Looking the best rifle for long shot for deer hunting?

First is you have to define your ';long distance';. Mine is 400 yards max, and that is with my 30-06 OR 300 WSM, because that is the limit I'm confident in what my cartridge,bullet and skills can accomplish-and I'm using premium bullets and Sub-MOA rifles. Yes, some people might take longer shots,but I trust in my ballistics tables and bullet terminal performance to still produce a significant hydrostatic cavity at 400 yards or less. That is also with a 200 yard ZERO set.


The cartridge selection is actually pretty open,25-06,260,270,7mm-08,7mm Mauser,7mm Mag, 280,308,30-06,then the various other magnums. You don't need a magnum cartridge to get good accuracy and performance,and a magnum cartridge doesn't make you capable of 400-500 yard shots-you would be amazed how little true extra force and range a magnum delivers for the powder above a standard cartridge in that caliber (unless you are going Ultra-Mag or the 30-378 Weatherby).


I mentioned I have Sub-MOA rifles;that is because I hand load for them and I put a lot of time and practice into it. If you are an average shooter using a factory rifle with factory ammo and decent optics,you might get 1.5 MOA down to 1.0 MOA with a very good set-up. I also use premium bullets so I know what type of performance to expect when the bullet hits. Unless you are buying the factory ';Premium'; loads at twice the standard cartridge price,you won't match the performance most reloaders get.


Most of the newer rifles will give you good accuracy and years of good service-just stay away from the Remington 710/715/770 series. Every rifle company has it's merits: I prefer Browning and CZ, many prefer Remington or Savage,or the Tikka T3,Weatherby Vanguards,Etc.


I advise getting a 270 or 270 WSM in a rifle you like,learn to reload and have a great time hunting.Looking the best rifle for long shot for deer hunting?
Let's say you get a Browning A-bolt FLD in 270 WSM (which would come close to a correct answer). You pick a bullet that expands well at the relatively lower velocity you have at 350 yards. You know what comes next: the big buck walks right up under your stand, your shot hits shoulder, the bullet at that super velocity expands prematurely, leaving a large surface wound that fails to penetrate, the blood trail runs out after a hundred yards, and you've lost a wounded deer. Unless you're deer hunting with a gun-bearer in tow carrying your other deer rifle, you're better off getting not the ';best rifle for long shots'; but something well balanced for the likely situations.Looking the best rifle for long shot for deer hunting?
It depends on your experience with firearms and do you reload, it takes a lot of practice to become proficient with a firearm at long range, the 243 can be used but the 270 would be a better choice. if you can handle the recoil of the magnums, they are something that you should work up to no one can just start shooting one and expect to be a good long range shot, practice with the caliber you feel the most comfortable shooting, even just dry firing is the best practice of all when you can get to where you can call your shots(knowing where your cross hairs were when the firing pin falls) then you will be on your way to becoming a good long range rifle shot, but practice at a range with target of known distances, start out at 100, and when you can keep all of three shots in a inch then move on to 200 yards and so on, when you can shoot moa(minute of an angle) at each distance,1 inch at 100yards,2 inches at 200 yards, three inches at 300 yards then you will be ready to try long range hunting, but sight in for the mpbr(maxiumun point blank range) 3 1/2 inches high at 100, 4 inches high at 200, dead on at about 275 and 4 inches low at 325, 9 to 10 inches low at 400 yards, but there is no excuse for practice the best practice is just to dry fire and call your shots
Okay, there are really two halves to this.





First is the rifle itself. Truth be told, pretty much any mainstream rifle maker (remington, CZ, savage, winchester, ruger, browning, weatherby, Howa, etc) is going to make a fine rifle.





IF you want to go budget rifle, Marlin XL7 is the best, followed by Stevens 200, then Remington 770, then Mossberg 100ATR, with Remington 715 and 710 being the worst





The difference is in what the rifle is chambered in. (Because a winchester model 70 in 22-250 swift and a Remington model 700 in 22-250 swift are going to be pretty much the same usefulness...varmint guns, but a winchester model 70 in 338 winmag is going to be a grizzly bear gun, even though it is the same model as the first gun, it is drastically different due to what ammo it is shooting)





In your case a rifle chambered in 25-06 is going to be a wonderful choice. 25WSSM would be another really good choice except I don't know if that round is popular enough that there will still be easy to obtain ammo for it in 10 years. You could also go with the 243 winchester or 6mm remington, they are both a little bit less powerful but shoot a little flatter.





If you want a little bit more power than the 25-06 offers, (i.e. you want more of a universal rifle cartridge, something that could be used on elk and such just fine, not just deer) then the 270 winchester is the choice for you
The best rifle is going to be the one you are most comfortable with. A .308 caliber would be among one of the best, whether it is .30-06 or .308 Winchester .300 winmag, a larger caliber will serve you well. But if you aren't comfortable with the rifle and you can't place a shot with it then all is for nothing. So go to the ranges, go to the stores, handle as many as you can, fire as many as you can. Get the one that is best for you. The 700 is okay. So is a sporterized 1903 Springfield. Hell an M1 Garand with a good barrel and sights will do it for you as well.
I am an ex military long distance competition shooter, and, Alaskan hunter, trapper and certified Alaskan hunter safety instructor.





If you already own a small centerfire rifle and have excellent marksmanship skills - then the 7mm Rem Mag is the best. The reason I mention having a small centerfire like 223, 243 or 308 - is because any rifle you buy for a long range shot that provides a one shot kill at 500 - 600 yards is going to kick like a mule. You never learn to be a decent shot on a magnum cartridge - it will only teach you flinch, and bad habbits. You are never going to spend long afternoons at the range with your 7mm mag, 300 or 338 Win Mag. It is gonna pound the poop out of you and 4-10 shot and you are ready to go home. That, and the barrel is hot enough to hurt you after 4-10 rounds.





They do not make one rifle that does it all. If they did, my wife would buy me one and sell off all the rest in the safe.





Something to consider. When you wound a deer at 200 yards you have plenty of time to down it before it is out of range. When you fire on a deer at 500 yards - and it runs - it is out of range by the time you have loaded a second round. How fast is it going to take you to cover 500 yards of open field with a back pack? Once you wound a deer it is yours - you are expected to track that thing until you drop. Are you fit enough to track a wounded deer all day? Do you have the tracking skills? Can you afford the $15,000 fine and loss of hunting privileges for 10 years when it gets away and you get caught? Called want and waste. Long distance hunting shots are for shooters with excellent skills.





Hope this helps.
The 7mm Rem. Mag. and the .300 Win. Mag. are some of the best long range deer cartridges ever to hit the hunting market. These two powerhouses offer plenty of power out to 500 yards for deer (though I wouldn't want to shoot at one that far). Lighter bullets like the 140 grain are great for the 7mm, and bullets in the 150 grain class would work well in the .300 for long range hunting. Then again you always have the old standby's like the .270 Win. and the .30-06.
Remington 700 SPS tactical in the .308. Bloody nice cartridge and the rifle is an all time great. What more could you want. Also with the .308 it enables you to move up to larger game when you get more comfortable and become more experienced.
the best bet would be a .300 winmag the 2nd best would be a 308. the 300 winmag has a faster bullet velocity less drop less kick and the same stopping power at any distance as the 308. but pirce might be an issue
Remington 700 in 30.06 will do the job. Just be sure of your shot. At long distances, shot placement becomes less sure. Try to make it a humane quick kill. 100-150 yards or less.
308, 30-06, 300 win mag are all respected calibers.





Remington 700 is a great action, but there are many to choose from.
.30-06 OR .300 WIN MAG





go for a ruger m77 winchester model 70 or weatherby vanguard or mark 5