All right you long range experts....

ONLY of the cartridges listed, what would you use for long range white tail hunting?

  • .243

    Votes: 1 0.9%
  • .25-06

    Votes: 8 7.2%
  • .270

    Votes: 13 11.7%
  • 7mm-08

    Votes: 4 3.6%
  • 7mm Mag

    Votes: 36 32.4%
  • .308

    Votes: 10 9.0%
  • .30-06

    Votes: 10 9.0%
  • .300 Win Mag

    Votes: 29 26.1%

  • Total voters
    111

GeauxLSU

Senior Member
Long range white tail cartridge. Here's your choices. What would you choose (cartridge and bullet) and why?

.243
.25-06
.270
7mm-08
.308
.30-06
7 mag
.300 win mag

Got to be FLAT in that I don't want to be running complex algorythms to compute drop tables and I don't want to get beat up on recoil (relative I know).

Whatcha' gonna' shoot?
Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree
What do you consider long range and what do you consider shoulder busting? Cause you named a couple of shoulder busters:D

Jim
 

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree
IF I could shoot at 300 yards and IF I ever saw a deer at 300 yards, I would love to be holding my old 270 with 140 grain ballistic tips from Advanced Bullets or Ga Arms. The gun is very flat shooting, easy on the shoulder, easy to carry and will drop them all at 300 yards.

Jim
 

GeauxLSU

Senior Member
Range

OK, because I know this is going to come up, I do NOT want to get in a debate about how far is too far to shoot at a deer. Suffice it to say, I've never shot one further than about 175 yards and doubt I ever will. This past weekend I had two BIG boys meander around between 425 & 475 yards away from me. Doubt I'd ever take that shot, but if conditions are PERFECT (rock solid rest and no wind) I would like to know the cartridge is capable and then IF I'VE DONE THE PRACTICE so am I....
Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 

GeauxLSU

Senior Member
Jim Thompson said:
What do you consider long range and what do you consider shoulder busting? Cause you named a couple of shoulder busters:D

Jim
Jim,
I'm a wimp when it comes to rifle recoil. I have never fired my .300 win mag or my 7mm mag. Does that answer your question? ;) :eek:

Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree
GeauxLSU said:
Jim,
I'm a wimp when it comes to rifle recoil. I have never fired my .300 win mag or my 7mm mag. Does that answer your question? ;) :eek:

Hunt/fish safely,
Phil

Good, cause both pack a slight thump:D Course neither are needed on a whitetail at 300 yards either, but will of course kill a deer.

Jim
 

Darryl Yates

Senior Member
300mag,165gr sierra Boat Tail and a case full of H4831sc..Flat shooting and has plenty of whollup out to 500yds..I wouldnt be scaired to shoot a deer at 400 plus yds with this load..Hold just a tad over shoulder at let it go..This is with a 200yd zero.. :shoot: :shoot:
 

NotaVegetarian

Senior Member
What do you consider long range? I have kills with confirmed ranges exceeding 800 yards. With the proper rifle configuration, a weighted and balanced wood stock, bedded action, ported barrel, SVL recoil pad, a Rem 700 action in 300 RUM for long range is hard to beat. Low perceived recoil, but it will be a little on the loud side. I wear Walker’s Game Ears in both ears at all times when hunting, not for the amplification but for the protection they provide. If that is a bit more money than you want to invest try this. A Weatherby Vanguard in .300 WHB Mag. Walmart just had them on sale for $300.00. I will recommend Warne Rings and Bases for the heavier recoiling rifles. The .300 win is a solid well proven round. Long range shooting is not for everybody.
 

Eddy M.

GONetwork Member
I would have to go with my 280 rem( not on your list) with my 140 gr hand loads--- hurts a little on my end/hurts a LOT on the other end :D :D :shoot:
 

GeauxLSU

Senior Member
NotaVegetarian said:
What do you consider long range? I have kills with confirmed ranges exceeding 800 yards.
NAV,
On whitetails?!?!?! :eek:
I consider long range to be anything over 300 yards. I can't imagine ever pulling the trigger on a deer at over 450 ish (reality is I can't even imagine that, but I am considering that for purposes of this question).
I've never lost a deer and don't plan to and I'll never take a shot I'm not SURE of the point of impact. I'm more concerned with bullet action (expansion) and cartridge energy at the 300-500 yard distances.
I'm not buying anything new. The above mentioned rifles are already in the arsenal and are bone stock. (Only customization is on competition bench rest guns.)
Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 

jrgriggs

Senior Member
i use my dads 7mag stw with a 140grain blastic tip and its zeroed in at 300 so i can hit anything that walks within 400yrds and be deadly
 

georgiaboy

Senior Member
Instead of buying a new rifle try this: Buy a scope that has target turrets or get some aftermarket turrets. Then go to the range and wrap masking tape around your turret. Zero at 100 or 200 then make a mark on the tape that corresponds with the mark at the bottom of the turret so you know what range is dialed in. Repeat until you run out of range. I have done this with excellent results and you will not have to play guessing games or rely on a factory reticle that may not match your load. The downside is that you will have to redo everything if you change loads. I have used this technique with known distance shooting (rangefinder or known distance) with some success. I have to make two levels of marks for the longer distances. After 300 you might use 50 yard increments and even smaller past 400. I will show you mine when you come and pick up that stock I have been holding for you. I rediscovered that Woodsmaster stock for your Dad's rifle in my basement the other day.
 

Eddy M.

GONetwork Member
OH i FORGOT----- MANY HOURS ON THE RANGE---- BEFORE YOU TRY THAT LONG OF A SHOT EDDY ;)
 

GeauxLSU

Senior Member
Georgia boy. Good tip!
Another tip is just to tape the drop table for your zero and load on the butt of the gun you're shooting. I don't mind making 12-18 inch adjustments but I'm not about to try and make a 30" adjustment. :eek: BTW sent you a PM
Eddy.... ABSOLUTELY! As mentioned, I'll likely never take a shot like that but if the planets line up, I don't want to be wondering about the cartridge....
Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 

Handgunner

Senior Member
I have a Reminton 700 - 7mm Rem. Mag - topped with a Leupold Vari-X III 3.5x10.50AO and I love it! It's flat shooting, and to me, doesn't kick that bad. But I have big shoulders and plink with a .458win mag... :D I live for recoil. :whip:

Some swear by the 7mm mag, and some swear at them. I think it's all in where you put the bullet and what bullet you prefer to shoot. The .300's will have more "punch" at longer distances, and make a bigger hole, but I just like the flatter shooting of my 7mm.

I sight mine in at 1.5" high at 100 yards, which puts me almost dead on at 200, and about 1" low at 300. So if a deer is anywhere under 300 yards I hold right where I want the bullet to hit.

Now my cousin shoots from a tripod stand overlooking a huge field. He's made confirmed shots up to 437 yards and taken the deer slap out. But like you said, Phil. That was from a rest, in PERFECT conditions.

If you're worried about recoil, for about $100 you can have a muzzlebreak installed and it won't alter your FPS by much. Not enough for the deer to notice anyhow.

One thing I would recommend for long range shooting is a trigger job if you don't already have done. That's the best $25 bucks spent on a rifle, in my opinion. Mine is set at 2.5lbs, it's crisp, and no creep. At long ranges you won't want to be yankin' on 7-8lbs of a rough trigger! :banginghe

As for scopes, I tend to like the lower power setting ones the best. The 3x9's or 4x12's... With the bigger objective lens. Those bigger objectives come in handy in the low light conditions. The reason I like the lower settings is this. If a deer steps out at 20-30 yards and your lowest setting on the scope is 6 or 8, you're gonna have a hard time finding him... You'll find that the higher the variable, the less sight picture you have.

The longest shot I've taken on a deer is 250 yards... and even at that range, my scope was only on 6-7 power. The more you "zoom it in" the more "wobble" you'll see...

Best of luck and let us know what you do!
 

badger

Senior Member
You left one out........

257 Wby with a Barnes X. Hard to find a flatter shooter.
 

Randy

Senior Member
I must first haev a definition of long range shooting. Under 350 I take my trusty 7mm-08 over 350, if I were to even attempt a shot, would be the 7mm Mag. But IMO anyhing over abotu 300 is not hunting it is just target shooting. You don't really have to "hunt" anything to get it within 350 yards!
 
Top