Long Range Rifles?

Question

What is the most accurate rifle available to the public that will shot the farthest accurately

i would use it for deer hunting and target

Answer 1

It depends entirely upon where you are hunting. If you will be on open range, you want a flat shooting bullet, sized according to what you are hunting. Basically anything .223 caliber and up, although a .223 doesn't have a whole lot of power at range. I prefer the .30-'06 Springfield, and own a Remington Model 700 that belonged to my father for years before he gave it to me. I have seen deer drop where they stand at 500 yards with this rifle. Some other excellent rounds in this category would include the Remington 7mm Magnum, the .270 Winchester and the .300 Magnum. I grew up around .30-06, so I will choose it every time, but that doesn't mean the others are bad. The '06 is very versatile. The rounds are generally cheap enough (if you can find military surplus) to shoot for fun, while big enough to get the job done while hunting "big" game (i.e.- moose, elk, bear, even African Safari).

If you are hunting in "scrub", meaning dense woods, or where your shot will be under 100 yards or so, lever action rifles work well. They are realtively short, so they are easy to maneuver when you see your target, and in scrub will give you a limited field of view and time to aquire the target. The classic Winchester .30-30 (winchester no longer makes this rifle, but Marlin Firearms does chamber some of their rifles for this round) is a lever action rifle, and the various rounds that can be used in a lever action are extremely powerful. I also have a Marlin 336 lever action chambered for .35 Remington, and I shoot 200 greain loads out of it. This will definitely take out a bear with no problem.

it will all depend upon where you are hunting, and what, but starting out, I would get a gun with versatility, such as the .30-06. Flat shooting with a lot of power, you can never go wrong with a round that has been here for 101 years.

There are a lot of people on here talking about custom rifles, and, like I said, it depends on what you will be doing with it. The Remington 700 series of rifles come in a wide variety of rounds, from 22-250 all the way up to .338 and larger, and off the shelf, this is a very accurate rifle. The base model, the 700 BDL will run you around 700$, and a good scope will be at least 150.

Answer 2

You're going to get a lot of responses to this question with a lot of different answers. There's no perfect rifle that does everything. Some will suggest a 30/06 because of the range of bullet weights, but in my opinion it's not a true long range, flat shooting cartridge. It is very versatile though. When I think of long range, I am looking to be comfortable shooting, meaning not a lot of bullet drop, out at 300 & 400 yards. I like to feel confident I can hit something at those ranges without having to guess or take too much risk of missing or wounding an animal. The list of cartridges starts to get a lot smaller if you use those criteria. Key question is what type of hunting would you want to do. Small, medium or big game? Then try to match the rifle. A couple years ago I was hoping to buy a flat shooting long range rifle, but didn't want to buy too many guns. After a lot of research I settled on the following: 220 Swift - for varmints. Cartridges are a little pricy, but you can't beat it for a flat long range shooting gun. Flatter than a 22-250 or 223, which are also very popular. 270 Great for deer or anything about that size. I used it on coyotes as well, before I picked up the 220 swift. You can use a 270 on elk as well, but there are better rifles with more knock-down power. A 7mm would be a close second, but it overlaps a lot with the next cartridge. 300 Win Mag - flattest shooting big game gun out there. When you go to alaska this is what most guides hunt with. I've used mine for mule deer, bear and elk. If I had to pick one rifle, I would start with the 270. Then decide if you wanted or needed the others. Stick with bolt actions. You could consider heavy barrel guns to reduce the kick and accuracy, but they're not as much fun to carry up and down mountains. Good luck. It can be tough sorting through all the cartridges out there.

Answer 3

I would like to ask what do you consider long range. Most big game is taken at fairly short ranges compared to target shooting disciplines. Deer are typically taken at 40-200 yards with some taken at longer ranges 300 even 400. While there are target shooting competition held at 600 and 1000 yards. Rifles for Palma Competition, shot at 800,900, 100 yards, are hyper accurate and use specialized iron sights, that right 1000 yard and no scope! These rifles are not at all suited for hunting.

There are the heavy scope rifles chamber for the 50 caliber machine gun round or the 8.8mm Lapua that were designed for long range military sniping. They are very heavy, very expensive and so is the ammo ($5 a shot iirc). You will either have to have access to a great deal of open land or travel to a very limited number of ranges to shoot it. Even sighting in the scope will be an issue. I am also trying to imagine what you would hunt with it.

Now if you are interested in a hunting rifle accurate to 500 yards, Kimber Produces one, so does the Remington Custom shop and several Gunsmiths, a hunting Rifle like that would be in the $1000-2000 range. I am also assuming target work you mean practice as there really is not much in the way of competition for hunting rifles. There really is not much in the way of cross over arms. There are some (Cowboy action and Vintage Military Rifle) but they would be used at much shorter ranges for both competition and hunting.

Answer 4

If you're looking for a good hunting rifle, there are plenty available. The most accurate will be an accident, but there are plenty of custom makers that will get you all the accuracy you need. Now all you need to do is get over the idea that hunting and long-range shooting have anything to do with each other. Unfortunately, its such a common misconception that there are even people who think a shot at a deer at 500 yards is something to brag about! It's an insane world we live in.

Answer 5

Ooh Rah there moon dog. That's a good answer.

Shooting truly long distance requires more than a great gun. You have to understand range, trajectory, calling the wind, speed/direction along the path of flight, temperature, humidity etc. Any standard rifle Remington, Savage, Browning, Ruger will do all you need it to. For hunting you should only shoot as far as you can maintain a group size that is approx 65% of the area of the vital shot you want to take. For deer that would be roughly a 4"-5" group, from whatever gun, scope and shooting position combination you are using.

Answer 6

Is this for target or hunting? Need that info to give an accurate answer.

I have a scoped model 750 Remington .308 that has served me very well over the years. It's light to carry, hits deer hard and it it holds it's own on the rifle range.

Answer 7

The most accurate rifles available are not suitable for hunting--they're too heavy, and there is a lot of debate about the best cartridge for deer.There is also a lot of debate about what type action to use, especially since many new semi-auto rifles have excellent accuracy. My personal favorite for a dual purpose rifle is a .308. It is not as powerful as a .30-06 or a 7mm magnum, but it is adequate for most deer hunting situations. .308 ammunition is available in a wide variety of factory loadings, one of which is sure to provide excellent accuracy. My favorite is the Sako 85 Hunter, (it is pricy at about $1500) but Savage makes a perfectly serviceable and accurate rifle for about 1/3 that price.

Answer 8

The Barrett .50 BMG rifle is NOT strictly used by military snipers currently in Iraq. It is not a deer rifle either. A 300 win mag is probably the closest to what you want. A bit much for whitetail but will really reach out there.

Answer 9

Here in the United States there are several companies that manufacture custom long range rifles utilizing a Remington 700 Magnum action. These rifles are capable of shots in excess of 800 yards in the right hands. Most are 7mm Remington Magnum, 308 NATO or larger caliber. They are expensive to have made and the optic's/scopes for theses are also expensive. You will spend about $2900.00 and up for one of these scoped custom rifles. The Barrett .50 BMG rifle mentioned earlier is strictly used by military snipers currently in Iraq and also serves as a anti-armor role against lightly armored vehicles. It is not designed for any type of hunting application..strictly military applications

Answer 10

The best super long range target rifles are not worth a damn as hunting rifles. They are too bulky, to heavy, and in general are illegal for hunting.

If you want a good hunting rifle that will also serve for 1,000 yard target shooting, get a heavy barreled bolt-action rifle in .300 WinMag or .308 Win. I repeat, get a heavy bull barrel, not a light sporter barrel. Slap a good Leupold scope on top and you are ready to start load development.

My rifle of choice would be a Winchester Model 70.

Doc