Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Lets Talk About Carry Guns

I'd like a run down on what you LRH guys use for your carry guns ? Caliber, weight of rifle, weight of bullet,And most important, how far off will you use it.
<br>dave

Sorry, I see now, you said rifle.
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Nor-Cal Nighthawk .308, 23.5" K&P 12 twist fluted barrel with the tactical vent system. McMillian A3 stock, adj. cheek piece. Jewel trigger set at 2 lbs. Nightforce 3.5-15X50mm. I will use it to 750 yards as that is the max range( 1K ft. lbs) of the 175 gr. sierra MK pushed at 2750.
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<br>Forgot to mention it weighs 14 lbs.

I generally shoot the same configuration rifle no matter the builder.
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<br>14 to 17 pounds (depends on fluted and stock features), straight taper barrel from 5 inches in front of the action to .900 - .940 at the muzzle. Badger rings and bases with a Leupold M1 or M3 Long Range scope. Floorplate is Dakota, Badger or other heavy duty steel type (again, affects the rifle weight). McMillan A1 (heavy with sniper fill) stock or H-S Precision M24 style. Most have Harris bipod attached (LM model).
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<br>My 308 Win models are 10 or 11 twist PacNor or Mike Rock barrels and I shoot the Sierra 175 MatchKing or 155 Lapua Scenar (same length projectile as the 175 Sierra). The 338 Rum and the newer (and yet undelivered 338 Lapua) have long(er) barrel(s), 27.5 (PacNor)and 34 inches (Mike Rock). I shoot the Sierra 300 MatchKing at 2750 from the RUM and expect 3000 from the Lapua.
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<br>My 223 Rem uses a 1x7 PacNor barrel and is a little lighter with a stubby 24" barrel, I shoot the Sierra 69 grain MatchKing.
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<br>I use Rem 700, 721 or 722 actions cleaned up by the gunsmith. They tend to put little "extras" on depending on thier views, titanium firing pin, heavy recoil lug (needed on the 338's), large scope base holes and screws, clip slot, etc, etc.
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<br>I shoot to no more than 650 yards at big game (prior commitment) but shoot to about 1 mile for varmint and target. (Varmints means any pest type critter reguardless of physical size.)

You guys make some interesting comments about weight. I currently am working with an 8.5 lb. .280 Remington, and a 12 lb. .308.
<br> With the "heavy eight", I've been amazed how well I could shoot that thing from a sitting position with a sling. I mean, 540 yds. , IF I call the wind right, I get 6 inch groups.
<br> I've been thinking seriously about going to a Mk.4M310X. It has a brighter image than the M3 LR scopes.
<br> I'm also experimenting with the Barnes 168 gr. XLC. I am not shooting anything with MatchKings. It would be my good luck to wind up with a 50 yd. shot through heavy cover, not the long range oportunity I envision. E
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My main carry gun is a 9 pound 7mm STW built on a Rem 700 action,with a 27" fluted Douglas barrel sitting in a McMillen Hunter class stock.I shoot the 162gr A-MAX at around 3200fps.....And it's topped with a 5.5-16.5 Nikon Monarch in Burris ring's on a Leupold long range base..I limit myself to around 400 yard's with the gun when I don't have a spotter.Off a Bench or tripod with a spotter it is a very capable 1000 yard+ gun...

Dave 7mm
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<br>Most of my carry guns are in the 15# to 16 1/2 # class.
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<br>I have one favorite that hits the scale at 11 #.
<br>It has a Remington 721 Mag Action with sako extractor, a 29 1/2" Shilen stainless barrel tapored to .750" at the muzzle, has a forearm extension added to a Remington stock because of the additional barrel length, has a 6 1/2 to 20X Leupold scope with Target knobs both windage and elevation, has a Harris bypod and is chambered in the 7mm/300 Weatherby. The 7mm/300 Weatherby is simply the 300 Weatherby case necked down to 7mm. It will propel the 168 Gr Sierra matchking at 3200 to 3250 FPS (because of the longer barrel) and has killed deer in Pennsylvania out to 1100 yards and elk in Colorado out to 1000 yards.
<br>Those two ranges are the limit I would push this lighter rifle. I use Matchkings almost exclusivly in my Longrange rifles but, also have some custom 7mm bullets (not being made any longer) that weigh 176 Gr and 186Gr with very high BCs and heavier jackets that I have shot in this 7mm/300 Weatherby. The kills mentioned above were with 168 Gr Matchkings.
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<br>Darryl Cassel
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Dave,
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<br>What affect does the Bi-pod have on the accuracy of your rifle?
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<br>Don

Interesting that a very experienced long range hunter/shooter,limits himself to 400yds when he is hunting alone(without a spotter). Great thread...James

I can shoot easily to 1 MOA with the bipod attached while using a sand sock rear rest. My M40A1 type rifle dosen't have an attachment point for a bipod and I shoot that over a backpack, it's harder to maintain consistent small groups with the backpack & sand sock method.
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<br>I don't shoot the bipod off hard surfaces and practice in field shooting positions and not from a bench (even for load development and zeroing). I use the LM model, detents on legs and spring load to open, not close.
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I would like to thank you all for the replys.This is very interesting stuff.The guns ended up being heaver than I though they would be for a "carry gun" . I have a 12.5 lb Rem 700 300Win 27inch barrel 4-16x50 PMII.The big 180g Ballistic tips print a nice group at 650 yards.But all I have killed so far with it ,is paper at that range.I like the gun alot, drilled a couple of doe in doe season at 200 yards and it worked very well.But its more weight than I like for a carry gun.Kind of a pain in the azz to carry around.I guess it all depends on how far you have to grunt in to get to your hunting spot.
<br>dave

Dave,24hours own PH. JJ Hack a Wits has stated that shooting off a bipod changes his point of impact from where he would be zeroed on a bench.I see that alot of you LRH guys use bipods.Any of you see POI changes from bipod to bench.?
<br>dave

Dave 7mm
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<br>Shooting the rifle with a bipod on a hard surface such as a bench top and then going to the softer ground will make a difference in POI. Has to do with the recoil off a hard and soft rests and the pressure point of the bipod on the front of the stock.
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<br>Darryl Cassel

Yes, shooting from a bench and then shooting prone from a bipod equates to different POI in many cases. I personally DON'T shoot from a bench... I zero, practice and develop loads while shooting prone (my preferred shooting position). At long range the rifle needs to be zero'ed in the position one will be using in the field.
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<br>Even little changes like shooting while laying on a side hill will change POI at long range (prone position). Any deviation from the optimal shooting position (rifle zero position) equates to changes in POI.
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When shooting from my bench I make sure that my front rest is contacting where the bi-pod attaches. Doing this has little effect on POI. There is some minor changes but nothing one or 2 clicks won't correct.

Post deleted by memtb

Boyd,Who built your STW ?.How hard a kicking gun is that thing anyway.Does it have a brake on it?
<br>dave

memtb,If you were trying to tell me something.It didnt make it.
<br>dave

Naw, he is just a man of few words.
<br>Bill

Dave,a local gun smith by the name of Phil Miller built it.No it does'nt have a brake.And yes it kick's like a ticked off mule with the 162's.It is a deer killin s.o.b. tho..................