850 yard elk rifle

[sigmatero]

This question probably gets asked a lot but what do you all recommend for the rifle with the lowest recoil that’s affordable and accurate and that can humanely harvest an elk at 850 yards (1500 ft-lb min energy) and a deer at 1000 yards (1000 ft-lb min energy)? I eventually want to get something like a .338 Edge but for now want to practice out to 1200 yards with something more affordable and with less kick.

I already have a really light (5.5 lb) .270 mountain rifle for shots under 400 yards. This new rifle will be my mid-weight hunter. And eventually I want to get a heavy LRH rig.

So far it looks like a 7mm might fit the bill if used with VLD bullets. But other options I should really consider?
Thanks.

[flyin lizard]

Hi Sig, my opinion would be to get the .338 rig install a really good recoil pad and handload on the light side for initial practice. Then you could work up loads to do what you need.
Good luck..

[kiwi3006]

Most of the guys shooting the edge muzzle break them and say the recoil is about the same as a 243.
If you are worried about the expense of shooting the edge factor in how much shooting you could do for the cost of buying/building this rifle and then building an edge, thats a lot of shooting.

If you want to stick with a 7mm then the 7mm mag with 168 Berger is worth looking at or the 7STW shooting the 180 Bergers would probably be better.

Otherwise one of the 300 magnums shooting 200 accubonds/208 a-max/210 berger would be a good bet.

Stu.

[sigmatero]

Yaa, I've considered using the edge and even loading it light.

Problem is, I eventually want to build up a really long range shooter which will end up being a darn heavy rifle for lugging around.

In the meantime I want something to shoot game out to reasonably long distances and further than my .270.

I don't want to be "that guy" with the big rifle that can't shoot worth beans... I'm happy to pay my dues and work up from something small. That's what I'm doing with the .270- I'm getting it dialed in more all the time. I'm just looking for the next step.

[sigmatero]

Originally Posted by kiwi3006

Most of the guys shooting the edge muzzle break them and say the recoil is about the same as a 243.
If you are worried about the expense of shooting the edge factor in how much shooting you could do for the cost of buying/building this rifle and then building an edge, thats a lot of shooting.

If you want to stick with a 7mm then the 7mm mag with 168 Berger is worth looking at or the 7STW shooting the 180 Bergers would probably be better.

Otherwise one of the 300 magnums shooting 200 accubonds/208 a-max/210 berger would be a good bet.

Stu.

I'm not really stuck on 7mm- that's just one that on paper seems to do well at the longer ranges. The 7mm seems to be to the .300 magnums what the .270 is to the .30-06. With the smaller diameter bullet the BC goes up and at long distances wins out over the bigger bullets with less recoil.

[kiwi3006]

I agree with you I shoot a 7mm mag with 162 a-max and 168 bergers. I love it!! I have taken red deer and tahr out to 630 yards with it. It weighs about 10 lb and is a joy to shoot. With a hand around the bipod I can spot my shots easily.

Stu.

[remingtonman_25_06]

I think you would be well off with any 7mm mag or 300 mag of some sort. They'll easily kill elk to 850 yards on the far side with some of todays bullets.

Your right about the kick on the EDGE. I wished mine kicked like a 243...Mine weighs around 13lbs w/ammo, bipod. I have the DE brake, and the orginal remington recoild pad on the LSS stock, plus a limbsaver slip on over that, and I still get a bit of a bruised shoulder from shooting prone, granted I weigh 150# but its more like a 7 mag still. Spotting my own shots even at 1K with a 20x leupold is non existent, must have a spotter. Unless your EDGE is 15-16 lbs, its still got kick behind it...

Also right about the cost. 90-92g of powder and 300g slugs aren't cheap. At least $1 a pop.

I'm thinking about keeping my 7 mag around just for that reason. It reaches out to 1K very nicely with the 162g amax or vld and only burns 61-64g of powder to do so. And even in my stock rem 700 BDL w/holland brake (lightweight rig), I can spot my own shots and dont need a spotter. It kicks like a 243.