What is the best caliber for long range hunting?

[kpehrson]

I am fairly new to ELR (1000+ yards) for big game. I am now looking at getting a custom long range rifle built but wanted some feed back and ballistic information on what caliber would be the best. I really am hoping to understand what caliber and why.

Last October I killed a big horn sheep at 1325 yards using a custom made rifle. Now I want to make one of my own but want to make sure I am making the best decision on the caliber I choose.

Some have suggested the 338 lapua while some say you need a chariot to hunt with it.

Others suggest the 6.5x284...

While no data has been given to back up the suggestions I have received..


Thanks for all of the help!

 

[FEENIX]

I am fairly new to ELR (1000+ yards) for big game. I am now looking at getting a custom long range rifle built but wanted some feed back and ballistic information on what caliber would be the best. I really am hoping to understand what caliber and why.

Last October I killed a big horn sheep at 1325 yards using a custom made rifle. Now I want to make one of my own but want to make sure I am making the best decision on the caliber I choose.

Some have suggested the 338 lapua while some say you need a chariot to hunt with it.

Others suggest the 6.5x284...

While no data has been given to back up the suggestions I have received..


Thanks for all of the help!

lightbulbAre you not getting the answer you need from this thread? >>> http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/what-best-caliber-long-range-hunting-133826/lightbulb

 

[kpehrson]

Just trying to get all the information and input I can.

 

[Wachsmann]

First I'd say I am not a member of the 1000yrd club yet not that there is really a member ship or dues. But with the question you asked its kind of like due prefer that in red or blue, yellow, or orange. What I can tell you first, it depends on what you are looking to do with the rifle...Hunting or punching holes in paper or both. From a hunting perspective most the info I have read and what I have been trying in my own rifles is shooting the heaviest, highest BC bullet I can push that will give me the best terminal energy/performace, highest volicity etc..etc...etc.. and humainally kill an animal. So take the 7mm mag. I am shooting the 168 berger. The gun is able to produce a good velocity and the bullet is high BC, so it will have less drag, retained energy, and also has lower wind drift than most bullets. I've read a lot of post on here and one of the smiths that done work for me recommends a 338 lapua improved or there are some other builders that call there's the lapua +P. Not sure what that means and if I have it wrong sorry about the terminology. But what the smith told me the guns are throated for the 300 grain bergbers, 285amax, 300 grain serria's with some specific amount of freebore. It allows the bullet to be pushed at 3000fps or higher (not much higher in this case). So if you find one of those ballistic cals then you can see about how fare out the bullet carries its terminal energy, and every thing else it can spit out about wind drift, drops, time of flight etc...etc...etc.. There are other builders that have taken the 408 cheytac case and resized it and necked it down to fit a 338 bullet or maybe a 375. Some of these guys are at the cutting edge of performace with there case designs and are great gunsmiths. With the extra case capacity you can push the heavy bullets much faster but then there are other factors that come into play such as expence of cases, expence of powder, and just about everything else that cause a bigger boom. I don't own on but some day I sure would like too. If I had to make a good guess the 338 lapua and its variation is probably the most used for ELO shooting and hunting using the heavy 285 to 300 grain bullets.

 

[FearNoWind]

I'll make it short and sweet. .338 Lapua ... Muzzle brake equipped Bartlein barrel (5R rifling), McMillan stock, Remington 700 action* (trued of course and with a sleeved firing pin), Timney or Jewell trigger, Nightforce scope.
Now, go build it and have lots of fun. gun)

(*) You can spend more but a properly trued Remington 700 action will do the job as well as one of those $2000 custom actions. Remember that the action pushes the round into the chamber, fires it, then ejects it. IMO, you shouldn't have to spend a couple of thousand bucks for a tool that does that.

 

[yobuck]

Im told Dale Earnhart Jr won the big race at Daytona this year.
Im sure he's gonna show up somewhere looking for advise on his car.
If he happens to ask me, "which is highly likely" id be apt to say i dunno Dale,
maybe just new tires on the old one?

 

[vinson]

Im told Dale Earnhart Jr won the big race at Daytona this year.
Im sure he's gonna show up somewhere looking for advise on his car.
If he happens to ask me, "which is highly likely" id be apt to say i dunno Dale,
maybe just new tires on the old one?

Just because he won doesn't mean he had the best car in the field...