Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting need caliber advice

Hey fella's, I've got a buddy who is new to rifle shooting and he wants to get into long range shooting and hunting. We're talking 300-1000 yards. He's dead set on getting a 300 win mag. I've been trying to explain that he doesn't NEED a magnum of any flavor and that it'll be harder to learn (recoil & muzzle blast), and more expensive. I said if he absolutely needs a mag to look into a 7 rem mag or even 264 win mag but from people he's talked to at work the 7 kicks more than a 300 and the 300 won't be affected by wind as much as a 7 mag will. I tend to disagree with both statements. Im also new to long range shooting which is why i need your help! What would be ideal for shooting and hunting (whitetail & elk) at long ranges, say 400+ yard's? And between the 300 win mag and 7 rem mag, which is better overall and has the best selection of high BC bullets?

Thanks!
Cory

I hope you don't take this the wrong way. New to rifle shooting and long range hunting used in the same sentence are like nails on a chalk board.
Tell your frind to do himself and the animals a favor and get a .308 win and learn the way most of your good long range shooters and hunters have. Burn out the 308 barrel and he will be on his way to answering his own questions and learning limits and what it takes to long range hunt in a responsible way.

Things at long range go wrong faster than they do up close and although magnums will help cut wind and flatten out the ride, I always get new shooters out dialing a 308 and getting plenty to trigger time. When they are comfortable with the 308 and doing thing for themself and at the practical limit they will be ready for a 300 or 7mm mag to extend their shooting to the next level

Pm sent

Not taken in the wrong way at all. That's basically what I've been telling him to do is go for something in a 308 case. Something like 7-08 or 260. There is really no reason to get a magnum IMO especially when he's fairly new to shooting rifles. He seems to think the 300 winny is the best thing he could get and that's just not so. I told him that if he HAS to have a mag get the 7 mag. Better choice of high BC bullet's. Am i wrong?

7 rem mag would be my choice for long range shooting. As others the 308 win will work quite handily and is and has been a sniping platform for quite sometime. I started hunting and shooting a 30.06 with a 165 grain btsp at 2680 fps with a Luepold 3x9-40 Vari X I. I hit 300 without an issue and have reached to 500 yards although can't say I consistently hit with it since it was a hunting rifle and never intended to be a long range platform. Good luck to your friend and hunt ethically if he happens to pursue game with it.

Definitely the 7Mag between those two, but if he were smart he'd grab a .260, which will probably be more lethal in his hands than a .300Mag.

I don't know if he hand loads or not but either way I like the 308 above all for learning. It has low recoil and great factory match 168 and 175 in Federal and Black Hills. The 7-08 and 260 are great cartridges BUT for learning I like the 308. It is not as forgiving as a 260 with 140's or a 7-08 with a 162+ and thats why I like it, it will force you to learn to shoot conditions and when you move on you will be a better shooter for it. Long range is a constant learning sport that can humble you at any time
I like both the 300win and 7rem and both are performers with the right bullet. 7mm 162's through the new 180 Berger Hybrid and 30 cal 215 and 230 Hybrids all bring a new level of performance.
I have found over the years with the more I've learned and became comfortable with long range I often use less gun / non magnums for long range deer. Of course this depends on conditions and set up. When you mention Elk, I have my own feelings not to start a poop storm and I know fist hand some small cartridges can kill a long way out, But there are times and conditions that will cause me to grab the 338 and hit them hard with a 300 grainer and not apologize for it

If someone's gotta ask, they probably need a 308Win.

..............Is your buddy completely new to rifle shooting? Does not own any kind of hunting rifle now? If so, he is imo putting his cart well before his horse where any longer ranged hunting is concerned.

Like others have mentioned, better that he first start with a 260, a 7/08 or a 308, get his feet wet at the range, go on a few hunts here and there while getting in some long range target practice during the process.

If he is a reasonably big and strong guy who might be relatively impervious to the heavier recoiling mags and wants to jump right in right away, either the 7mm RM or the 300 Win would fill the need as long as he does his part.

Whether he wants to jump right in with one of the biggys or go instead as reco`d with a std cartridge, then either way, range work and some long range target practice would be a must before any hunt.

I started to the OP respond earlier and then thought better of it.

MontanaMarine has stated it best.

The 308 is a dandy way to start IMO.Worked for ET and I quite well on speed goats at fairly long range in Wyoming this fall...300+400 yds may seem short range to some but the 308 kills well as far as your comfort zone.

if he's dead set on a .300 mag, that's probably what he will get. That being said, you and the other dudes on here saying .308 or .260 are right.

There seem to be a number of new shooters who want a magnum of some flavor to start out with. the desire usually lasts until they've touched it off a couple of times.

Bigsqueez, no he's not "brand new" but this is his first year shooting a big game caliber rifle. I think he's been to the range two or three times shooting the Kimber Classic Select 30-06 i just sold to him. Oh, and no, he's not a very big guy at all. Id say he's pushing 5' 9" 155 pounds wet lol. He did use it to shoot a doe this season. He doesn't want to hunt with the one i sold him in fear he'll ding it up and wants a synthetic 300 mag but i told him a few times now he's much better off keeping the '06 and buying a synthetic 7-08. IMO there really isn't a need for any magnum within 400 yards. I don't own a single one anymore but am considering a 7 mag myself for out west. I probably won't get one though because my 25-06 will do everything the 7 mag will out to 350-400 for deer and elk IMO. Im better off saving my $$$ and my shoulder, and that's what im trying to explain to him. Especially since he's a new shooter. I've been hunting and shooting centerfires for 14 years, since i was 11 but didn't become a rifle loony until i was about 22 and wanted a rifle that i could do everything with and guess what? I bought a 300 winny in a M70 Supergrade and as it turned out i liked shooting my 30-06 more (and was more accurate)! That's what I'm trying to help him avoid until he gets to know more about rifles, cartridges and shooting in general. Maybe i can get him to join the Fire and discuss this first hand.
Thanks again guys.

Cory

Tell him, when he's shot the barrel out of the '06 at long range targets then he may be ready for long range big game hunting.....I started out on the good ol '06 many years ago and was lucky enough that I could take it out every day and practice with it whether it be on running jackrabbits, yotes, deer or on my 500 yard targets.....Sounds like he's really green and needs some trigger time and there's nothing wrong with the 30-06 if he handles it well. Teach him to read the wind, and give him a book on ballistics and make damn sure he's good at long range before he starts popping shots off at big game animals at extended ranges....

That's "brand new".

A 300 magnum is about the last thing he should even think about.

+1...

Tell him to Google 260 vs. 300 mag, the ret will take care of itself

If the guy want's a .300 mag. he should get one, regardless of "need". If you talk him into something else and he's not successful, he'll blame it on not getting what he wanted. If he gets a .300 mag. and has problems, it's just part of the learning curve we all go through. Who knows, someday he may think he "needs" a custom pre 64 M70 in .280AI Rem. with a 23" barrel in a McMillan stock, and everyone here will tell him what a good idea it is.

I think the question has been answered and all here have given great input.

Long range hunting is in "vogue" these days having been popularized by tv shows and equipment manufacturers pioneering a new market to find a new venue to increase sales. It's great and the American way, but it also has created some problems as have been addressed in the thread.

Long range shooting/hunting isn't "rocket science". Any intelligent person can learn to do it pretty quickly either by himself or with instruction, but the cumulative learning of handloading long and range shooting experience takes time.

My advice would be for your friend to get a .260 or 6.5 Creedmoor. The light recoil will help him develop good shooting technique and habits. I also recommend a ton of long range TARGET shooting well before he attempts big game at long range. Varmints are great too.

^^^Good call Rick!