Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting If you were setting up a new LR elk gun?

There is no dies that are gonna handle the PRC clicker issue unless you use the .535 reamer that Mansion or JGS puts out.
I guess some dont get that you can only size brass back so far and on the PRC its .530

I get it.
I thought Cortina's dies were in 7mm PRC, but they are not yet. (6.5 PRC & 7 PRCW .532 chambers at .200″ line)
It would be pretty easy to clean up a chamber with either the Manson or JGS reamers.

I just guess it depends on what you want

It's funny how most LR threads immediately devolve into algebra. Numbers are not as important as the human being shooting the rifle. Whether or not one is willing to shoot a brake/ported rifle, or carry an 11 pound rifle, is more important. I'm not and I'm not.

All depending on a reasonable cartridge choice, of course, which is usually a given. The 7mm shines with a 180 grain bullet because most shooters can handle the recoil without a brake. Not for a few shots, but for regular practice. A 30 cal rifle delivering the same performance kicks quite a bit harder. It's fairly easy to get either bore rifle in the 8.5 to 9.5 pound range, which is, on average, optimal.

The 7 WSM, and to a degree the 7 SAUM, suffered due to brass availability IMO. There's a chance the 7 PRC will not. IMO, it's a challenge to justify a custom rifle in these calibers, due to the abundance of overall good-shooting rifles made today. If someone wants special features and is willing to pay for them, more power to them. Either way, long live the 7 mm.

Why not just do it right the first time?
It will only clean up if the previous chamber matches the reamer other than the back end unless you set it back.

6.5 prc or maybe a 6mm-7prc.

The elephant in the room you all see & know but refuse to believe your own lying eyes , lol !

I used the 6X SS on my 338 quite awhile. I just put a Trijicon on it and decided to try something new. All goes well it'll get into an elk this year.



Nothing bad to say about the 6X SS though. Great scope for alot of uses.

Agree with Jordan here. Had, a few 7 “Mags”, never cared for them. Having spent considerable time with the 300 Wby, 7 Wby, 300 WSM, 7 WSM, I easily chose the much preferred 300 WSM & 7 Wby with no reserve.

Regardless, i prefer to hunt my critters 350 yds & under. It’s more like hunting.

Damn Scotty, now that's making me want to try some heavy scenars in my 338wm!!!! Mine is as old as yours, but with a custom barrel. Love those old rifles.


I thought this was about setting up a LR elk rifle though. I'd use mine, with the above load out to 500 yards, but that's about max. Even with the 250gr SGK, I'd probably only shoot it at 500 yards. Haven't really had to shoot at an elk at that distance, but I guess there's always that chance. You are going to make me pull mine out and shoot it further out, just to see what it can do.

That sounds like a contender for sure.

It is well proven. Elk, and coues deer to 700 are light work.

A lot to be said here, 300gr Scenars leaving at 2900 fps hammer the holy hell out of 5, 7, 9 and 1100 yard steel, have read that's not a hunting bullet, but i think that's BS!

Nice looking rig Beretzs.

I bet. I've seen some guys with the 28 Nosler at the range, they usually shoot well. One thing I get a kick about is guys thinking they can consistently hit the vitals on an elk at 1,000 yards. To me, that would require a first round hit. I've shot a lot at 1,000 yards ,but have never seen anyone hit a 10" steel plate on the first (cold bore) hit ever. I'll do it on occasion, but it's about a 50/50 chance. Just being honest, and you have to be honest with yourself when you are shooting at a big game animal. I was just watching a video on longrange shooting, and some of these guys have some pretty tricked out rifles, yet, they are not making first round hits.



Check out some of these rifles, you have some that you have to hold up on the mag box so they feed, you have some where they are not ejecting, some are rough feeding POS's. Definitely not an elk rifle, but they are built to shoot well, and these guys are not making very good hits. Some 8,9 or 10th round hits, if they even hit the target at all. Some shots wouldn't even hit the body of an elk. In this video, they were shooting in very good conditions too. Add some wind to the mix, and the hit ratio goes way down.

When you say 700 is "light work", it sure can be. Stretch it out to 1,000, and see what happens. I know, everyone thinks they can hammer stuff consistently at 1,000 yards. They should call this guy up, and see if they can get on one of his videos.

Here's another video:

How much do you guys think that guy has into that Accuracy International AT308 with the Schmidt and Bender scope?

That is the coolest moose photo I have ever seen, Excellent!

Neat stock too

Looks like ADG brass is priced at about $350 per 100 cases up here, or about $150-200 more than Lapua and Alpha. I'm certainly looking forward to Lapua .300 WSM hitting the shelves.

Somebody is laying the screws to you on the ADG brass I paid about 200.00 for a 100 shipped when I bought my ADG 300wsm brass. In the U.S. the Lapua and ADG are on par with each other here in the U.S give or take on different calibers

I built myself just such a rifle. I chose 338 Norma for several reasons and have not been disappointed. I got to use it in December. I shot an elk at 930 ish yards. I'm not convinced the 300 grain Scenar is the bullet to use but it's easy to hit with and seems to be big enough. The elk is quite tasty i might add. Had flatirons steak yesterday and stirfry today.

I have no desire to stretch to 1,000 for several reasons. The biggest being that I would never, in any situation shoot at an animal that far. I am confident and comfortable to make lethal shot to 700, 800 in the right conditions. Even that is stretching it. I cringe when I see people shooting 1,000 yards at animals, that's not for me. Especially when people are doing it with 6.5 Creeds.

Who have you observed shooting at elk at 1k yds with a 6.5 creed?

I really don't care what distance people kill big game animals, as long as they are adept at it, and the weapon/bullet is capable of it at that distance.
If it is legal, you and your weapon are up to the task, whether a matter of feet with a spear or distances that I know I would never pull the trigger, go for it. That's your business.

I also don't care if you want to set up a rifle for killing elk at a grand or at 1500 yards.
Set up 10 different ones, if that suits you.

Regardless of what you have, before you go hunting, actually practice from field positions on targets that are the size of the vitals or smaller, and intentionally shoot at your max distance with your first shot from a field position (Cold bore shot).

This will teach you so much, if you will pay attention.
Each time you go out, try this, and you won't feel real salty about yourself, but it will give you a better idea of where you are at in specific conditions.

Who knows, you may need to shorten your MAX distance for game or maybe you can actually extend it...

On a good day I can get many newbies on steel out to a grand with 15" 223 Remington, 6 Creed, or 308 Win (15.75").
Are they qualified to hunt at distance? No
Were they being coached on fundamentals, and getting input as they continued to shoot? Yes
Do they probably suck at reading the wind still? Yes
Was their hit at a grand a cold bore shot? No. I have never started a newbie at a grand.
Were they shooting from a weird field position? No
Did they have to shoot on demand? No
Did it matter how many times it took them to get on steel at a grand? No
Was their target bigger than the vitals of a big game animal? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no
Do I want them to be happy and proud of themselves? Yes

Actually practice at distance...

Your gun may be the the uber-ELR rifle of the world, but if you suck at the fundamentals and at adjusting for the atmospheric conditions, including wind and terrain, keep your shots within the distances you have proven to yourself you can consistently do for that shooting circumstance.

Good catharsis...Time for more coffee