Which Long-Range Rifle, Caliber, Scope?

[Flatbush Harry]

I agree with all posters who note that, unless you practice extensively, have excellent technique and reliable rifle, ammo, scope and experience at longer distances, you confine all hunting to roughly 300 yards or less. The why is direct: practical field accuracy is 1.5-2 MOA for a good shooter from a field position with decent support (sticks, pack, tree stump or log, etc) at best, particularly if you've been dragging your rear end up the side of a hill to get to your animal of choice. 2 MOA at 300 yards is slightly more than 6" groups...and the vitals of a typical deer are 6+" in diameter.

Now, at 300 yards, any non-magnum caliber .257 or above will get the job done if you do yours. I go to the range 2 to 4x per week and watch a bunch of folks flinch their way through an expensive range session with magnum rifles they don't need and can't manage. For all my N.A. hunting needs, one of my .308s or a .30-06 is just perfect and I know the trajectories of my loads. While I have competed in matches out to 600 yards, I personally will never take a hunting shot that far. As Dirty Harry (not my real namesake) once said, "A man's got to know his limitations!". I consider mine to be 300 yards when shooting at game.

With that as a belief set, I recommend a basic .270 Win to .30-06 Sprg hunting rifle with a 2-7x34ish or 3-9x40 scope in good mounts. All of the rifle manufacturers and major scope manufacturers make really useful products. My FIL taught me to keep my scope on the low power for target acquisition and scale up as needed to get to a decent sight picture. If you need more than 7-9x for deer-sized game, your range is probably a bit too long, IMHO.

Brand of equipment is much less important than lots of practice. I have Remingtons, a Winchester M70, Ruger 77s and a Ruger No. 1A, and a Savage 116 for hunting...everyone shoots to < 1MOA with my hand loads. I use both a 43-y/o Redfield 2-7x, a few Leupy VX-3s in 2.5-8x36 and Zeiss Conquests in 3-9x40. I have a Zeiss 3.5-10x44 on a target rifle...that is enough out to 600 yards for me. Stick to any of the majors and you won't go wrong...and you'll get to success the same way a violinist gets to Carnegie Hall...practice, practice, practice.

Good luck,

FH
Certified NRA Instructor
NRA Life Member

 

[browningguy]

I shoot out to 600 yards all the time with .223, .243 and .308. But I would never shoot at a game animal at that range, there is just too much opportunity for a slight misread of wind, distance or elevation to cause a wounded animal, which I feel is unethical.

 

[conrad427]

a custom rem action in .260 short mag with a nightforce scope and a h-s stock with a harris bipod dont forget the 28 inch barrel cut rifled of course..... oh wait just blew the budget on the scope. yep, laser rangefinder and a .270 or nearly any rifle that shoots a pointy bullet that you shoot well.

 

[d2wing]

Having shot deer at the range I would at minimum 30-06 or 7mm mag. Better would be the .300 Win mag. Smaller and slower rounds may get there with enough energy but bullet performance is very critical. A clean accurate killing shot is pretty hard. There is a big difference between a 400 yard shot and a 500 yard not only in bullet drop but terminal ballistics. You really need a range finder and practice and enough gun for that shot. 400 yards is much more doable. Minimum then would be a 30-06 because a bigger faster bullet is always better, although because my most accurate rifle is a 7mm mag, that's what I would use. I don't think it is ethical to use to use a .270, or .308 when you have the option of buying a the full version of that cartridge. If you already have one of those and can hit with it then use it. Less is always less. Almost as good is not as good.
But then we shoot full size deer up North. If your deer are skinny little puppies
It doesn't matter so much.

 

[CraigC]

People really don't like hearing this but it's one of those situations where if you have to ask, you probably have no business doing it. This from a guy who does not have to ask and still has no business doing it.

 

[d2wing]

The link posted by I6turbo is very good. It details reason why 300 yards is the practical limit for shooting big game and rates cartridges on a variety of factors. He rated the .308 best on medium game and the 30-06 second based on the 308 lower recoil marking if better to hit. But the 30-06 is tops if the slightly more recoil doesn't bother you. After making the long shot and finding wounded deer after a long walk is not fun. Better to get closer, 300 yards like the article said and get a sure kill.

 

[ronto]

Thanks for all the replies. My main concern was a HUMANE shot. Looks like I'll go for a .308 and a maximum range of 300 yards to be sure I don't just wound the animal.