Buying a heavy hunting LR gun

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pabuckslayer08

New member
Hey guys, havnt been around for awhile but ive been thinking about buying a new rifle and decided I want something for long range and something suitable for a Alaskan adventure. To add to this I want something I can actually shoot at the range without blowing my shoulder apart. I was wanting to get a factory built gun for now but was wanting somthing I can order with a muzzle break. I was looking at the BOSS system from Browning but I know nothing about it and was also seeing that Weatherby makes rifles with a accubreak. They are the only ones I could find. As far as caliber I was looking at the 300wby mag, 300wsm, and 325wsm. Im going to be putting a Nikon Monarch 4x16 on the top that I can buy for 250 at a local store and as a total cost would like to stay under 1600 or so. Can a 400 yard factory rifle be bought for that?
 
]Alaska is hard on firearms and I'd prefer a coated and synthetic rifle over any others. Today's metal coatings are better at preventing rust than blued metal or stainless steel. The synthetic stocks are more resistant to abuse and weather as well. You can still hunt wit a wood stock if you seal it against moisture.

Where I've hunted in Alaska they get over 200" of rainfall a year. Not to mention it is an island and everything gets exposed to saltwater as well. It is hell on rifles and rust can start in a matter of hours not days. I realize not all of Alaska is like this but it is rugged and your rifle will spend a lot of time getting bounced around by boat or plane, and it can be very rugged country to travel and hunt.

As far as cartridges go I'd be happy with any of thoes as well as many others.
 
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Ditto. Never hunted Alaska, but everything taylorce said mirrors what I've been told. Don't even think about anything other than a synthetic stock, and stainless barreled action. You're gonna get wet...alot.

I'm a Savage fan, but you could also consider a Ruger M77 Hawkeye, either the All-Weather or Alaskan models.

A .416 at 2400 fps and 5,000 lbs. of energy...now that's a rifle!
 
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Somehow, the words "heavy" and "hunting", used in the above fashion, wouldn't seem to make the ideal gun that one would be humping around the Alaska bush/countryside (at least they sure seem to be covering a goodly amount of real estate on those Outdoor Channel hunting shows).
 
A bolt Stainless Stalker w/ BOSS in 325wsm or 300wsm
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=001B&cid=035&tid=008&bg=x

16/116 Bear Hunter 300wsm
http://savagearms.com/firearms/finder/

11/111LR Hunter 300wsm
http://savagearms.com/firearms/models/

I wanted wood but you guys are right on. I have 20 guns laying around with wood stocks and I never take them when its wet, I take my 1 synthetic that I own, And your right its always wet in Alaska/Northern Canada so a synthetic is the way to go
 
You can always get the Savage threaded for a brake, easy-peasy.
The .300 WM used to have much better ammo selection than the short mag, but I'm guessing that with the popularity of the short mag, that's changed.

But, should be considered unless you're going to be handloading.

The .300WSM is a great round. Planning on doing a long-range target build in that caliber.
 
The boss brake on the browning works great on the shoulder. Punishing on the ears. I had a 7 mag. (Not recommending that caliber for your alaska gun just stating what i had.) Ear protection would be recommended for a gun with a brake!
 
I can believe that. Have an old 30-06 with a 3" break on it and it blows the roof off the range, wouldnt be afraid to let a 3 year old shoot it though. Thats kind of what im going for. Recoil doesnt bother me at all but I want something I can be really good with that comes with a adjustable trigger. Im really leaning to the Browning at this point. It has everything I want, right finish, right break, right calibers etc
 
To continue on I know I want to get a Nikon Monarch for on this new gun, but what reticle. Do I go with a regular nikoplex and learn the weapon as far as holdover, do I get the BDC and use the software with the ammo Im going to use or should I get a turret kit which Im not real familar with. I only want to be accurate to 400 yards and I know if I zero a 300wsm at 200 it only drops 3 inches at 300 and another 11 at 400. 11 inches isnt much but thats more than the top of the back shot on some animals. I guess my goal is though to not have a sub moa gun at 400 but rather be able to take a clean shot, so a 6" pie plate on a elk or moose is a good shot. Right now I have a few BDC scopes that I never use the dots and a few regular Nikoplexs I really like, I also found out that Nikons software on holdover is usually within about 2 inches when you plug in all the info
 
Custom BDC turrets are nice, no doubt...but you need one for every different type of ammunition you shoot.

If you're only looking to 400 yards with the .300 WM, you should just zero for MPBR, which will be 300-350 yards or so, depending on your bullet/load.

With a mil-dot reticle, it'll be simple enough to hold over for those last few yards if necessary. Hell, you could even do it without a mil-dot reticle because you're only looking at 50-100 yards beyond MPBR and just hold a little high on the critter.

Unless you're going much longer range than 400, custom turrets wouldn't be of much use to you.
 
Yea, Thats what I was thinking. I want this gun for the knock down power and just enough to reach out. Even though Id feel comfortable shooting longer when your shooting mountain top to mountain top to much can happen and you never know so thats why Im restraining to a 400 yard max and if need be I can hold over if I get something just a lil further
 
As far as scopes go, forget a BDC reticle. You need a scope with repeatable adjustments, and then you will want is a range finder and a Chronograph. 400+ yard shots should never be rushed especially when hunting. If things are done correctly you should have time to range the animal and make necessary scope adjustments. That way you don't holdover, but put the crosshairs exactly where you want the shot to go.

Chronographs are a must if you want to extend your range. Knowing the average velocity of your load along with other variables will help to predict the trajectory accurately. Then the rangefinder along with your trajectory figures will tell you how to adjust the scope in the field. Which in theory should give you a pretty high chance of making that first shot kill beyond 400 yards.

Secondly knock down power doesn't mean a thing at the ranges you are talking about. A well placed shot with any big game cartridge will kill at 400+ yards. Where you need the power since AK was brought up is when things get up close and personal with big bears. Your old .30-06 is plenty adequate to the task of taking any NA game at 400 yards and beyond, but I'm not so sure about an angry bear at 10-20 yards or less.
 
So me being new to long range shooting how does the turret system work. I have a good range finder and have access to a good chrono if I decide to go down that path.
 
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