Long Range Hunting Caliber????

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  • JGIBSON

    Liberty Creek Guns LLC.
    Rating - 100%
    34   0   0
    Feb 7, 2021
    520
    63
    Abington IN
    Hello, looking to get some personal info on recommendations for a good large game & possible long-distance hunting caliber. Calibers I'm considering are as follows, 30-06, 300 Wing Mag, 300 Rum. Any pros cons to any of these calibers feel free to comment your thoughts, experience with these calibers. If you have other calibers that I should consider by all means add them to the list. Species that I will be wanting this rifle for will be Elk, Caribou, Mule Deer, Moose. I know there is data online regarding this, but I feel most of the Articles are Baisis based on who is sponsoring the article etc. Thanks for any guidance or help on this subject.
     

    two70

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    19   0   0
    Feb 5, 2016
    3,724
    113
    Johnson
    400 to 700 yards
    IMO, there is nothing on your mentioned list that should require more than a 400 yard shot. That doesn't mean you won't have opportunities at longer ranges, just that you should be able to get closer in most cases.

    How well do you tolerate heavy recoil? There is no such thing as a free lunch and the typical cost of long range performance is increased recoil. Recoil is even more accentuated in the type of light rifles most people want to tote around steep mountains or the boggy ground where caribou and moose are found.

    Of the calibers you mentioned, I'd go with the '06 and stalk within 400 yards before shooting. As another option, I'd consider the .300 WSM. It has near .300 Win mag performance with closer to .30-06 recoil. I have one that I took to South Africa and made shots out to 275 yards on roughly mule deer to elk sized animals. Only one animal made it more than 50 yards after the shot. FYI, bullet choice can be as important as caliber choice with the bigger tougher animals like elk.
     
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