What Is The Best Hunting Cartridge To 500 yds.

[sturner]

Take a look at 28 nosler or 7mm STW. If i was me looking for a 500 yard rifle i would look at BC and wind drift before drop. Calculating bullet drop is simple. The most difficult part of long range shooting is doping wind drift. My personal choice is 7mm mag. Not the best but a great balance of drop, drift and managble recoil. Next for me would be 300 win mag. However i have had a recent fascination for the 28 nosler.

Lose it I got one not impress stick with the 300 or 7

 

[greenejc]

The Nosler is a good round, but not available everywhere. The 7mm Rem Mag and the 300 Win Mag are both readily available nearly everywhere in the world. I personally like the 300 over the 7mm, especially inside 500 yards, but it has quite a bit of recoil. All the larger 7mm's and 30's from the 280 Rem up through the 300 Win Mag are more than adequate for anything up to elk and moose. It just comes down to preference. I still favor the 30-06 for its combination of manageable recoil, power, and ability to use heavy bullets with high density without getting beat to death, and with a reasonably flat trajectory at 500 to 700 yards.

 

[Alibiiv]

Nice shot. At that range, he probably didn't even notice the sound of the shot. And yes, all of the things you mentioned (altitude, barrel length and several other things have an effect on MV. I shoot a 35 Whelen, which I use to make shots to 700 yards, and I don't doubt there are those who would say its a bad round for distance, too. However, it hits like a hammer at distance, and makes an entrance hole that's about .37 caliber. Exit holes are much, much larger. And most animals won't react to the noise of a shot if they are at a distance. They don't attach it to danger. I've shot deer at 400 yards and more and had the herd just mill around or even run towards me and stop. If they don't see you or smell you, sometimes they'll just stand there and die without reacting to the sound or the hit. The sound comes significantly later than the hit and they don't make the connection. Again, good shot. But back to the question posed in this post, about best under 500 yards. I'd still go with the 30-06. Why? Because I just like the -06 for its combination of range, bullet weight, selection, availability, effectiveness, versitility and penetration with the heavier bullets. Oh, and I just like the -06 because.

I thought that I was the only "crazy" one who shoots a 35 Whelen past 50 or 100 yards. I am limited to 300 yards with my Whelen because that the the longest distance that I have a range for. I also have a .358 Winchester that I pound steel plates with all day long at 300 yards; and.....both of these cartridges hit like the hammer of Thor!! I hunt black bear so the shooting is close, and very devastating. Usually the guide will ask what we are hunting with (my son and me), when we tell him Whelens he smiles. When asked the reason for the smile he says, "Because we don't have to track them with the Whelen." I commend the OP for recognizing his limits for shooting long range, only wish more hunters would do the same. Perhaps I missed it in the postings here, but did not read what the OP is using the rifle for other than shots out to 500 yards. I would suggest anything in the .270 WSM, 7mm RemMag, 30-06 category for thin skinned animals. The .270WSM is quite often overlooked, for what reason I do not know, probably because corporate America is touting is latest and greatest long range, 2000 yard T-Rex round. I have a friend who shot a very large mule deer with a .270WSM that was bedded down at 485 yards twice because he though he shot over the deer the first time. When they got up to the deer they found two hole, 2 inches apart, the deer never moved. The dirt they saw that kicked up behind the deer on the first shot a through-and-through. Presently he is in Wyoming (?) using the same .270WSM on an elk hunt. Any game that can bite me I would recommend the .338 Winchester, but.....I don't think there are too many guides who would recommend taking shots at dangerous game out to 500 yards. These are my humble recommendations.

 

[Will Gray]

I hunted for the first time with my 375RUM. Short range shots: old feral boar and a young doe. Devastating hits. Good ballistics on a 300g SGK at 2900fps. At 500yds it should be just under 2000fps with energy at 2600 ft-lbs. It is becoming my favorite round.

 

[Rhino Hunter]

I fully concur! 257 Wby hard to beat, fun to shoot, recoil is minimum. Love shooting my MK5 RC... deadly accurate!

My .257 Wby Mark V Accumark is my favorite gun for longer ranges. Being from Michigan 500 yards is a VERY long range. LOL.

 

[rbTanzan]

The .270WSM is quite often overlooked, for what reason I do not know,

One should add the 270 Winchester. The 270 Win can be loaded very close to the WSN and shoots the same bullets.
What should one do on the 270Win route? Choose a good bullet with a good BC. Find an accurate node and then hunt to 500 yards, confidently. (Disclaimer: I am partial to the 338WinMag, but I recognize that the 270Win can hold its head high in the 300-500-yard range. The 20WSM, too.)

 

[Will Gray]

I thought that I was the only "crazy" one who shoots a 35 Whelen past 50 or 100 yards. I am limited to 300 yards with my Whelen because that the the longest distance that I have a range for. I also have a .358 Winchester that I pound steel plates with all day long at 300 yards; and.....both of these cartridges hit like the hammer of Thor!! I hunt black bear so the shooting is close, and very devastating. Usually the guide will ask what we are hunting with (my son and me), when we tell him Whelens he smiles. When asked the reason for the smile he says, "Because we don't have to track them with the Whelen." I commend the OP for recognizing his limits for shooting long range, only wish more hunters would do the same. Perhaps I missed it in the postings here, but did not read what the OP is using the rifle for other than shots out to 500 yards. I would suggest anything in the .270 WSM, 7mm RemMag, 30-06 category for thin skinned animals. The .270WSM is quite often overlooked, for what reason I do not know, probably because corporate America is touting is latest and greatest long range, 2000 yard T-Rex round. I have a friend who shot a very large mule deer with a .270WSM that was bedded down at 485 yards twice because he though he shot over the deer the first time. When they got up to the deer they found two hole, 2 inches apart, the deer never moved. The dirt they saw that kicked up behind the deer on the first shot a through-and-through. Presently he is in Wyoming (?) using the same .270WSM on an elk hunt. Any game that can bite me I would recommend the .338 Winchester, but.....I don't think there are too many guides who would recommend taking shots at dangerous game out to 500 yards. These are my humble recommendations.

Yes! the 35 Whelen and 358 Winchester are GREAT rounds for hunting. They hit hard. I have a 358/300RUM wildcat that pushes those 35 caliber bullets even faster: great caliber.

 

[Gater]

I thought that I was the only "crazy" one who shoots a 35 Whelen past 50 or 100 yards. I am limited to 300 yards with my Whelen because that the the longest distance that I have a range for. I also have a .358 Winchester that I pound steel plates with all day long at 300 yards; and.....both of these cartridges hit like the hammer of Thor!! I hunt black bear so the shooting is close, and very devastating. Usually the guide will ask what we are hunting with (my son and me), when we tell him Whelens he smiles. When asked the reason for the smile he says, "Because we don't have to track them with the Whelen." I commend the OP for recognizing his limits for shooting long range, only wish more hunters would do the same. Perhaps I missed it in the postings here, but did not read what the OP is using the rifle for other than shots out to 500 yards. I would suggest anything in the .270 WSM, 7mm RemMag, 30-06 category for thin skinned animals. The .270WSM is quite often overlooked, for what reason I do not know, probably because corporate America is touting is latest and greatest long range, 2000 yard T-Rex round. I have a friend who shot a very large mule deer with a .270WSM that was bedded down at 485 yards twice because he though he shot over the deer the first time. When they got up to the deer they found two hole, 2 inches apart, the deer never moved. The dirt they saw that kicked up behind the deer on the first shot a through-and-through. Presently he is in Wyoming (?) using the same .270WSM on an elk hunt. Any game that can bite me I would recommend the .338 Winchester, but.....I don't think there are too many guides who would recommend taking shots at dangerous game out to 500 yards. These are my humble recommendations.

.300 win mag

 

[RetiredSniper]

A 308 Winchester will do the job if you do yours. 308/7.62X51 is available in many bullet weights and plentiful. The 165 and 168 grain is all I use.

 

[Will Gray]

A 308 Winchester will do the job if you do yours. 308/7.62X51 is available in many bullet weights and plentiful. The 165 and 168 grain is all I use.

A fine accurate round and as with ALL rounds, you must hit the target! 308 makes that easy.

 

[thwatson2]

30-06,308 for ease of components and 300wm for magnum with ease of components

 

[memtb]

Yes! the 35 Whelen and 358 Winchester are GREAT rounds for hunting. They hit hard. I have a 358/300RUM wildcat that pushes those 35 caliber bullets even faster: great caliber.

Along those lines.....Don't discount the .358 STA (Shooting Times Alaskan). I've always thought that for the handloader, a "hotrod" .358 caliber cartridge would be a great "all around - do it all" cartridge! From premium, controlled expansion bullets, to the high BC cup and cores, to handgun bullets at handgun velocities for plinking....it just doesn't get much more versatile than that! memtb

 

[Will Gray]

Along those lines.....Don't discount the .358 STA (Shooting Times Alaskan). I've always thought that for the handloader, a "hotrod" .358 caliber cartridge would be a great "all around - do it all" cartridge! From premium, controlled expansion bullets, to the high BC cup and cores, to handgun bullets at handgun velocities for plinking....it just doesn't get much more versatile than that! memtb

YES!!! Use as much powder as the primers can handle without blowing out. Big bullets going FAST! 358 STA reads good, may have to make one of those just to have. Go Big or Go Home

 

[Sanford338]

My .257 Wby Mark V Accumark is my favorite gun for longer ranges. Being from Michigan 500 yards is a VERY long range. LOL.

Yes Sir! I'm in Texas, we get some pretty long shots .. but I use it for predators as well. We setup and call coyotes and bobcats and we can get some really long shots for the yotes... smart critters... but the 257 hasn't let me down yet! Deadly accurate... Barnes TTSX & Nosler accubonds... serious medicine!