Building a long range rifle

[J sin]

Starting to give some thought to building a long range rifle. I’m leaning towards a 300 win mag. I kind of a Kimber Dork, since finally needing to buy my own guns. I want a caliber that will be readily accessible for years to come. No African hunts planned in the near future. North American only game.  All input or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Cheers

[Marion]

.300 Weatherby Mag and learn to reload. And you'll have a wonderful rifle for many moons to come.

You Can't Beat My Meat!!!

[turkeyfeathers]

308? 

[moog5050]

If you don't reload and want to shoot/practice a lot, I would stick with a common cartridge.  270 is fast and flat and will kill everything in NA.  If you need more umph, perhaps a 308 or 30-06.  Never shot a 300 mag, so I can't comment on that but I assume ammo is expensive. 

[helmut in the bush]

Lot of people shoot 6mm 6.5mm and some 7mm, and the heavy 22's in a fast twist barrel, less recoil than the win mag. 

[Gencountyzeek]

Is this going to be a hunting rifle and maybe some paper punching? Or more paper less hunting?

[philoshop]

You didn't provide much detail on exactly what you consider "long range", or what you plan to be shooting at. One thing for certain is that high quality ammo and lots of practice is far more important than the specific caliber. A miss with a .300 Win Mag is no different in result from a miss with a spitball from a straw.

[J sin]

2 hours ago, Gencountyzeek said:

Is this going to be a hunting rifle and maybe some paper punching? Or more paper less hunting?

A good mix of both. Obviously paper punching at the start but definitely a hunting gun. 

[J sin]

3 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

308? 

Already have a 308 Kimber Adk. Comfortable shooting that up to 250yds. Just don’t think that gun is really a true long range gun.

[J sin]

1 hour ago, philoshop said:

You didn't provide much detail on exactly what you consider "long range", or what you plan to be shooting at. One thing for certain is that high quality ammo and lots of practice is far more important than the specific caliber. A miss with a .300 Win Mag is no different in result from a miss with a spitball from a straw.

Long range to me is 400yds - 650yds. But will your spitball travel 400yds and kill something....lol. 

[Rack Attack]

300 WM is a good caliber selection, as there has been a ton of development with it and ammo is easily available for it.  You kind of need to figure out what bullet weight you plan on shooting (more than likely on the heavy/long side for the good BC) that will determine your barrel twist rate.  There are online calculators available for this (Berger bullets has one) or you can talk to a gunsmith that can help you.  I'm not certain how recoil sensitive you are, but that needs to be taken into account and if you are, maybe have a break installed.  The caution I would give with a break on a hunting rifle is NOISE, hearing protection is a must... Spend a little money and put a good trigger in the rifle, they are worth their weight in gold.  At the ranges you a looking at, you are probably best off to get an optic that has the ability to dial elevation and have a round specific turret cut for it once you settle on a round to shoot out of it.  There is tons more info out there, but that should get you started.  Also, maybe look at the site longrangehunting.com, tons of info over there. 

Edited July 16, 2018 by Rack Attack

[philoshop]

I never said that a spitball would travel 400 yards. I said that a miss with a spitball is no different from a miss with a large caliber round.

There isn't a "factory" round or firearm out there that will consistently hit at "400 to 650" yards on any game animal, and I have no idea what you mean by "building" a long range gun. So unless you're very skilled with handloading, gunsmithing, and have practiced enough, and developed the appropriate load for the gun, it doesn't much matter which caliber you choose, even if it's the spitball. That's my point. A miss will still be a miss.

Without giving any details about your experience in long-range shooting you're asking us "what is the best caliber?". Step back for a second and ask us what would be the best caliber considering your skill level and exact expectations.

Welcome to the site J sin. There are some very knowledgeable folks here who will be happy to help you out if you ask the right questions. Sorry buddy, but without knowing your goals and expectations, and your background, you jumped in asking the wrong question. Stick around and ask the right questions. We're here to help.

BTW, the answer to your question is the .50 BMG. It'll kill anything out to about a mile if you can hit with it.

[Gencountyzeek]

6.5 creedmoor is the hottest thing out now for long range (out to 1 mile)and factory loaded with hunting bullets. I was gonna build a AR chamberd in that but will probably just do a upper in 224 valkyrie. Its gonna be mainly paper and yotes. So are u gonna build a bolt gun? Remington 700 actions i believe are in the $300, a good barrel will run in the $400+ range. Then the stock of choice, probably another $400ish if not more. Optics...well that is a whole other can of worms. I just picked up a burris veracity for my current long range AR, ffp, 3-15x50. I very happy so far other than the zero stop set up. Definitely need more details of what exactly u r lookin at.

[eagle rider]

I did this twice with two custom shop guns.  One is a 270 WSM out of the Weatherby CS, the other is on a 700 Rem action made by Red Hawk Rifles in Grand Junction Colorado.  That is a 30-06.  Hands down if I were to do it again I would have built two with Red Hawk.  The quality is superior to just about anything else I have shot.  For about $2200 I have a blue printed action, cryogenically traded fluted barrel, with a Timney trigger in it.  The bolt is spiraled, the bolt handle is skeletonized.  The metal is all black oxide finished.  Stock is a B&C medalist.  I put a Monarch UCC 3-10 by 40 with Leuplod B&R.  It shoots .25 all day long with Nosler 150 gr and RL19.  I have taken many deer with it.  What I wanted was a lightweight rifle in a 30-06.  What RHR gave me was something I never would have imagined owning at 6.5 pounds.  

 

There are two other custom builders that I would look at as well.  Hillbilly Rifles in Vermont and Dixie Precision in MS. Both are making very fine custom guns for not much more than you would buy an off the shelf Mk V for.  

[moog5050]

15 minutes ago, Gencountyzeek said:

6.5 creedmoor is the hottest thing out now for long range (out to 1 mile)and factory loaded with hunting bullets. I was gonna build a AR chamberd in that but will probably just do a upper in 224 valkyrie. Its gonna be mainly paper and yotes. So are u gonna build a bolt gun? Remington 700 actions i believe are in the $300, a good barrel will run in the $400+ range. Then the stock of choice, probably another $400ish if not more. Optics...well that is a whole other can of worms. I just picked up a burris veracity for my current long range AR, ffp, 3-15x50. I very happy so far other than the zero stop set up. Definitely need more details of what exactly u r lookin at.

The creedmore is a serious long range round.  Doesn't that require an AR10 vs AR15 platform - not that it matters but that is what I thought? 

Edited July 16, 2018 by moog5050

[WNYBuckHunter]

22 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

The creedmore is a serious long range round.  Doesn't that require an AR10 vs AR15 platform - not that it matters but that is what I thought? 

Yes, they are AR10s

[WNYBuckHunter]

Heres a factory rifle that would fit the bill. Try not to drool lol

https://www.wilsoncombat.com/ultimate-hunter/

[Gencountyzeek]

23 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

The creedmore is a serious long range round.  Doesn't that require an AR10 vs AR15 platform - not that it matters but that is what I thought? 

Yes i was going to do a ar 10, but ill save some cash and do the 224 valkyrie upper. Then i just swap bolts and mags on my grendel and i have the 224. Drops 100" less at 1000 yards. Plus lighter bullets for varmits.

[dbHunterNY]

I'd build a long range rifle but can't get past a sweet hunting rig. then can't justify the sweet but expensive hunting rig when i already have one that works. if i did a long range gun it'd be a bolt deal with mcmillan stock and leupold vx-6 with MOA based windage and elevation hash marks or something equivalent. hard right now to spend $1.2 - 2k on glass and another $1.2 - 2k on a rifle.

[Pygmy]

For a long range rifle  < I am talking 400 yards PLUS>  that is capable of handling all North American big game. the .300 Win Mag is an excellent candidate...

[dbHunterNY]

14 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Heres a factory rifle that would fit the bill. Try not to drool lol

https://www.wilsoncombat.com/ultimate-hunter/

problem is that's a hunting rig.  shooting out far i feel as though you'd need a stock that can fit you for a repeatable cheek weld and grip with you fairly straight behind it.

[moog5050]

16 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Heres a factory rifle that would fit the bill. Try not to drool lol

https://www.wilsoncombat.com/ultimate-hunter/

You could build a few nice ARs for that price.  

[Buckmaster7600]

Most people can kill critters at 400yds with their deer rifles with a little practice. 650 is different story. Get out past 500 and a lot more comes into play. If 650yds is your goal a custom rifle is what I recommend, Nathan at hillbilly customs is at the top of my list for a custom build.

As for caliber that’s up to you, how much recoil you can take and what your intended game is should be the deciding factor. 300wm is a good choice but wouldn’t be my first one.


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[WNYBuckHunter]

35 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

You could build a few nice ARs for that price.  

You could build something similar for less, Wilson is always on the high side as far as prices go. It sure is purty though.

[WNYBuckHunter]

39 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

problem is that's a hunting rig.  shooting out far i feel as though you'd need a stock that can fit you for a repeatable cheek weld and grip with you fairly straight behind it.

You can get adjustable cheek pieces that attach to those stocks.