Ideal Western Hunting Rifle

[Shaverba]

First time posting and but I’ve been lurking the threads for a while and this year am going to be hunting for Elk in Idaho and am jumping in feet first.

I plan to attempt to buy once cry once on gear and invest in long range shooting courses. I’ve been shooting my whole life but never at long ranges and not with the proper equipment.

With that said and knowing that opinions will vary but are there typical rules of thumb surrounding overall recommendations on total gun weight, total gun length, minimum level of accuracy at 400 yards, etc.

I appreciate any feedback related to this search I’m on.

 

[mthayr]

Weight should (and does) vary by caliber. Read this.

Length is dependent on whether you favor velocity (longer) or "handiness" (shorter). Typically shorter is favored for suppressor use, or get a folding stock.

General accuracy standard is minute-of-angle or better, or roughly 1" at 100 yards from a decent sized (10-round) group. That translates out to 4" at 400 yards, but is much harder to achieve due to external forces (wind) over a greater distance.

 

[omicron1792]

First time posting and but I’ve been lurking the threads for a while and this year am going to be hunting for Elk in Idaho and am jumping in feet first.

I plan to attempt to buy once cry once on gear and invest in long range shooting courses. I’ve been shooting my whole life but never at long ranges and not with the proper equipment.

With that said and knowing that opinions will vary but are there typical rules of thumb surrounding overall recommendations on total gun weight, total gun length, minimum level of accuracy at 400 yards, etc.

I appreciate any feedback related to this search I’m on.

I would wait and get the new Montana rifle company rifle with rokstok. If you need it now the new Seekins ph3 looks nice.

 

[Shaverba]

Weight should (and does) vary by caliber. Read this.

Length is dependent on whether you favor velocity (longer) or "handiness" (shorter). Typically shorter is favored for suppressor use, or get a folding stock.

General accuracy standard is minute-of-angle or better, or roughly 1" at 100 yards from a decent sized (10-round) group. That translates out to 4" at 400 yards, but is much harder to achieve due to external forces (wind) over a greater distance.

I appreciate the response on this and will definitely read through your article as I continue to learn about these rifles.


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[WyoWild]

First time posting and but I’ve been lurking the threads for a while and this year am going to be hunting for Elk in Idaho and am jumping in feet first.

I plan to attempt to buy once cry once on gear and invest in long range shooting courses. I’ve been shooting my whole life but never at long ranges and not with the proper equipment.

With that said and knowing that opinions will vary but are there typical rules of thumb surrounding overall recommendations on total gun weight, total gun length, minimum level of accuracy at 400 yards, etc.

I appreciate any feedback related to this search I’m on.

You don't need to spend a bunch of $$$ for a 400 yard rifle. In addition most guns that are reliably set up for "long range hunting" at 600+ yards are going to have longer barrels and heavier optics. Trade off if you want packability. For elk hunting in the mountains I want a rifle that is 8 pounds or less ready to hunt. Elk are more nomadic and sometimes you have to cover a lot of country to find them.

If unsuppressed a 24" barrel is fine, if adding a suppressor I would not go any longer than 20".

Cartridge selection will mostly depend on which bullet you want to use. If using a cup and core fragmenting bullet then find a cartridge that will maintain 2000fps to your maximum range. If considering bonded/solid copper then at least 2200fps on impact.

 

[Steve300xcw]

You dont need anything special to hunt "out west". Something as boring as a T3 in a creedmoor will do everything you are wanting to do.

 

[Gila]

Sounds like you are wanting to shoot long range eventually. There is no doubt you will want a lightweight rifle. Elk usually bugle just over the next ridge. That rifle seems to gain pounds after a few miles of hiking, You will probably want a 16-20 inch barrel and put a suppressor on it. But you will need to shoot a cartridge that will give you the range and velocity for a short barrel. You may be a candidate for a rifle chambered in a cartridge like the new Federal 7mm BackCountry. I don’t like much recoil and go with short action cartridges these days. I don’t shoot suppressed or long range, but the guys around here do. Plenty of expertise, just ask the right questions. And welcome to the forum…

 

[seand]

I’d just buy a simple stainless T3x in 6.5cm, and mount a good scope.

Then shoot it a lot.

 

[N2TRKYS]

For me, it’s a Remington Model Seven SS in 7-08.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

sako 90 peak

 

[TaperPin]

I appreciate the response on this and will definitely read through your article as I continue to learn about these rifles.


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If you were in the family I’d suggest getting the training rifle first and use it long enough to know what you’d like to change on the primary rifle.

I’m a big fan of a two rifle combination for new or experienced hunters - a smaller cartridge like 243 for practice/plinking/varmints and the second in the cartridge you want to hunt with. The practice gun is easy to shoot, weight doesn’t matter, blued or stainless doesn’t matter, scope doesn’t have to be highest grade, saves wear and tear on the primary rifle, shoots as far, makes a great loaner, and you don’t have to worry about it.

Even if the primary rifle was to be a 243, there’s still all the benefits of a second trainer. I’ve sometimes wondered if the scope had shifted - shooting a second good rifle showed it was just more wind down range than I estimated. If one rifle starts shooting poorly, a second known good rifle will instantly tell you if it’s the shooter having a bad day or equipment problems. If it’s definitely a rifle problem, swapping scopes takes 5 minutes and you will have narrowed down the cause.

 

[Mtndawger]

My recommendations for newcomers with big ambitions is usually along the lines of try to be realistic about your actual needs vs your perceived needs or marketing hype or hype from more experienced shooters shooting high volumes of ammunition. Start out with a less expensive (< &1000 factory rifle.). And learn what YOU need not what others think you need. This is based on how much you shoot, how and where you hunt, How fit you are. Get it in a cartridge ( notice I didn’t say caliber) that you can shoot comfortably for a couple boxes of ammo without starting to flinch and break form. Shoot several hundred rounds at least. Don’t just shoot from a bench. Shoot from field style positions. Learn what good form is. Get a decent scope. Don’t get suckered into thinking you need or will use a 25 power scope at this phase. Mount it correctly. Go hunt with it. Example: tikka T3x stainless. 270 win or 6.5 CM. Put a decelerator recoil pad on it $40. It will end Up 8.5 to 9 lbs or less depending on scope. That’s it. Ultra lightweight sounds good until inexperienced shooters try to poke out there 400 yards or more and can’t get consistent 8”-10” hits. If you don’t believe me check out Erik Cortina’s 500yard Moa hunting challenge. LOL. Once you have done some stuff start to consider if you really want to drop the coin either customizing it or going the buy once cry once route. A guy can easily spend $3500- $5000 or more only to learn it’s too heavy or too big a cartridge or don’t like the way the stock fits or what have you. You’re most likely going to lose money when you try to sell that and get what you’ve learned you actually need.

 

[6mm Remington]

Ruger Hawkeye Hunter in 30-06 would be a nice rifle that I think would fit your needs. Classic wood stock, Mauser style action. 30-06 with a 165 gr. Accubond is a great pick!

Maybe a Ruger FTW Hunter in 6.5 PRC. Very manageable recoil and good ballistics. 6.5 PRC with 140 gr. Nosler Accubond would be a nice pick also.

Weatherby MK V in a 280 Ackley Improved with a 140-160 gr. Nosler Accubond or E-tip. Great ballistics and a fantastic cartridge.

Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in 300 WSM with a 180 gr. Accubond oh my!

or Model 70 Extreme Weather SS in 300 WSM

 

[TaperPin]

There’s a perl of wisdom that comes from competitive shooting - if you’re new a good way to get into the sport is find the person who shoots well and copy his equipment exactly. You don’t know enough about what impacts what to be picking and choosing, so follow the lead of the guys that have already figured things out and simply go with the exact same rifle, stock, mount, scope, trigger, load, etc., and change it down the road if need be after gaining experience.

 

[wind gypsy]

Light weight and easy to shoot are at odds of each other. I like 8.5-9.5 lb all up for a good balance of shootable and ease of carry.

Focusing on training and competency in field shooting will be magnitudes more important than the difference between a 1.5 MOA vs 0.5 MOA mechanical precision system.

Reliable barreled action in 6.5 creed or 260 rem in a rokstok or peak 44 bastion stock with a 3-9 SWFA or maven RS1.2 is about ideal IMO as an all arounder. I like 6mm but if a guy needs one for everything and wants a little heavier bullets 6.5 should work well.