Long range hunting has intrigued me for a long time. I have a great deal of respect for those that do it the right way (proper equipment and adequate practice) and would like to try my hand at it some day.
Before I ever attempt it however, I have decided to build a long range tactical style rifle for competitive purposes. If I like it and more importantly, if I can prove myself capable of long range shooting, with a complete understanding of the various intricasies, then and only then will I take the next step by building an appropriate set-up designed for Long Range Hunting.
Having said all that, I am trying to determine which caliber to start with. The 6x47 Lapua intrigues me and I have done a lot of research on this particular caliber. Although new, it appears to already have a good following and has proven to be quite accurate. I like it better than the standard .308 for numerous reasons, but the truth is that I really want to shoot something a little outside the box. I also have a Rem 700 in .22-250 that would make a great donor rifle to begin this project. I could convert it into a .243 and shoot it until the barrel wears out, and then convert to the 6x47 at that time, or I could just start with a 6x47 to begin with. I am curious to see if any of you have experience with this caliber yet and what your overall impressions were.
One more thing to consider. I am not sure which caliber I would go with as a Long Range Hunter if I ever decide to go that route, but I would like to find something that somewhat matches the ballistics of my choice of a LR tactical. I may be way off base, but from the limimted research I have done in comparing the two, it seams that the 6x47 Lapua can have similar ballistics to a .338 Ultra, when using the right combination of components. What do you guys think? Is this a good approach to take? It would seem that finding a LR hunter that behaves similarly to a LR tactical that I have become familiar with would also shorten my learning curve with the bigger caliber.
Please feel free to share with me any other nuggets of knowledge that may help me along this journey. Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.
Dan
