My New Long Range Rifle!

Little sister to my desired long range rifle. Sako A7 Roughtech.

The Setup

For about ten (long) years, I’ve longed for a true long range rifle. Hunting shows provided me with deeds of derring-do. Mule deer are taken at 750 yards. Coyotes are slain at 1,000 yards. Bull elk fall to masters of the rifle at 1,100 yards. Wow! Being an engineer with a penchant for math and physics, and also an avid hunter, makes this sport an easy match, right? Mmm hmm.

It seems that if you purchase the right rifle/scope from the right people, you enter the league of master riflemen. Rigs start at $2,000 and climb quickly to $6,000 and beyond. Whiz-bang (see what I did there?) cartridges send slippery bullets blazing from long, heavy barrels to find their mark at unheard-of ranges.

My Heroes

I once heard a story about the new long-range hunting sport. It seems this fella had his cow elk pegged at a reasonable range…not exactly sure what range. Anyway, he elected to move back a few hundred yards to try his shot at 700 yards. The upshot? He took his cow with one round from the longer range. I try to avoid passing judgment, but this is not something I would do. If I know I can take that elk at 700, but have her at 300 or 400, I’m taking the easier shot every time. I respect the sport. I respect you other hunters. Most of all I respect the game animal. I won’t knowingly make my shot more difficult in taking an animal’s life.

On another adventure, again hunting cow elk, I tumbled into this crew in the field. Turns out one of my friends was in with them so we pooled resources for the day. I clearly remember one of the younger members of the crew with a fancy new long-range setup. He boasted that if I could get him within 1,000 yards of the elk, he’d handle the rest. Eye-roll, please…

My Beliefs

My point is not to denigrate long-range hunters. Just as with any hunting practice, long-range hunting certainly has its place. Truly dedicated and adept long-range hunters have my sincere admiration. My concern lies where blissfully ignorant folks take up a sport that requires long rounds of practice at the range. Big game hunting is sport and it is sustenance. To play games with the life of another creature is not my idea of sport. If you take up the rifle at long range, it had better be in your layup range. That takes long hours of practice and dedication.

I will start to explore the downrange capabilities of all of my existing rifles.

Big game hunting for me is personal. I do aspire to become better as a hunter and better with my rifle. I’d love to extend my slam-dunk or layup range. I know down deep that taking a shot when you are less than 90 percent certain of the outcome is not a good idea. I’ve done it. I regret it. It is even possible I may do it again, but I strive to be more disciplined. I still love the idea of the long-range shot.

Some More Setup

My son received a rifle early in his hunting career. My daughter didn’t have time for hunting, so she received a bit of a hand-me-down. When her college soccer career was complete, suddenly she was ready to hunt! Her first two years, she borrowed my rifle and her brother’s with much success. Six tags, six kills. I knew we had to help her get her first big game rifle as she was hooked. It took her six months to select a rifle and she finally chose a Sako A7 in 270 Win. Wow! What a shooter that rifle is! I absolutely adore that rifle and her choice. It regularly returns 0.5 MOA groups out of a #3 fluted barrel.

Fast forward two years to today. Her Sako A7 was reduced in price by $400 recently. I already have rifles in the calibers available, so I figured I was out of luck. As I was browsing the store, I noticed the Sako A7 Long Range rifles in the next rack were also on sale! These add a heavier barrel and stock to the basic setup that we found so perfect for my daughter. I just knew I would need to have the 7mm Remington Magnum version. My wife didn’t exactly green-light me. It was more of a flashing yellow, but I could see the rifle was mine if I wanted it. If I wanted it? Gimme a break. This is exactly what I needed! Or was it…?

Decisions

I’m trying to be better about impulse purchases. So I decided to sleep on it. I consulted ballistics calculators, comparing 26 Nosler, 270 WSM, 7mm WSM, 28 Nosler, and 7mm Rem. I already have a 300 WSM, a 6.5 Creedmoor, a 25-06 Rem, and a 270 Win, so I needed to find a reason to fill a void. The 25-06 is a tack-driver and definitely capable of hitting a softball-sized target at 500 yards consistently. The 270 is possibly even a little bit better, but certainly its equal. At 6500 feet of elevation, the 25-06 packs enough power to kill muleys at 600 yards, and the 270 is a great elk cartridge to 500 using modern bullets. The 300 WSM prints the odd 0.6 inch group and is always under 1 MOA. It extends the elk killing range comparable to a 7mm Rem mag.

I want a rifle that is heavy to tame recoil. I abhor muzzle brakes in the field. My wife shoots my 8 pound 300 WSM as does my son and my dad. An 11-pound 7mm flinging slippery 175 grain bullets seemed to fit the bill better than the 300. As I contemplated my situation, I realized I was looking for a cure to a problem I didn’t have. I presently do not have the practice and the savvy to shoot beyond the capabilities of my existing arsenal! Neither do any of my hunting team. Epiphany! I went back to the gun store today, only to find my 7mm Sako further reduced by $100. Twist the knife…just rub it in. I left the gun shop with two boxes of on-sale Norma brass, but no Sako. This, for me was a small victory.

Breaking it Down

Most of my rifles have a maximum point blank range somewhere inside of 300 yards. If I hold a little high, I’m very comfortable at 300 yards. With a good rest, I can make good field shots of sub-six inch at 400 yards. Beyond that, I feel that I can ethically take elk to 450 or 500 yards with a dead rest and less than 10 mph cross-winds. That is really it. I don’t yet really have the practice to take longer shots than that, depending on the size of my target.

If I certainly have no business shooting at elk beyond 600 yards or deer beyond 450 yards, why would I want a rig that specializes in that? You could argue that first I should buy the rifle and then practice with it. However, couldn’t I just practice with the rifles I have? Couldn’t I first take the time and have the dedication to find their downrange limitations? The answer is “Hell yes”.

Long Range Rifle Solution

So, I leave the gun store today about $950 richer. I have a new perspective on my shooting. I will start to explore the downrange capabilities of all of my existing rifles. Once I demonstrate to myself that I am capable of dialing it in, then I can justify spending the money on the sweet rig. Until then, why on earth would I tempt myself to take an unethical shot by having that setup in my possession?

I still believe I will own a true long-range setup in the next few years. I feel there are definitely times when this tool will have its role in my arsenal. Will it form the core of my hunting hardware? Absolutely not. Until I acquire the skill and discipline to use it, I’m going to wait. Let me squeeze everything I can out of my existing rifles. I will help my family to enjoy these rifles and then I will decide on the final setup after a little more consideration.

Ultimately, I believe I will be looking at something in .264, .277, or .284 at the end of the day. I prefer to keep energy and recoil to reasonable levels, so I’ll avoid the 338 Lapua and other similar big cartridges. Will I wish I’d jumped on the $400 sale on a rifle I adore? Probably, but I am learning that I need to prove to myself the need for new toys. I’m pretty sure this is a true case of this. Consider whether you really need that new toy.