im looking into getting a new rifle for hunting out west, more specifically elk hunting and i was wondering if i could get some recommendations on a rifle that will be accurate at 1000 yards and still carry enough punch to take down an elk. I've looked a bit into the .300 win and wsm, .300 rum, .308, and the 6.5 grendel. What would you say is the best gun for this job? Thank you so much for your time.
If 1000 yards is your MAX I would go with the 300 WSM or WIN (personal preference at that point) I like the WSM myself. I woud keep the bullet weight @ 190 and up and at that rate I think your looking at a very good success rate providing you place the bullet correctly. Elk are big animals and when talking 1000 yards I think the 308 is way under powered and the 6.5 grendel is just to little. the RUM would be an awesome choice but I find a lot of people can't shoot it well cuz of the recoil even though they say recoil doesn't bother them. My ideal elk rig for 1000 yard max would be: 300WSM with 208-220 grain bullets @ 2800-2900fps with the gun coming in at around 13lbs.
My 1K yard elk rifle is a 7 Rem mag shooting 180 gr Berger hunting VLD's at 2980 fps. Weight is 13.5 lbs. It has proved accurate enough to make a 1K varmint gun, is very shootable with relatively low recoil, and has enough punch to do the job. I shoot better with less recoil.
Whats your budget? You will need to have at a minimum a Rifle, Scope, Rangefinder,wind meter, Ballistic calculator is nice to have but you can get by with out it if know your drops, I use an Ipod touch with SHOOTER. Caliber is personal preference but you want at least a Magnum 7mm, 30 cal or 338 (The 6.5s will do it but there is a little less room for error), that will give you over 1500 foot pounds or energy by the time the bullet gets to 1000 yards. I have 3 rifles of them one is what I call my budget gun. It is a factory FN PBR in 300wsm. I had Kevin Cram do his accuracy package on it, install a muzzle brake and bed it to a used McMillan stock. I chose to use a scope and rings I had on hand. I paid 500$ for the barreled action, 300$ for the used stock, 500$ for the action package and muzzle break, shipping 120$. The scope I had is a Hours Vision Hawk 550$, and some Leupold Mk4 rings 120$. All together it comes in at a little over 2k, for a rifle and scope. The rifle its self will get the job done but the optic im running with my 200M zero will only get me to 980M with the load Im shooting. If I push my Zero out I can get more Elevation on my grid or If I drop my bullet weight. Now you need your other equipment like a range finder, wind meter and ballistic computer(if you have a smart phone you can down load an app) Range finders are not all cut from the same cloth I would suggest a Leica 1600 model. If you want to hit the ground running your better off buying a turn key system used from another member here. There are a few for same that will get the job done and they come ready to shoot with all the load info. Just look in the guns for sale section. I know there is a nice 338 EDGE ready to go in there right now.
I just went through this as well (see thread in this same section titled Deciding on a new big game rifle) and what I realized is that a lot depends on what you are looking for and the amount of shooting you do. If you do a lot of shooting, you probably want to stay away from the RUMs as the barrel life is shorter. Also, if you do a bunch of shooting, you can get used to dialing in your scope for each shot. I personally decided on the 300 RUM because I don't shoot that often and have not gotten to the point of adjusting my scope for shots (yet ). I also plan on reloading my own loads, so that will cut down on some of the costs. Just throwing a few things out there that I picked up to help you make the best decision! If you do see my thread, check out the link in there to Broz's loads. He has put together one impressive 300 WM and is having great success with that. Good luck!
+1 on shopping the classifieds here! you can usually get an entire Hunting rig for 50-60% of the original cost. Plenty of good CUSTOM long range rigs availible scope and all for under 2K.
If I was going to put together a rifle that would be ready by next elk season 2013 I would have my friend and local rifle smith put together my components and chamber it for the 300 Win Mag. With the rifle in hand I would work up a load using Nosler's new 210gr ALR-Accubond Long Range bullet. If you are average as to the recoil you can put up with the 300 Win Mag in a 10lb rifle is great to shoot "without" a brake. The short mag would be the second choice but I personally prefer the tried and true 300 Win Mag.
7mm ultra mag, 180 berger 3230 fps. My rig. Seen/shot elk at 330,530 and 836 yards and Droped in there tracks. Muzzzle break light recoil. Works for me. I personally leave my 30 weatherby behind and take the 7mm ultra mag now. I shot my elk this year at 530 shoulder shot. Busted both shoulders and recover bullet just under the skin. Nice wound channel with lots of damage. I couldn't be happier. And it hammers the mulies.
I agree with the advice offered here re your 1000yd Rifle. I have no experience shooting elk at that distance. However ...I have shot dozens from 400-800. My preference is for a bullet .30 cal or larger, leaning toward the heavier weights as mentioned. Bullet selection is VERY critical as many good hunting bullets will not open sufficiently at the reduced velocities, unless they strike bone on the entry side. I have had fairly good success with Bergers opening up. Hit through the lungs, even these will not always open as much as I would like. I have had Hornady's, Noslers and Barnes exit with nearly identical entrance/exit wounds when impact velocities fall below 1700-1800fps. This is why accuracy and shot placement are probably more imortant than getting the last few FPS out of a load. If it has the accuracy, include a .300 Weatherby in the list. A .340 is great, but not so pleasant to shoot. I shoot a 8mm Rem mag and 7mm STW. each with 27" barrels....10-11lb rifles. Steve in MT
Elk are big tough critters, bullet selection is a must along with good shot placement as noted. No fun pulling them out of hell holes. A large 30 or 338 would be the way to go in my opinion for a long range rifle. I just re-built a 300wm with a break because I shoot better with less recoil as most do. All up weight of my rig is about 10lbs with bipod which is not too bad when carrying in the field. The bigger the better
