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The Perfect Long Rifle
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<blockquote data-quote="cfvickers" data-source="post: 459508" data-attributes="member: 25488"><p>Perfect is a tricky word when it comes to rifles. I went ahead and voted 300 win mag. Here is why:</p><p>The .338s offer quite a bit of advantage in downrange energy and bullet drop, but in every one listed brass is expensive, recoil is stiff, bullets are more expensive, and about the largest quarry most on here hunt at long range is Elk. While an elk is a very tough animal the .300 win mag offers enough to reliably kill an elk at extreme ranges. A fine shooting .300 can be had for a very reasonable cost, brass is inexpensive, it is very easy to load for, there are more bullet choices than any other caliber period. Recoil is manageable without a loud obnoxious brake, you don't need the best most expensive brake if you want one. With the drop compensating reticles out there the extra drop in the 300 is not hard to make up for. You can shoot anything from prairie dogs to plains game with it and it will take an elk easily out to 800 yards or more. Sure there are some on here that are shooting game beyond that range but just how many really? So in the grand scheme, of the choices given, it is probably the most well rounded cartridge out there. In my opinion Perfect means all around cartridge for shooting whatever is your game at long range. While a .338 may very well be perfect for elk it is well beyond what you need for just about anything else other than maybe long range brown bears. If someone goes to africa I don't think they even allow extreme range shots, so that is not a question. That leaves you just looking at north american game or that sized game at least. On that note you have to look at ease of transport, most of the .338 long range setups I have seen are bulky, heavy, and not a lot of fun to tote on your back up and down mountain sides. You can buy a .300 win mag even with a 24 inch standard barrel in Savage, Remington, Winchester, T/C, or whoever is your favorite maker. Bolt on a good bipod, and a 400-600 dollar scope, load up an adequate projectile for the task, then go out and shoot an elk at close to 1000 yards and make reliable kills. all for way under $1500.00 and do it with a straight out of the box rifle with few if any adjustments to the rifle its self. Cheap bullets allow the average guy more practice and reasonably priced is one more aspect of perfection. While I love my odd ball calibers and would love to have a big custom .338, likely will some day, They could never be considered the perfect long range rifle. I mentioned the 6.5-284 the other day on this thread but even with it good brass is $1.00 a case and bullets cost about the same as .308s, box ammunition is not reasonably priced at all and very hard to find if you get in a tight where you have run out of ammo or it was otherwise lost. This negates its being anywhere near a perfect long range rifle. So .300 win mag, second choice would be the 7 rem mag for all the same reasons but without looking at a ballistic chart I am thinking the .300 delivers more down range energy with suitable bullets which could be had out of a box.</p><p></p><p>Ok, off my soap box, feel free to flame. I just think that while the .338s are better for certain purposes such as elk hunting when you don't have to walk far, to be called a "Perfect long range rifle" it must be good for several purposes and ammo must be accessible and reasonably priced without reloading.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cfvickers, post: 459508, member: 25488"] Perfect is a tricky word when it comes to rifles. I went ahead and voted 300 win mag. Here is why: The .338s offer quite a bit of advantage in downrange energy and bullet drop, but in every one listed brass is expensive, recoil is stiff, bullets are more expensive, and about the largest quarry most on here hunt at long range is Elk. While an elk is a very tough animal the .300 win mag offers enough to reliably kill an elk at extreme ranges. A fine shooting .300 can be had for a very reasonable cost, brass is inexpensive, it is very easy to load for, there are more bullet choices than any other caliber period. Recoil is manageable without a loud obnoxious brake, you don't need the best most expensive brake if you want one. With the drop compensating reticles out there the extra drop in the 300 is not hard to make up for. You can shoot anything from prairie dogs to plains game with it and it will take an elk easily out to 800 yards or more. Sure there are some on here that are shooting game beyond that range but just how many really? So in the grand scheme, of the choices given, it is probably the most well rounded cartridge out there. In my opinion Perfect means all around cartridge for shooting whatever is your game at long range. While a .338 may very well be perfect for elk it is well beyond what you need for just about anything else other than maybe long range brown bears. If someone goes to africa I don't think they even allow extreme range shots, so that is not a question. That leaves you just looking at north american game or that sized game at least. On that note you have to look at ease of transport, most of the .338 long range setups I have seen are bulky, heavy, and not a lot of fun to tote on your back up and down mountain sides. You can buy a .300 win mag even with a 24 inch standard barrel in Savage, Remington, Winchester, T/C, or whoever is your favorite maker. Bolt on a good bipod, and a 400-600 dollar scope, load up an adequate projectile for the task, then go out and shoot an elk at close to 1000 yards and make reliable kills. all for way under $1500.00 and do it with a straight out of the box rifle with few if any adjustments to the rifle its self. Cheap bullets allow the average guy more practice and reasonably priced is one more aspect of perfection. While I love my odd ball calibers and would love to have a big custom .338, likely will some day, They could never be considered the perfect long range rifle. I mentioned the 6.5-284 the other day on this thread but even with it good brass is $1.00 a case and bullets cost about the same as .308s, box ammunition is not reasonably priced at all and very hard to find if you get in a tight where you have run out of ammo or it was otherwise lost. This negates its being anywhere near a perfect long range rifle. So .300 win mag, second choice would be the 7 rem mag for all the same reasons but without looking at a ballistic chart I am thinking the .300 delivers more down range energy with suitable bullets which could be had out of a box. Ok, off my soap box, feel free to flame. I just think that while the .338s are better for certain purposes such as elk hunting when you don't have to walk far, to be called a "Perfect long range rifle" it must be good for several purposes and ammo must be accessible and reasonably priced without reloading. [/QUOTE]
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