Not the best shot nor the worst, I have killed deer at some impressive ranges with my 6.5-284 and my go to rifle for hunting season is the 7MM Mag. I hunt corn and bean fields where you can get shots of 100 to 600 yards easy. Go with the rifle you feel comfortable with as well as a caliber that will do the job at the distance you plan to shoot effectivly. Good Luck the best caliber is in the eyes of the beholder. be sure you know your rifle, cause no one wants to cripple the animal to have it go off and die a slow death. Happy Thankgiving to all. Lou
?? 600 YARD DEER KILLER ??
- Thread starter farmview
- Start date
OK,OK!!! Lets try this agen..
If you wer to bild a custom rifle and shoot it weeky say 20-Rounds
And then go hunting for wight tail deer. to a 600 Yards Limit!!
What will the caliber and case be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!
I live in the MISSOURI flat farm land syobins & Corn.
I am bilding a custom rifle off of a Savage Varmit short action with a small shank.
I wont a caliber that i can shoot 20 rounds a in a day
and not HERT so no Magnoms.
and till kill a deer to a 600 yard Limit.
how a bout these 243win,7mm-08,6.5x55
I am leening to the 7mm-08.
If you wer to bild a custom rifle and shoot it weeky say 20-Rounds
And then go hunting for wight tail deer. to a 600 Yards Limit!!
What will the caliber and case be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!
I live in the MISSOURI flat farm land syobins & Corn.
I am bilding a custom rifle off of a Savage Varmit short action with a small shank.
I wont a caliber that i can shoot 20 rounds a in a day
and not HERT so no Magnoms.
and till kill a deer to a 600 yard Limit.
how a bout these 243win,7mm-08,6.5x55
I am leening to the 7mm-08.
I would find caliber and bullet grain weight irrelevent. I would, however, find bullet type and velocity highly relevant. Direction of aim and steadiness would rank first, whilst bullet selection would come in a close second. Sheer Horsepower versus Extreme Accuracy leaves no doubt per answerable, deathwise. A butt hit deer does not care what grainage hit it, since it will run a long way, away. Shoot what you can aim reliably, and expect the best results. .243 Winchesters and .300 Winchesters can subdue the same target so long as extreme ACCURACY ensues! Cliffy
Farmview - you're getting some wild answers here.
Build your good rifle, scope it well, build good ammo for it and practice with it. Learn the "come ups" on your scope and the windage adjustments too. Windage is the big bugaboo of long-range shooting. Trajectory is pretty easy to deal with once you've built your drop chart.
At longer ranges you'll of course have reduced velocity, so consider one of the "softer" bullets like a Berger VLD or the Hornady A-Max, both of which have proved themselves time and time again in long range hunting situations. You want expansion and these bullets tend to expand very well, even at reduced velocity. They also tend to be very accurate.
I've gone 400 yards on deer with a factory built, sporter-weight .25-06 Remington, the flat trajectory helps considerably. Beyond that, I'll rely on a purpose built .308 Win, which is very accurate and which I've been shooting for about 14 years now. Long enough to wear out several .308 Win barrels, which takes 4000 -6000 rounds each. Long enough to earn the NRA "high master" rank. Long enough to shoot some 2.5" groups out there at 600 pretty consistently. Also long enough to totally blow a shot now and again! ;D
A good scope with target type turrets is really important - so you can simply range your target, dial the appropriate elevation, deal with the wind, and send the bullet. It's not rocket science, but it does take some "homework" as Rustystud put it.
Deer aren't that hard to kill, if you can get the danged bullet into the chest and if it expands, causing lots of damage. I use a .308, but other cartridges will offer you a flatter trajectory for sure, as well as reduced wind drift. Someday I may change it to a .260 or a 7mm-08, but probably not for a good long time as I've got a mess of .308 brass & bullets on hand!
Try over at: http://www.precisionlongrangehunter.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm for some interesting discussions of long range hunting & shooting. Some of those guys put my self-imposed 600 yard limit to shame!
Regards, Guy
Build your good rifle, scope it well, build good ammo for it and practice with it. Learn the "come ups" on your scope and the windage adjustments too. Windage is the big bugaboo of long-range shooting. Trajectory is pretty easy to deal with once you've built your drop chart.
At longer ranges you'll of course have reduced velocity, so consider one of the "softer" bullets like a Berger VLD or the Hornady A-Max, both of which have proved themselves time and time again in long range hunting situations. You want expansion and these bullets tend to expand very well, even at reduced velocity. They also tend to be very accurate.
I've gone 400 yards on deer with a factory built, sporter-weight .25-06 Remington, the flat trajectory helps considerably. Beyond that, I'll rely on a purpose built .308 Win, which is very accurate and which I've been shooting for about 14 years now. Long enough to wear out several .308 Win barrels, which takes 4000 -6000 rounds each. Long enough to earn the NRA "high master" rank. Long enough to shoot some 2.5" groups out there at 600 pretty consistently. Also long enough to totally blow a shot now and again! ;D
A good scope with target type turrets is really important - so you can simply range your target, dial the appropriate elevation, deal with the wind, and send the bullet. It's not rocket science, but it does take some "homework" as Rustystud put it.
Deer aren't that hard to kill, if you can get the danged bullet into the chest and if it expands, causing lots of damage. I use a .308, but other cartridges will offer you a flatter trajectory for sure, as well as reduced wind drift. Someday I may change it to a .260 or a 7mm-08, but probably not for a good long time as I've got a mess of .308 brass & bullets on hand!
Try over at: http://www.precisionlongrangehunter.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm for some interesting discussions of long range hunting & shooting. Some of those guys put my self-imposed 600 yard limit to shame!
Regards, Guy
Cliffy you are lost.
Caliber and bullet weight are extremely important. 300 mag and 243 are very different.
Farmview -
Go with the 7mm WSM and shoot it a lot. Put a good scope in a 6x24 and test your drops at different ranges. Shoot in the wind and see how it changes your impact.
Do some reading on longrangehunting.com and you will find an incredible amount of information.
Caliber and bullet weight are extremely important. 300 mag and 243 are very different.
Farmview -
Go with the 7mm WSM and shoot it a lot. Put a good scope in a 6x24 and test your drops at different ranges. Shoot in the wind and see how it changes your impact.
Do some reading on longrangehunting.com and you will find an incredible amount of information.
I have never seen a white tail at 600 yards I have seen mule deer and elk but not a white tail. and i live out west.where long shots are common.
MarkS
Silver $$ Contributor
Farmview,
Guy (M700) has hit it on the head, for longrange shooting. You have got some good advice and some off the wall stuff too. You have a lot of rounds to pick from. I am looking to add a barrel to my Bat action for long range deer hunting. This gun is a longrange benchgun, it will be shot from a portable bench. My range limits will be under 700 yds. due to where I hunt.
Alot of the round in the post are the WSM RSUM, and Mag. All are good rounds and will get the job done, but most are barrel burners. You would be lucky to get 1000 to 1200 accurate round before the barrel goes. I am done with barrel burners.
I am looking at the 308 Win ( it is the US Mil. sniper round for good reason) Great accuracy, power, and barrel life.
I had a 7mm-08 then it first came out, and it is a great deer round, but I want a little more punch. One round that may be in the running is the 284 Win. it is making a strong showing in the 1000 yds matches. Look at what these guys are shooting.
Like some of the guys are saying, get a Good scope. I like the LR Leupold and NF there are other good ones. min. 6X24 side f. are best.
The key to long range shooting is knowing the gun and your sight settings. Wind will always be the factor.,learn to shoot in the wind.
If you want to shoot deer at 600yds, then you need the shoot to 1000yds. I shot my first 1000yd benchrest match with a 6mmAI varmint gun, and hit a 4.5" clay in sightin, I was hooked. If you can hit clays at 1000yds, then a deer is a chip shot at 600 yds.
Good luck
Mark Schronce
Guy (M700) has hit it on the head, for longrange shooting. You have got some good advice and some off the wall stuff too. You have a lot of rounds to pick from. I am looking to add a barrel to my Bat action for long range deer hunting. This gun is a longrange benchgun, it will be shot from a portable bench. My range limits will be under 700 yds. due to where I hunt.
Alot of the round in the post are the WSM RSUM, and Mag. All are good rounds and will get the job done, but most are barrel burners. You would be lucky to get 1000 to 1200 accurate round before the barrel goes. I am done with barrel burners.
I am looking at the 308 Win ( it is the US Mil. sniper round for good reason) Great accuracy, power, and barrel life.
I had a 7mm-08 then it first came out, and it is a great deer round, but I want a little more punch. One round that may be in the running is the 284 Win. it is making a strong showing in the 1000 yds matches. Look at what these guys are shooting.
Like some of the guys are saying, get a Good scope. I like the LR Leupold and NF there are other good ones. min. 6X24 side f. are best.
The key to long range shooting is knowing the gun and your sight settings. Wind will always be the factor.,learn to shoot in the wind.
If you want to shoot deer at 600yds, then you need the shoot to 1000yds. I shot my first 1000yd benchrest match with a 6mmAI varmint gun, and hit a 4.5" clay in sightin, I was hooked. If you can hit clays at 1000yds, then a deer is a chip shot at 600 yds.
Good luck
Mark Schronce
Currently shooting at 300 yards, I find 100 grain .243 fare has eyes for the bullseye. Dang, what a deluxe 20x scope can accomplish if it's HELD STEADY! Six hundred yards may take more time to master but if I can, it will happen with my 6mm (.243 Winchester). If Hodgdon H4350 isn't the best, what should I try? Cliffy
Look at the Ferguson .257 Hot Tamale
http://www.fergusonrifles.com/hot_tamale/
http://www.fergusonrifles.com/hot_tamale/
275 STW wow I can only imagine how bad tube life on one of those would be. I am on my second tube on a 7mm STW and it has less than 600rds shot with it. At the end it would just bairly shoot three inch groups at 300yds. It used to keep a 5 shot group under an inch if I would do my part.
EDIT
First tube on 7mm STW lasted less than 600 rds. New tube has less than 50 rds.
EDIT
First tube on 7mm STW lasted less than 600 rds. New tube has less than 50 rds.
farmview,
this is a seriously top of the barn benchrest site,there are many longrange hunters also,but the hunting talk is better shared on the hunting sites,it tends to create arguments as you can see. here is your 3rd invite to ours; to discuss hunting.by no means leave here because this is where we come to learn and share alot of shooting information.
we just came back from a longrange antelope hunt and took several goats with no problems at 400-650-850 and mine at 855yds with a 6.5x47lapua and 130VLD's.
and yes,it was plenty of gun for the job.
http://www.precisionlongrangehunter.com
this is a seriously top of the barn benchrest site,there are many longrange hunters also,but the hunting talk is better shared on the hunting sites,it tends to create arguments as you can see. here is your 3rd invite to ours; to discuss hunting.by no means leave here because this is where we come to learn and share alot of shooting information.
we just came back from a longrange antelope hunt and took several goats with no problems at 400-650-850 and mine at 855yds with a 6.5x47lapua and 130VLD's.
and yes,it was plenty of gun for the job.
http://www.precisionlongrangehunter.com
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!
I live in the MISSOURI flat farm land syobins & Corn.
I am bilding a custom rifle off of a Savage Varmit short action with a small shank.
I wont a caliber that i can shoot 20 rounds a in a day
and not HERT so no Magnoms.
and till kill a deer to a 600 yard Limit.
how a bout these 243win,7mm-08,6.5x55
I am leening to the 7mm-08.
I live in the MISSOURI flat farm land syobins & Corn.
I am bilding a custom rifle off of a Savage Varmit short action with a small shank.
I wont a caliber that i can shoot 20 rounds a in a day
and not HERT so no Magnoms.
and till kill a deer to a 600 yard Limit.
how a bout these 243win,7mm-08,6.5x55
I am leening to the 7mm-08.
Go with the 7-08. You can find factory ammo or you can build some premium ammo but either choice will limit your range.
Farmview
At 600 yds with a 10mph wind with any of the calibers listed you will either miss the deer to his front or gut shoot him.
Fortunately, in the wee hours of the morning, there is often no wind. If you have this condition then the only thing you need to deal with is bullet drop and that is relatively constant.
Build your rifle.(the 7mm-08 will work just fine) Scope it with glass that has a settable zero.
Out in your bean field, post targets all the way out to 600 yds at 50 yd intervals.
Record the elevation dial reading on the scope for every target, laminate it and stick it to your butt. ( the gun butt that is)
Maybe by next fall if you practice, practice, practice you could be ready.
Remember Farmview, the wind, the gentle breeze, the little gusts.... will cause you to miss or even worse... wound!
My five cents worth
At 600 yds with a 10mph wind with any of the calibers listed you will either miss the deer to his front or gut shoot him.
Fortunately, in the wee hours of the morning, there is often no wind. If you have this condition then the only thing you need to deal with is bullet drop and that is relatively constant.
Build your rifle.(the 7mm-08 will work just fine) Scope it with glass that has a settable zero.
Out in your bean field, post targets all the way out to 600 yds at 50 yd intervals.
Record the elevation dial reading on the scope for every target, laminate it and stick it to your butt. ( the gun butt that is)
Maybe by next fall if you practice, practice, practice you could be ready.
Remember Farmview, the wind, the gentle breeze, the little gusts.... will cause you to miss or even worse... wound!
My five cents worth
Hellol,
I am in Missouri right now on a hunt on a fairly large ranch. If you are in the area of Macon, call me 843-270-1409 and I can show you some hardware.
My advice is to go and talk to some folks that are shooting 600 yards and that are willing to mentor you and guide you correctly.
Shooting 600 yards is not hard for someone who shoots a bit, but if you don't, picking up a gun and slinging lead at 600 yards might disappoint you. I zero my guns at 400 and we shoot out to 950 when the opportunity arises...... Funny yesterday with all the long range equipment, the buck that ate the 300 SMK did so at 105 yards.... Too bad it could not have been 605, but sometimes you have to shoot at short distances and that is why you really need to keep in mind flexibility. Having long shooting sticks is great if you have the room to swing it and position the gun. Otherwise, you may want a shorter barrel and that is also something to consider. I use 338 Lapua Improved, 338 Edge and 6x284. That battery will cover a lot of territory. Also, the bullet selection is important. Try using bullets that are over .700 BC as they will be more forgiving in the wind.
James.
I am in Missouri right now on a hunt on a fairly large ranch. If you are in the area of Macon, call me 843-270-1409 and I can show you some hardware.
My advice is to go and talk to some folks that are shooting 600 yards and that are willing to mentor you and guide you correctly.
Shooting 600 yards is not hard for someone who shoots a bit, but if you don't, picking up a gun and slinging lead at 600 yards might disappoint you. I zero my guns at 400 and we shoot out to 950 when the opportunity arises...... Funny yesterday with all the long range equipment, the buck that ate the 300 SMK did so at 105 yards.... Too bad it could not have been 605, but sometimes you have to shoot at short distances and that is why you really need to keep in mind flexibility. Having long shooting sticks is great if you have the room to swing it and position the gun. Otherwise, you may want a shorter barrel and that is also something to consider. I use 338 Lapua Improved, 338 Edge and 6x284. That battery will cover a lot of territory. Also, the bullet selection is important. Try using bullets that are over .700 BC as they will be more forgiving in the wind.
James.
The range in Issaquah [near Seattle] only has 50 and 100 yards.
But this year, I bought a roll of butcher paper and build a 6'x8' target stand out of 2x4s and practiced out to 500 yards with my Leica 1200CRF rangefinder and Kestrel 1000 windmeter, and rifle with MOA target elevation turret.
I made a chart for my 270 based on Quickload that I strap to my rangefinder:
*at 300 yards, shoots 7.2" low [2.29 moa], 7.3" cross deflection in 10mph cross wind, 2347 fps terminal velocity
*at 400 yards, shoots 21.5" low [5.12 moa], 13.7" cross deflection in 10 mph wind, 2054 fps terminal velocity
*at 500 yards, shoots 43.6" low [8.32 moa], 22" cross deflection in 10 mph wind, 1871 fps terminal velocity
If there is no wind, a hit at 500 yards is easy, but in 13 mph wind, a hit at 350 yards is not always easy.
But this year, I bought a roll of butcher paper and build a 6'x8' target stand out of 2x4s and practiced out to 500 yards with my Leica 1200CRF rangefinder and Kestrel 1000 windmeter, and rifle with MOA target elevation turret.
I made a chart for my 270 based on Quickload that I strap to my rangefinder:
*at 300 yards, shoots 7.2" low [2.29 moa], 7.3" cross deflection in 10mph cross wind, 2347 fps terminal velocity
*at 400 yards, shoots 21.5" low [5.12 moa], 13.7" cross deflection in 10 mph wind, 2054 fps terminal velocity
*at 500 yards, shoots 43.6" low [8.32 moa], 22" cross deflection in 10 mph wind, 1871 fps terminal velocity
If there is no wind, a hit at 500 yards is easy, but in 13 mph wind, a hit at 350 yards is not always easy.
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