One rifle for out west

[goatman]

There's an old saying. The farther you come from the Rockies the bigger the gun. The outfitters are just trying to cover their hinnys. You can't believe the hunters that stop by a Cabelas on the way out to buy hunting clothes and a bore sighted rifle to hunt with when they get there.

 

[AZHunter]

Makes no sense to me ? I figure an outfitter would want a more tameable gun like a 270 or 30-06 over a magnum rifle that most people are scared of the recoil and flinch when squeezing the trigger . I'm no expert , probably flinch a 270 myself ha !

It actually makes perfect sense when you get inside the mind of an outfitter. They are getting paid to put elk on the ground for their clients. Many outfitters and, actually, many elk hunters believe that you absolutely, unequivocally must have a 30-cal magnum (or bigger) to kill an elk. Goatman is dead on, too. The number of people who stop by and pick up whatever and go hunt is unreal.

The other side of that coin is that many hunting shows are now showcasing how you can kill an elk at 1000 yards. Back to your original question, the reality is that the recoil difference between a 7mm and 300 WM is actually minimal. You probably couldn't tell the difference between the two in a real hunting situation. If you have your heart set on a 7mm, go for it and be happy knowing that you can kill anything North America has to offer, and you can do it with confidence.

 

[Terry Riley]

Was thinking a 7mm mag over a 300 win mag do to a little less punch in the shoulder . I am a little bit recoil sensitive , not in the fact that it makes me sore but more or less makes me flinch . Doubt any distances would be over 3-400 yards but i don't mind pushing myself to see what I can do on some paper . Was thinking Vortex Diamondback or Viper 4x16-42 or 4x16-50

The 300 Win mag is a great Gun. I used that out west with a trijcon 2.5x10x56

 

[Terry Riley]

300 win mag with a trijcon 2.5x10x56 scope.

 

[isu22andy]

The 30/378 is a great round, but I stay away from all of the Weatherby rounds. They can be hard to find, but they are also expensive as all get out. As for you choice of the Vortex Viper HS LR 4-16x50, that is exactly what I put on my daughter's rifle and what I plan to put on my "06. Leupold is a great scope, but I'm pretty sure that their customer service has fallen a little in the last couple of years. I could be wrong, but a friend was telling me about customer service issues with Leupold recently. Vortex has the best warranty on the market, hands down.

As for the brakes, they really are worth the time and money. All you have to do is put simple plugs in right before you shoot or as you're getting ready to shoot. Like Horsedoctor said, you should be doing that anyway, but you can hear most everything just fine with the rubber plugs that slip in easy enough.

Do you like the Viper HS LR with the adjustable turret for distance ? Will it get bumped in a hunting situation if it was on a sling on your back for an extended amount of time ?

 

[AZHunter]

Do you like the Viper HS LR with the adjustable turret for distance ? Will it get bumped in a hunting situation if it was on a sling on your back for an extended amount of time ?

I love the HS LR with the adjustable turrets, but haven't used it in a hunting situation. I like my daughter's so much I'm planning on getting a 6-24x50 for my new 6.5 WSM that I recently picked up. There is always a chance of the turrets getting bumped when you're out in the field. The thing I like about this scope (and most high-end adjustable turret scopes) is that they have the zero-stop feature on their elevation dial. Once you set it, you can adjust up as much as you want and then dial it right back to zero where it will stop rotating. If it gets bumped, you can dial it right back to zero. I'm always in the habit of checking my scopes/dials when I'm setting up no matter the scope for that very reason. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

 

[HorseDoctor]

Agree with AZHunter. I hunt with four different rifles topped with Leupold CDS scopes with exposed turrets, and have had zero problems with bumping the turrets while moving about. Could happen I guess, but it would take a major twist to throw a scope off enough to bugger a close quick shot, and anything else would allow time to check settings as you set up. Don't see it as a big problem.

 

[isu22andy]

Ten four , well I pulled the trigger on the rifle , it's a Tikka T3x in 7 rem mag stainless with a vortex viper hs LR 4x16-50 on it on leupold rings . Hope it shoots like it cost

 

[HorseDoctor]

Sounds like a good weapon. Good hunting!

 

[AZHunter]

Agree with AZHunter. I hunt with four different rifles topped with Leupold CDS scopes with exposed turrets, and have had zero problems with bumping the turrets while moving about. Could happen I guess, but it would take a major twist to throw a scope off enough to bugger a close quick shot, and anything else would allow time to check settings as you set up. Don't see it as a big problem.

I'll have to find a thread on Coueswhitetail.com about this very thing, if you're interested. A guy who is really good at long range shooting, has a great rig, and exposed turrets missed a 500-yard chip shot (for him) at a Coues whitetail by several feet this fall because his turrets got bumped while he was hiking in. He even referred to it as a rookie mistake. Guys were bashing exposed turrets and defending them left and right. It can definitely happen and I've had my Nikon P223 scope on my AR adjust itself taking it in and out of the turret. Through that guy's mistake and paying closer attention to what I'm doing, I've learned to always slow down and check everything before you pull the trigger.

 

[HorseDoctor]

Did it totally knock the turret loose or did he not even check the turret setting on a 500 yard shot? Not sure I could blame the scope for that one???

 

[isu22andy]

Just shot a box through the 7 . Gonna need some work on those 300 yard shots, don't even think a basket ball would cover my group lol marked in red below . Other three are from 100 , shooting off open pickup door .

 

[AZHunter]

Did it totally knock the turret loose or did he not even check the turret setting on a 500 yard shot? Not sure I could blame the scope for that one???

It was all on him for not checking his turret. The turret got bumped and he didn't check his setting before shooting. Its rare, but I bring it up because it can happen and its on us to check our gear.

Is that two shots in one hole in that top target? Not a bad 3-shot group. Try different ammo after your barrel break in and you'll probably find some great sub-moa stuff your rifle likes!

 

[HorseDoctor]

Actually "shooting off open pickup door" tells me very little about what the gun is capable of. It does say a little about what the shooter is capable of, but you shoulda stopped with the 100 yard group. It's pretty good for off the pickup door. On the other hand the size of the 300 yard group (way bigger than 3X the 100 yard group) tells me that maybe the 100 yard group was a fluke? Get a good solid bench with sandbags fore & aft (or a bipod up front). Prone will work also, with a bipod & rear bag. Then you can be solid enough and consistent enough to truly see what you and your new rifle are capable of. Then you can start trying different ammo, bullets, powder etc to fine tune things. Change one variable at a time or you'll end up chasing your tail in circles. It can be a fun project. Good luck!

 

[isu22andy]

Actually "shooting off open pickup door" tells me very little about what the gun is capable of. It does say a little about what the shooter is capable of, but you shoulda stopped with the 100 yard group. It's pretty good for off the pickup door. On the other hand the size of the 300 yard group (way bigger than 3X the 100 yard group) tells me that maybe the 100 yard group was a fluke? Get a good solid bench with sandbags fore & aft (or a bipod up front). Prone will work also, with a bipod & rear bag. Then you can be solid enough and consistent enough to truly see what you and your new rifle are capable of. Then you can start trying different ammo, bullets, powder etc to fine tune things. Change one variable at a time or you'll end up chasing your tail in circles. It can be a fun project. Good luck!

Yes thats two shots in the same hole from 100 - first time actually shooting 300 on paper so I wasnt expecting much . I did just get wallopped 10 times before that trying to zero it at 50. It will take practice for sure. Going to order a shooting bag so I have a little better something to rest on, still - theres no shooting bags in the wild west, should probably practice off sticks or a bipod .

 

[AZHunter]

Haha, it will take practice for sure. Going to order a shooting bag so I have a little better something to rest on, still - theres no shooting bags in the wild west, should probably practice off sticks or a bipod .

No, there are no shooting bags out west, but you'll have a backpack (hopefully). If you can get prone, you can use your backpack. You can also put your pack on a rock or log for the same stability. If you're glassing from a tripod, you'll have that, too. Like Horsedoctor said, get yourself as stable as you can now to get the best accuracy/load you can for your rifle. Once you have that, then you start practicing for real shooting scenarios.