Long range setup for Sambar deer in Australia

[Canhunter35]

Ballistic reticles aren't real useful because your trajectory changes with air density which changes.
You need an Moa or mil based reticle. Preferably with matching turrets. Moa/Moa or mil/mil. You use the reticle for wind holds and can also make little holdovers at closer ranges.
I use sfp scopes because if I'm shooting an animal far enough that I've ranged it and dialed I'm going to want my scope cranked to max. I haven't found a need for a ffp while hunting yet.
I have 3 6-20x scopes and like them for hunting. I wouldn't go higher than 6 on the low end though.
Whatever scope you choose you need to install a bubble level on it and use it when dialing.
That range finder should serve u well.
Good luck and have fun putting a lr rig together. I have a milspec in 308 and it's a good gun. Actually it the rifle on my profile pic

 

[Bob Bitchen]

Hi, I have just finished setting up a long range Tikka 300wm for a friend of mine to be used out to approx 800yds it cost him $2800 for Rifle, Scope & mounts i assembled it to manufactures specs adjusted the trigger installed alloy pillars and bedded the rifle.
I also developed a hand load with 178grn Eldx shooting approx 1/4moa 3shot group at 100yads. This coupled with Strelok Pro windage and elevation adjustments he is very a capable L/R hunter. I would be more that happy to help you out if you require.
Regards,
Glen.

 

[jjmp]

Welcome rooboy82, & glen s, to the LRH forum, First off the 300 is a Very good step up from the Great 30/06. But to save money Restock your Tikka , and buy a Nightforce in a NSX 3.5x15x50 you pick the retical I prefer moa but that's me,np . buy the best timney replacement trigger you can for your tikka. Consult a Great gunsmith that's likes tikkas (very Important) go visit him and pick his brain, do you reload ??? the 300 rum will put you in the poor house, are you hooked on 30 caliber? 500/600 yds is easy for a good set up 30/06, got one built on a mauser action hart ss bbl 1/10 twist, 27.25 inch , 5.5 conture in a Houge alum/beded stock & a Kippliger set trigger. Or consider the 7mm rem/magnum, lighter recoil more efficient then a 300 win/mag, or stay 30/06 , get stock ,scope , trigger, and you'll still have money left over to buy a Custom 30 cal BBL, and have the smith install it. Go cut-rifled on the bbl if you can swing it. Shoot that 30/06 till you burn out its bbl, and you'll be a Rifleman for sure , bullets im a Barnes fan 168 ttsx or 165 tsx , Partitions 150s 165s good too, bigger bullets recoil more and take up powder room, use cheaper bullets for practice,sierra hornady, etc etc. Your the boss its your money spend it wisely, don't scrimp on the Scope don't even 2nd guess your 1st choice.sfp is great, forget ffp scopes again just mho. FYI I own a 300w/mag target r & its more efficient then a 300 rum, mine sports a 28 inch bbl. & ive owned & miss my sold NF/NSX 3.5x15x50. the 338 w/mag own one to ha ha lol, great cartridge, many mostly cant handle the recoil, got to roll with it , or brake it ,or EDM, holes in bbl I did and it don't kik as bad , hits with authority , not the flattest but it'll do the job from 450 to 550 with the rite trigger nut behind it. lots of great info now you have my 2 cents worth ! Cheers !!!

 

[Bob Bitchen]

Unfortunatly here in Aust and the value of our dollar to the us dollar lack of volume & rifle sales, it is a lot more expensive to set up a rifle. Stainless Tikka Syn stock $1200..
Rings and bases $150-$200.. Zeiss V6 3-18 is $2400.. Timmney Trig $350.. A quality stock without bedding $350.. With alloy bedding block $500.. and up.
I have many Tikkas and they will shoot L/R with quality Handloads and quality work carried out on the factory stock with trigger work. And can be done within a tight budget.
Cheers.
Glen.
R & R Firearms.

 

[sydhunter]

The 30'06 will be fine as most have said. The 338WM in the tikka will recoil significantly more. I have one in an x-bolt that is loaded with 225 grain accubonds I use for Sambar and red stag, I have not had to shoot past 200m with it on game.

The Leopold Vx5, & Vx6 scopes offer good turret options, the Swaro Z5 will also get you beyond 500m with the 30'06. There are lots of hunters with the 338 Edge in Victoria but that is the dedicated long range cannon, large heavy guns built on Remington RUM actions. The 300 weatherby is also used by some.

A friend of mine has used the 178 grain Eldx on sambar from 40m to 500m with good results in a 300wsm. I have used the 175LRX on Sambar, red deer and chamois out of a 300wsm out to 440m with good results. The 30'06 is not too far behind, and most tikkas are already very accurate.

I would use most of that budget on a good scope, range finder and practice, unless you really want a new rifle, if you do there's plenty of options as more experienced members have suggested. Enjoy the process!!

 

[jjmp]

I target shoot my 338 w -mag more then hunt it,300-500 pretty easy but at 625 she really drops fast,thats with 250 gn Sierras bt's & 250 gn Sierra Match Kings dont mean it aint Effective or Efficient. Cost per shot the Great30/06 still wins , keep us posted thks again !

 

[WildRose]

The 30'06 will be fine as most have said. The 338WM in the tikka will recoil significantly more. I have one in an x-bolt that is loaded with 225 grain accubonds I use for Sambar and red stag, I have not had to shoot past 200m with it on game.

The Leopold Vx5, & Vx6 scopes offer good turret options, the Swaro Z5 will also get you beyond 500m with the 30'06. There are lots of hunters with the 338 Edge in Victoria but that is the dedicated long range cannon, large heavy guns built on Remington RUM actions. The 300 weatherby is also used by some.

A friend of mine has used the 178 grain Eldx on sambar from 40m to 500m with good results in a 300wsm. I have used the 175LRX on Sambar, red deer and chamois out of a 300wsm out to 440m with good results. The 30'06 is not too far behind, and most tikkas are already very accurate.

I would use most of that budget on a good scope, range finder and practice, unless you really want a new rifle, if you do there's plenty of options as more experienced members have suggested. Enjoy the process!!

In all honesty the difference in recoil with equal bullets is not that great. I'm not particularly tough and my .300wm's don't bother me at all.

When you step up to the .338wm the heavier bullets do make for noticeably more recoil than either.

The .300wm however for LR work will outperform the .338wm though so if it were me and I was stepping up and out from the 06 it would definitely be to the .300wm.

 

[kiwikid]

Being in Australia another option you have is the new Schultz and Larsen rifles. Lapped cut rifling and in 7mm RM,
300 WSM, 300 WM, 338 WM and the mighty 358 Norma Magnum. All the ones I own and others that I have used have been extremely accurate. Just something else to think about.
Oops, suddenly realized that this is another old thread that has resurfaced.

 

[CJS-6.5]

Ballistic reticles aren't real useful because your trajectory changes with air density which changes.
You need an Moa or mil based reticle. Preferably with matching turrets. Moa/Moa or mil/mil. You use the reticle for wind holds and can also make little holdovers at closer ranges.
I use sfp scopes because if I'm shooting an animal far enough that I've ranged it and dialed I'm going to want my scope cranked to max. I haven't found a need for a ffp while hunting yet.
I have 3 6-20x scopes and like them for hunting. I wouldn't go higher than 6 on the low end though.
Whatever scope you choose you need to install a bubble level on it and use it when dialing.
That range finder should serve u well.
Good luck and have fun putting a lr rig together. I have a milspec in 308 and it's a good gun. Actually it the rifle on my profile pic

This is ok info. I would however recommend ffp if you are using a ballistic calculator such as a Kestrel. In high pressure hunting scenarios you can range with the reticle very fast and then enter data to get a quick firing solution. If not then stay sfp.

 

[Joel7891]

New member, first post. Looking for some advice.

I've recently become interested in long range Sambar hunting. Until now the the deer i've taken have been at under 300m. I've had opportunities out much further but haven't been confident with my current setup or my ability to achieve an ethical kill shot at that range. Currently using a tikka t3 lite 30-06 with leupold vx-1 3-9x40. This setup serves me well for the backpack hunting i've been doing in Victoria, Australia, but i'm thinking i'd also like a long range rig that would be capable of taking a big sambar stag at 500m+. I understand that it will take a lot of time at the range to develop my skills for these shots but what I need to figure out first is what caliber, what rifle, and what scope? The budget I'm looking at is about $3000 AU for the rifle and scope.

The 300 win mag seems to be popular and there are a lot of rifles in my budget chambered in that caliber but I kind of feel like its not enough of a step up from the 30-06 to justify having both.

My Tikka is a very accurate rifle so I've been considering getting another one in 338wm but have been seeing a lot of conflicting opinions online about the 338wm long range ability. Any thoughts on this?

The Remington 700 in 300rum has really got my interest. My main concern with this is that from what I've read on other threads the remington 700s need a whole lot of work to get under 1 moa groups. (i.e. after market trigger, barrel, stock, bedding) With the rem700 prices around here ranging from about $1200 for the SPS to $1450 for the Long Range or $2500 for the Sendero, all that extra work would blow my budget and leave me nothing for a scope. Can someone clarify why all that extra work would be necessary? How could the remington 700 be so popular if it doesn't even offer accuracy straight out of the box?

I'm probably picking between the 3 calibers mentioned above unless someone can suggest something i've missed. As far as optics go i'm thinking of something like a Nightforce scope with MRAD but what magnification would you guys suggest for the calibers i'm considering for the ranges I'm looking at?

I will admit that i am inexperienced when it come to long range hunting but i'm keen to learn so any advice, recommendations, or information would be appreciated

Thanks

G day rooboy82,

I'm in exactly the same boat looking at a sambar hunt in September and also have a rem 700 in 30-06 bell and Carlson sporter stock and nightforce attacr 5-25X56 currently running 168 eld M and have had great success on pigs and tahr on recent hunt in nz out to 500 M.. Iv decided to step upto the 178 ELD M to alow me to reach out to 700M and still put 1000ft pound into a sambar.. ( which at the moment is where my skills are at ) if you look up Nathan foster terminal ballistic research he has a **** load of cartridge performance and projectile performance at long ranges as well as 5 series of books on All things long range related very helpful and no BS.. I'd say stick with the 06 for now and chuck some new glass that allows you to reach out if needed... also practice practice practice and some more mate
Before reaching out at distance

Good luck