New Guy, Wants to start

[JP Hunter]

Hi,
Wanted to say how grate this site is. Found the site two months ago and have learned so much. First got the long rang bug years ago on a hunting tripe in the Trinity Alps Wilderness in CA. We were 6 miles in when we see three guys dropping off the ridge. One had a 25" 4x4 and another with a 15" 5x5, Big Black tails. When we picked our jaws off the ground we went to ask for advice. They have hunted there for 14+ years, He said the key was to go high and shoot long. Out to 900yds! That week
we saw bucks but they were out of our rang.
So I looked for some info. I found the Best of the West TV show. The host Jon Burns had a shooting system I liked. I had high hopes when I got his How To videos. It has good info, but a little over my head on the drop data part. He was using a 7mm mag I think. So I have searched for guns set up like that. But I felt like it would be cheating to buy one with the work done, and I wanted to help family and friend setup.
Well here gos the most repeated question "What Gun?" I have done some homework and see this site likes Rem 700 actions. I like what I read on the RUM's, 300 or 338? Will use on the black tails here in CA and elk. Distances of 300yd to 1000yds when I'm ready. Budget is not much of a problem "SENGAL". I have played with my cousins 300 Win mag. Had a drop comp. made by Kenton Industries for factory ammo. Not Good enough. I have a Bushnell 1500, I will be upgrading. I have some basic reloading stuff. Would like a good reloading and shooting books or video. I live in the Redding CA area and need a place to shoot long too. I know a lot of writing , but after reading all the posts I am excited to get started. I appreciate all the help I can get.
Thank you!

 

[Down Under Hunter]

Welcome to the crew brother !! Be warned this site can be addictive !

As far as the rifle question I would have thought a hot 7mm or 30 cal would be the go. Maybe 300 rum ? It kind of also depends on what weight restrictions you are setting yourself? How portable does it need to be. If the country is real steep and verticle you may want to drop back to a wsm or saum ? Iam not sure if I would justify a 338 for blacktail ? If the priority was elk I would say 338 definitely. I really depends on what the primary focus animal and range the gun will be used for ? I wouldn't set a big 338 rifle up for elk if 95 % of your hunting are blacktails.

That all being said I just got my first custom done and chose 338, but it will almost exclusively be used on 600 lbs deer at 500 and beyond .

There are some very helpful people on this forum so stay tuned. They will point you in the right direction.

See you on the board.

Cheers

DUH

 

[gbp]

Welcome to the forum. Either the 7 or 300 will work on Blacktail. As far as ranges that go out to 1000, the only one around is Sacramento Valley Home . Their 1000yd range is closed unless you are a member of the bench rest group but I believe they have ranges to 600yds for non-benchrest members. I know it's a stretch from Redding. You might be able to access blm property where you are at and lazer in a stretch at 1000yds for practice. Anyway send me a pm if you have any questions, I live in Pittsburg, CA. perhaps we'll meet at the range.

 

[RockZ]

To get good at longrange shooting you need to shoot at long range-alot!
That seems obvious and self evident. It is, and you need a gun you can shoot and practice with- alot

I would suggest picking a rifle that won't beat you up and that you can practice alot with. That way you can gain experience with reading the conditions(wind drift) and work on your technique as well.
Alot of guys buy a big boomer for longrange shooting and then find it wears them out and is very expensive to feed. So they don't shoot enough.

When I only had access to a 100yd range I shot a .22 and .17HMR alot. The 22 drops and drifts alot at 100yds and you will definitly become a better wind doper and refine your technique. It is a good simulation of shooting a big centerfire at long range. But still there is no substitute for the real thing.

I shoot a 6br alot at 600+ yards and it is a pleasure to shoot.
It is easy to load for and is a very accurate round. Practicing with it has made me a much better long range shooter.
That was the best move I made.

Practice with the .22, 17 HMR and 6br and get another rifle for long range hunting that would suit your needs.
Of course I also shoot a 204 ruger, 223rem,6.5 wssm, 270wsm,7wsm, 300win, and to make matters worse I am having a custom 338 Lapua built.

I like the 7WSM for a good all around cartridge. If you wanted to get something mainly for elk get something bigger, like a 338 you could go with the 338 edge or Lapua. If price is no object, the Lapua brass is better, but a quite a bit more costly.

If I was going to buy just one gun I would buy a 7WSM and put a break on it and practice and hunt with it until I wore the barrel out. You can shoot 168, 180 gr Berger VLD's, 162AMAX, or 175 SMK's and shoot to 1000+yds. with ease.
I have one and have had great luck with the 168 vld's.

You need a good setup for longrange shooting and buying a rifle that is setup by a good gunsmith is not cheating. It's smart!!
When I say smart, I mean very smart! You will know that your rifle will do it's job, the rest is up to you.

If you have the money there is nothing nicer then getting your hands on a fully custom rifle setup EXACTLY the way you want it.

You will save yourself alot of time and effort and be able to concentrate on shooting.

Price was an object to me so my first few rifles were Savages that I had bedded and they are awesome shooters. They can shoot 1/2" or better 5 shot groups very consistenly. Of course I do have to pull the trigger.

Hope this helps .

 

[Wild_Bill]

338 Edge

Hi I would go for a 338 Edge. The reason is not for energy it is because you need to practice and the 7mm firebreathers barrels don't last to long and realy are a specilty to reload for. The 300 Ultramag is also a great option but 1000 rounds and the barrel will be dead.

I think their is a Remington Sendero in 338 Ultramag in the for sale section on the site buy it and then have the action squared rechambered to 338 Edge. Have a muzzle break fitted and the trigger adjusted. Also have a 3.900" mag box fitted and the rifle beded onto the alloy block.

As for the scope a Nightforce NXS in 8-32X56 would be my choice for you in a 30 moa base and rings.

The Laser rangefinder here in the for sale sight is worth buying.

Now you will also need the following.
Log Book
Kestrel Weather Meter
PDA with Exball
Angle Cosign indicator
Scope Level
Drag Bag for use as a gun bag and shooting mat
a good spotting scope if you want
and practice
practice
practice

Cheers Bill
Australia

 

[roninflag]

Long Range Rifle

GET A REMINGTON SENDERO. i would say 7mm rem or 300 win. my brother and friends prefer the 300 rum. they all shoot less than an inch out of the box. we use vais brakes. if you can have a kreiger/ broughton barrel installed they will shoot even better. i REALLY LIKE my leup scopes. i have no experience with an NXS nightforce. i have two shilen triggers and one jewel on my senderos. i like the shilen bettter and they are half as much. the remington triggers can be adjusted to be quite good too

 

[tjonh2001]

7mm wsm

i was in your shoes a couple years ago. i desided to go with a rem sendero in 7mm rem mag i bedded the rifle and installed a jewell trigger. after that i started with my reloading, i choose the 168 berger vld because of the high bc. i practiced as much as i could.i shot the barrel out of it. thats when i moved to a broughton barrel and chambered it in 7mm wsm. that was the best thing that i have ever done. this was my first year hunting with this gun. i have confermed 1st shot kills on whitetails at 480,525,560.680 and 889 yards. i am now haveing a 6x47 lapua made so i can practice even more with out wearing out my new barrel. you will be very happy with the 7mm bullets. a bit of advice is that if you go with a 7mm wsm build it on a long action it alows you to seat the bullet in the lands, then you will have to install and h-s bottom metal. 308nate from this siite build mine and any others incase you are looking for a builder.. good luck