Long Range Rifle

[skywalker]

I have purchased a sako L61R in 7mm mag. It seems heavy, but very stable. Is this a pretty good platform for a long range gun? I have a friend who 'loads' his own and has said we can reach out to 500 yds and maybe a little farther. I have purchased a Kahles Helia CL 3X10X50 (wanted a 42mm, but was sold out) with the multizero feature and am looking forward to 'getting to know' this setup. Any thoughts?

skywalker

 

[jmason]

Although I'm not familiar with your rifle or scope, I can say this. "Everybody has to start somewhere". Get your stuff put together and go shoot. A 7 mag isn't going to have any problems at that range.

 

[skywalker]

Thanks, that is what I was thinking, just wanting to get some advice on that.

skywalker

 

[jmason]

No sweat! Go shoot, get confused, and report back for therapy!

 

[Southpaw]

No sweat! Go shoot, get confused, and report back for therapy!

That's one of the FUNNIEST and TRUE things I ever seen. I'm feeling like I'm about due for some therapy myself - LOL



Southpaw

 

[roninflag]

sako has good trigger ( adjustable too ); good barrel ; good action. you have a great scope. load some good ammo and go shoot. the 7mm will shoot a long ways. my son-in law won the 1000 yard match here with 7mm mmag ( laredo)and had never shot a gun before.

 

[BigUglyMan]

You've got a great sart there. Though if you're like anyone else here you'll end up building a dedicated rig after a while. But that 7 mag should serve you nicely, particularly if it's a good shooter, which most of those Sakos I've seen tend to be.

 

[J E Custom]

I have purchased a sako L61R in 7mm mag. It seems heavy, but very stable. Is this a pretty good platform for a long range gun? I have a friend who 'loads' his own and has said we can reach out to 500 yds and maybe a little farther. I have purchased a Kahles Helia CL 3X10X50 (wanted a 42mm, but was sold out) with the multizero feature and am looking forward to 'getting to know' this setup. Any thoughts?

skywalker

With the standard 139/140 gr load the 7 Rem mag should be good to 700 yards on deer
and 450 yards on elk.

If you load the 160 gr bullets at 3000+ ft/sec then it is good to 800yards on deer and
550 yards on elk.

So yes the 7mm Rem Mag will work.

J E CUSTOM

 

[grit]

Seriously? What do you think these critters are made of?

Feed the 7rem a decent long range bullet, like a 180 berger, and it is capable of killing any North American game at and even beyond 1k.

I just watched a Grey Bull (John Burns new venture) video where John killed a real life Grizzly at 620 with his puny 7rem.

All I'm gettin at is 550 is a wee bit conservative.

 

[J E Custom]

Seriously? What do you think these critters are made of?

Feed the 7rem a decent long range bullet, like a 180 berger, and it is capable of killing any North American game at and even beyond 1k.

I just watched a Grey Bull (John Burns new venture) video where John killed a real life Grizzly at 620 with his puny 7rem.

All I'm gettin at is 550 is a wee bit conservative.

Grit.
yes I am very conservative and I never said that an Elk could not be killed beyond 550 yards. only that the recommended range for the 7mm REM Mag was 550 yrds.

This is based on a lot of factors and is not just my opinion. Using the 180gr bullet you can
expect around 2700 ft/sec in a standard length barrel. This equates to an energy level at
550 yrds of 1500 ft/lbs (Minimum recommended for ELK) and the bullet drops below the minimum
recommended velocity of 1800 ft/sec for proper performance at 625 yards.

As to killing a grizzly at 620 yards , I would NEVER take a shot like that on dangerous Game
because as we all know things don't always go the way we want them to even with perfect
shot placement. And tracking a wounded grizzly is never a good deal.

I competed in NRA High Power matches at the state level and even won several 1000 yard
matches using a 7mm Rem Mag but paper is different than game. And after almost 50 years
of hunting I have lost only 2 big game animals and both were bow shot in terrain that I
shouldn't have taken any shot because recovery was impossible.

Every rifle has its limits no matter how good the shooter is so I never recomend anything
that is risky for the animals sake and beyond the reasonable limits of the weapon and
the bullet.

If I wanted to hunt beyond 1000 yards I would use something in the order of a 338, but
to shoot 1000 yrds almost any 7mm would be good.

Not trying to start an argument Just trying to explain my recommendations.

J E CUSTOM

 

[grit]

Well stated response. Sometimes I seem to need to be contrary.

Nothing wrong with choosing those limits. I do not.

2700 fps? this figure is more conservative than the rest of your conservative numbers.

Our phillosophies are a bit different. The beginner would do well to adhere to yours.

On second thought, I'll just leave it here.

 

[J E Custom]

Well stated response. Sometimes I seem to need to be contrary.

Nothing wrong with choosing those limits. I do not.

2700 fps? this figure is more conservative than the rest of your conservative numbers.

Our phillosophies are a bit different. The beginner would do well to adhere to yours.

On second thought, I'll just leave it here.

Grit.
I didn't think your opinion or post was contrary at all !!!

I think a good debate is what this site is all about. the more opinions people hear the easier
it will be to make up there mind. As long as It doesn't get personal and become a ****ing
match.

After all the world would be a dull place if everyone had the same opinion on everything.

I sure don't claim to know everything and hopefully I learn something new every day.

J E CUSTOM

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Good discussion so why not add my $.03

I own a couple of 7mm RM's and it's a good cartridge. I think I'll have to stand somewhere between JE and Grit.

The max effective range of a cartridge depends on a lot of things, not the least of which is personal preferences. I consdier the minimum opening velocity as my first limit and with most deer size crittters that velocity in say a 140 bullet and bigger will provide adequate penetration to the job fairly well. For larger elk size game I like to see at least 40 lbft of momentum for adequate penetration and exit of the boiler room and I would be choosy about my shot. I look at momentum instead of enrgy because I think it's a more accurate indicator of penetration. I do think the 1500 ftlb of energy is more than adequte to kill an elk and a very safe limit.

So where does that leave me with the 7mm RM and a 160 gr NAB with an MV fo 3000 fps? At 3000 ft of elev, where a lot of elk are found (or higher) the 160 NAB will get to 800 yds with a little over 1800 fps (the minimum opening velocity of most hunting bullets we use) and 41 lbft of momentum. This would be my personal limit on both deer and elk for this combination. Now I believe Hornadys open at lower velocites, so if using a Hornady I could maybe strectch the distance a 100-200 yds farther. Could I kill an elk or deer without bullet expansion? Yes, but it isn't something I would plan to do.

OK now... shooting griz @ 660 yds with a 7mm... not something I would do. Although it could probably done fairly effectively, I want a little more assurance of a good, damaging hit to make a shot on a critter like a griz. Would really hate to shoot one of those and have it get away.

Enjoy your Sako and welcome to LR hunting,

-MR

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Grit.
I didn't think your opinion or post was contrary at all !!!

I think a good debate is what this site is all about. the more opinions people hear the easier
it will be to make up there mind. As long as It doesn't get personal and become a ****ing
match.

After all the world would be a dull place if everyone had the same opinion on everything.

I sure don't claim to know everything and hopefully I learn something new every day.

J E CUSTOM

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