Newb advice needed - Long distance gun and hunting rifle

[skywalkrNCSU]

I am new to both the hunting world and the long distance shooting world but I would like to get into both and with the same rifle if possible. I know little to nothing about bolt guns and I see drastically different prices among different guns and could use some advice. It looks like a good caliber option would be 300 WSM as my research shows it performs well in distance shooting and would be more than adequate in taking down deer (would be what I hunt most) along with elk (a dream hunt that I hope to take in a few years).

Where I could use some advice is I am looking for something that I could upgrade as I go rather than spending a bunch on a custom rig right off the bat. Is that even possible with bolt guns? I would say my budget without optics is around $1500 (the lower the better obviously) and I haven't really seen a custom build anywhere near this low but there are plenty of decent hunting rifles for well under this amount. I am willing to sacrifice some weight for performance since the only time I would be lugging it around is on the dream elk hunt since most of my deer hunting would be on 100 acres.

I am not really sure where to start, should I just get an off the shelf hunting rifle and change the barrel, trigger, and stock as I go or buy a barreled action and stock and have someone install it for me? Am I way off on all of this and should I just get a hunting rifle for hunting and when I can afford a long distance rig get a custom built rifle? Apologies for the ignorance here, any advice is appreciated.

[Servo]

I am new to both the hunting world and the long distance shooting world but I would like to get into both and with the same rifle if possible. I know little to nothing about bolt guns and I see drastically different prices among different guns and could use some advice. It looks like a good caliber option would be 300 WSM as my research shows it performs well in distance shooting and would be more than adequate in taking down deer (would be what I hunt most) along with elk (a dream hunt that I hope to take in a few years).

Where I could use some advice is I am looking for something that I could upgrade as I go rather than spending a bunch on a custom rig right off the bat. Is that even possible with bolt guns? I would say my budget without optics is around $1500 (the lower the better obviously) and I haven't really seen a custom build anywhere near this low but there are plenty of decent hunting rifles for well under this amount. I am willing to sacrifice some weight for performance since the only time I would be lugging it around is on the dream elk hunt since most of my deer hunting would be on 100 acres.

I am not really sure where to start, should I just get an off the shelf hunting rifle and change the barrel, trigger, and stock as I go or buy a barreled action and stock and have someone install it for me? Am I way off on all of this and should I just get a hunting rifle for hunting and when I can afford a long distance rig get a custom built rifle? Apologies for the ignorance here, any advice is appreciated.

I have been shooting long range for little over a year now so while I'm relatively new to the sport, the thought on how to start out is still fresh in my mind. The following are merely suggestions on what I would do if I were in your shoes.

First off is caliber: 300 wsm has great long range performance with lots of energy at range. However it does so at the expense of burning lots of power, and has pretty stout recoil. I also feel it's a bit much for deer hunting and really expensive to practice regularly with. Smaller calibers with higher ballistic coefficients like 6.5 Creedmoor, 260 Rem, and 7mm-08 have basically the same trajectory with less recoil and powder use. Calibers like .308 Win. and .223 (not that I would recommend .223 for deer) will teach you more about reading the wind and figuring range more accurately. If you plan on hunting deer sized game at longer ranges 350+ yards MY pic would be basicly any 6.5mm, 7mm-08 or .308, but that's just me.

Second the rifle: You can most definitely upgrade the rifle as you go. I'd venture to say that's how most start out. My pick for an off the rack rifle would be a Remington 5R in .308. Little on the heavy side compared with your average hunting rifle, but it has a much better barrel and stock and by all accounts, they seem to shoot rather well.(no personal experience with the 5R, just going off trusted sources and how I'd do it over myself.) when you're ready you can send it off to a smith and have it re barreled in any caliber with the same bolt face size as a .308 that can fit in a short action; there are lots of options.

Optics: I know you didn't mention any thing about this. Buy the absolute best scope you can afford. It is what aims your rifle and choosing sup par equipment is not a good idea. I must track consistently and hold zero. I know it seems obvious but I see people cheap out on this all the time. Same goes for rings and bases. Mounting a high quality scope on the shittiest rings and base you can find is another obvious bad idea.

Shoot long range and practice as often as you can. Go to matches and learn from other people.

[tuck]

Since you're new to the long range thing, I would recommend you start with a rifle chambered in .308win. It's more than capable to take deer and elk sized game. There is also a plethora of factory loaded match-grade ammunition available for it.

As far was what rifle to buy, I would look heavily at offerings from Remington or Savage. They both have tons of aftermarket support should you choose to upgrade parts down the line.

[MBtech]

308 will do everything you are asking for.

I'm a fan of Rem 700, a ton of options and upgrades out there.

For $1500 you could have one heck of a set up to look forward to, and be ready to hunt as is no problem out of the box in the first place, you can upgrade as you go, it will do more than fine for deer or elk hunting.

[skywalkrNCSU]

Thanks all, it looks like .308 is my best option for the reasons noted. As far as that goes, any advice on barrel length? I see a lot of the barrels are 20" in the tactical models but I wasn't sure if I should go longer for hunting purposes or not. I believe it is the case that longer barrel = more velocity which would make for more power at longer distances but I could definitely be wrong there.

[MBtech]

Thanks all, it looks like .308 is my best option for the reasons noted. As far as that goes, any advice on barrel length? I see a lot of the barrels are 20" in the tactical models but I wasn't sure if I should go longer for hunting purposes or not. I believe it is the case that longer barrel = more velocity which would make for more power at longer distances but I could definitely be wrong there.

A 20" barrel will be fine for hunting IMO, and a little easier to pack around in the woods. I went with the Rem 700 AAC SD with a 20" threaded barrel planning for the same reasons you are, deer/elk, and intro to long range with upgrades in the future. I would not hesitate to take it on a hunt as is.

[tuck]

I hunt with a 20" R700. It'll kill the hell out of deer, and punch holes in paper at 1,000 yards just fine.

[wingspar]

What about a Savage Hog Hunter in .308? It is built on the same action and barrel as the Savage 10 FP. The big difference (as far as I can understand at this point in time) between the two is that the Hog Hunter comes with iron sights and is of course drilled for scope bases. Another difference from the 10 FP is that the Hog Hunter is threaded for a muzzle device. Wonderful trigger out of the box also. So, while the 10 FP is probably thought of as more of a long range gun, I don’t see why the Hog Hunter would be any less accurate at up to 800 yards from what I’ve read. Thoughts?

[MBtech]

What about a Savage Hog Hunter in .308? It is built on the same action and barrel as the Savage 10 FP. The big difference (as far as I can understand at this point in time) between the two is that the Hog Hunter comes with iron sights and is of course drilled for scope bases. Another difference from the 10 FP is that the Hog Hunter is threaded for a muzzle device. Wonderful trigger out of the box also. So, while the 10 FP is probably thought of as more of a long range gun, I don’t see why the Hog Hunter would be any less accurate at up to 800 yards from what I’ve read. Thoughts?

The price is nice on that rifle, and depending on the budget leaves a lot of room for an optic

[pyrotechnic]

I'm going to second the R700 suggestion. The 20" sps tactical will give you a good balance between shootability and weight/size for hunting.
I don't reccomend Savages due to my own experience with what I believe to be a sub par extractor/ejector design. However others swear by them. They generally do shoot well. They used to be the cheaper alternative to Remington but thr price gap has pretty much become non existent.

Another option could be the Tikka CTR. It has growing after market support. If you reload the .260 is a definite step up in ballistics from the .308 with no increase in reloading cost and a slight decrease in barrel life.