What are your opinions for the best long range caliber for hunting whitetails out to 500-600 yards?

7mm

Out to 5-600, they'll all do it, beyond that can get dicey...

Just my personal opinion, but something in a moderate-sized 6.5 case would seem to be a good choice, and you could stretch it beyond that distance if/when you get the urge. If you want to be deadly at 5-600, a wise man once told me to shoot at longer ranges than that for practice.

Most any of the commonly used deer rounds should do the job. For 5-600 yds, it's more of a function of rifle and glass quality. And, of course, a practiced shooter.

My choice is a 6.5-284 with Z5 3.5-18x44 BT. I do like turrets for that application. My hunting bud has a .270 Sendero with Conquest. He knows the trajectory and how much to hold over out to 400 yds.+. For 5-600 yds, one really needs a ranging reticle or a turret, IMHO.

I'm a long time reloader and that helps. My bud, however, shoots factory ammo and kills a lot of stuff. He even named his Sendero, "E. F.", as in E. F. Hutton; "when E. F. Hutton speaks...". In his case, the name is quite appropriate...

DF

Go here:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7267683/1

.264

6.5 mm

What kind of terrain? Whitetails are not that big, nor are they bulletproof, but I'd want more bullet and more trauma/blood if hunting 500yd deer as they cross roads/trails/lanes through thick cover than I would if I was hunting them in a meadow or pasture. Some locations may let you watch an animal for quite a while and pick your shot, others may force you to take a quicker shot with a tough angle or pass on the shot.

A fast one. SAUM, WSM, Rem Mag, maybe a 280 with 140's

300WM gets my vote

28

STW case

Why so serious, you guys? I thought we were talking deer, not elk or moose, here. I'll go with the .243 or .260, since IME a .243 is plenty of gun to get the job done, as long as good bullets and placement are used.

^Pretty much my thinking as well... a 6mm running something like a .5BC around 3050 would be pretty handy.

Exactly the reason why.Most of my deer hunting overlaps other big game.Rather enough that not.

I can certainly sympathize with that sentiment and situation, but the OP mentioned WT deer only.

I could slum a 6mm at .5bc at warp speeds for whitetail too.
But prefer it for antelope.

ok

No doubt it's got to be darn near perfect for speed goats too

A 7mag will flatten a whitetail at 630yds

The subject get hashed, smashed, and trashed weekly....

I think I may agree After 40+ years of .277 I am experimenting and right now I am playing around with a 95 Berger in my 243. I must admit it looks promising and damn is it fun to shoot.

Randy

It certainly should, I have a 243 while a 105 A-MAX flatten a whitetail at 680 yards

video or it is all BS

wtf do you now about goats...I thought you was et by a beaver.

Depends where you're hunting. Open plains where a critter can't run out of sight in a week... Use a .243. Next to the swamps and thickets with power/gas lines where I hunt... You better bring more gun. Shooting behind the shoulder around here = you chasing a critter through who knows what and likely never finding him. DRT highly preferred. Also with private clubs running next to each other, if a deer crosses the property lines you can't just chase him... Gets complicated. Most use .270, fast-7's, and magnum .30's with soft bullets.

and short action 6.5, 7-08, 280, 280 ai for me!

6.5 to 30 caliber is the epicenter for me.

I would put the range smaller than you, Bob--6mm to 7mm. Run a Berger VLD in an 8 twist barrel in 6-.284, 25-06, 264 Win, one of the .270s, or a 7 Rem Mag, and the limiting factor would be the loose nut behind the trigger.

By the time you get to the bullet weight needed to get high BC in a .30 magnum, the recoil becomes a problem for me.

Excellent point. I think this is why many favor 338's and similar for elk in the Northwest. Not because they are that hard to kill, just hard to find sometimes.

That may be true but how many 5-600 yard shots do you get in a place like that?

260

"The 270 is so flat you can hold dead on out to 600"

To be honest up here in New England, just about everywhere. 5-600 yds shot would be taken on power line row's or clearcuts, a couple of steps away and your in thickets and cedar swamps. I know its a regional thing but would venture a guess that you have the same sort of situation in the south, texas, Northwest and probably upper mid west to name a few.

As he said, power line right of ways and underground gas lines are areas about 50-60 yards wide and can be miles long in a straight line. They are kept pretty Clean for service on said power services. They run through the worst/ thickest mess imaginable. 50 yards in and that critter may never be seen again. Plenty of people use the smaller calibers with great success but Murphy has a way of showing up. I'm not talking bad about about the smaller calibers, it's purely a matter of either DRT or blood trails a blind man can follow. Many of us tried the .243 thing with 95gr NBT and the like. One might DRT and the next might run 200 yards. We err on the side of overkill. Losing a deer is unacceptable if you can help it.

Yeah the funny thing is despite hnting them in places like Alberta and field edges in Sask and Manitoba(Montana as well) two of my bigger bucks from the Northeast were taken at about 300 yards;another at 330...swamps in the northeast can offer some long shots from treestands,as well as clear cuts.I hunted a clearcut in northern Vermont this year that would challenge a 1000 yard shooter.

To be honest,and this is my own experience but 500-600 yard shots get all the ink,but are rare in a hunting sense.Eeveryone talks about them but I am willing to bet that the vast majority of deer are killed at far less distances than that.There may be places where they are routine but I have never hunted them,east or west.

I set the bar at 6.5 myself because,while I have used the 25/06 and the Roberts(one of my favorites),I notice they kill well but not with the finality of the bigger calibers when distances get stretched.I never wrapped my head around 6mm's of any sort for large bucks and long range(yes I know they kill them but I have been underwhelmed). I like more bullet weight and frontal area.While the 30 calibers bounce a bit more,they are just genuinely good killers,and I have shot enough 165 gr bullets from a 30/06 to 600 yards,seen it used on elk to 500,to know it will get to 600 yards with enough authority to kill well.Recoil is moderate.The 30/06 with a 165 at 2900+ fps is no toy.

Bob,

I do not disagree and believe in the New England states the vast mjority of deer taken are sub 200 yds and probably sub 100 yds. I was good with a Marlin lever gun for many years until I hunted Maine and started hunting power lines and clearcuts that as you said can go 1000 yds. Me I am not that good and limit myself to a 300 yd max or so. I am sure that the 6mm's and 25's get the job done and looking for one myself. I just like a little insurance for a good blood trail and feel comfortable in the 270/7mm/.308 range

I think the 7mm is a good choice. I have had good luck with the rm. I recently bout a 300 RUM just because I like the 30 cal better. Not knocking the 7mms at all just always hunted with a 30 cal with great success. My opinion would be 30 cal and the. 7mm

Undoubtedly true, but that was not the question. The question was, "what's the best for deer at 5-600 yards."

Which is a very subjective question because it's hard to define "best," especially not knowing the shooter, his experience, tolerance for recoil, etc.


It's funny, on a lot of these threads, the conventional wisdom is that the caliber (or more likely cartridge) choice is secondary to shot placement for deer-sized animals (the OP didn't say anything about "big bucks"). "Shot placement trumps all" in other words.

If this is true, or if shot placement is important at all, then there are a lot of things other than "knock-down power" that go into what the "best" deer cartridge might be. Things that would tend to make it more likely that the shooter's shot placement will be what it needs to be at 5-600 yards. Things like moderate recoil to allow the average shooter to shoot often, shoot a lot of rounds, and enjoy it. Things like moderately-priced ammo. and components to allow the same. Things like good, high-BC bullets at 140 or 160 grains to help with the above and to help with shot placement on windy days.

I just saw NMS's post above. The 300 RUM may be a great choice for him, and I'm not knocking it. Probably not the best choice for most people though.

I like my M-70 in 300 RUM firing the 180 gr Cutting Edge bullets at 3425 fps.

Gunner

Not enough knockdown power

Not about power, she's a helluva wind bucker.

Gunner

Interesting, Bob. I've been "overwhelmed" by the finality and effectiveness of the .24's and .25's on deer-sized game out to beyond 400 yards, and they still pack a wallop on coyotes out to at least 940 (the farthest I've witnessed). This is based on, ohhh probably about 40-50ish WT, MD, black bear, BH sheep, and caribou, so definitely not the final word, just my experience and observation. Of course, appropriate and very capable bullets were used for the application at hand, in most every case. The great majority of those game animals went straight down, or no more than a few steps. Granted blood trails sometimes aren't overly generous, but bullet selection and placement make more of a difference in game recovery than blood trails, IME.

I've just found the 7mm's and up to be more than needed for this size of game animal until you start taking shots from very far away.

Jordan you likely have seen the 6mm's both used more than me..

I will defer to your experience with them but they still don't make my all time hit parade.

That's an interesting bullet. How's the accuracy?

In calm conditions and if I do my part she's a regular 5/8ths" shooter for three at 100 with a hefty dose of Retumbo.

Gunner

Custom barrel?

No Sir, factory 10 twist 26" stainless.

Gunner

Doesn't take much to do the deed at 600. I have been playing with the 6.5wsm for a couple years now and think it might be close to the best, not sure it is much better than my 243AI, but I will give it a small margin.

Correct, and not to hi-jack, but I need to get with you on my 28" barreled 338-378 and the 300 gr Accubonds.

Gunner

Like I say, Bob, I'm hardly the final word on the issue, but I've been impressed with the way the .24's and .25's have performed.

Luckily, there are plenty of platforms and bullets available, so that even the most discriminating shooter/hunter can be satisfied

280 AI with a 140 gr BT.

JD338

I will put in a vote for .270 Weatherby mag.

Brother and I put in a good sized food plot that was 500-550 yards from our deer stand. We also have a rifle range that we can set up targets to 550 yards, so marking the target knobs on a 8-32 burris black diamond makes life easy on placing shots.

Over the years shooting a 7 mag with everything from 120-160g bullets, they all work well, as always shot placement is key.

There seems to be a dramatic difference in shock effect when going to a 7 STW and starting the 140 bullets off at 3550 vs the 7 mag with the 140g bullets at 3250. We have killed a lot of deer at that distance with the 140g Nosler C/T bullet with the 7 STW with a muzzle velocity of 3550, and not one of them has ever taken a step. I also use muzzle breaks on my 7 mags and 7 STW's so I actually see the bullet's impact along with the animal's reaction to bullet impact.

If you shoot deer in the lungs and miss the shoulder, they run more often than not, so we shoot their legs out from under them, which is not very popular, but tracking deer through a thick jungle is simply no fun at all.

When shooting at distances like this, you have to know your rifle's capability, characertistics of the ballisitics of your cartridge, and know the wind...or do not take the shot.

We actually had a wind flag in the middle of our food plot that stayed out year round.

I might add that the 300 Winchster with a 180g Sierra or Ballistic tip loaded with 75.5g of R#22 flattens deer just as well, but the bullet drop is horrendous compared to the 7mm STW.

id go with 300wsm my .02

There is no "Best Caliber" I kill them year round most often with a 6mm 30 cal. and 338 most shots are between 450 and 800 yards all have worked fine. If conditions are poor I lean on the 338, in good conditions most are taken with a 6mm. My general hunting aside from crop tags is done with a 300 wsm.

As for best Caliber hand down my 338 Norma with a 300 grainer, is it needed NO does it kill with authority YES. Best is a relative term there are plenty that are enough. If you want to knock the crap out of them then there is no comparison, bigger is better (but not always needed)

Smoke I have a break on my sendero and I have only shot one deer with it but I saw the deer in the scope when the bullet hit him. If I didn't have a break I mite not be able to handle the recoil. With around 100 grains of powder I would agree that most people could not handle the recoil without a break

Brakes are the only way to fire high powder capacity firearms with comfort. Especially if one is going to actually practice firing it.

been sittin here reading this whole thread, u-all have some intresting ideas about white tails and what it takes to kill them. my comment would be its not what you shoot them with its where you hit-um. i think thats called shot placement.we take off about 300 to 350 whitetails a year here on the ranch. does weigh 100# to 130# bucks weigh from 190# to 240#, you can shoot a deer in the gut with damn near any round and that paunch full of grass will stop the round almost like you shot it with a.22, the deer will still die but not a hell of a lot quicker than if you blew off leg up high.over the years ive seen whitetails hit every where you can hit one, with every round you can think of, and nothing beat shot placement. as for muzzle breaks, if you need a break, you have a lot more gun than you need to kill a whitetail. dont care how far your shooting.rio7

What gunnut308 said..Bullet wt. and caliber size count a lot at long range..

I'd personally take a 7mm 160-170gr class pill over any 30 cal 200+, but I'd owe that to not liking brakes.

BC is BC is BC, but recoil isn't equal across the spectrum.

I'd be looking at something with knock down power. While I have some rifles that shoot the higher bc bullets I don't feel they would cleanly take game such as deer that far away. Yes they shoot well and hit steel targets at farther distance but deer can be very tough. We owe it to the game to shoot enough gun. I'd say at distance past 300 yards something with a "mag" after it should be used.

Grin

Why so serious??




Your 105AM and 80TTSX combo will do everything that needs doing on WT/MD. Granted, if the wind is howling I can see busting out the .625 BC at 3050fps, but it's certainly not needed to beat up on anything but the wind.

Then I'd suggest a smaller cartridge for this person needing to reduce recoil. Espically if they actually practice.

Hey, if we're just hunting bucks here, I'll gladly take the 105 along.

But if the forecast is callin' for wind.... you know what I'm toting

i dont see the point in useing live animals for target pratice.rio7

Where have you ever seen someone mention that?

And BTW, I see the point. Ever shot prairie dogs or 'chucks?

I've shot NMSSHOOTER'S 300RUM and it is a joy to shoot, but only with hearing protection! Kicks about like a 243 or maybe a little less. I will say the energy it delivers with a 200gr NAB is impressive. One afternoon we set out water jugs at 500yds for target practice. The first one fell to a 7-08 and I believe a NBT. Not much explosion and most of the water leaked out. Next one was hit with my 257Wby using 100gr TTSX. Decent explosion. Next we pulled out the RUM. Massive explosions and utter destruction of the jugs. I know this isn't very scientific, but there was a tremendous difference in the destruction levels when using the different calibers at 500yds.

Tanner, dont get me wrong, i enjoy longrange shooting as much as anyone here on the fire. as for shooting paririe dogs and woodchuks i have done more than my share, i was raised in western colo. and ther was a huge dog town west of rangley,colo.and another north of blue mountian,almost as big. north of meeker, on coal creek was great wood cuck hunting and shooting.that was back in the early 1950s, i have hunted everything with hair in colo. since i was a small boy.my family had ranchs out side of craig, meeker, baggs,wyo.i now and for years have had a ranch in s.tex.and we hunt a lot more than most people ever have a chance to hunt.i have seen 1000sds of whitetail shot over the years most were killed under 300 yrds.i have seen hundreds of deer missed from close to way out out there.i read a lot about longrange kills but dont see much about misses and wounded animals, aint that intresting.by the way i have built my own longrange gun range thats 1175 yards long,with steel targets all the way out.and shoot a number of different cal. rifles at long range.i log on to this site to learn, i didnt invent the wheel,but i sure enjoy shooting, i think a lot of people that talk longrange, dont shoot much and talk a lot.just my 2 cents worth . by the way im 75 yrs young, and will hunt till die.rio7

I'd bet you have more to give than learn.

One reason you do not hear about many long range misses or less than stellar hits is that most folks that are really into LRH very rarely take a shot beyond their capabilities. The slobs that are spraying and praying don't usually advertise where they will get chastised. They save it for telling around gun counters.

RIO, welcome to the LRH forum and like Kaleb said, I bet you've got more stories to tell than we'll ever experience.

I'm in agreement with Eddy in that most guys that are truly great long range shooters and hunters know their own limits, as well as the limits of their equipment , and know when to take the round out of the chamber. I think that's why you don't hear about too many wounded critters or missed shots... either that, or we're all getting a fast one pulled on us!

I'd never feign to be a great shooter or hunter like many on this forum, but I sure know when the wind is blowing too much, or when there's just too much real-estate between me and the critter.

Tanner, i think you and others here have hit the nail on the head . that is,(KNOW YOUR LIMITS) i damn sure know mine. rio7

Some good points but the truth of the matter is anyone who has taken their fair share of game at long range has F'd up at one time or another. if they haven't then they are full of [bleep] or it's just a matter of time.
We practice until we cant see straight and we area half broke to get as good as we can. But the moment of truth is in the field. A shot on a 500 yard deer under unknown conditions can be tougher than ringing an 800 yard gong at the range.
Yes as long range hunter we should know when to pass a shot and often do BUT there are times when conditions seem perfect and you miss that down range cross wind or up draft that is not detected .
This is the reason I go longer on known farms that I have shot on before and know what to expect and limit myself under unknown conditions. I also make no apologies for smacking deer with a 300 grain smk when i feel the need to ensure minimal wind drift.

Your Ruger 270 will do just fine.

Carry on

I love the quote in your picture.... Priceless.!
Me.....I prefer .270, even though it seems to lose punch out that far. I guess size does matter. 100-300 is easy though. WIND is a factor,big time.

Best = probably a 338 Lapua

Best for a normal person to learn to shoot long = probably a 243 with 105s

Best for you = whatever you can shoot consistently and accurately at your chosen range

Spot on

How about a 7mm ultra mag with a 140 accubond or a 26 Nosler with the 142 LR

I've killed whitetails at 704 with a 300rum, and I've killed them at 698 with a 6lb 7wsm. now a days i use the 7wsm. it don't kick, shoots 160gr NABS into 1/2" and feels like a 22 when carrying it, last 5 shots with the gun have been head shots, at distances to 180yards

Wow. After a 3 year break, this one is back on top!

Anyway, my furthest actual shot at a whitetail was a lasered 363 yards, and a 308 with a 165 NBT did the dirty work handily.

These days, I'm about as likey to have a 308 and the 168 AMAX or the 243 and a 95 NBT in my hands while deer hunting. Both topped by a SWFA SS 6X MQ scope with the dope on it.

Still, far to me is 500 yards, although I shoot regularly at up to 600 just because.

I wish I had a place to regularly shoot out to 1,000 yards like Big Stick. I'd probably go further if I had more trigger time at longer ranges.

Me, too, but I don't shoot all that far most of the time. I have a Ruger American .308 that is 1/2-moa with Hornady Interlocks. With the ss scope, I have no problem keeping them minute of deer chest at 550 yards (that is how far my range goes). I have never killed one past 400, though.

I built 3 rifles every year for myself.
The 7mmRemMag 140 gr always seems to win with keeping the group in the kill zone on the target at 500 yards. Other cartridges are only good to 400 yards for me for a sure kill.

I can fill a mule doe tag every morning.
I can fill an antelope doe tag in 3 days.
I can fill an antelope buck tag in 5 days.
I can find a 3x3 mule buck in 4 days.
I can find a 4x4 mule buck in 7 days.
I have never been able to fill a whitetail doe tag.. they hide and bounce. I typically miss at 100 yards while they are running.

But in October 2015 with a Dumoulin Mauser action, 8" twist ratchet rifling #3 taper Shilen Select match stainless barrel, 6.5-06 chamber, Boyd's pro varmint stock, home made Aluminum bedding, Sightron SIII 3.5x10 scope, 120 gr NBT, IMR-4166, 3200 fps, I was getting good groups at 600 yards.

I caught a white tail doe at 629 yards in wind with a hail Mary shot. I finally filled a white tail doe tag.

I still think 7mmRM is better, the big variable is my low skill.

There isn't a "best".....

Agreed.

The "best", is how well you shoot whatever caliber that you pick. There are so many good bullets, scopes, etc., now that it is only up to you what caliber you pick and what your abilities are.

I like to keep things fairly reasonable at 300 or less, but have stretched it a bit on elk a few times. I can do it, I just don't particularly like to.

My 7 mags rule, though.

I like them...

Many will work. That distance doesn't require a large magnum case. I would just use my 7-08......

270 Weatherby 140gr Accubond

From 0-500 practically anything worth owning is good enough. The next hundred starts sorting them out. Good enough" is sort of damning with faint praise though and includes "barely good enough".

The question is "best", and it is very hard to top an STW for 0-600 deer slaying in a no muss no fuss fashion.

For those considering the lighter calibers, accuracy is only one part of the equation. What kind of energy is left with an 80-100gr small caliber bullet at 650 yards? Is it enough for a clean kill?

On a deer? Oh yeah. A 105 HPBT launched from my .243AI at 3100fps still has 2150 fps and if you care for some reason about remaining KE, the bullet still has 1080 ft-lbs.

How about my RC Custom shop MK V in 6.5x300 Bee. 130 NAB at 3500 fps?

Now that should reach out and make an impression.

I've enjoyed my 26 Nosler which isn't far behind that one.

At those speeds, I like the Barnes 120 TTSX. Mine goes half MOA at 400, which is my max distance so far. The 120 TTSX was more accurate than the 130 NAB and 129 ABLR. Tissue damage is pretty impressive. Here's what it did to a hog last year.

DF

Nice work on the vermin DF!

Thanks, JG.

That hog was around 100 yds, sorta messed'em up. DRT, of course.

At hyper speed, I trust mono's more than some of the other type bullets. As you see, tissue destruction was pretty profound without a bullet "going to pieces"...

At slower speeds, maybe another story.

Matching velocity with bullet type and critter being hunted is more art than science, IMO.

DF

You gotta love speed with tough bullets!

6 -47 105grain 3080 kills them

Yes..

For hunting next month I have 2 whitetail doe tags, one any deer tag, and two antelope tags.

I have been working on (5) rifles in the shop full time for 2 weeks and need to leave for long range target practice with the rifles in 3 weeks:
1) expensive rifle Win M70 25-06
2) cheap rifle [$80 so far] Arisaka 99 308
3) lite rifle [6.5 # so far] Rem700 6mmBR
4) heavy rifle Rem700 7mmRemMag
5) original factory barrel Browning B78 25-06

I have the headspace right on the 4 barrels I worked on.
The 7mm is waiting for bottom metal to arrive before bedding. The other 4 are pillared and bedded.

Last year I built 3 rifles for 3 tags, but after target practice I gave up on one of them and only used the 6.5-06 and 300WM to fill the tags.

Honestly, I would use any caliber from 243 to 30 cal shooting a berger bullet. Preferably a lighter caliber so that hits can be seen through the scope. A gentleman in wyoming that runs greybull precision lends out a 243 that is loaded with 105 bergers for elk. If you want proof go to the website, there is a pic of a teenage gal who shot a bull elk through the shoulder with that rifle and load. He has shot many elk with this and the proof is in the pudding. Whitetail are not herculean...

I would also opt for the high shoulder shot to down them on the spot. A behind the shoulder shot at that distance will result in the animal leaving the area...

My furthest experience was on a whitetail at just under 500 with a 300 weatherby shooting 168 ttsx's. Behind the shoulder shot in a wide open field. She ran 70 yards or so and then stopped to figure out what the hell happened, and wobbled over onto her side dead. Maybe a 1/2 inch or under entry with a 2 inch wound channel and exit wound through the lungs.

280AI if you want the most optimal ' least blast.

If the big band doesn't both you 7mm Mag

Ridgegoat who is the guy from Wyoming that lends out the 243? Cant wait to see the website?

Have you shot a lot of elk at distance with the Bergers using shoulder and chest shots to see a big difference?

How far do they go with lung shots?

Friend I have shot a big 6 pt bull in the middle of the left shoulder with a 300 RUM using a 180 gr. Nosler Accubond from 80 yards distance. Bull goes down! Dave slides back down the ridge and leaves his rifle there as he waits until we show up to help him get the bull out. We go back up the ridge....bull is on his feet looking around! We watch him for five minutes before he goes down for the count! Bullet did not suffer fragmentation at impact!

Freak circumstance. Obviously nothing immediately vital was destroyed by the shot. Lack of fragmentation was not to blame. I've killed piles of animals by bullets that did not fragment.

It certainly not a requirement for an elk bullet.

I'd use the one on top. Whatever that one is. Looks interesting...

600 yards is a 'gimme shot'!!

No it's certainly NOT a requirement for an elk...or a muley or whitetail bullet. My statement reference this was to the fact that it DID NOT blow up upon contact with the shoulder!

that depends who's doing the shooting.

I know plenty of people who can't connect at 350.

Go to a public range just before deer season. There are lots of people who have trouble hitting a paper plate at 100 yards off a bench.

Anything 243 through 6.5 credemore, Swede, or 260. Anything bigger IMO will be less effective due to recoil or shot placement. I've seen magnimitus cause a twitchy finger on more folks than not. Even if a Magnum has a break on it barrels heat up in a hurry and IME shooting most rifles with a glowing barrel is more than counter productive.

When considering hunting long-range 500-600yds there is zero substitute for range time. If you can consistently put a group into 6" or less at 600 yds cold bore on any given day I say go for it. If not then practice, practice, and more practice! A 243 Winchester through the small 6.5s will get you there more consistently everytime.

As for the 7mm I'd consider a 7MM-08 but not the larger 7s based solely on powder charge and again barrel heat, shots down range etc. IMO there's a very noticeable difference in a case that holds 40ish grains of powder VS one that holds as much as 60 grains when one is trying to get more shots fired downrange without fighting a heated barrel.

Over the years I've hunted with a good many long range hunters that shoot farther than I'm willing to shoot. I've also seen a hell of a lot of missing going on. In considering my own shooting accomplishments I regularly accomplish 2ish" 500 yd groups from a number of rifles. This year with continued practice I intend to stretch my hunting range to 600 ish yds but that's it. Why, I've been practicing this long range stuff for only 9 years now and with more than 10,000 rounds downrange I feel I've gathered enouph data to conclude that even at 600 ish yds I might see a miss on occasion. Most long range shooters have missed more than once at those ranges and most would never admit it on a public forum.





Shod

So we have to shoot a short action cartridge that burns no more than 40-45 gr of powder because none of us can shoot anything burning more powder than that?


Honestly where does this stuff come from?

I was thinking the same thing Bob.

"Check out this website!"

"Don't use a magnum because of barrel heat."

Good God...

+1 Bob

first let me say that shots beyond 425 yards require practice and extremely good optics.I have shot many deer at 3 to 350 yards,and a few at 425 or so and a couple at near 500. but these ranges beyond 425 require an advanced understanding of the field conditions where u are hunting,and an even better one about the trajectory of the load u are using. the hardest thing for many shooters is aiming 12 inches in front of a deer knowing the pill will drift 30 inches,or 20 inches over its back knowing that it will drop 30 inches.this takes lots of practice

the reason i have a 500 yard limit is for kinetic energy requirements with my 270s. the 270 wsm would add a mere 60 or 75 yards and this boy aint shooting no ultra mag or 340 weatherby,or 30-378 at deer

oh after 55 years of hunting i aint a boy no more,but with the help of my pap(full blooded indian) and his brothers and cousins iam a deer hunter

iam 2. And my pap ain't even injun.

Lots of calibers will kill Whitetails, or about any big game animal at 600 yards. I've had great luck with 7 rem mags.

I chose 300 WSM for my latest hunting rifle:

I believe the question was what to use for whitetail at 500-600 yards?

Maybe a new thread asking why a Magnum works best for whitetail deer would be more appropriate?

Use whatever you want Bob nobody is trying to force you into anything 😕






Shod

My 270 Weatherby magnum usually has time to cool down while I am walking to my dead critter.

I have two whitetail tags.
Two of the rifles I am building almost made it to the range today to test fire.


15 pounds of 7mmRM.. still looking for a 56mm lens cover.



8 pounds of 6mmBR gear

23 lbs of whitetail rig. Might get it done.

This is also my opinion. When I was a fairly young hunter, we were hunting Brewster County in West Texas, very open country near Big Bend park, my hunting partner knocked over a rather small mule deer at 600+ yards.

I went with him to retrieve the deer and noted the 140 grainer from a .264 mag did not exit from a broadside hit. This would be unacceptable in a right of way cut through heavy vegetation. [So]I decided I would use heavier bullets when long range opportunities existed. 160 for 7 mag, 165 for .30 because I wanted an exist with some blood.

I know that better small caliber light weight bullets have been created, but I havn't came around to using them at long range.

Shod thanks I get that part.

It's the never ending (ad nauseous) assertions constantly floating around on here that if it recoils more than a 7/08 no on can shoot and hunt effectively with it.

I understand the deer thing. I don't distinguish between deer and elk and antelope and moose etc etc. To me they all fall under the category of "Big Game" and any rifle I hunt with will kill them all or I won't own it.

So I'm not bothered with these senseless (to me) subcategories of cartridges intended to be "perfect" for 90-130 pound deer in the next zip code; and then something else for "bigger deer" and "longer distances".....it's silly talk for rifle nut bags.

+1

What the magic of 425 yards and what happens at 426 yards? And is it 425 yards with a 30-30 and with a 30-378?











How does "kinetic energy" kill?

In the mind of some.

A 270 Weatherby Mag with 150 gr AB's at 3200 f.p.s.

264 Win mag

For long range with plenty of power an a stabilized bullett a 264 win mag out weighs almost everything.

I always prefer a stabilized bullet sometimes.

Well, read it all...thinking there would be some consensus...:)

I imagine putting the right bullet in the right spot is the most important correlation to killing deer quickly at 500-600 yards, and the caliber used right near the bottom of the determinants.

One thing is for certain: Jordan, you are a hell of a shot.

A 4 year old thread. Well why not anyway.

Looking at and comparing all the downrange #s from 100 yards out to say 700-800 yards (using ABLR bullets posted on the ballistics charts on the Nosler site under ammunition for various cartridges) in terms of retained velocity, energy, flatter trajectories, not to mention reduced wind drifts, I gotta go with a 6.5mm as a first choice caliber for long range whitetail hunting.

Cartridge?.......I'll take the 26 Nosler over any other 6.5mm round; including the 264 Win, the Creed, the 6.5/284 to name only three in the 6.5mm dept.

I'll also take the 26 Nosler over the 270 Win, 270 Wby, 270 WSM, 7mm WSM, 280 Rem, 7mm Rem Mag, and the 7mm Wby.

Even though it runs a close 2nd place behind the 6.5/300 Wby, the 26 Nosler nevertheless is my next cartridge chambered in my next rifle,,,a Browning.

I like the 7mm Mag., but getting old and my old Rem. 700 is heavy and I do not like the recoil. Never been really happy with the 700 anyway. I went to 7mm-08. The 7mms are hard to beat at any distance.