LR Hunting Cartridge suggestions
- Thread starter Coolhand
- Start date
How far does he wanna shoot?
Is he building from the ground, up?
Or, do you have an action in hand? (if so, what's the boltface?)
If he's building from scratch, take a hard look at the Norma Mags in both .300 and .338 flavors. The 338Norma will nearly match the 338Lapua at standard long action mag. length, and the 300Norma will nearly match the 300RUM under those same constraints. Only caveat to the those big Norma Mags is having to build on a .595" boltface. Same difference as the 338Lapua, but larger than the RUM, Edge, etc...
If he's got a standard LA w/.550 magnum boltface, I'd prolly lean toward a .338Edge to get the most from that existing action. Going smaller, there's the 300WinMag, 7RemMag, 7&300WSM, and those new Nosler cartridges to consider.
F.w.i.w., inside of 800yds, I've had no problems on deer with both the 7WSM & 6.5SAUM.
For true big boomer duty, I'm building a wildcat off the .338 Norma Mag. Necked down, it should be pushing a 215Hybrid upwards of 3200fps. Run those #s and you'll see that is some big medicine to deliver at distance...
Good luck & have fun deciding!
Is he building from the ground, up?
Or, do you have an action in hand? (if so, what's the boltface?)
If he's building from scratch, take a hard look at the Norma Mags in both .300 and .338 flavors. The 338Norma will nearly match the 338Lapua at standard long action mag. length, and the 300Norma will nearly match the 300RUM under those same constraints. Only caveat to the those big Norma Mags is having to build on a .595" boltface. Same difference as the 338Lapua, but larger than the RUM, Edge, etc...
If he's got a standard LA w/.550 magnum boltface, I'd prolly lean toward a .338Edge to get the most from that existing action. Going smaller, there's the 300WinMag, 7RemMag, 7&300WSM, and those new Nosler cartridges to consider.
F.w.i.w., inside of 800yds, I've had no problems on deer with both the 7WSM & 6.5SAUM.
For true big boomer duty, I'm building a wildcat off the .338 Norma Mag. Necked down, it should be pushing a 215Hybrid upwards of 3200fps. Run those #s and you'll see that is some big medicine to deliver at distance...
Good luck & have fun deciding!
Not knowing what the intended game this would be used for makes a difference. We could assume large if your perusing the 338 calibers. If nothing more than white-tailed deer sized game than don't overlook the 6mm's. A 105 grain Berger bullet is a very good choice when driven at speeds. Really, anything 6 XC and bigger will make a killing machine out beyond 1000 yards. The 6 XC, 243AI, 6-06, etc, etc. These are flat rounds that will kill just as dead as a 338LM with less drop mind you. The 338 has the edge in wind drift and ft-lbs but that doesn't come in until 1200+ yds and who is hunting any further than that??
Dan
Dan
slm9s
Gold $$ Contributor
What does your friend consider long range? 600? 900? 1200?
Does your friend reload?
Do you see the rifle being shot 100 rounds a month or more like 100 rounds a year? Some LR cartridges do not give great barrel life.
Are we talking deer, or elk/moose/bear?
300 win mag or 7 rem mag are great rounds with plentiful over the counter ammo.
If he wants something unique: 264wm, 26nosler, 7stw, 7RUM, 28nosler, 308norma, 300RUM, 338RUM, 338edge, 338lapua.
Lots of solid options
Does your friend reload?
Do you see the rifle being shot 100 rounds a month or more like 100 rounds a year? Some LR cartridges do not give great barrel life.
Are we talking deer, or elk/moose/bear?
300 win mag or 7 rem mag are great rounds with plentiful over the counter ammo.
If he wants something unique: 264wm, 26nosler, 7stw, 7RUM, 28nosler, 308norma, 300RUM, 338RUM, 338edge, 338lapua.
Lots of solid options
dantiff2 said:
My buddys son currently owns 22/250 , .270 , .308. My buddy George has 22/250 , .308 , 25/06 , .338 Win Mag , .458 Win Mag.
Well ranges can be anything from 100-1200 yards.
There is a mountain spur that has down one side a large system of caves , feral goats just love this area and are very hard to approach from any direction. Also the goats in this area travel a fairly predictable route over 3 cattle properties.
Quite often when we seen them it is when driving down the various roads. Some times we just sit a glass the valleys and more often than not we pick them up in the lower pastures so the ranges are usually long. I have manged to pick a few off with a .260 Rem & 140 grainers but there many times that the .260 Rem is just a bit too small.
George called me today , said that he has found a MK V Weatherby .378 going cheap which might be a candidate for a re barrel & chamber job but to what cartridge ?
I like the suggestion of the .338 Norma myself.
Thanks for the replies Guys.
Mike
Well ranges can be anything from 100-1200 yards.
There is a mountain spur that has down one side a large system of caves , feral goats just love this area and are very hard to approach from any direction. Also the goats in this area travel a fairly predictable route over 3 cattle properties.
Quite often when we seen them it is when driving down the various roads. Some times we just sit a glass the valleys and more often than not we pick them up in the lower pastures so the ranges are usually long. I have manged to pick a few off with a .260 Rem & 140 grainers but there many times that the .260 Rem is just a bit too small.
George called me today , said that he has found a MK V Weatherby .378 going cheap which might be a candidate for a re barrel & chamber job but to what cartridge ?
I like the suggestion of the .338 Norma myself.
Thanks for the replies Guys.
Mike
Accuracy kills with an adequate bullet. I use many cartridges to hunt long range including a 338 Norma. For goats I would be looking at 300 Win or similar with a 215 Hybrid, or a 7mm mag with a 180 Hybrid. If the shot are on the longer end I favor a good accurate 30 cal. There are plenty of lesser cartridges that will work and I've pushed some to their limits. The 338's hit hard but often aren't needed, I often leave the 338 home unless conditions dictated, wind location shot angle etc. For culling at times I bring a couple rifle and pick the best for the conditions. Being where you are from I take it you will encounter many long and high angle shots with mountain / canyon winds so for me bigger, faster, heavier and high BC come to mind.
Just mu .02
Just mu .02
Drop Port , good info , personally I think something in the 7mm -.30 cal would do nicely, even though I like the look of the .338 Norma.
But its not my buy, my buddys son wants something that "goes hard ". I suspect there might be a bit of testosterone raging around!
I can't think of too many times where we would need to make a shot over approx 800 yards but trying to convince a 24 year old that .338 is not needed is a chore.
Mike.
But its not my buy, my buddys son wants something that "goes hard ". I suspect there might be a bit of testosterone raging around!
I can't think of too many times where we would need to make a shot over approx 800 yards but trying to convince a 24 year old that .338 is not needed is a chore.
Mike.
Coolhand said:
I understand, the 338's are fun and the energy on target is impressive. The 338 Norma is great choice and easy to load for. The 300 Norma launching 230's also packs some punch. If brass doesn't matter as much the 300 Rum or 338 - 300 Rum will do the trick. If he loads and wants a little more the 338 Lap Improved is some serious medicine launching 300 grainers around 3K. fps.
CJ6
Silver $$ Contributor
I HIGHLY suggest that he actually SHOOTS a rig similar in caliber and weight to what he thinks he's going to build. You need a lot of practice to shoot long, and if you're not comfortable with the recoil/muzzle pressure/noise of some of the larger cased 30's or 338's you're not going to shoot it well.
Jumping in caliber from a 270/308 all the way to a large cased 338 is a mighty big jump. IMHO he should go to a 300 Win mag. and stay away from muzzle brakes. The benefits are outweighed by the hearing loss which occurs even with double protection. It has the range and accuracy that he needs at a recoil and decibel level that he can probably handle with adequate precautions.
:-[At 800 yards, a 105 VLD has around 1000 ft lbs when cranked from something like a 6-284 or 6-06. Regardless of ft lbs, it comes down to terminal performance of the bullet. When the velocity gets down at these ranges, most bullets do little more than poke holes ( no expansion). I have seen the 105 all mangled up from steel at 1000 yards fired at only 2800 from my BR. Ive watched plenty of videoed long range hunts where the animal never even appeared to be hit when shot with BIG magnums only to be buckled by something smaller in the 7mm range. It's just my opinion, although many animals are killed every year by poor performing bullets...
Dan
Dan
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