700 to 1000 yard gun?
- Thread starter EasyE
- Start date
bozo699
Gold $$ Contributor
EasyE,
I think it would boil down to personal preference, but if ethical killing of animals is @ hand I think the smallest I would consider would be a 6.5*.284 on up to .338 Lapua. I think your thought on the .300 is a good one. I think if I could get RWS or Lapua brass I would build a 7mm rem mag or a 7mm-.300 wm for the application you have mentioned. I don't think you can get good enough brass for the short mags for LR work thats jmo, although I have a .300wsm that shoots out to 600 yds good enough for accurate kills but not good enough to compete with. hope this may help some.
Wayne.
I think it would boil down to personal preference, but if ethical killing of animals is @ hand I think the smallest I would consider would be a 6.5*.284 on up to .338 Lapua. I think your thought on the .300 is a good one. I think if I could get RWS or Lapua brass I would build a 7mm rem mag or a 7mm-.300 wm for the application you have mentioned. I don't think you can get good enough brass for the short mags for LR work thats jmo, although I have a .300wsm that shoots out to 600 yds good enough for accurate kills but not good enough to compete with. hope this may help some.
Wayne.
I use 243WIN and I'm happy with it. I'd look at 6.5x47L if not that one, mainly because I want a round that can also feed from a mag with the bullet past the donut.
If you're going to be hunting and target shooting at long range and the game will not be any larger than say large deer or maybe elk, than a 7mm Mag shooting the Berger 180's would probably be the ticket, as that .659BC is sure going to help as the ranges stretch. And a nice long barrel in the 28" range will likely be a must to get as much speed as possible.
But even then, if you are planning on taking game as large as elk or larger past 600-800 yds regularly, then I would probably step up to either a .30 cal capable of throwing a 210 Berger at serious speed, such as the 7.82 Warbird, or even a 338 such as the 8.59 Titan or .338 Lapua. These larger rounds will be very beneficial for taking larger game past 800yds, as they will still have plenty of energy on impact to take down most anything in North America.
But if you just want to kill paper, a .243 will be fine.
But even then, if you are planning on taking game as large as elk or larger past 600-800 yds regularly, then I would probably step up to either a .30 cal capable of throwing a 210 Berger at serious speed, such as the 7.82 Warbird, or even a 338 such as the 8.59 Titan or .338 Lapua. These larger rounds will be very beneficial for taking larger game past 800yds, as they will still have plenty of energy on impact to take down most anything in North America.
But if you just want to kill paper, a .243 will be fine.
TheBlueEyedBear
'The Nut Behind The Trigger'
I was asking the same question not too long ago. After reading many posts on this and other sites, and, reading the 7MM info page on this site: http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/7mm/ I decided to go with the 7SAUM. All components have been purchased and sent to http://www.straightshotgunsmithing.com/ for the build.
7SAUM components:
1) BAT HR RB/RP, integral 20moa rail, integral recoil lug
2) BAT aluminum trigger guard
3) 7mm REM SAUM Reamer .317nk .220fb
4) Jewel BR trigger (1.5oz.)
5) Bartlein 30” SS 1.25 to 1” str. taper 1-9 twist rate, fluted
6) VAIS Muzzle brake
7) polished barrel/muzzle brake
8) McMillan A-5 stock
9) Nightforce 8-32x56 NSX with NP-2DD
10) Barrett BORS for 8-32x56 NSX
11) Barrett 30mm scope rings
12) Graco mercury recoil reducer
13) Stock painting (Madshadow Custom Paint)
7SAUM components:
1) BAT HR RB/RP, integral 20moa rail, integral recoil lug
2) BAT aluminum trigger guard
3) 7mm REM SAUM Reamer .317nk .220fb
4) Jewel BR trigger (1.5oz.)
5) Bartlein 30” SS 1.25 to 1” str. taper 1-9 twist rate, fluted
6) VAIS Muzzle brake
7) polished barrel/muzzle brake
8) McMillan A-5 stock
9) Nightforce 8-32x56 NSX with NP-2DD
10) Barrett BORS for 8-32x56 NSX
11) Barrett 30mm scope rings
12) Graco mercury recoil reducer
13) Stock painting (Madshadow Custom Paint)
bozo699
Gold $$ Contributor
TheBlueEyedBear,
What a Merry Christmas you have given yourself ;D
What made you decide to go with the rem short mag over the win sort mag? The reason I ask is I am going to build a 7 something and initially thought of the short mags but eventually opted for the 280AI because of quality brass but haven't completely ruled out short mags.
@ any rate very nice rifle your building yourself the pronghorns won't be safe @ any reasonable range from you with that in your hands
Wayne.
What a Merry Christmas you have given yourself ;D
What made you decide to go with the rem short mag over the win sort mag? The reason I ask is I am going to build a 7 something and initially thought of the short mags but eventually opted for the 280AI because of quality brass but haven't completely ruled out short mags.
@ any rate very nice rifle your building yourself the pronghorns won't be safe @ any reasonable range from you with that in your hands
Wayne.
TheBlueEyedBear
'The Nut Behind The Trigger'
Wayne;
I really did a lot of research before making this decision. However, I kept coming back to this statement on the 7mm info page at 6mmBR:
Message to Readers: If you are considering a 7mm WSM (or 7mm-300 WSM) you should seriously look at the 7mm Rem SAUM as well. Now that Norma 300 SAUM brass is available it’s a whole new ballgame. And the 7mm SAUM really performs. 7mm WSM shooter Jeff Van Niel tells us:
“I will say this about the 7mm SAUM versus the straight 7mm WSM. I wish I had tried the SAUM before I committed to the 7mm WSM, it would have saved me a bunch of money on gunpowder so far. I shot with Steve Ikeda at last year’s Nevada Palma match and his 7mm SAUM is an absolute hammer. He was shooting with much less (at least 2 or 2.5 MOA) elevation than my 7mm WSM, and doing it with considerably less powder.”
The great brass and the load data is what really swayed me. As you may be able to tell from the chambering, I am pretty much building this gun to shoot the Berger 180gr VLD. I doubt there will be another bullet down this barrel. But I have said that before!!
I almost forgot: There is also the rumor of Norma coming out with 7mmSAUM brass. No necking down!!
I really did a lot of research before making this decision. However, I kept coming back to this statement on the 7mm info page at 6mmBR:
Message to Readers: If you are considering a 7mm WSM (or 7mm-300 WSM) you should seriously look at the 7mm Rem SAUM as well. Now that Norma 300 SAUM brass is available it’s a whole new ballgame. And the 7mm SAUM really performs. 7mm WSM shooter Jeff Van Niel tells us:
“I will say this about the 7mm SAUM versus the straight 7mm WSM. I wish I had tried the SAUM before I committed to the 7mm WSM, it would have saved me a bunch of money on gunpowder so far. I shot with Steve Ikeda at last year’s Nevada Palma match and his 7mm SAUM is an absolute hammer. He was shooting with much less (at least 2 or 2.5 MOA) elevation than my 7mm WSM, and doing it with considerably less powder.”
The great brass and the load data is what really swayed me. As you may be able to tell from the chambering, I am pretty much building this gun to shoot the Berger 180gr VLD. I doubt there will be another bullet down this barrel. But I have said that before!!
I almost forgot: There is also the rumor of Norma coming out with 7mmSAUM brass. No necking down!!
A 338 lapua only way to go.
TheBlueEyedBear
'The Nut Behind The Trigger'
.328 Lapua is a good gun for out here in Montana. I have one that is necked down to 30-338. Shoots like a laser!
Wayne, what about a Lazzeroni Tomahawk or Firebird? The Firebird will push a 160gr bullet to 3550fps and the Tomahawk will go 3150fps. Not bad at all, and it's different.
But to the OP, I think a lot of the choice will ride on the game you want to hunt, as there is a bit of difference from pronghorn to deer to elk to bear, and they will require a bigger round as you go up in size. One important thing to keep in mind, if you have enough gun to kill elk and bear at 1000yds, then you can kill anything smaller at 1000yds as well. It doesn't work the other way, and I would rather have too much gun than not enough if I was shooting that long.
For deer and similar sized game, and even some larger game such as moose, a 7mm Mag from GreyBull Precision would be perfect. They have built an entire business around 1000yd+ hunting rifles that are super accurate, and they really know their stuff. Last time I checked, they only built rifles in 3 calibers, .243, .264 and 7mm Mag and use Berger VLD's for all their hunting and say they are the best hunting bullet going for long range.
If you want to hunt the really large game, such as the larger bears, elk and such, than one of the big screamers will be best. The Lazzeroni rounds have incredible capabilities, the .338 Lapua is obviously a great round, the Remington ultra mags and Weatherby mags are great rounds as well. You have a lot of choices to go with, and many rounds are plenty capable. You just need to figure out what the largest animal you will hunt is and go from there. And if the gun will be used mainly for paper, then you don't want to go overboard with a shoulder breaking, barrel burning monster mag that costs $5 a round to shoot.
It's all a matter of figuring out what you want to do the most and how big of an animal you want to hunt, then it will be easy.
But to the OP, I think a lot of the choice will ride on the game you want to hunt, as there is a bit of difference from pronghorn to deer to elk to bear, and they will require a bigger round as you go up in size. One important thing to keep in mind, if you have enough gun to kill elk and bear at 1000yds, then you can kill anything smaller at 1000yds as well. It doesn't work the other way, and I would rather have too much gun than not enough if I was shooting that long.
For deer and similar sized game, and even some larger game such as moose, a 7mm Mag from GreyBull Precision would be perfect. They have built an entire business around 1000yd+ hunting rifles that are super accurate, and they really know their stuff. Last time I checked, they only built rifles in 3 calibers, .243, .264 and 7mm Mag and use Berger VLD's for all their hunting and say they are the best hunting bullet going for long range.
If you want to hunt the really large game, such as the larger bears, elk and such, than one of the big screamers will be best. The Lazzeroni rounds have incredible capabilities, the .338 Lapua is obviously a great round, the Remington ultra mags and Weatherby mags are great rounds as well. You have a lot of choices to go with, and many rounds are plenty capable. You just need to figure out what the largest animal you will hunt is and go from there. And if the gun will be used mainly for paper, then you don't want to go overboard with a shoulder breaking, barrel burning monster mag that costs $5 a round to shoot.
It's all a matter of figuring out what you want to do the most and how big of an animal you want to hunt, then it will be easy.
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