New Gun

[Jacobsps]

I have the opportunity to buy a new rifle winchester model 70 featherweight the current production ones. Will this rifle shoot up to 400 yards accurately.

 

[lpsharp88]

It should if you are capable

 

[Jacobsps]

Given that i use quality ammo and a decent scope. I have never ever really used a rifle to hunt.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Get the best scope you can afford and get it mounted properly. Then practice.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Caliber choice will be a factor,which caliber are you looking at?

 

[Jacobsps]

7mm 08

 

[Stevenvalleyky]

7mm 08

To answer your question, YES. With decent glass and provided you have the proper form to shoot well enough, the 7-08 is plenty enough for shooting 400 yards. I probably wouldnt be trying to kill deer at 400 yards with it but a little smaller animals should be fine. Im sure people will chime in and say that 400 yards is no problem for killing deer with a 7-08. They are probably correct, but thats a long way unless you really know how to read the wind and its probably getting marginal as far as energy at 400 for deer. But the round is a nice flat shooting round with a light recoil.

 

[Llama Bob]

I have the opportunity to buy a new rifle winchester model 70 featherweight the current production ones. Will this rifle shoot up to 400 yards accurately.

In general, yes. They're very well made rifles.

The shooter may need to some practice to shoot accurately at 400y (or any other range for that matter). Couldn't really say...

 

[horsey300]

400 yds with a 7-08 in a model 70 is just fine, the 7 mm offers quality bcs in its own respect and you'll carry plenty of energy too. You're just gonna haveta practice for awhile and that's got nothing to do with the gun/cartridge.

 

[Coyote3855]

You probably should not shoot at any animal at 400 yards, or maybe even 200 yards, until you have practiced enough with your rifle under all conditions to be confident you can place your shots accurately at those ranges. Both you and your rifle need to be vetted before you hunt with it at long range. I know I'm old fashioned, but I never killed or even shot at anything over 175-200 yards. Movies and internet commandos lead us to believe that such shots are commonplace. I submit they are not.

 

[Llama Bob]

A general practice is to get a 6-8" pie plate as a target and move it out to various distances. Shoot it from field positions - standing, sitting, kneeling, and prone. Use whatever accessories you're going to use in the field only - so only use a sling if you plan to have one in the field, ditto bipods, rucks, etc. Get away from those infernal sleds, benches and sandbags.

Whatever distance you can reliably (say 19 out of 20 times) get hits on the plate from a given position is your maximum effective range with that position.

Take the opportunity to practice with a cross-wind too.

For hunting purposes, I find 100y is about my effective range from standing, 200y is about the max from sitting (maybe a little bit more in downhill open leg sitting - that's a very comfortable & stable position), 300y for slung prone with a Rhodesian sling, and 400y only slung over a ruck, and then only if the wind is fairly calm.

 

[BrocLuno]

You're out shootin me beyond 200. I'm just gettin too long in the tooth and the heart beat jumps the rifle if I've been walking and try to get a quick shot. If I'm sittin by a rock or a bush and see something a ways off, maybe 250 and I'm done, even with an 06. Beyond that it'll be wounded and a blood trail that I may not be able to track at dusk ...

But chances are very good that the OP's rifle will out shoot me or him w/o a lot of practice and being in A-1 shape ...

 

[eastbank]

the 7mm08 will kill any deer in the world at 400 yards if you are up to it, the load i use carries 1032 fpe and 1969 fps at 400 yards with about 21 inches of drop at 400 yards with a 200 yard zero, with the load i use(120gr nosler BT-3000fps) that comes out to 20-21 clicks elevation on a scope with 1/4" clicks. your skill with a good range finder and your rifle with the right ammo and rest will take care of any deer. i shot this small speed goat at 310 yards with that load and a rem rifle with a harris bipold last year. eastbank.

 

[Dog Soldier]

If you have never hunted with a rifle get some advise. There are many things to learn before choosing the range you will be shooting. Take a course in Hunter Safety and study basic ballistics of your rifle.

 

[horsey300]

If you have never hunted with a rifle get some advise. There are many things to learn before choosing the range you will be shooting. Take a course in Hunter Safety and study basic ballistics of your rifle.

And then test. Test. And retest those ballistics. Even at 2-300 yds, we kill 50 times more targets than game animals in all conditions just to be certain, and I can promise one thing: true certainty will ALWAYS kill better/more efficiently/more reliably than thinking you know that ballistic tip will decimate the lungs at 375 yds in a 15 mph crosswind with "enough energy". For many people who have never hunted long range (or even at all) I've picked up a lot of wounded game and the cartridge/platform/ammo is the smallest factor. I completely agree with getting real world training and advice from folks that can be right there with a person to help them out. I know a fellow who's been hunting for years (successfully) but until just a couple weeks ago whilst sighting in rifles with me, didn't know that sighting in on 3x at 50 yds throws your shot WAY off on 9x at 200 yds and didn't get the effective difference in b.c. between a .22-250 and a .260 but sure loved the velocity on that .22. Real world practice with honest helpful people sure makes a lot of difference, and even experienced folks can still learn something new and useful.