Best long range rifle

Best long range rifle for white tail

Hard to beat a 270/280 set up right. I've been reading a lot and a lot of the magnums hold a very slim edge over those 2 calibers for most hunting situations depending on how you zero it. This is for 4-500 yard shots. Not sure how long you are talking about.

Not real long range about 3-400. I'm thanking about switch to 130 gr and see how far it caries 0 to whatever it will reach before dropping. I shoot a 270 150 gr

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That 150 will do it all day long as you know what your trajectory is. I killed several deer effectively out to 450 yards with my 280 I had.

Excerpted from Chuck Hawkes
These cartridges have a trajectory flat enough to allow a point blank range (where the bullet neither rises nor falls more than 3" above or below the line of sight) extending from the muzzle to somewhere around 296-306 yards. Zero a scoped rifle so that the bullet hits about 2.5 high at 100 yards and it will strike about 3" high at 150 yards, roughly 2.3" high at 200 yards, and about 3" low at 300 yards. This will allow solid hits without "holding over" on medium size big game animals (like most North American deer) out to approximately 300 yards or a little farther.

Our standard of comparison, a .270 shooting the 130 grain bullet, has a maximum point blank range (MPBR) of 305 yards according to the Rifle Trajectory Table. The MPBR is the distance at which the bullet falls 3" below the line of sight. Very few hunters that I have met can shoot well enough in the field to take full advantage of that trajectory.

Browse through some ballistics tables.

Drop at 300 yards will vary by 2 or 3 inches tops among the most common whitetail cartridges. For instance, drop of 5.0 inches for one cartridge vs. drop of 7.5 inches for another.

Bottom line: I don't think it matters. If you're a good enough marksman to confidently take a 300 yard shot at a big game animal, then you will have practiced enough with your gun/cartridge/load of choice at that range to know how much it will drop.

If you haven't done that work, then don't shoot at that range.

Exactly! If you have been using the same box of ammo for the last 5 years then dont take the shot. I dont understand guys who shoot a couple shots the week before season comes in to make sure their gun "is still on" then think they are a sniper on the powerlines/clearcuts.

It's hard to be the 270 and I'm not a fan of magnums. If you feel like you HAVE to have a magnum 270 WSM is a really nice round.

if you were going to shoot really long range something in a 6.5 would give you good BC. Just about anything can shoot 400. The limiting factor will be you.

I've always thought a 7mag shooting a 139gr bullet would be a great long range set-up. My 7-08 micro will do 300 all day. That's really not considered long range though.

But what is the wind doing? Perpendicular to line of sight or at an angle? Consistent all the way to the target? There's more than just up/down to worry about.

if i were to build a power line/big game plot/clear cut rifle, one that would be shot off a shooting house window sill or such, i'd start with my macmillan bench rest stock for a long-action remington 700. it has been sitting around for years, waiting for me to put together a rifle. it is used, and was a gift.
that means a remington 700 long action. so, on to the chambering: if a belted magnum factory round, then probably 7mm remington magnum; if standard .462 case size, then .270 winchester.
if wildcat, then 6.5mm-'06 improved.

I don't know what you guys are talking about.... everyone on here knows they can shoot 700 yards and more than a few well over 1k. And that's with Factory ammo and little to zero practice.

That's why they've all got scopes with turrets. All they got to do is just "dial" it right up.

A 2 inch high at 100 zero will allow you a dead hold on out to 300 yards with more normal deer calibers...Thats not a long shot...

700 yards and I want a good shooting 6.5x284 with a Nightforce that has a 1000 reticle and a set of wind flags all the way to the target.

^

To actually try and answer the question....

.270 is hard to beat. So is .30-06 which gives a little more options for heavier bullets if your arsenal is going to be a smaller one, I'd give it more consideration.

I like 7mm Mag if I think I'm going to 300-400. I don't always shoot more than 300 yds., but when I do... I don't want to have to wonder which way they went. Past 400 in a hunting scenario is getting questionable IMO. Lots of things start to happen after you get past that distance.

I like 160's in my 7mm Mag for long range.

A 280Rem and 139g SST would be hard to beat.

168s and 180 bergers out of a 7mm are hard to beat. The 610 bc of the 168s and the .659 BC of the 180s buck the wind very well!

If you're not going to exceed 400 yds there are a lot of calibers that would work fine. .308,39-06,300 win mag etc.

It is, that is what I shoot. Savage 111 w/ Hornady SST 139 grain. I know its overkill, but I like to pick a hair out and hit it. I'm not interested in a kill zone. My most productive spot offers shots up to 540 yards every time out. Only two bucks I've killed this year so far were at 280 and 336.

But with most any rifle and good scope, if you know the ballistics for your chosen round and know where your zero is for your chosen scope, you are golden.

yep

Surely I'm not the only one who upon seeing the title had visions of sharps rifles, soule sights, and .45-90 cartridges dancing in their heads?

-GB

If I was going to buy a long range rifle off the shelf it would be a Remington Sendero in 7mm Rem Mag or 300 Winchester Mag.

3-400 yards you can do it with just about any deer rifle. 3-600 yards I'd use a flatter shooting magnum of some type with good optics.

Non-magnum either .260 or 280 Ackley would be hard to beat for Whitetails
If I was gonna shoot a magnum it would be a 264WM
I think it all comes down to personal preference; but I'm also convinced that bullet selection is more important than caliber selection when it comes to long range stuff.

yes, 280 ack would be a good one ...

or you could design your own:
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Forming-Custom-Cartridges-Handguns/dp/0964362309

mr. howell is from alabama, by the way ...

cant believe nobody has mentioned it. anything but a tikka

seriously i dont know chit about rifle specs but i know how to google a ballistics chart. i have always liked a 7mm rem mag. some folks like odd ball calibers just to be different. and thats ok

Check this guy out at a mile with a Sharps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85027636&v=vq1k94-wB5c&x-yt-ts=1422503916

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422503916&v=f55ZZx5nqL4&x-yt-cl=85027636

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422503916&v=1LnfJrBfRjo&x-yt-cl=85027636
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422503916&v=RazDsknjkfM&x-yt-cl=85027636

6.5x.284 or .280 Ackley Improved or .260 or 6.5 Creedmoor

375 Cheytec = with a 375 gr Cutting Edge bullet. 3100 fps with a 375 gr bullet AND a BC of .960 !!!!

you talking bout shooting DEER or T-REXs????

Wonder what the recoil is like on that sumbitch?

Its about like a 50 BMG. My gunsmith built one for a guy and I got to shoot it 7 times! A 25 lbs rifle WITH a good break, its easy to shoot. We shot rocks at 2200 yards and you could see impact with 330 Leigh - High bullets. As far as recoil it more of a = push, than a quick recoil. Like a 20 gauge shotgun i would say

For whitetails and any other tails 300 Weatherby Magnum! Range probably best above 100 yards out to 1000 yds+ with right scope easy. Gaurantee 1" on target from Weatherby. Plenty of choices out there Weatherby Vanguard is decent priced.

We can argue what is best all day long as it is actually user preference. I have two long range hunting rifles, a 6.5-284 and a .300WM. Either one will do what I need and there are pro's and con's to each. If you reload then you have even more options.

My preference is a round with a high BC (6.5 and .30 meet that requirement) High BC bullets don't drift as bad in the wind, bullet drop is typically less and they hit with more energy. With that being said what do you consider long range.

If it is less than 500 yards then just about any common deer cartridge will work great. If it is above 500 yards then some are better than others.

What ever you do, pick a cartridge that will allow you to shoot A BUNCH. If you are recoil shy then a .300WM wont be the best choice. To actually shoot at deer at long range you need to be proficient at those ranges. In order to be proficient you need to have a ton of trigger time at those ranges.

375 Cheytec is for kids.

14.5mm is the "best" hands down. Just... it takes 3 Hadji to carry the one the Iranian's gave them. Or the Soviet one they dug up from WW2.