Which Long-Range Rifle, Caliber, Scope?

[ronto]

For the second weekend in a row I stepped out of the thick woods with my Marlin 336 in 30-30 into an open pasture. At least 500 yards away was a 10=point buck, maybe 12-point. He is a smart old boy and I never got close enough for a shot with my 30-30.
My questions are for a 400- 500+ yard effective and humane shot:
(1) Which rifle?
(2) In what caliber?
(3) What scope?
My price range would be in the neighborhood of $1,500.

I thank you for your input.

 

[BoilerUP]

Caliber is less important than your own skill level with the rifle and ability to read wind to put the bullet where you want and need it to go.

270, 7RM & 30-06 been doing it for decades...308, 7-08, 260 are also good choices without getting too exotic. No need for 300WM for that range IMO.

Add most any reputable rifle with any reputable scope, combine lots of practice at the ranges you intend to shoot, and you'll be fine.

 

[BoilerUP]

As for a recommendation...Savage 11 Trophy Hunter XP in the caliber of your choice, though I'd personally choose in order:

6.5 Creedmoor
260 Remington
7-08
30-06
7RM
308

 

[jmr40]

Deer at 500 yards, 7-08, 308, 270 and about a dozen others. a magnum round will work, but not needed.

I use a Kimber 84M in 308 as my do everything rifle for thick woods and open shots



It is 2 lbs lighter than you 30-30, and a better choice in the woods. It still has the punch and trajectory for deer @ 500 yards and beyond. The rifle and a decent Leupold VX-2 will be under your budget

Accuracy ain't bad either.

 

[MCMXI]

ronto, I will second jmr40's recommendation of a Kimber Montana in .308 Win but with the addition of a Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44mm scope with the RZ 600 or RZ 800 reticle. You might be a little over budget (~ $1,700) but you will have a superb rifle/scope/cartridge combination and you'll have a reticle with accurate hold overs for those longer shots.

I've said this before and will say it again, Kimber is making some of the best production hunting rifles available. I have a Montana in .300 WSM and a Talkeetna in .375 H&H, and as soon as I can find one I'll add a Montana in .308 Win. Kimbers are truly great rifles and well worth the price increase over equivalent models from Winchester.

 

[shaggy430]

For long range I like a 7 Rem Mag, but my go-to rifle is a Tikka T3 in 30-06 with a Redfield Revolution 4-12x40 scope. I'd feel confident out to 400+ with the 30-06. The trick is not to over-compensate your distance. Bullets don't drop as far as people think they do at those ranges. My dad always taught me to "Keep some hair in the scope" when aiming high out to 400 or so. Killed a few critters at those ranges.

 

[taliv]

save some $ for a good laser range finder. ime, most people can't tell the difference between 300 and 700 yards. the difference in 500 and 540 will probably put you out of the vitals.

 

[rookorami]

Ronto, I ran into a very similar problem. Everything I wanted to shoot was out of range for my 30-30.

taliv, I agree with you on that as well. I know myself that I am fairly poor at judging range and such a tool with a rifle capable of making the shot would be helpful.

I was looking in the 308 range myself.

 

[xfyrfiter]

You might look into a CZ also, good price and very accurate and fair choice in calibers.

 

[Jim Watson]

Any of the named outfits will work, BUT
There is nothing on the market that will shoot "flat" to 500 yards.
You must know the range and allow for it.
You can adjust elevation on the scope if the deer just stands there like a dumb bunny, you can use one or another ballistic reticle feature to hold for it, or you can zero on the far side of the field to start with and take the risk of shooting over a critter at closer range.

 

[adelbridge]

One should have enough knowledge about ballistics if they are ready to make a 500 yard kill shot. Everyone talks about flattest this and that but wind drift catches up to bullet drop at 300 yards. If you want to make a clean shot at 500 yards you need a high BC, .270 wsm, 7mm RM, .300 win mag, .300wsm. You need enough terminal energy to have the bullet perform properly- this is especially important when you are shooting sub .30 cal projectiles.

 

[ETXhiker]

Please consider that to make a 500 yard shot, great precision is required. I honestly don't know too many people who have the skill to take such shots with confidence (I know my middle aged eyes aren't up to it.) A hard kicking magnum is the enemy of such precision for most people.

Long range shooting should only be done after much long range practice. Shot placement is more important than how many foot pounds arrive at the target.

 

[WVRJ]

500 yards in a hunting situation can be a long haul.Throw in the brisk autumn wind and it gets tougher.It takes practice to be able to exceed 300 for most shooters,myself included.I have done both deer and elk in excess of 500 on a couple of occasions,and made the shots,but it was calm and I had a good rest.Whatever you decide on,take the time to learn your limitations and be careful not to let a dose of buck fever goad you into taking a shot that you can't readily make.I usually shoot several hundred long range shots at targets throughout the year and I'm still learning.There are lots of more potent outfits than your old 336,the fun's in finding the right one for you.

 

[urbaneruralite]

Unless you're going to put a lot of time into practice, it's best just to think in terms of getting within 300 yards. 300 yards with a heavy 270 WSM or 300 mag and a good rest is a chip shot. Even a heavy barrel .308 for the practically minded isn't so bad. 500 yards is a whole different ball game. You can do such things with light rifles, but the lighter a rifle gets the harder it is to shoot well. Your rig should be at least 8 pounds all up.

But to stay on topic: Heavy barrel Savage .300 mag with a Weaver Super Slam 2-10x. Mount it up with an EGW rail and TPS rings.

 

[Kachok]

There are several cartrages that will carry plenty of energy for a clean kill out to 500, but that is where the 7mm Rem Mag really shines. As far as rifles I will second the Tikka T3 mine is superbly accurate with factory fodder and downright remarkable with handloads. If you are willing to tote a heavy barrel gun the Savage 12 series is also next level good.

 

[CraigC]

I step out of the woods into the pasture to find deer out of my muzzleloader's range all the time, nearly every time I go to the woods. It has never made me want to change my equipment so I can take 500yd potshots. Likewise, I see deer around people's houses all the time but I'm not shopping for a suppressor. We should have a desire to hunt the way we want to hunt, not a need to shoot every deer we see.

 

[madcratebuilder]

You need to ask yourself if you possess the skills for a 500yd cold bore shot at a 12" target.

 

[jehu]

For 400-500yrd shots 7mm in some configuration of a Sako rifle.

 

[Hokkmike]

My advice on a 500 yard shot is get closer.

The venerable 30 .06 is a very good choice for long ranges.

There are MANY other choice. (but I don't use them)

I, unfortunately, am a medium caliber guy and limit shots at most to clearly half of what you are talking about so best of luck. If you are going to do these by all means practice at that range!

 

[j1]

Many rifles and calibers are up to the task but in answering your question i would choose the 257 Weatherby Magnum. RRifle choice is somewhat limited so just put on a good variable scope and sight in. Then practice a lot so you are good too.

 

[I6turbo]

Here's a professional, thorough analysis of your "in what caliber" question. Also some powerful arguments on why the vast majority of hunters shouldn't be taking shots on game beyond 300 yards, and why the big magnum calibers are rarely the best hunting choices.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm

 

[Water-Man]

Tikka T3 Hunter 7mm-08

Zeiss Conquest scope

 

[The_Armed_Therapist]

For $1500, I'd say spend half on the rifle, half on the scope... the best of each that you can find. For $750, you can get one heck of a decent bolt action rifle, and a fantastic scope. Too many choices to list here... Once you get into that price range, they're all pretty good and will only be personal preference.

As for caliber, 500 yards isn't that far for most bigger calibers, but for hunting it is. As far as the rounds that will reach that far, with decent trajectories, in normal calibers, and enough oomph to take a decent buck, I'd say:

.270
7-08
.308
.30-06
7mm mag

The 7mm probably has the best trajectory (least holdover), and carries the most velocity/energy/momentum at that distance. The .270 has the next best trajectory, and is 2nd or 3rd in vel/en/mom (depending on which .30-06 is being used), with the .30-06 being 2nd or 3rd and the 7-08 and .308 about tied in all areas in 4th/5th place.

If it were me, I'd go with the .270. It has less energy at close range (but still more than enough for deer), but holds it's energy better than the others at long range, besides the 7mm mag. The 7mm mag has the higher recoil that could affect 500y shots, and is probably too nasty at close ranges, making close shots less productive.

There are plenty of other good choices, but I see little reason to go with them at their price (and low availability) and only 500 or so yards of shooting. These would include most rounds .257 mag (not Roberts) and higher. Of note... .300 mag, .280, .338 fed...

 

[beatledog7]

The trick is not to over-compensate your distance. Bullets don't drop as far as people think they do at those ranges.

There's no trick; there's only science.

If your loads are consistent, at a given distance, temperature, altitude, etc. you can know how much drop you'll get on the next round by knowing how much drop you got on the last one at the same distance with the same conditions.

Some factory rounds list rudimentary bullet drop data on the box or on their website, and some software reportedly does a good job of predicting results for an input set of handloading components and parameters under various of conditions.

But there's no substitute for testing. Regardless of what chambering or model rifle you choose, go try the exact loads you plan to use on your hunt in as close to actual hunting conditions as possible. Shoot whatever targets you like at various ranges, and record the results. Take that data and a good range finder with you on your hunt, and the guesswork is over.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I use a .25-06 in a 700 BDL for all deer hunting. I've never had to take a 500 yard shot, but would confidently do so if the animal was standing still and I was able to take up a very steady position. I use a rangefinder and carry a small printout of my load's trajectory chart to 600 yards, altitude adjusted and with wind drift figures for 10 & 20 MPH cross winds. The rifle and load are consistently sub-MOA, so if I can get stable and determine range and wind with decent accuracy, the bullet will go where it needs to.

That said, I prefer to be inside my MPBR, where nothing short of gail force winds require me to alter my POA.