What caliber

[bart5476]

I'm looking to build a rifle to shoot whitetail with here in Pa out to 1100yds. It will be all field shooting and will be shooting off a bench from a blind. Was thinking 300 PRC. What is everyone's thoughts. Thanks

 

[ARlife4me]

NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT DECISION

 

[toddcdozer]

I'm looking to build a rifle to shoot whitetail with here in Pa out to 1100yds. It will be all field shooting and will be shooting off a bench from a blind. Was thinking 300 PRC. What is everyone's thoughts. Thanks

This same question is being discussed in the 300 PRC thread. I personally wouldn't read 98% of it because it's just people bickering and not even reading what people actually said.

All that aside I'd suggest a 338 of some flavor starting at the Lapua area or better. I understand that's a lot of firepower but here's the deal.

In the TOF of any cartridge to 1100 yards a coyote can spook your game, it can trip, decide to take a step, wind, Coriolis, I've had deer move because a deer I couldn't see moved.

So I wanna make 100% certain that if I fire and the deer is hit anywhere it's going to be incapacitated. A 308 bore will not provide the extra frontal area, weight or destructive capability of a 338 or larger. I've seen many deer need a follow up shot with a 308 bore. Never seen it once in about 1800 doe control harvests over 25 years time with a 338 or larger and frangible thin jacketed pills.

Now the deer we observed this on were smaller averaging maybe 120 live weight some as low as 50 and some as high as 300. And I'm not advocating that we shoot further than we can guarantee a kill shot.

But here's the thing.if you shoot at a deer at 1100 yds or even 800 the time of flight will be such that even a bedded animal could end up 30 feet away. And moving enough for a pill to stray into the guts in 1.2 seconds? That may not be commonplace but it certainly happens.

In our experience a 338 hit from a SMK or Berger launched past 2750 is just more than a deer can handle. I've got a thread on this currently running and many people agree that the 338 thin jacketed pills will just overpower a deer. We shot several thousand for population control over the years and this is what we came to. Probably 1800 were 338 kills and maybe 800 were 308 or smaller bores.

A 308 bore of any kind just doesn't seem to provide the same terminal effect EVERY TIME.

My only question when I take a shot is, is this a certainty in the event of animal movement, miscalculation, wind, equipment malfunction, a branch I didn't see you name it. If a 338 with 100 gr capacity and a 300 grain SMK or Berger is employed you can have this assurance out to roughly 1400 FPS.

Thats the only way I do long range. I have to be certain a hit of any kind will result in a quick harvest. I limit any bore under 338 to 650 which is about as far as TOF issues will allow. If every shot landed exactly where we aimed and animals never moved I would adjust this PERSONAL LIMIT.

Hope this helps. And good luck

 

[Phil Rizzo]

Start out with a lot of velocity with your high BC bullet, so you have more upon arrival, and get affected by wind less. A practical approach.
And longer barrels certainly help with this in big case cartridges.
More is MORE!

*For 30 cal I'd look hard at 300NMI. With a long barrel. And a 230/245gr, 1100 is quite a stab.

 

[toddcdozer]

This is a 338 Edge non P at 640 wi the a 300 gr Berger. Yes it's ugly. But it never fails. Ever. A 308 bore WILL FAIL you at some point unless every shot is perfect.

 

[southpa]

Here we go again.

@Phil Rizzo is pretty spot on as always. A 245 will do just fine at 1100 yards. Or a 195eol....whitetail aren't that tough. No real need to get crazy. What most ding dongs can't get over is they are generally terrible at shooting long range so they think 338s are the answer. When really, they should just invest more time into learning how to shoot at those ranges.

If the OP decides on 300prc just shoot it, learn it and be proficient with the whole thing. It will lay out whitetail plenty good. It may even pile up elk

 

[toddcdozer]

Here we go again.

@Phil Rizzo is pretty spot on as always. A 245 will do just fine at 1100 yards. Or a 195eol....whitetail aren't that tough. No real need to get crazy. What most ding dongs can't get over is they are generally terrible at shooting long range so they think 338s are the answer. When really, they should just invest more time into learning how to shoot at those ranges.

Do deer not MOVE where you hunt? Are all of their legs broken? How far can a deer travel on 1.2 seconds? Even if bedded? A looong waaays.
So a 195 will do that? Photos?. I've never seen a 7 or 30 produce holes like a 338 will. The man who posted that picture fully agreed.
Physics, personal observations of dozens of people on here and common sense says that a bullet weighing 55 grains more moving at roughly the same velocity with a 25% larger frontal area BEFORE EXPANSION is going to produce more damage. And that's not even talking about the 105 gr disparity with a 7mm.

Everything at this point is physics. If you deny the physics of it then you are just arguing to argue just like you do on every thread here.

Please conclusively prove through physics AND photo evidence that anything I just said is incorrect.

You are literally arguing that a larger more powerful cartridge will consistently do less or th same damage as another less powerful cartridge.

Can you not hear how asinine that is?

This is why all the old timers on here are gone.

 

[toddcdozer]

Here we go again.

@Phil Rizzo is pretty spot on as always. A 245 will do just fine at 1100 yards. Or a 195eol....whitetail aren't that tough. No real need to get crazy. What most ding dongs can't get over is they are generally terrible at shooting long range so they think 338s are the answer. When really, they should just invest more time into learning how to shoot at those ranges.

If the OP decides on 300prc just shoot it, learn it and be proficient with the whole thing. It will lay out whitetail plenty good. It may even pile up elk

I'm done with your ad hominem attacks and totally disproven BS. Please leave me out of your conversation. Or report it to the admin. You are a ridiculous individual and not worth my continued replies.

 

[southpa]

I'm done with your ad hominem attacks and totally disproven BS. Please leave me out of your conversation. Or report it to the admin. You are a ridiculous individual and not worth my continued replies.

Sir I'm not sure what you're talking about I apologize if you take offense to my response to the OPs ask. Im not quoting or responding to any of your posts. This is another "what caliber" thread. Which is the reason for my opening statement.

Again, I think people are more than capable of taking whitetail with a 300prc at his stated ranges. Although as one poster stated, his ranges are no chip shot. I would recommend some healthy practice to anyone attempting to shoot game at 1100.

 

[toddcdozer]

Seems crazy that someone advocating for a more ethical harvest by using enough gun is being called unethical for attempting to be ethical in a situation where a DEER CAN MOVE!!!
It's not physics or even rocket surgery.

A deer can move about 25 yards in 1.2 seconds. That's a good thing because if they only move 25 inches you just gut shot an animal and now have to rely on blind luck and not your equipment to overcome the problem.

People like you are ruining LRH because everyone listens to you and buys a Creedmoor and some Belliot Sellier ammo.

Stuff happens at long range. ANIMALS MOVE. What are you going to do when it happens to you? Hide the fact you wounded a critter? I just mak sure it can't happen. That is achievable on DEER in most of the US with a 338 not a 308. It's just physics. If you say it isn't you're delusional.

 

[toddcdozer]

What most ding dongs can't get over is they are generally terrible at shooting long range so they think 338s are the answer.

So I'm a ding dong who is terrible at shooting long range? Because I'm the only person on this thread to mention a 338. You can't prove anything you said so now you just deny the meaning of your own words.

I am truly done with you. Enjoy your tracking I'm sure you do a lot of it.

 

[toddcdozer]

And to the OP an everyone else I am sorry but I'm also not a bitch so it just is what it is. You can read.

 

[tomcat818]

I'm done with your ad hominem attacks and totally disproven BS. Please leave me out of your conversation. Or report it to the admin. You are a ridiculous individual and not worth my continued replies.

My apologies to the OP

My old handle was Toddc. I've been insulting people here since 2005. But only the stupid ones who can't comprehend physics and shoot Creedmoors but won't believe anything they haven't seen happen with their trusty 6.5

When you had the member account toddc were you blocked from this forum? We don't make it a habit of insulting people stating their opinions here. @Chris

 

[southpa]

So I'm a ding dong who is terrible at shooting long range? Because I'm the only person on this thread to mention a 338. You can't prove anything you said so now you just deny the meaning of your own words.

I am truly done with you. Enjoy your tracking I'm sure you do a lot of it.

I can certainly see how you can perceive that. But again, I apologize as that wasn't my intention. Not sure how else to put it.