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800 yard rifle

If you personal/ethical max range for game is 500y why go with a magnum? You will be toting extra weight for zero gain in ballistic capability that non-magnum calibers offer.

I have my grandfather's 1947 Model 70 30-06. He took many elk with it. Yet, in 1952 (the year first offered) he bought a 70 Featherweight in 270 just for hiking elk country. Of course he never contemplated taking game at distances we do today. Very very few men in his day understood ballistics to the degree or had the data at their fingertips or field of view we have today.

If you have the disposable income, build what your heart asks for!

But I'd be putting that money into training with folks like Todd Hodnett and competing in PRS or F Class to gain long range experience. The older gents in F Class took me under the wing in the 80s and taught me so many things about long distance shooting; I will be forever grateful.

Folks like Todd can take you into the back country and teach things that are important for a successful hunt at long range hunt. Consider the money spent as an investment. I would not recommend simply pounding lead 1000y down range without some formal training. Yes, you can get "there" without formal training, but, you will find success much faster with formal help and most likely avoid ingraining bad habits.

Once you're there, build that new long range blaster.

My favorite LR magnum...300NM in a lightweight stock. But barrel life of the 300NM is half that of a 300WM. I have 193 rounds through my Bartlein; a large percentage for load development based on elevation and temp. I expect to replace the barrel between 1000-1200 rounds based on prevailing life expectancy data.
 
I'm planning a new build and want to get everyone's opinion on calibers. I have a 270, 308, and 300wm as my primary hunting rifles. Have a few others in smaller calibers for "fun."

Right now I'm not comfortable past 500 yards and I honestly don't think illl ever take a shot past 700-800 yards when I get more range time at those distances. So with a 800 yard max range is there anything a 300wm can't do on game up to an elk? I keep toying with the idea of a 28 Nosler or the new "fancy" 7 prc but I don't really see that much benefit when I compare them to the 300wm. Sure I could step up to the 338 calibers but sticking with 300 WM I already have components to load and if I need factory ammo it's relatively available.

My question is will I be missing out on a huge advantage with a different caliber. I don't think so but open to suggestions. At this stage in my life I don't have time to play with loading as much and spend more time shooting. Can anyone talk me out of a new 300wm?
300 PRC is a fun one. Get one, shoot it a lot...stressed, and then shoot it some more
 
I'll go one better and say if you don't practice at farther ranges and stressed often than you probably should shoot past your "confidence" range. Confidence on a good day on a known distance range close to home is a lot different that five days into a seven day hunt, cold, tired, and really wanting the round to connect.
Amen!
 
I gotta go against the flow for only one reason. Get a new cartridge because you can not because you need it. 300WM will do everything you want X 100. I would go with the 7stw/28nos. THE DEADLIEST ELK LOAD I HAVE EVER SEEN....7RM, 160PT @3000fps. My experience with those 7's is the bigger ones will run 250-300fps faster.
 
Sir, I'm the noob here although a long time rifleman ( not LR) . the not-so-well-known-member suggests you have plenty of kinetics to reliably take game to 500m+. If your 300wm isn't optimized yet to sub-moa with superior optics, that would be job 2.
Job#1 sir would be to become exceptionally proficient with the 300 wm that you have in your hand past 500m. 600m 900m would be good practice or whatever you have available. You know, get to the point where 300M is a layup and 500m is easy practice.

Chief, I don't know about you but as a kid enjoying shooting , in uniform runnin'n gunnin' or as a middle aged shooter/hunter, my shooting physicality was never much an issue. Awareness, yes, yet no issue. Now, in OF status dressed with chrome dome, my physicality becomes more of an issue. While "YMMV" this is why Job1 is drill, Job 2 is platform optimization imho. ( my " LR practice rifles" are in 30-06/3.08 for now!)

Hey, noob question if y'all wouldn't mind. When I first started chasing whitetails up close and personal ( to you Westerners) here in the NE, I reckoned a 9" paper plate was a good facsimile of the boiler room target in the woods. AS I start to learn LR shooting ( and hunting eventually) is that still an adequate "kill zone" @ 500+m although the game are larger?
 
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I'm planning a new build and want to get everyone's opinion on calibers. I have a 270, 308, and 300wm as my primary hunting rifles. Have a few others in smaller calibers for "fun."

Right now I'm not comfortable past 500 yards and I honestly don't think illl ever take a shot past 700-800 yards when I get more range time at those distances. So with a 800 yard max range is there anything a 300wm can't do on game up to an elk? I keep toying with the idea of a 28 Nosler or the new "fancy" 7 prc but I don't really see that much benefit when I compare them to the 300wm. Sure I could step up to the 338 calibers but sticking with 300 WM I already have components to load and if I need factory ammo it's relatively available.

My question is will I be missing out on a huge advantage with a different caliber. I don't think so but open to suggestions. At this stage in my life I don't have time to play with loading as much and spend more time shooting. Can anyone talk me out of a new 300wm?
Stay with the 300 Win Mag! It Carrie's the speed and energy to cleanly take animals at that distance. And ammo is available almost anywhere.
 
Another vote for tuning up your 300 win mag! In the picture you will see my REM 700 that I had the following work done on: Douglas barrel installed, bedding, trigger job, decelerator pad, deresonator, and Kuiu camo dipped. It shoots 1/2 inch groups with Choice Ammunition (168 barnes ttsx @ 3243 fps) and works well on your intended target animal. I didn't add a muzzle break… I've thought about it, but didn't want to mess with my current results, but I probably would have if I was starting over again. I hope this helps!
D93CA0EE-AFBB-45A7-ACA9-85326DC6446C.jpeg
 
Maybe some one will post the following 1 The bullet drop at 100 yard intervals 2 the bullet energy at 100 yard intervals for different calibers .
 
I'm going to go against the flow too, but for different reason.

Living in CA, and I assume doing at least some hunting there, you should make a new build specifically for very long, lathe-turned, heavy copper mono's. That is, 1 in 7" twist for 7mm, or 1 in 8" twist for 30 cal.

Those long copper mono's are going to take up a lot of case space, so'll you'll need big cases. For 7mm, I would chamber in 28 Nosler. Almost any action can be set up for 3.850" magazines, which are long enough for 28 Nosler.

30 cal is a little more difficult. 300 RUM is a great chambering, but pretty long for most action and magazine set-ups. 300 Lapua and 300 Norma Improved are great chamberings too, but need actions with larger diameter bolts and tenons. You would need to talk to your gunsmith about the plusses and minuses of the various large-case-capacity 30 cal chamberings.
 
Maybe some one will post the following 1 The bullet drop at 100 yard intervals 2 the bullet energy at 100 yard intervals for different calibers .
There are plenty of apps (most are free) that can do that. Most bullet manufacturers also offer them on their websites.
 
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I'm planning a new build and want to get everyone's opinion on calibers. I have a 270, 308, and 300wm as my primary hunting rifles. Have a few others in smaller calibers for "fun."

Right now I'm not comfortable past 500 yards and I honestly don't think illl ever take a shot past 700-800 yards when I get more range time at those distances. So with a 800 yard max range is there anything a 300wm can't do on game up to an elk? I keep toying with the idea of a 28 Nosler or the new "fancy" 7 prc but I don't really see that much benefit when I compare them to the 300wm. Sure I could step up to the 338 calibers but sticking with 300 WM I already have components to load and if I need factory ammo it's relatively available.

My question is will I be missing out on a huge advantage with a different caliber. I don't think so but open to suggestions. At this stage in my life I don't have time to play with loading as much and spend more time shooting. Can anyone talk me out of a new 300wm?
No reason to talk you out of it. The 300 win will work for anything in North America with the proper load!
 
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