Ruger Magnum Hunter 300 WM

[fxol]

Looking for a Long range outfit, has anyone used one of these?

Thanks.

[wrenchman]

my son has the ruger 77 in 300 win mag it shoots nice

[Lorgar]

What is "long range" here exactly?

There is a lot I like about Ruger's (I have an M77 Hawkeye .308), but if accuracy is top of the list in what you're looking for in a rifle they wouldn't be my go-to.

They typically shoot about 1.0 - 1.5 MOA in my experience. That's fine for 200m - 300m hunting all day long.

Ruger are a tough as nails, reliable workhorse of a rifle, but if you want to reach out significantly beyond that I'd be looking at something with more of a focus on accuracy than ruggedness.

[Norton]

my son has the ruger 77 in 300 win mag it shoots nice

Are you shooting factory or hand loads?

Just curious. Seems Ruger's will shoot MOA but are fussy about finding the load that will do it.

[wrenchman]

right now just factory we do intend to buy dies to reload i no we would get better groups with it if we hand load.
right now he is shooting ppu ammo it is not as hot as other stuff it is cheeper he is hunting white tails and most the deer are less then 100 yard shots so moa is not a big deal.

[fxol]

Sorry for the late reply. I'm looking for something to shoot Deer at about 5 or 600 mts. Have never done it, just looking to get into it.

I like the look of the Steyr pro hunter in 300 win mag, but wonder if it is a long range calibre in a shorter range gun. Perhaps the Roughtech might be a better option? I don't want a tactical looking long range outfit.

Thanks.

[sandgroperbill]

5-600 metres is an extremely long shot for hunting, and you'll open yourself up to the whole debate on whether or not its ethical.

Long story short, don't do it unless you have proven yourself reliably accurate with your chosen rifle and have practiced at shorter ranges, slowly stretching yourself to longer ranges and can reliably hit targets at that range.

Then your rifle and scope have to be reliably consistent, accurate and clear.

In short, simply buying a rifle capable of reaching that distance doesn't magically bestow you with the ability to hunt at that range.

As for the rifle, I love my rugers, but if I were looking for a long ranger, the m77 wouldn't be top of my list.

And no matter what you buy, there are no guarantees it will be suitable at that range.

If you're just starting into hunting, though, then by all means buy the ruger or the steyr, but start at realistic ranges. Rugers are tanks. There is a reason they sell very well despite not being known as target rifles.

[ebr love]

Sorry for the late reply. I'm looking for something to shoot Deer at about 5 or 600 mts. Have never done it, just looking to get into it.

I like the look of the Steyr pro hunter in 300 win mag, but wonder if it is a long range calibre in a shorter range gun. Perhaps the Roughtech might be a better option? I don't want a tactical looking long range outfit.

The Steyr is not a shorter range gun than any other comparable hunting rifle. It's a 300WM with a 25.6" barrel, a Tikka chambered the same has a 24.5" barrel, the Ruger Mag Hunter has a 24" etc. It will perform similarly to those alternatives.

As for the hunting, when you say "never done it" do you mean never hunted deer before or never hunted at 600m before?

Just genuine feedback here, not criticising but if you're not already quite experienced at hunting / shooting you I'd be rethinking the situations you're really likely to find yourself in when it comes to deer.

Bearing in mind for effective and ethical hunting your looking at a 3" type area for a headshot, and a 8" type area for chest vitals.

600m is a long shot, even off a bench. If you're talking about shooting freehand or spur of the moment with an impromptu rest like leaning against a tree or something, forget it.

Freehand I couldn't hit a metre target at 600m if my life depended on it. Not consistently anyway, an occasionally lucky shot maybe.

Laying on a hill with a hunting rifle and bipod in whatever random conditions I find myself, I'd be doing bloody well to be shooting big dinner plate size groups 600m, probably worse. Depending on winds and other factors it could easily be a lot worse.

Other hunters here will tell you the same I'm sure.

The rifles you're looking at are walking, stalking guns. Not varminting, not target rifles. Not really intended for that range.

300 Win Mag is an excellent deer round and will put anything down flat inside a few hundred metres, if that's the cartridge you've got in mind go for it. But trying to build this around 600m I reckon you're planning for a situation that's only going to present itself very rarely, if at all.

95% of deer are shot inside 200m, much outside of that is a pretty uncommon occurrence. People are out there stalking deer because that's the most likely way to get them.