Best Long Range Rifle Cartridge or Round

[quack fiend]

.30-06 , The original sniper rifle from WWI thru the Vietnam War. Only reason it’s not in use now is due to law enforcement “over penetration”. With the right round it will take down anything on the North American Continent. It’s been around forever so the data you can get will choke a mule. Cheap to reload, recoil is significantly less than that of the previously mentioned anti-tank weapons. Call me a traditionalist but just because it’s not the flavor of the day, it’s still a great round.

+1 I can reload match ammo in .308 or '06 with military brass for less than $5 a box, 1/2 moa in the right rifle.

[Blackduck]

I know a bit about this. Not a ton but enough to be dangerous. If I was going to build a long range hammer, meant for shooting elk and such past 500 yards then I would build a 338 Edge or a 338 Norma.
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/ ... ear-78197/

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/ ... ock-72198/

Shawn is the Edge guru and he is who I would get to put it together. Kirby Allen is also top notch and I think Len Backus also has some rifles ready to ship

There isn't much that can compete with a 300g Sierra Matchking or berger hybrid moving at 2700 fps. You can get it done with a 7mm or 300 win mag but the Edge is an absolute bad booty. The Edge is a 300RUM necked up to the 338.

Barrel life is always an issue with overbore guns. There isn't much more overbore than 7RUM. 1200 rds maybe. The Edge is the same amount of powder but larger bullet so it should be a bit easier on the barrel.

Elk and such live in some mountainous terrain so weight is an issue. Too light and your shoulder will hate you. Too heavy and you'll tire out packing the dang thing. I'd aim for something around 12-14 lbs.

Barrel - Krieger, Hart, Brux, Bartlien. Basically anything north of 300 dollars is a quality tube. Broughton as well. Actually their arent too many bad ones. My Kriegers shoot well, as do my Shilen, Broughton, and Bartlien.

Jewell or Rifle Basix trigger. No more than two lbs.

manners or Mcmillian stock

good break. Painkiller is good one. Defensive Edge makes good breaks.

Get the best brass you can afford. Lapua is so much better than everything else it isn't funny, Norma second then Nosler. Winchester and Remington are pretty marginal. They work but you have to weigh them and measure neck uniformity.

If you go WSM route then get it on a long action with the longer mag. Also necking up 270 brass to 7 will require neck turning to prevent dounuts and the 300 necked down may also require neck turning because of the excessive thickness. Neck turning sucks.

[Gumbo]

Had the 7STW, 7RUM & the 300RUM
By far most versatility in load options is the 300RUM
It will do all you want it to do

[ducknbuck1]

I have had just about all of the calibers listed on this thread at some point. It is all just a personal pref on which way to go. I would ask a few questions before I could give you a for sure answer of what I thought was best.

1. What will the use of the gun be?

2. Where will you be shooting it?

3. Do you reload?

These are the main two questions. The reason I say this is because a few reasons. If you are a handloader and will be staying around your state hunting then you prob will never run into any issues. What happened to me one time is when I had a 338 Lapua, I had a wicked load worked up for it. I worked up here in Mississippi and then the next year I went out west hunitng and all the pressures changed in the load due to altitude change and atmosphere change. The load I had worked up was the most consistant, however was on the verge of being max load. Well out west it went to being over pressured and the brass where sticking in the chamber once they were fired. Luckly I had another rifle with me. If you don't reload, I would tell you to buy a caliber that you can find factory ammo readily avaliable at your hunting stores.


Any of the calibers listed will most likely be capiable of out performing the shooter every day of the week. Just because the round is capiable of shooting 1,000 + yards doesn't mean the shooter can do it. I am not saying that you aren't skilled enough to do it, just making a point. I have alot of the wildcat rounds just because I like diff. One of my most favorite of all times is my 257STW. Only shooting a 100 grain pill, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it on anything in the Cont. 48 states. Anything outside of that I will take my 7.21 Lazzeroni Firebird. I will tell you that 338 Lapua is very expensive to shoot. Everybody is dead on with their thoughts on that. The only brass to use for that is Lapua brass and they are high and sometimes very hard to find. They are right at 3 bucks per brass. A round that is a very very wicked long range caliber is what I will be getting next week - 6.5x284. Don't get caught up in the thinking that you have to have the largest round out there for a long range shooter. Not the case. But of the ones you listed, I would lean towards the 300 ultra if you want a big boy.

As far as the barrels go I like diff companies based on the caliber of gun. For a 300 Ultra or 30-378 I lean towards Krieger. Sometimes you can call them and they migiht have what you are wanting in stock. I would for sure reccommend a good muzzle break on the big boy calibers. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me and I can give you a name of buddy of mine that has more long range shooters than you can imagine.

[Deltamud77]

I greatly appreciate all of the answers. It truly is amazing the knowledge base on so many issues on this message board.

[chs36]

Remember . . The most important part is shooting enough to know your gun. It dont matter what cal you get if you dont know what it does . Me personally . . . Would start by shooting my current gun at those further distances and then in the future think about changing . It will help you to see the difference in each cal better. Theres no such hunting cal made that your gonna get out the box and not have to make major adjustments for 5OO plus shots

[tombstone]

The Edge is a 300RUM necked up to the 338.

Why is that different than the 338 ultra mag???

[Blackduck]

Slightly more case capacity. I think. There are about half a dozen 338 and trying to tell one from the other is tough.