My "Long Range"

[Danehunter]

I have two "long range" hunting rifles.
1. .300 Win mag Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker
2. 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger American Predator

Both have very similar ballistic trajectories. (180 gr. Hornady Superformance .300 Win mag and 143 gr. Hornady ELD-X 6.5 CM)

-> For the 6.5 CM rifle I feel I can ethically take deer to 700 yards and cow elk to 600 yards. This rifle is very accurate.

-> With the .300 Win mag rifle I think 800 yards is about the max ethical distance - for me, at least. Maybe when I'm comfortable shooting 230 gr. Berger bullets I'll extend that range a bit.

I add that I have begun to shoot competitively with my 6.5 CM Ruger Precision Rifle out to 1,000 yards so I am familiar with many of the variables of long distance shooting.
Plus I carry Bushnell 10 x 42 ARC 1 Mile laser rangefinder binoculars when hunting.
The LRF's displayed mil hold (my scope has a mil/mil setup) is a bit off so I use a Vortex DOPE cap with exact holds for adjusting hold over.

Yes, I realize these distances may be "short" for some hunters here but for me they are what I am comfortable with in the field. My rifle resting on my pack isn't a benchrest so I limit myself to the above distances.
I will say that learning position shooting for competition is helping me for hunting quite a bit.

Eric B.

 

[wilkup]

I have two "long range" hunting rifles.
1. .300 Win mag Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker
2. 6.5 Creedmoor Ruger American Predator

Both have very similar ballistic trajectories. (180 gr. Hornady Superformance .300 Win mag and 143 gr. Hornady ELD-X 6.5 CM)

-> For the 6.5 CM rifle I feel I can ethically take deer to 700 yards and cow elk to 600 yards. This rifle is very accurate.

-> With the .300 Win mag rifle I think 800 yards is about the max ethical distance - for me, at least. Maybe when I'm comfortable shooting 230 gr. Berger bullets I'll extend that range a bit.

I add that I have begun to shoot competitively with my 6.5 CM Ruger Precision Rifle out to 1,000 yards so I am familiar with many of the variables of long distance shooting.
Plus I carry Bushnell 10 x 42 ARC 1 Mile laser rangefinder binoculars when hunting.
The LRF's displayed mil hold (my scope has a mil/mil setup) is a bit off so I use a Vortex DOPE cap with exact holds for adjusting hold over.

Yes, I realize these distances may be "short" for some hunters here but for me they are what I am comfortable with in the field. My rifle resting on my pack isn't a benchrest so I limit myself to the above distances.
I will say that learning position shooting for competition is helping me for hunting quite a bit.

Eric B.

What do you think about the Bushy LRFs? How's the glass on them?

 

[Browning300]

my long range rifle is also a Browning Abolt stanless stalker 300 win. mag.

 

[Bravo 4]

Brother don't kid yourself or sell yourself short, 600-700-800 yards is a long ways to be taking game...no matter who you are!

 

[Danehunter]

Wilkup,
My Bushnell ARC 1 Mile LRFs are very good... but the 9 ballistic curves Bushnell uses need to be 18 ballistic curves so they will be more exact. There are other LRFs with built in ballistics and I wonder if they have "enough curves".
These LRF binoculars have been reviewed as "best for the money", meaning they aren't Geovids but they work very well.

Browning 300, I had my rifle coated with black Teflon and now the bolt works slick as snot on a doorknob. I also had the plastic stock bedded with Marine Tex and aluminum pillar bedded. (And I bought a beautiful but heavy Browning thumbhole stock for it.

Bravo 4, Thanks for the comment. Remember, those distances are my very outer limits. I feel fine at 400 yards, thanks to long distance competition, and further distances are just "OK" IF I have little to no wind and good visibility.

Hunting in the west is so different from my native western Pennsylvania area but I'm getting the hang of it. My beautiful .308 Savage 99C has not seen action since I left PA.Still, it's getting a new Boyd's laminated stock for Christmas. It will be happy. ;o)

I may be picking up a Kestrel/AB 5700 for competition. If I get very familiar with it I may take it hunting, especially for antelope. Getting a good firing solution may be worth a little extra time - if I have the time.

Eric B.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Brother don't kid yourself or sell yourself short, 600-700-800 yards is a long ways to be taking game...no matter who you are!

I agree!

 

[Browning300]

Black teflon thats a really good idea. i think the abolts bolt is already smoother than most rifles, i bet that does make it really smooth.

 

[wilkup]

Browning 300, I had my rifle coated with black Teflon and now the bolt works slick as snot on a doorknob. I also had the plastic stock bedded with Marine Tex and aluminum pillar bedded. (And I bought a beautiful but heavy Browning thumbhole stock for it.
Eric B.

Have you ever used the Cerakote product? If so, how'd it compare to BT? I'm debating on my next coating and am hung up between Nitriding, Meloniting or Black Teflon. If the teflon product is similar to Cerakote, I will most likely just go the nitriding route.
Sounds like you're all set up for a great hunting season! Good luck finding them and shoot straight =)