Should I get a long range shooting or hunting gun or try to balance between the two?

[J.J. Weiland]

Welcome to LRH.
If you get a 7PRC, you can use it for anything to 800yds and beyond.
The good old 300WM is a great tool to use for what you are asking.
Good luck.

I agree 300wm is great but I prefer the 7mm family. Less recoil better bc and still has big game potential plenty. 300 is better when taking less than ideal shots on game. Personally I pass on these shots. I really hate the thought of game suffering needlessly. 7mm and 6.5saum are my favorites for steel and game. This is not a rub on 300wm it certainly has it's place as one of the world's fav cartridges.

 

[RB II]

Other than one rifle, all of mine are combination or hunting only, leaning more heavily on the hunting side.
The one is a 260 REM that I have basically dedicated to a practice/long range rifle. Too heavy for hunting.

 

[Allen Kitts]

I would think if your going to do competition shooting at Long Range there may be a difference. I have four long range hunting set-ups but I can tell you I spend a lot more time at the range shooting paper and steel than I do at the animals I hunt. I just love to shoot. If I was competing I would probably have to build something else specifically for that reason. Not that you can't shoot a hunting rifle for competition but that's not what they are made for. Hope that makes sense. If not PM me and I'll bend your ear for awhile. Good Luck

 

[Punkur67]

I have some dual use rifles. My 300wm sits in an MPA chassis with weights when I shoot long range. I got a KRG bravo to lighten it up when hunting.
This is in the chassis at 23 pounds

This is in the KRG bravo at just under 15 pounds for hunting. I would have no issues shooting this long range in the hunting trim.

I also have a switch barrel setup that I use to complete in NRL hunter matches. This setup I have a 6 dasher, 6 CM, 6.5 CM, and 6.5 SAUM barrel for. I compete in NRL hunter matches out to 1200+ yards, usually with the 6.5 CM barrel and used it for my deer hunt this year. This setup weighs 13 pounds

 

[simkokkin11]

I'm new to this long range shooting world though I have plinked with guns out to 800 yards for years, but with no mathematical precision. I have hunted my whole life and as I am considering purchasing a gun in 7mm PRC for shooting long range. I cannot seem to get over the hump of purchasing a gun exclusively for long range shooting without being able to use it for hunting. Am I crazy to try and find a balance between the two?

You are not crazy but the reality is you will end up with more than one rifle. For 1000 yard bench shooting I use a 300wsm. Many members use this caliber. Great ballistics. I use the same caliber for hunting out to 800 yards. For longer range hunting (1100-1200 yards) I built a 338 Lapua. The 338 lapua is not a hunting gun to carry in the woods. It's 16 pounds so it's **** off a tripod. The bench gun has a 3in flat forearm to shoot off the rest. Like I said, you aren't crazy but you will end up with multiple guns depending on what their usage will be.

 

[JustMe2]

Your question is vague and I sense you are struggling to spend on another rifle that may see very little use, so you want dual purpose. I think your comment, "I cannot seem to get over the hump of purchasing a gun exclusively for long range shooting without being able to use it for hunting." says it all.

You can have both in one rifle as long as it's accurized for 1000+yds shooting, however, I lean to having a hunting rifle in a larger cartridge (your 280) and a practice rifle in a smaller, light recoiling cartridge. My suggestion is you already own a cartridge capable of hunting, so buy an accurized practice/varmint rifle with an expensive barrel, not an off-the-shelf rifle. It will build confidence in your long range shooting.
1) a heavier barrel helps cooling for multiple target shots or prairie dog hunts.
2) a smaller cartridge like a 6ARC, 6GT, 6PPC is more enjoyable (and cheaper) to shoot multiple times for practice shooting at ranges over 1000yds.
3) a Bartlein, Douglas, Krueger, etc. premium barrel will increase accuracy
4) a premium trigger from Trigger Tech, etc will increase accuracy.
5) a premium stock/chassis will improve accuracy.
6) a custom action will increase accuracy
I'd recommend you build or buy a custom practice/varmint rifle since you already own a 280.

 

[skipglo]

Me...I have a .270 wsm...light to back up my 2- 300 Weatherby's....mid weight....to back up my 2- .338 lapua's 1 - 11 lbs and one 21 lbs....to back up my 460 Weatherby Custom to back up my 50 BMG...33 lbs!. You don't need to buy 1 more gun at all! You NEED TO BUY AT LEAST 3 MORE! This way...you can shoot any range! Oh....and a good tripod....then...what's weight?
Edit: And a good friend .....to carry the 8.5 lb. Tripod!

 

[blvette75]

I'm new to this long range shooting world though I have plinked with guns out to 800 yards for years, but with no mathematical precision. I have hunted my whole life and as I am considering purchasing a gun in 7mm PRC for shooting long range. I cannot seem to get over the hump of purchasing a gun exclusively for long range shooting without being able to use it for hunting. Am I crazy to try and find a balance between the two?

Welcome to the forum. Well in 7mm PRC if you are looking for factory options, two suggestions that I own in other calibers will probably get you a nice versatile rifle, Bergara HMR in 7mm PRC, I bought a 6.5 Creedmoor in an HMR, is probably my most consistent shooter, about $1000.00, Bergara has a few higher priced options,(HMR Pro, and MgLite). Christensen Arms in 7mm PRC has the MPR a bit more at $2500.00 and other models you may want to consider. But both are very shoot-able options, can use for hunting both are in the 9-10lb range. (I bought a Mesa CA in 300 win mag, put the Precision stock on it, is basically an MPR only with a 24" steel barrel). The rifle I have in 7mm PRC is a Ruger American go-live camo, haven't really stretched it out yet, but consider this a hunting rifle, raised the cheek and put a JARD trigger in it.

 

[Reelamin]

Excellent question. I'd like to continue developing my long range shooting skills (1000+ yards), while maintaining my ability to have a hunting rifle to carry.

I think you can buy a factory (under 1K) sporter as it came out of the box and do everything you want with it now. Add a practice gun in future only if you want to.
I will share my experiences. I have always hunted animals I eat (sans 3yrs) with a standard factory sporter in big country. Common distance 500yds and under no brake, standard reticle, 7STW/300 RUM etc. About 10 years ago I got serious about wanting to shoot a deer and elk at 1000yds (only up to 800yds so far) so I added brakes. I shot my hunting rifles to practice, and those rifles still shoot as accurate today as they did in the 90's. The STW has +-1000 rounds down it, and the RUM +-600. Killed my buck this year with the RUM at 500yds. All my LR hunting rifles are in standard sporter stocks with the lightest 8lbs and heaviest 10lbs ready to hunt. In order to improve my skills to hit exactly with the first round at 1000yds I needed and need a lot more trigger time at those distances. I was not interested in using up those barrels, so I bought a couple inexpensive HB Savages for practice rifles 6.5CM and 300WM -$500 new. Now I shoot the practice guns and finish up with about five rounds with my hunting guns.

 

[QuietTexan]

Am I crazy to try and find a balance between the two?

Something to think about - get a good barreled action in a mid-power cartridge like 6.5-284, 7 PRC, 6.5 PRC, and get multiple stocks/chasis. See if you can find a middle of the road one that you like, sell the rest, or maybe keep two you can switch between if you happen to like something at an end of the spetrum (ie heavy bench or light hunting or something).

I have multiple 6 Dashers, the only meaningful differences between them are the stocks and scopes, the barreled actions are pretty much identical (except one with a CF barrel). I use them for PRS, Benchrest, varmints, hunting, you name it. So no, to me you are def not crazy

 

[akdad]

Everyone's hunting is different too so what makes a good hunting rifle for one person won't keep somebody else happy.
You are not crazy but it also depends on what you need for hunting rifle.

 

[bultinkle]

If you just want to be able to shoot a long ways and have a good time doing it you can build a hunting rifle that can do that too.

I would be careful on stock design and make sure it's something designed to be shot in that way and not offhand.

If you want to really shoot a lot of LR or competitions I think you should have a seperate rifle

I have no problems plinking and practicing with my tikka in an eh1 at 800+ yards, but it would not be as appropriate as my whiskey3 for prs and tactical style shooting. I also wouldn't want to shoot/compete like that with a 7prc.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Never buy one rifle if you have the option to buy two!

I think the saying goes, "Two is one, and one is none!"

Long range recreational shooting and hunting can certainly be done with the same rifle. Me personally, I don't like hunting with anything under a .30 cal. So, I have a multitude of .30 cal rifles and they all do something a little different as they all have different projectiles and capabilities. Really hard to beat a 300 WM for a traditional setup. 300 WSM is great because it's in a short action. The military likes the 300 PRC for a 2000 meter gun. Plus, there's the 300 RUM…and let's not forget the 30 Nosler. So many choices, so little time…sigh…

 

[buzby]

So we've covered everything from 6 dasher to 300rum. Hope that narrows it down for the OP!

Lots of suggestions, and we still don't know hardly anything about the intended use.