I am interested in starting up on some long range hunting with my 15 year old son. We have been hunting in PA where a long range shot has been 100 yds. Now, we both have the itch for some LRH this fall. I am posting this so that I can get some advice as to how to get started in this endeavor.
We both are competent with a rifle. My long range gun is a Remington 700 in .308 and a 1:10 twist. I have it in a Manners T6A stock and have a Vortex PST 6-24x50 FFP scope on a 20 MOA base on the rifle. We will work up loads & practice with it this summer. I am thinking that we should get good field accuracy (hold an 8" 5 round group) out to 800 yds. or so, but we will see. A .308 w/ a 180 gr. high BC bullet will be very comfortably supersonic & will have over 800 ft-lb. of energy at that range. I do not have a spotting scope or laser rangefinder, and will have spend some money on these items (which I really need to get anyway). I figure we could both use the same rifle during the hunt as one will shoot while the other spots & then switch.
I don't think that we will be successful without a guide (seeing that I do not know much about hunting outside of hunting deer in the tight woods in western PA). I am trying to determine what I need to be doing now to get set up for the trip this fall. I have not thought much about what game or where, but it seems that Wyoming is a popular destination & Elk tags are generally available. One concern is cost and the other is timing. By the time I get everything figured out, I am concerned that it will be too late to get tags & schedule a guide/outfitter. The other is cost. As much as I want to do this, I will not be able to afford $10K for a trip for my son & myself.
I would greatly appreciate some feedback as to what is possible, what needs to be done when and what the approximate cost would be. Also, any advice on how to minimize the cost would be appreciated.
We both are competent with a rifle. My long range gun is a Remington 700 in .308 and a 1:10 twist. I have it in a Manners T6A stock and have a Vortex PST 6-24x50 FFP scope on a 20 MOA base on the rifle. We will work up loads & practice with it this summer. I am thinking that we should get good field accuracy (hold an 8" 5 round group) out to 800 yds. or so, but we will see. A .308 w/ a 180 gr. high BC bullet will be very comfortably supersonic & will have over 800 ft-lb. of energy at that range. I do not have a spotting scope or laser rangefinder, and will have spend some money on these items (which I really need to get anyway). I figure we could both use the same rifle during the hunt as one will shoot while the other spots & then switch.
I don't think that we will be successful without a guide (seeing that I do not know much about hunting outside of hunting deer in the tight woods in western PA). I am trying to determine what I need to be doing now to get set up for the trip this fall. I have not thought much about what game or where, but it seems that Wyoming is a popular destination & Elk tags are generally available. One concern is cost and the other is timing. By the time I get everything figured out, I am concerned that it will be too late to get tags & schedule a guide/outfitter. The other is cost. As much as I want to do this, I will not be able to afford $10K for a trip for my son & myself.
I would greatly appreciate some feedback as to what is possible, what needs to be done when and what the approximate cost would be. Also, any advice on how to minimize the cost would be appreciated.
