What Rifle To Buy?

C.E.G2860

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Jan 9, 2009
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Location
Virginia
I'm going on a Elk hunt this year and it's a good reason to buy a new gun. Now the question is witch gun to buy? I've been looking at the 30 378 wby. and the 7.82 Lazzeroni, but I'm not sure witch one to get. can anyone help?
 
those are both very expensive weapons to buy and even more expensive to shoots neither offers a (in my oppinion) significant advantage over the 300 RUM which cost about 1/3 to shoot and the weapon will cost about 50% less.

Not trying to stear you away from anything cause i truely believe that the best reason to buy somthing is cause you want it , I just like to mention a bit cheaper route as some folks get to cought up in what they hear or read.

Few question need to be answered

1) how far are you plannig to shoot elk?

2) how far will this gun be packed , are you looking for a heavy barreled LR rig
or a light weight carry rifle

3) whats your budget?
 
Thanks for the comments James Jones!

I don't know how far I will be packing the gun in to shoot an elk. The guys I'm going with say about 2 to 3 miles?

This season all of them got shots and they all MISSED but one, and his was about 35 yards away. But they said you can get a 700 to 1000 yard shot easy.

I know that the guns I'm looking at are on the high side to own and operate, but like you said, from what I've READ their the baddest boys on the block. I'll probably come to my senses and get the 300 rum or even a 7mm STW. But I really like what I read on the Wardbird and the 30 378 wby.

I have about 3K to burn and about 7 months to burn it so I reading up on guns, and checking Guns America and Gun Broker alot.
 
I would have to agree 100% with James on the 300 RUM. With $3000, you could get a RUM, put good mounts and optics on it, trigger job and bed it. However if I had to choose between the 30-378 and the Lazzeroni, I would probably get an Accumark 30-378.
 
I agree w/ the 300rum choice. The only problem is you only have one manufacturer of the caliber. Remington is the only one chambering it. If you like their rifle then all is well. If you prefer a different manufacturer then you will have to choose a different caliber.

W/ your budget you should be able to get a good rifle, quality scope, and have a smith do some work on the rifle to get the best out of it. No problem.

Steve
 
Guys, Just started to get into this long range deal. I currently have a Sendero 7mag with 6.5-20 Mark 4 leupold. Its a tack driver, but too heavy to carry in field. I am looking at an Alaskan TI in 300 Win Mag for long range hunting, but I have heard negatives on the accuracy. Anyone have personal experience? Its an expensive rifle, and I thought it may be better to get the 300 RUM in a CDL (Stainless barrel, fluted if possible), and by a BC Stock? The TI runs $1800 at Cabelas, and a CDL/XCR is $900. Buy the stock for an additional $300, and I am savinfg $600? Any suggestions?
 
I would make a point no matter what rifle you choose (if it was me I would get an Accumark in 30-378 with a brake and cap).

If your friends all missed, try not to add your name to that list. The rifle is not going to kill anything without you doing your part of the job. Long range shooting of animals requires long range practice shooting at targets. This is early January and almost exactly the day last year when my daughter asked if she could go with me hunting. At that time she had never fired a centerfire rifle in her life and had never had a hunting license. I started her right away shooting F-class competition at 1K with a 308. Each and every month we went and shot and by the time hunting season rolled around she knew a lot about long range shooting and was very very good. She still knew nothing at all about hunting and nothing at all about long range hunting. Those are two different things. The first time she had elk to shoot at she actually rolled off down the side of the mountain because her shooting position was so unstable. It would have been funny except that she had the rifle at the time. So, you need to have a practice rifle in a nominal caliber that will tolerate a high round count and you need to some regimen of practice. Additionally, you need to get your hunting pack together and go out into the woods and try to get setup and get a round fired at a long range target. This is not a trivial point. Actually having all of your gear properly organized and ready to flop down on the ground to take a shot is extremely important. Being able to look around and see the spot that will allow you to set up is important. On the same trip, I was with my son when we spotted elk and we were on a side slope with grass and bushes such that there was just no way to set up. We had to climb 100 yards up to a rock pile and then rearrange rocks in order to stabilize the shooting position. In the end a bull never showed so no shot was taken but the point is that there is a lot more to it than selecting the rifle. Grit posted a story about shooting a cow elk and he had to haul rocks to get a stable shooting position. Sometimes people think I am crazy when the first thing I do is to start looking around for flat rocks but nice big flat rocks are a valuable commodity.

Practice on the range and practice out in the woods.

Perhaps you already knew all of this but it just seems to me that getting enough practice is the stumbling block for a lot of people.
 
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