for fear that I will loose in the close-up category.

I guess I could make either of the two aforementioned rifles work, but the problem is, I don't want to. I would rather have a specific tool for the job. Hence wanting a magnum (medium bore) rifle.

I already shoot Hornady Light Magnums and swear by them. Since I don't reload (for hunting calibers), I even make sure my hunting guns are chambered in a caliber that Hornady is making ammo for. Well, not really, but almost.

Anyway, thanks again for the help. I think I will look harder at the 7mm mentioned, it sounds impressive.

EDITED TO ADD:

I forgot to mention that some of the property I hunt has some stands setup for some nice long range shots. One in particular is on a treeline facing a field. Between that field and the one behind it is another treeline of new growth pines. The other end of the far field is over 900 yards off. Now I know good and well I could never (and would never) hit anything at 900 yards, but there is a lot of field between the stand and that 900 yard mark. Last year I counted no less than a dozen deer (on three different occasions) moving across the far field sort of diagonal away from me. They know (probably better than we do) where the stands are and nobody that hunts that stand really even watches the far field. The stand has three lanes cut off of it with corn piles on them and that is where most people want to shoot a deer (less than a hundred yards on all three).

 

[Art Eatman]

And once again we find why folks say to move a stand after a year or three, as they can become less productive...

Or add another stand, of course.

, Art

 

[Sulaco]

Yeah, I plan to move quite a few at this plot after next year's season. I am not going to hunt this plot this year, so maybe they will calm down a bit. We have put a lot of work into this particular stand and it's location and it still produces even after three years.

 

[BusMaster007]

Have you considered the Remington Model 7 Magnum in 7mm RSM?

http://www.remington.com/firearms/centerfire/sa_ultramag.htm#awr


http://www.remington.com/images/saum/m7awr.jpg


Also, I've read that the NIKON 2-7 Monarch is exceptionally bright and clear.

http://www.nikonusa.com/usa_group/group.jsp?cat=4&grp=16

http://www.nikonusa.com/usa_product/product.jsp?cat=4&grp=16&productNr=6515

http://www.nikonusa.com/images/products/6515_360.jpg


That would be a nice combination.
Especially if you sprang for the Alaskan Wilderness Version.
Pricey, but, it'd be a very 'sexy' rifle in all black, from the Custom Shop.