Shooting question

[GetWestern]

Hey all two part question here I am currently shooting a 300 win mag with a very basic cheap bushnell scope mounted on it. Which has gotten me by for a couple years but I felt limited about taking shots longer than 200 yards due to my scope and never dailing in my rifle to shoot 500 yards. So my first question is if I want to get a good enough shot group at 500 yards can I do that with factory ammunition or would I have to get into reloading ? Second question is what kind of scope, magnification and or other accessories would the scope have to have to do that? I'm in the market for one so any recommendations would be appreciated budget is 400-600. Pretty naive about this stuff so any misconceptions I have or incorrect information I have feel free to correct me thanks.

 

[ROJO23]

There are tons of rounds available for the 300 win mag. I would start by figuring your barrel twist rate so that you can match the bullet weight to it. I would stick with the higher end bullets for factory loads. I have had good success with factory sierra bullet. It will take some shooting to see what your rifle likes best.

I reload basically to customize a load for my particular rifle. It is usually pretty easy to hand load for a rifle and find a load it likes.

As far as the scope goes there are tons of options. In that price range I would say a Vortex would be a good place to start. I have a couple of Nikon Monarchs, and for the money they are very clear.

As far as magnification it really depends on what you are shooting. If you are trying to shoot small groups at 500, then I would say 20X +. If you are hunting at 500 yards then 12-16x would be plenty. The higher magnification can get a lot of heat waves on warmer da

 

[TauPhi111]

I'd agree with ROJO. There are tons of high quality factory options in 300 Win Mag. Stick to good bullets from good manufacturers for the best precision. Can't go wrong with Barnes, Hornady, or Nosler. I reload for the same reason as ROJO, but you don't need to get into reloading to find really quality ammo for the WM.

As far as scopes go, I'd also start by looking at Vortex. I have several scopes from them from $250 - $1000 and i think they're spectacular glass for the money. They have some really nice scopes in the $600 range. I haven't bought one yet, but I've also heard great things about the SS scopes from SWFA. Like vortex, their reputation is they are a whole lotta scope for the money and are excellent glass.

Same on magnification range. I have a dedicated long range gun that wears a 6-24x Vortex scope. You can see gnats on a bear's balls with that thing, but unless you're looking to shoot tiny tiny groups or waaaaaaaay out there, it isn't necessary and the scope is too heavy for hunting. I've actually taken farther shots to date plinking rocks in the desert with my 4-12x Vortex Diamondback Tactical, which is a couple levels lower in price. My next hunting scope might by a 15x, but currently, none of my hunting rifles wear anything more powerful than 12x.

As far as scope accessories, you see a lot of people using levels on their scopes, that comes from the precision community, but for general hunting i don't think it is necessary. Scope caps are nice though to protect your lenses from grit.