New Shooter New Gun Caliber question

[paintballpaki]

I'm brand new to the world of bolt action and have limited experience hunting anything outside of a blind. I am in the market for a new gun capable of hunting deer and elk. Fairly positive I'm gonna get a 700, the last thing is which model and caliber. At some point, I do want the ability to put a suppressor on there, and I'm pretty sure the SPS TAC AAC is the only one that comes with a threaded barrel. Let's say I went with another model, is that something that could be easily done by a smith for less than $300? i honestly have no idea. The other thing, is if I did go with the SPS TAC AAC, would you guys recommend i get the barrel floated?

The biggest thing I'm unsure of is the caliber. As stated above, I want to be able to take down elk and deer from 600. Any advice is appreciated.

Mods,
I have posed the same question in the how to hunt thread. if i'm not supposed to post 2 threads, please let me know.

 

[Kenny0709]

It's had to beat a 300 win mag for that hunting distance! Yes, have the barrel floated.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

What caliber is a very subjective question. Out to 600 there are many options. Conventional wisdom for elk is 30cal or bigger. Although I believe with proper bullet choice and enough muzzle velocity your 600 yard quest can be done very well down to 6.5 cal.

This question is asked fairly often. Sometimes answered with lots of strong opinions, and sometimes not so much.

Steve

 

[paintballpaki]

I understand it is very subjective and people have different opinions. Which is why I came to a forum for everyone's advice. Just trying to see what everyone thinks, not a groundbreaking decision one way or the other.

 

[trebark]

Rifle: Remington 700 is an excellent choice.

Caliber: the earlier suggestion of 300winmag is an excellent recommendation for a long-action. You might also consider 300RUM. Alternatively, if you prefer a short action, look at 300WSM. All of these will shoot big 30cal bullets that will kill elk from a looooong distance.

Suppressor: having a gunsmith thread a barrel for a suppressor is inexpensive. I would bet you could get the threading done for ~$150.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-300rum-mcr-70809/

 

[stanley52]

What caliber is a very subjective question. Out to 600 there are many options. Conventional wisdom for elk is 30cal or bigger. Although I believe with proper bullet choice and enough muzzle velocity your 600 yard quest can be done very well down to 6.5 cal.

This question is asked fairly often. Sometimes answered with lots of strong opinions, and sometimes not so much.

Steve

300 win mag is hard to beat. That is one of the more forgiving loads for new loaders and there is a lot of match/hunting ammo from the store for it. You certainly can hunt elk long range with smaller calibers but hot placement becomes much more important so if you're new to long range hunting/shooting, bigger is likely better.

 

[Timber338]

another vote for a trusty and versatile 300 win mag. For elk I like the insurance of the extra power.

My personal favorite for a dedicated elk rifle is a .338 bullet, and even if I had to choose one rifle for everything, the bore would be .338. I like the horsepower.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

7mm Remington Mag with a 1:9 inch twist barrel from 160s up to the 180s. It would make an awesome big game killer at those distances. Remington 700 long range in 7 mag would be hard to beat! Also, recoil is less than the 300 win mag, and the 7 mag has just as much reloading components/premium/loaded ammunition available.

 

[stanley52]

7mm Remington Mag with a 1:9 inch twist barrel from 160s up to the 180s. It would make an awesome big game killer at those distances. Remington 700 long range in 7 mag would be hard to beat! Also, recoil is less than the 300 win mag, and the 7 mag has just as much reloading components/premium/loaded ammunition available.

For a beginner it's also a LOT more difficult to load for. It is definitely one of the more "finicky" rounds out there

 

[trebark]

another vote for a trusty and versatile 300 win mag. For elk I like the insurance of the extra power.

My personal favorite for a dedicated elk rifle is a .338 bullet, and even if I had to choose one rifle for everything, the bore would be .338. I like the horsepower.

There is no such thing as 'too much gun'

 

[cohunter14]

I would also recommend the 300 win mag. For the Rem 700, I would either suggest the Long Range model or get an SPS and buy a Bell & Carlson stock for it. Either way, bed the stock, maybe upgrade the trigger, float the barrel, and you will have a solid shooter to 600+ yards.

 

[paintballpaki]

Rifle: Remington 700 is an excellent choice.

Caliber: the earlier suggestion of 300winmag is an excellent recommendation for a long-action. You might also consider 300RUM. Alternatively, if you prefer a short action, look at 300WSM. All of these will shoot big 30cal bullets that will kill elk from a looooong distance.

Suppressor: having a gunsmith thread a barrel for a suppressor is inexpensive. I would bet you could get the threading done for ~$150.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-300rum-mcr-70809/

awesome. thanks for the advice. is there any advantage or disadvantage to the size of actions other than the pro and cons of the certain bullets each can use?

 

[paintballpaki]

I would also recommend the 300 win mag. For the Rem 700, I would either suggest the Long Range model or get an SPS and buy a Bell & Carlson stock for it. Either way, bed the stock, maybe upgrade the trigger, float the barrel, and you will have a solid shooter to 600+ yards.

do you think the 20" barrel of the sps tac aac would have a big negative impact compared to the 26" (i think) of the long range?

 

[Kenny0709]

I wouldn't go with any shorter barrel than a 24" in a 300 mag