New here - need some advice/thoughts

[yoteslayer]

I would also look at vx6 3-18 they have good glass the ones I have been around track well I think they weigh around 19 oz and more in your price range you may find one in the classifieds probably be best to reload so you can pick your bullet and squeeze every bit of accuracy out of your rifle good luck

 

[OmegaRed]

Spend $$ on shooting your gun, just as much as you spend on the gun and scope. Stepping out over 500 or so is a different animal when wind reads come into play.

 

[yoteslayer]

Just noticed on eBay one of the sellers had a vx6 3-18 for 1399 that's a pretty good buy

 

[TG-5150]

I will be traveling to Montana for an elk hunt next November (4th time out there). My 30.06 worked well the past 2 years and the 250 yd shots I took were successful. I've practiced out to 400 yds off sticks and backpacks and I'm comfortable at that range. The problem is I couldn't reach out to 700-800 yds where we spotted some very large bulls. I just purchased a Savage Stealth Evolution (300 win mag) and will be adding a scope to the rifle in the next week. From everything I'm reading, and speaking with some other long range hunters, I decided NOT to spend $4k-5K on a custom rifle. I spent $1,600 on the Savage. The reviews on the Stealth Evolution all seem to be favorable and everyone is telling me to put good glass on the rifle and hand load for accuracy. So I have a few questions and I'm hoping you guys can give me some good input:

1. I'm looking at Night Force/Vortex and Leupold scopes with max magnification of 22. I've been told not to go to 25 magnification because it will limit my field of view. Am I thinking/being told correctly? My price range on scopes is up top $2,000.
2. I'm on the edge when it comes to hand loading - I know Federal/Hornady/Nosler all make good factory loads - is that enough when shooting at 800 yds?
3. Should I be looking at 180 gr. or go into the 200-225 gr. bullets.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

JoeyT

With the 9.3 twist they come with, bullet selection will be pretty good. As far as factory ammo goes, you may very well like the 200 gr. ELD-x Hornady Precision Hunters.
As mentioned, reloading will improve your overall game, with all the data and a friend that's experienced, I would jump right in.
As far as scopes go, There are better opinions than mine on this forum.
Please let us know how that rifle shoots, I'm a savage fan and have wondered about the Stealths abilities.

 

[dougduey]

Go and look at as many scopes as you can within your price range and see what you really like. My dedicated elk rifle is a 300 WSM and I have a Swarovski Z5 5-25 on it. I like having more magnification just in case I need it. My Swarovski scope is very light, which helps keep my rifle light. I don't notice it on my shoulder when humping up and down mountains chasing elk all day. So, consider the weight when choosing. That being said, I also have a few NightForce scopes (the NXS and ATACR). Great scopes, but they are tanks. They balance out the rifles that they are on very well, but I do notice the weight. I just put a Zeiss V6 5-30x56 on my 6.5-284 Norma. Great scope. Great glass and a little lighter than the NF. I'm super happy with this scope. Another scope to consider are the new Tract Optics scopes. A friend of mine got one recently and I'm really impressed with it. It has Schott glass, and the clarity is impressive.

With factory ammo, I'd look at the Hornady Precision Hunter with the 200 gr ELDX bullet. This is the bullet I use in my handloads for my 300 WSM, and it's a hammer on elk. You're just going to have to try out a few different brands to see what shoots best in your rifle

 

[lancetkenyon]

Here is my personal take.
A high quality 3-15×50, 3-18×50, 4-16×42,, 3-20×50, etc. will outshine a mediocre 5-25×50 all day, every day. 15-18x is plenty for shooting out to 800-1000, especially on deer/elk sized game. I have made shots on coyotes @ 1327 & 1365 on 16/17x. Just yesterday, we were shooting at 545, 752, 851, 921, 1181, 1251 with my 6CM that wears a TT315M. Plenty of scope to shoot a 2" 5 shot group @ 851. And not at all underpowered for the 1251 yard shots. Tracking and return to zero are VITAL! Reticles are all preference. I like fairly simple ones with .2-.5MIL subtensions but no "Christmas Trees". I also only shoot FFP scopes, as subtensions are always accurate, on any magnification you are set on. I would sacrifice a bit of extra weight for an exceptional scope all day long as well.

As for factory ammo, the one major thing that would limit longer range shots is consistency. They might shoot great at 100-200, factory loads sure seem to lack in the ES/SD category. I have seen "premium" ammo like Hornady Precision Hunter, Nosler Trophy Grade, and HSM Gold all have big swings in ES, up to 100+fps. Good hand loads should be in the single.digit to mid 20fps at most. Plus, you can tailor them to your exact specs and choice of bullet, powder, velocity, seating depth, etc. If you have a buddy willing to reload for you, take him up on it. Any good reloads should be able to surpass good factory loads.
I would be looking at a 200-215 bullet, around 2900-3000fps in the .300WM. Elk magic out to 1000+.
A good rangefinder is a must. Leica 1600B, G7 BR2, Sig Kilo 2400, etc. Couple that with a good wind meter (I like Kestrel) and lots of practice, you should be golden. Practice further than you plan to hunt (out to 1200), and even 800 will be easier.