After seeing some of the pictures posted on here of the mountains and the open very large open farm fields, and bogs. What calibers are you using for them long shots?

I hunt the open prairies of Wyoming and the Black Hills area around Sundance with the .240 Weatherby. I also use a 7.82 Patriot in the timber for elk and deer. I just recently purchased a Remington .280 Mountain Rifle that may see some action!

6.5x284 with 140 AMAX, which is the important part of the equation...though my average shot could be easily taken care of via a Wally World special rifle with cheap 4X scope and normal factory loads.

Mostly, I use a .270 for everything but elk and Coues whitetails. Elk are hunted with the .338 Howell or the .300 Win Mag, while the whitetail rifle is a .257 AI, although the .270 gets to go when nostalgia rears its seductive head.

h d -

For the scenario you asked about I like my (older) 700 Synthetic, 7mm Rem Mag. For WT I use Hornady 139 BTSP at 3300 fos (umm FPS ) ,graphed. Even at close range those bullets DON'T zephyr.

I have others to choose but for known open territory I really like the 7RM

Good Luck

Jerry

Mountains here in the west. Western plains for pronghorn.

Shots of 500 yards are quite possible.

I use 7mm rem mag and 7 ultra mag rifles but would do just as well with .300 win or ultra mag.

Been thinking of building a 6.5x284 Norma just for deer and antelope.

Friend runs .257 Weatherby mag,.264 Win mag and 7 ultra.

I was using a 7mm rem mag and 300 wsm, both Winchester model 70's. Both very capable of easily making 600+ yard shots...

Not really long shots by some folk's standards, but:

Cartridges with my longest shots to date:
.280 Rem/140g Nosler AccuBond, 373 yards, doe antelope
7mm RM/160g Speer Grand Slam, 411 yards, 6x5 bull elk
.300WM/180g Barnes MRX, 400 yards, cow elk
.338WM/225g Nosler AccuBond, 487 yards, cow elk

Judging wind is always the issue for me, a near by draw or a shot across a canyon can really mess up a long shot. So I take 100gr and up in the rifle giving me the least wind drift downrange in my safe (obviously must be accurate).

7mm Rem Magnificent and 7mm08

No plains here in PA or NY, but for the last 35+ years a 270 has been my go to gun for the fields and mountains....

My farmland is in ND. It's rolling prairie and grain fields interrupted by shelterbelts and empty farmyards. My longest shot at a deer (it was successful) was 265 yards according to my Leica laser rangefinder. My closest could have been measured in feet, because it was less than 10 yards. I've not seen many deer bedded in 4" high stubble. They often feed on grain spilled by harvesting equipment at sundown, though.

Brush covered mountains and narrow hollows here. I use a .243, 7mm-08, 30-06, and 350 mag so far. I've been given a 300 Savage and a 308 to add to the mix.

?? CH : in each case, were those shot with :
Max PBR Sight-In + Holdover,
A Ballistic Reticle,
or Turret Twisting from LRF ??

Curious

Been the magnum route. Now it's mostly deer inside of 350 yards. 270Win w/ 130gr TTSX.

I hunt big ag fields in north MO, and I used a 300wm for a long time. Now I use a .257 Roberts. Both rifles have dropped deer past 370 yards.

Past 300 yards, you need a range finder and a way to compensate for drop and windage with whatever cartridge you are using....Well with a 257 Wby that may move to 400 yards.

I hunt the wide open spaces of Saskatchewan. I don't shoot at extreme ranges. So my usual pick has been a .308, but I have also used a 25-06, .243, 7x64, 7x57, 30-06, etc. for deer, elk, pronghorn, etc. They all work if you don't shoot beyond 300 yards.

7 Rem mag.

PA farm land Whitetails .308Win

Big AG fields in northern Michigan. 280 Rem with 160gr Accubonds, 270 WSM with 130 Partitians.

25-06 for Antelope, and occasionally Mule deer
257 Wearherby for Deer and Cow Elk
6.5x284 for Whitetails
7MM Remington Magnum for Moose
338-06 or 338WM for bull elk

The 30-06 shooting 150gr Sierra GKs has also accounted for a lot of game.

It's a mix of rolling hills with farm fields and gas lines in my neck of the woods. I bought a 270 back in 1977 and still use it. I've also used a 6mm Rem and 30-06 for the same country.

Dale

22-250
243
30-06

All have worked well here in the wide-open. Overall, the cartridge and to some extent the bullet are rather irrelevant.

It's all about the guy on the trigger. And most of that is determined by how much time spent practicing.

I have 4 that I consider my "bean field" rifles - higher mag scopes with target turrets and 3 of the 4 are over 10lbs.

240Wby
25-06AI
257Wby
7Mag

I've been using various 22cal rifles more and more when I know I'm going to be hunting 300yds and under.

I've used several different cartridges for this kind of country over the years,from the 257 Roberts to the 300 magnums. Even carried a 338 a few times.

But today I use a 270 Winchester or a 7mm magnum,either Rem Mag or 7mm Mashburn.

I can think of lots of cartridges for this sort of thing but these have always worked for me.

264 win mag

For Antelope, WhiteTails, or Mulies in big open country with the possibility of having to make a really long shot, I prefer my Remington Model 700 Classic in .264 Win Mag loaded with 125 grain Nosler Partitions.

7 WSM.

Farm fields in eastern AR. .270 Win., .25-06 Rem., .280 Rem., and .270 Wtby. Mag.

Most recently was a 270 Win (Kimber Montana) with the 140 gr TSX on a bull elk this past season. I do not take far shots. This one was 250 yards.

.243AI, 7-08, and 7WSM.

For shooting whitetails across my alfalfa fields and wheat fields, it's either the .257 Wby or the .270 WSM that get the nod.
For Pronghorn, the .257 Wby. gets used.
For most mountain hunting, mule deer, cow elk, etc., a custom .280 goes along most of the time.
If bull elk is the target, the .300 Wby Mag. gets use. Actually, any or all of these will work for nearly anything I intend to hunt!

My preference for coyote, deer is 6,5x284 Norma, Ive reloaded cases 25 times before bin.

Most whitetail hunting still happens with shots under 200 yards, even in open countryside. That's because whitetails usually stick to cover.

But.. not always.

When hunting wider areas, I'm still happy with any 243/250 Savage/284/270/308/30-06.

270 Win. with 130-150g bullets 30-06 with 165g bullets and 300 H&H with 180g bullets

I have used a 257 Roberts with 100g and 117g bullets with no complaints. Heck I used a 30-30 when I was a kid and game home with meat every year.

7 SAUM

270Wby mag MK V and the below 257Wby mag Browning B78 that dropped this big doe at 380yds:

I hunted "farm land " and shot crop damage years ago in the late 80s early 90s. I used 165 gr BTSP in an '06 and dropped deer across forty acre fields and further. The one thing I remember the most is you can only shoot so many deer off the fields before they quit coming out during legal light. After that you're back in the swamp shooting at arms reach.

.270Win and .280Ack...W good handloads they both shoot as far as I care take game n the .30-06 aint no slouch w/ distance shooting.Lately I've had a hankerin for a 6.5cal someting...ScottyO.

Farm field and gas line right of way hunter here, my old heavy barreled 300 Win Mag is my favorite stand/prone shooting rifle for longer range hunting, 208 gr Amax's, 210 gr ABLR and 230 gr Berger OTM's are it's favorite pills.

Going to try to get by with a Mark V 270 bee and a Sako 7mm Rem mag.

I like my .270 the best with 130gr. NBT

Oh, you'll get by, but the game wont!

.284

270 Win with 130'gr Horn hand load
7mm08 with Barnes 120TTSX factory
308 Win with Barnes 165!TTSX factory
300WSM with 180gr Horn hand load

I've done most of my open farm field hunting with a .30-06 loaded with 165 grainers. Under 300 yards, the '06 may have equals but no betters.

300 WSM for elk.

270, 7-08 or 7x57 for deer.

240 PSP for antelope.

donsm70

I went from hunting dense forests for blacktails to hunting in canyons, river breaks and coulees for mule deer and whitetails about 15 years ago. Its mostly short grasses with random bushes here and there. It is pretty open and you can often spot deer a mile away. I used to carry a 7mm Rem Mag or 300 Win Mag for the long shots I had read about and I usually carried a heavier rifle like the 700 Sendero.

Hunting these areas made me realize that the folds of the land allow you to get a lot closer than you'd think. After 10 years, I noticed I hadn't shot a deer past 275 yards with most between 100 and 150 yards. I had missed a buck at 450, but I hadn't really had a high percentage shot due to how well the land hides animals. So, I ditched the 11 pound "long range" rig for an M70 featherweight in 270 and a 6x36 scope.

264 WM for open country
338 Federal for timber or brush
223/5.56 varmints
22 WRM for grouse

.284 caliber

Specifically, .280 Rem with 150gr NBT's.

You have my sympathy,

I hope you can get by w/those handicaps.

Jerry

the 270win has been my favorite for 40yrs .from 0-450 yds no problem. 140gn hornady interlok bullets.

264 WM for elk and larger exotics here in Tx.
25-06 for whitetail to 500
243 for whitetail to 400
358 Win for the thick stuff.

6.5 and 140 vlds mostly.

7-08
25-06
300 Win Mag

7mm-08 all the way.

For the Long shots I use .280AI no turrets, yet.

i use a 270 for everything

300 wsm 165gr accubond or 200gr accubond pending the critter

308/168 or 300wsm/180 here from prairie to high mountain timber.

This is about my experience too. I still kept/keep going back and forth between the 270 and 7 Mag and so just decided to regularly use 280 and/or 280 a.i. Now everybody, just like my family, thinks I'm crazy. Mission accomplished I guess.

Big Sky: Another good option!

Bob, yah, like I said, when you use so many they all become head-scratchers. It seems, even knowing better, I end up chasing what is "best" and come to the conclusion they all have their own pluses and minuses. So much so that it seems every caliber/chambering is just a nice compromise of the ones immediately above and below it in the lineup.

Big Sky: Doing the comparison thing will drive you up a wall eventually. Not to say everything is the "same" of course but when it comes to cartridges, I always tried to "compartmentalize",and look at them as they stand on their own two feet...and results in the field resulting in dead animals.

In doing the "7 Rem Mag" vs everything else thing (as just one example),my thought process was: "What's wrong with a 160 gr 7mm bullet at 3050 fps"?

Answer?: Nothing.


I would automatically dismiss concerns over whether an STW,280AI,7mm WSM, 300 Win Mag, 300 Weatherby etc etc,were somehow "better". This led to enormous peace of mind,contentment,and satisfaction as the game piled up. It also resulted in a smaller battery of BG rifles.


Then of course , there's the bullet thing....more important than the launch platform.

To my mind, it's easier to choose the bullets that suit your purpose, then back into the cartridge that gives them the velocity you want,then integrate the platform (rifle) into the equation.

Done this way ( in reverse),cartridge selection becomes "easier". IMHO of course.

.270 Weatherby Mag (mostly) or a .270 Winchester.

I can't/won't argue any of that. It is all sound. As a matter of fact, it sounds like you and I have approached things similarly. My failing has always been the desire to try and to own the oddballs and the tweeners in addition to the tried and proven. I could have saved an awful lot of money throughout my life, and would have been just as effective, had I bought a .22, .223, .243, .270/7Mag/30-06 and nothing else.

A smaller battery of rifles is not a bad thing. It sounds like you and I can both say "I have seen the elephant".

We all been down THAT road.

Amen... It's often paved with good intentions, many cartridges and usually comes back full circle...

Because its fun.

True!