New long range elk gun

[martinakl]

Here is some thing I never thought I would say but have you looked at the Browning Hells Canyon Long range rifles. I hae been working with one in 300 WM for a friend and it realy shoots. They come with a faster twist barrel to stablize heavy bullets. The one I am working with put 3 212 ELDX Hornady bullets into a .326 inch group at 100yds. They would well under your budget price to give you room for a scope or other goodies you may want.

Check out the X-Bolt Max Long Range too.

The Hells Canyon Long Range McMillain Is another option. Nice McMillan Game Scout stock.

I just ordered the Max Long Range in 28 Nosler this weekend. So, kinda putting my money where my mouth is.

 

[mpayne]

My vote is for a BERGARA B-14 HMR I bought one new last year for under $900 and love it. That leaves you $1100 for a scope&rings.

 

[sheltongrn]

Savage 110 High Country Rifle in your choice of caliber. $1000.00 left for other items.

 

[deserthunter86]

So I actually went to scheels today and looked at the hells canyon in a 300 win mag today and honestly I like that just about as much as the christiansen arms. I have talked to a few people I know as well who have been steering me clear of the CA due to some problems they have been hearing about which heard a little about as well. I am going back to think about this for a little bit now to see where I go from all everyones help here. If i go with the browning though I won't be getting it in 28 though. Scheels couldn't have them until mid 2020

How's the recoil on the xbolt 300 win mag? What's it comparable to?

 

[T3ninja]

So I actually went to scheels today and looked at the hells canyon in a 300 win mag today and honestly I like that just about as much as the christiansen arms. I have talked to a few people I know as well who have been steering me clear of the CA due to some problems they have been hearing about which heard a little about as well. I am going back to think about this for a little bit now to see where I go from all everyones help here. If i go with the browning though I won't be getting it in 28 though. Scheels couldn't have them until mid 2020

I bought a max LONG RANGE in .300 WM. Maybe I just got a lemon, but it was by far the worst shooting rifle I've ever bought. 3-4 moa at best, probably the heaviest factory trigger I've ever felt also. It breaks crisp with very little over travel, but it's sooo heavy. Browning accepts 1.5 MOA for their rifles including "long range" models. That to me is unacceptable in a long range rifle.
Like I said, maybe I got a lemon, but that's a risk I will not take again. After spending 1100 on the rifle and wasting $5-600 on components trying different powder/bullets/brass trying to get it to shoot, sending it to a smith to re barrel. I could have EASILY bought a nice custom that shoots. So no more factory "custom" rifles for me.

 

[WildBillG]

Deserthunter86 the recoil is not bad at all with the factory radial brake. Even shooting the 212grn. bullets it was a pleasure to shoot. Now that said I wish Browning would have put a standard thread break on it rather then the metric thread they used. The reason I say that is because I happen to have another break on hand I could have compared it to.

 

[Jud96]

I bought a max LONG RANGE in .300 WM. Maybe I just got a lemon, but it was by far the worst shooting rifle I've ever bought. 3-4 moa at best, probably the heaviest factory trigger I've ever felt also. It breaks crisp with very little over travel, but it's sooo heavy. Browning accepts 1.5 MOA for their rifles including "long range" models. That to me is unacceptable in a long range rifle.
Like I said, maybe I got a lemon, but that's a risk I will not take again. After spending 1100 on the rifle and wasting $5-600 on components trying different powder/bullets/brass trying to get it to shoot, sending it to a smith to re barrel. I could have EASILY bought a nice custom that shoots. So no more factory "custom" rifles for me.

This is the stuff I hate to see, but this is the point I always try to make. Paying more helps decrease the odds of a lemon, but there's always a possibility. I've seen it happen a good bit with other "custom" production rifles. It's sad to see, but this is why I push to just pay the extra, buy the parts, and have a smith do the metal work. Or just order a full custom rifle from a reputable gunsmith.

 

[Tony Landino]

Are you against having a semi custom rifle built? You could buy a Remington 700 action for $350, a decent synthetic aluminum bedded stock $300, high quality match grade barrel $350, bottom metal $150, and a good trigger $150. Then pay a gunsmith to fit and chamber the barrel to the action and true the action up for around $500-600. You could do all of this for under $2000. Then you would have a top tier barrel from Bartlein, Krieger, Brux, etc., a solid aluminum bedded stock, a crisp trigger, and a trued up Remington action with all of the critical machine work done by a professional not an assembly line worker. You could even use any leftover money to pay the smith to skim bed the rifle to make the stock and barreled action match up perfectly. This is the route I would go. I see too many problems with the off the shelf "custom" rifles to trust them much more than a Savage or Remington factory rifle.

I just bought a Fierce Fury in 6.5 Creedmoor with a custom barrel, carbon fiber stock in a Kuiu pattern with scope bases a custom adjustable 1.5-2.5 lb trigger, custom muzzle break and thread protector with a 1/2 MOA guarantee for $1,950.

 

[RevJim]

I am not a LR Hunter, by no means. I have two BG animals shot right at 375yds and only one, I suspect very unlucky rabbit shot at 405yds. My latest rifle purchase is a CA Mesa in 300WM. I have had nothing but grand results from it! After I put a Vortex Razor 1.5x8 on it, it feels like a Sporter weight ( haven't weighed it yet). So, its an option, and for one sample, its been wonderful to work with! Good luck to you pard!

 

[Jud96]

I just bought a Fierce Fury in 6.5 Creedmoor with a custom barrel, carbon fiber stock in a Kuiu pattern with scope bases a custom adjustable 1.5-2.5 lb trigger, custom muzzle break and thread protector with a 1/2 MOA guarantee for $1,950.

There was just a thread on here about a Fierce rifle not shooting that well. Some comments in there also said Fierce doesn't handle criticism well and only guarantee the load that they shot when testing the rifle for accuracy. I'm sure they're good rifles and most shoot well, but there's still the chance of a bad one.

 

[Kevin87]

I was in the same boat as you. Thought about a custom 300 win mag, hells canyon long range, Fierce, and the CA Ridgeline. Ended up with the Ridgeline and literally broke it in yesterday. Buy one--the trigger is awesome, it has nice balance, and it's a shooter. Worked up the 215 Bergers with H1000 and honestly all my test loads were 1/2 moa or better. My first 3 shot group with Federal blue box was under 1/2 moa. Here's the group with the Bergers.

 

[Gater]

All of the guys I hunt with live and hunt north west Wyoming the majority use a .300 mag it shoots flat far and hits hard and they have mayonnaise jars full of ivory's to stand by it and they don't shoot Elk at over 500 yds

 

[SteveBurton]

I just picked up a CA Ridgeline in 6.5 PRC last week. Sportsman's Warehouse is having a 10% off sale so I got it for $1710. They are also $1695 at Eurooptic.com. Plus CA has a $100 gift certificate for their store if you buy a firearm between 9/23-10/13.

Went to the range and these are shots 6 through 10 with a brand new rifle @100. This is with factory Hornady 143 ELD-X "Precision" Hunter ammo. The bottom hole was all me as I tried to get it off before cease fire. I'm impressed as the ammo had a ES of 81 and a SD of 36 which is horrible. I will reload for it after this year's hunts so I'm hoping to get tiny groups.

I talked to several people about the CA Ridgeline and Mesa before purchasing. Heard the good and the bad. My only complaint is about the spot bedding job. It looks like they bedded the lug and never pulled it apart to clean it up. There was still release agent and bedding compound on the action. Other than that I am happy with the rifle. I wanted something I could shoot factory ammo with accurately and this appears to fit the bill. Most owners I talked to say they are getting sub MOA and are happy with the rifle.

I looked at the Fierce Carbon Edge and Proof rifles but decided the price was too high for me. I looked at the Browning X-Bolt Pro Hells Canyon, which is a steel barrel, and that is a really nice rifle. Price was also too high for me as I compared it to the Mesa. You can go down the rabbit hole of it's only $200-400 more for each rifle or feature and before you know your looking at $4000. Set a budget for yourself and stick to it.

 

[L.Sherm]

I'm impressed as the ammo had a ES of 81 and a SD of 36 which is horrible. I will reload for it after this year's hunts so I'm hoping to get tiny groups.

I saw the same thing with there precision 300 WM ammo. Factory ammo and precision dont go hand in hand.