Looking for a good Long range rifle

[Marlowe]

Give the OP some slack.
He's obviously new to rifles, and didn't realize how broad his net was.

He seems to be narrowing in on his intended use and desire.


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Actually, that WAS giving him a lot of slack...

 

[scap99]

Actually, that WAS giving him a lot of slack...

You don't know what you don't know.
We were all in his shoes once, and he will learn just as we did.


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[Vaquero]

Actually, that WAS giving him a lot of slack...

Yeah, to a degree, it was.
Those shots are reckless in most cases.

 

[Younggun]

I seriously doubt the op was planning to buy a rifle, laser bore site, and take off to Colorado and take a 1000 yrd pop shot at an elk.

I agree with the others, we all start somewhere and the op has been paying attention to suggestions and is actually asking for advise on which caliber would humanely take an elk instead of just picking something off the shelf and blasting away.

He's off to a good start IMO.


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[scap99]

Yeah, to a degree, it was.
Those shots are reckless in most cases.

How is it reckless?
With equipment and practice, there's nothing reckless about long range shots.


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[Marlowe]

We were all in his shoes once, and he will learn just as we did.

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Yes, and when I was "new to guns", and entertaining ideas about jumping off into a gun that would do a thousand yards, fortunately I had people that explained to me that I needed to get some good .22's and "lesser" centerfires to learn just how to shoot before I launched off into something that I really couldn't handle yet, and very well may have just frustrated me to the point where I lost interest.

 

[scap99]

Yes, and when I was "new to guns", and entertaining ideas about jumping off into a gun that would do a thousand yards, fortunately I had people that explained to me that I needed to get some good .22's and "lesser" centerfires to learn just how to shoot before I launched off into something that I really couldn't handle yet, and very well may have just frustrated me to the point where I lost interest.

I think he should get whatever he wants and learn to push it to the limits.


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[Vaquero]

MOA. Plain and simple. We all love sub moa. Take the 300 Win Mag at 100 yd shooting 1/2" groups. Stretch that out to 1000yd and add 10X windage.
Add the will to live of a wild animal that weighs 1500+-lb.
I've tracked and lost my share. I won't do it again Lord willing.
A .22 in the ear at close range beats a 300 Magnum through the gut at any range.
I'm not here to argue and will clarify right now, I have never shot an elk. I have tracked and lost blood trails on white tail and mule deer that "seemed" to be within my capabilities. My equipment was up to the task. On a good day, so was I. I have stood near and rode by bull elk in the wild. Those are majestic creatures and large. I've owned horses standing 15 hands high that wouldn't out weigh a good sized cow elk.
These aren't the enemy. They pose no danger if left unharmed.
Yes, I stand by my initial evaluation. Reckless.

 

[AKM]

Im about to build a rifle Im excited. Im with Scapp get what you want

 

[Younggun]

Lots of guns will "do 1000 yards", hell my bone stock savage .243 will and probably group around 18" with a good shot behind it(not me).

Why not recommend a quality .308 that he will be able to take to 1000 when he's ready. Hell I got a .50 that's never shot past 100, don't mean it won't someday but to reccomend a "lesser" rifle is ridiculous.

Nobody said he should spend several thousand on a competition rifle but I see me reason to recommend a .223 which would have to be replaced to reach his end goal when he could start with something and stick with it. By the time he was ready to go 1000 plus yards he will know everything about this particular rifle inside and out.

If he decides to really get into it later and want to invest big money into a custom bench rifle that's good too.


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[Vaquero]

Im about to build a rifle Im excited. Im with Scapp get what you want

Goodness yes, get what you want. Paper targets have no value in the world other than entertainment and a guage of skill.
Hunting is a completely different story.

 

[Marlowe]

I think he should get whatever he wants and learn to push it to the limits.


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Yep, those Lapuas are about the perfect gun for a newb to get to learn how to shoot....

 

[Younggun]

Goodness yes, get what you want. Paper targets have no value in the world other than entertainment and a guage of skill.
Hunting is a completely different story.

I was under the impression he was originally looking for something to take both shots but not necessarily at the same time. As in paper at 1000 and an elk at 200 and realized he would be best suited having 2 rifles to accomplish the task.




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[chris211]

I don't know much about the .308 or 338, but my favorite til this day has been this 30-06 I have had since 1977. I can shot the 130 grain for turkeys, coyotes, ferral cats, the 165 for the small south Texas white tails and though I have never hunted big game, I'm sure the 220 grain would punch a whole in most North American game. My dad would give me hell about how his 7 mag was THE gun and it might have been if he had ever learned to shoot the over priced piece of shit. I honestly don't think I have ever made a shot in Texas over 250 yards, so this 1000 yd deal is way out of my league.

 

[scap99]

MOA. Plain and simple. We all love sub moa. Take the 300 Win Mag at 100 yd shooting 1/2" groups. Stretch that out to 1000yd and add 10X windage.
Add the will to live of a wild animal that weighs 1500+-lb.
I've tracked and lost my share. I won't do it again Lord willing.
A .22 in the ear at close range beats a 300 Magnum through the gut at any range.
I'm not here to argue and will clarify right now, I have never shot an elk. I have tracked and lost blood trails on white tail and mule deer that "seemed" to be within my capabilities. My equipment was up to the task. On a good day, so was I. I have stood near and rode by bull elk in the wild. Those are majestic creatures and large. I've owned horses standing 15 hands high that wouldn't out weigh a good sized cow elk.
These aren't the enemy. They pose no danger if left unharmed.
Yes, I stand by my initial evaluation. Reckless.

That equipment was not up to the task if it was not capable of tighter groups at 100yds. I'm not arguing, either, just wanting to point out that you have to have surgical precision beginning with your own flesh and bone, including all things in the middle, and all the way to the tip of the barrel. There are long range systems out there that make the task of taking animals at 1000 yds as difficult as it would be to take an animal at 250 yds with an off the shelf lightweight.

A lot of what we believe is regurgitated BS from the last century. Like you can't shoot a rifle, unless you learned on a .22, BS! You can't reload on a progressive, unless you start with a single stage, BS! You can't humanely drop an animal at ranges beyond XX yards, BS!
I'll let in on a little secret, I am living proof that the first two assumptions don't hold water. If I hunted something other than paper and steel, I wouldn't hesitate to take a cold bore shot on an animal at 600yds, which is the farthest I've had a chance to shoot my rifle at this time.

Shot placement, bullet selection, tailored loads, and a high end rifle system take the luck out of the equation, and make it a question of how steady am I when the trigger breaks.

Vaq, I'm not busting your balls, it just that rifle systems have come a loooong way in the last 20 years. People are pushing the limits of hunting, and a lot of myth and mystery are being debunked.

 

[scap99]

Yep, those Lapuas are about the perfect gun for a newb to get to learn how to shoot....

If that's what the man wants, after making an educated decision, why fault him?
Shooting ain't magic, it's consistency. If he gets the system he wants, he'll push himself to master it. If he goes and gets some POS .22 that can't hold an inch at 50yds, what has he learned? Other than .22's suck.

 

[Marlowe]

If that's what the man wants, after making an educated decision, why fault him?
Shooting ain't magic, it's consistency. If he gets the system he wants, he'll push himself to master it. If he goes and gets some POS .22 that can't hold an inch at 50yds, what has he learned? Other than .22's suck.

You answered it yourself: "master it".. You can master a POS .22 to the limits of the rifle. You can also get a much better .22 and master it as well...and every caliber from there up to a BMG.. No matter what you use, the fundamentals are better learned without dealing with monster recoil and the particular challenges of long-range shooting. All consistency gets you is just that: consistency. You can be consistently bad, or consistently good. Don't learn the fundamentals, and the best you can probably hope for is the former.

 

[scap99]

You answered it yourself: "master it".. You can master a POS .22 to the limits of the rifle. You can also get a much better .22 and master it as well...and every caliber from there up to a BMG.. No matter what you use, the fundamentals are better learned without dealing with monster recoil and the particular challenges of long-range shooting. All consistency gets you is just that: consistency. You can be consistently bad, or consistently good. Don't learn the fundamentals, and the best you can probably hope for is the former.

So, we agree, fundamentals are key. And apply to all rifle systems.
Therefore, get whatever caliber you want to play with, learn the fundamentals, and go shoot an animal at whatever range you feel confident.

 

[Younggun]

You answered it yourself: "master it".. You can master a POS .22 to the limits of the rifle. You can also get a much better .22 and master it as well...and every caliber from there up to a BMG.. No matter what you use, the fundamentals are better learned without dealing with monster recoil and the particular challenges of long-range shooting. All consistency gets you is just that: consistency. You can be consistently bad, or consistently good. Don't learn the fundamentals, and the best you can probably hope for is the former.

"monstrous recoil"? I had a 14 yr old shoot my 50 at Hicksville along with several light framed ladies and not one complaint and it weighs in at half of what most of them do, .308 is FAR from monstrous. I would prefer my 50 to a 7 lb 300 win mag.

Just about any 338 laupu or any thing in that class will have a highly effective muzzle brake and even some .308 and small cartridges. Hell scalps rifle is on par with a .223, I feel more shooting my AR.

There is also nothing that says a rifle capable of shooting 1000 yards can't be shot at 100 yards. My wife has almost no experience with rifles and was able to do 4" her first time out with no chance to learn what she might improve. Just doin it to try it out.

Yes .22s are great and cheap to shoot but if your end goal is long range why not start with a capable rifle. ESP when a MOA rifle can be had for about 700 bucks and upgraded to sub MoA as time goes by and skills improve.

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[scap99]

"monstrous recoil"? I had a 14 yr old shoot my 50 at Hicksville along with several light framed ladies and not one complaint and it weighs in at half of what most of them do, .308 is FAR from monstrous. I would prefer my 50 to a 7 lb 300 win mag.

Just about any 338 laupu or any thing in that class will have a highly effective muzzle brake and even some .308 and small cartridges. Hell scalps rifle is on par with a .223, I feel more shooting my AR.


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It ain't fair to not include Sasquatch bitching about it hurting when he...wait, he was just complaining about getting down on the ground and back up again...haha