Hunting & Fishing New guy needing opinions

[Jonzie92]

#1
Hey guys I'm new here and just getting in to long range shooting. I have a question for some of yall more experienced long range guys. I'm a pretty avid deer and small game hunter and have a few high powered rifles. The biggest rifle I have is an older savage 111 .30-06. Its got a wood stock and the thinner "hunting profile" type barrel. I have a 20 moa scope base and have a primary arms 4-14x44 scope with moa reticle on the way. My question is, do y'all think this setup with good match grade factory ammo will be sufficient for steel, coyotes, and feral hogs at say 800 yards? Maybe a little further? I've had guys say that I need a heavy barreled rifle with no wood stock and all kinds of things, but it does shoot pretty good for an older hunting gun. Killed several deer with it out to about 250 yards. Is a heavy barrel necessary, or just better for taking multiple shots in rapid succession because it doesn't warp from the heat as much? Should I buy a different rifle more suited for long range?

 

[HeavyAssault]

Anyone can buy a $10,000 Gucci gun rigged to the hilt, few less can make it work to 400yds. Do you have access to 800 yds??

I'd suggest getting some different brands of ammo. Get to the range so you can test your skills. Start out slow and close. Get longer in the distance as you feel comfortable. I'm not up to speed with your scope but you might try a 50mm or 56mm objective if you feel you are lacking in optics.

If your budget minded plenty of guys swap out parts/optics/rifles here. If you are able to buy a new rifle, read up thru the Bolt Action section. There's plenty of decent conversations about factory rifles that can easily get to 800+.

I got an old '90's Ruger in 30-06. Dropped plenty of game in the woods. Pretty sure the rifle is good to go, but I'd need to test myself at 800+.

 

[Jonzie92]

Ok Thanks for the info man. Yea I live in the Mississippi delta region. Flat farmland far as the eye can see. I am saving up for a rifle more well suited for LR but it will be a while before i get one. I plan to order a couple boxes of good ammo in the next few weeks and see how it does and how far I can get

 

[athanasios23]

You can shoot 800 yards with smaller caliber rifles. The 30-06 will hit steel, coyotes and hogs at 800. People shoot 1000 yards with fixed 10x scopes so I wouldnt be worried about your scopes mag range. Just make sure the glass is good enough to see what your trying to hit. Thinner barrels heat up faster and change you poi quicker. If it was me I would just practice as much as possible and get your skills up. If you plan on banging steel all day. I'd think about a more efficinat cartridge to save your shoulder and pocket.

 

[Jonzie92]

Yea my old 06 leaves my shoulder pretty sore now and again LOL. I have heard a lot of good things about 6.5 creedmoor. Not sure how hard they will hit hogs and 'yotes though. Do any of y'all know if they carry a lot of energy pretty far?

 

[stello1001]

I don't know what your current load consists of, but pigs are big and tough and thick skinned. Figure out what your energy on target is at 800 yards before you attempt to take one out at said distance. Other than that, your "pencil thin" barrel is good. You can go with a heavier taper if you want. However, heavier barrel tapers don't make a barrel or a rifle more accurate, they simply heat up slower. As far as the stock goes, if you're already getting great accuracy, which it's not impossible to do so, don't mess with it. If you feel you can get more out of the rifle and isn't being too accurate, you can always keep that stock but try bedding it. That's what I would do if you want to squeeze more out of it.

 

[Jonzie92]

Ok great info man I appreciate it

 

[Maxduty]

I've got an old Interarms Mark X (Mauser 98) that I worked up loads for. I can ring steel easily out to 500 and have shot out to 800 with it (steel targets again). I wouldn't hesitate to use it for pig or yotes that far. It has a pencil thin sporter barrel as well as a factory wooden stock. If it shoots, it shoots.