off my back porch

Buy a bow, find a tree along said spot deer frequent, commence deer hunting at it's best.

Couldn't resist :D That said .300 mag should do the trick but as others have stated lots more to consider.
 
Jimbob,

No, you don't ...... but wind drift and holdover calculations get simpler as the trajectory gets flatter.
Click to expand...

Having a magnum doesn't help you make shots in the wind unless you have the experience actually shooting in the wind. A 308 is a lot easier on the wallet and the shoulder in order to get that trigger time.

The bottom line is that "flat shooting" is a myth. All bullets drop and are affected by wind, and practice hitting that gong I mentioned will give the shooter the confidence to actually make the shot when the time comes. Hell, sometimes I even hit the X ring at 600 yards with my AR.

Jimro
 
Try 7mm WSM ---

The ammo is EXPENSIVE (but not if you re-load)

The properties are impressive....... (energy, drop, etc)

I seem to recall the 7mm WSM currently holds a record in the UK for best long-range shooting.
 
All bullets drop and are affected by wind,
Click to expand...

Aye, but the faster they are going (and the better they retain that velocity), the less time they have to be affected by gravity and wind. That means errors in range estimation and correction for wind speed and direction (nobody is perfect ;) ) will have less effect on POI.

Ideally, you would want a high powered laser ....... but with the choices available, something launching bullets at 3,000+ f/sec and a G1 BC of over .5 would be what the OP is looking for.
 
I like the 300wm for that kind of shooting.own one myself made it heavy for that reason.bought it at a pawn shop,put a heavy stock & barrel on it & agood glass recoil came way down.The 300wm and a good bit of shooting at 500 makes it a little easyer to find them because you dont want them to get out of sight. A whitetail at 500 aint that big a target.A 300MAG aint a every day shooter but its nice to have when YOU WANT it.:D
 
If you haven't shot a 300 Mag it would be good to find a way to fire a few rounds through one to make sure you are OK with the recoil.

Whatever you decide, set up a target at the other end of the field and see what you can do with it. That's a long ways for most of us to shoot a deer.
 
Or maybe a 7mm S(hoots) T(o) W(isconsin).....
Click to expand...

Baaahahahah excellent.

I would maybe look into getting sneaky, unless the Marines trained you to shoot I wouldn't go about poking at deer at 500 paces. I have shot mule deer to 300 with my .270 but that's as far as I will go and the conditions have to be right for me to squeeze one off at that range.

The deer don't shoot back, you can get closer.
 
I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a .308 with a good scope to that distance.

There are plenty of shooters out there that shoot 600+ yds. on a weekly basis with that cartridge.
 
I have shot mule deer to 300 with my .270 but that's as far as I will go and the conditions have to be right for me to squeeze one off at that range.
Click to expand...

Don't sell the .270 short: with good bullets, the the .270 WIN does not start "droppin' and driftin' " badly until well past 400 ......

I have taken deer on windless November mornings past 400 yards more than once.

you can get closer.
Click to expand...

....not always: depends upon the situation. The propensity of the mule deer (at least where I hunt) to not be alarmed by a threat further away than 3-400 yards, as long as they could keep an eye on it has led to there being darn few mule deer left. The whitetails around those parts will high-tail it for cover if they see you at all.

The fact that I hunt with small children in tow (actually, some of them are not so small now, and they are doing most of the hunting- I am just along to supervise.....) pretty much precludes the "lowcrawl to within 100 meters" method...... 12 y.o. girls are not into lowcrawling throughcockleburrs amd fireweeds for some reason...... We have to wait until the deer come to us (inside whatever distance the kid in question can hit a paper plate 3 of 4 times in practice..
 
IMHO it isn't how far away from the game you can take it that makes it fun...it is how close you can get. Just don't see the point in taking a 500 yard shot. Set up before they get there (determine pattern beforehand) or use cover if any to move closer to the game. Just about any common deer cartridge is good to 200-300.

Unless, it is just to say you did...

Beentown
 
Did a hog this morning 404yards with 180Gr.Sierra gamekings busted both front shoulders Ugly exit hole.The 300WM is one bad boy out there but that hog aint tearing up anymore pnuts thats for sure:D
 
Buy a Barrett .50 BMG M82A or whatever model you want . You can get a 300lb 40 pointer from a mile away. It will be the best 5-10k you will ever spend. :eek:
 
Off my back porch I have this beautiful view of a cornfield where deer often hang out. On the far end it's about a 500 yard shot and my .30/30 isn't up to the task. I'd like something that can put a deer down at that range. I've got it into my head that I want a bolt action in 300 Winchester Magnum but I wanted to hear other opinions.
Click to expand...
First of all are you up to a 500 yard shot and can you guarantee an instant kill at that range because of your superb marksmanship. No offense little buddy but get a .308 or similar and start serious practicing on range targets not bullseye targets at 50 to 300 yards and forget the 500 yard shot. Not letting game get away because of bullet performance or a bad hit is never good and it happens at shorter ranges more often than most will admit.

By range targets I am talking about natural colored silhouette targets, life sized, posted in the fields at odd ball distances in natural positions. Not over sized brightly colored targets up on a target frame where you know the range and it's easy to see.

Forget the magnumitis itch, you can scratch it after you have developed the necessary shooting skills to take advantage of it and a ammo can full of .243 or .270 or .308 is a dang sight cheaper than a few boxes of magnum ammo of any caliber.

In the meantime don't forget the 30-30 and hunting skills. Get up on your hindlegs and get into that field carrying that gun. Start now in the heat of summer looking for wild life sign in the fields and train your eyes to look for and see the fine details of life in the wild, it's all around you and the exercise of carrying your old lever action will do you a world of good. I think you will find most of your sightings of game animals will be under 150 yards and that is in range of what you have already. Never underestimate the old round, it was good a hundred years ago and it still works just fine today.
 
My dream..... isolated house, porch with 1000 yrd field and games!!!
I will build a shotting bench with guns rack next to it, each rifle sight in Bull Eye for different mark, from 400 to 1000 yrd.... !!!!!
Back to reality, several caliber named are suitable for 1000 yrds.
Personally I shoot only up to 450/475 yds once to see the results of 2 rifles, .300Win Mag and 7Rem.Mag. ( almost impossible here to find places over 200 yrd. even when you go up noth the only places would be across lakes . ) . After the initial adjustment setting, I was able to print 3.5 to 3.75" groups of 3 shoots with both guns, rested on sand bags over the hood of the truck .
I find .300WM is pleasent to shoot and is not brutal as many portray it . To me the 7mm Rem.Mag as a little more kick....figure out! Both burn reasonable ammount of powder... by comparison the .270 W is really smooth and use less powder, 308 easy on powder and low recoil not to forget the 6.5 Swede is even smoother and cheaper on powder.
If you like big guns .300 Rem.Ultramag, not much worst than .300WM in the recoil department, but burn powder big time... my son got one not long a go... 67 cartridges reloaded out of one pound of powder!!
The best would be after you decided on the cartridge go to a gun club and
ask the members that have your selected choice if you could try few shoots..... Good luck.
________
roberto
 
I would agree that, at 500 yards, the .308 will get the job done easily.
We're talking deer, not Moose...
As said above, it's all about practice and an accurate rifle.
The cost and availability of ammo- if you don't handload- is far more versatile for the .308- much easier and cheaper time behind the trigger.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top