flattest shooting 500 yard deer rifle cartridge

[Deaf Smith]

OK, looking for a rifle/cartridge that drops the lest at 500 yards.

So far I've check 25-06, 6.5mm RM, 270 WSM, 7mm WSM, 7mm Magnum, .300 WM, .300 WSM.

And so far the least drop seems to be 7mm WSM with 140 gr bullets (35 or so inches.) But there are few rifles now made in 7mm WSM!

Any other rounds that drop less?

Thanks,

Deaf

[ms6852]

A .270 caliber rifle loaded with a 130 or a 140 grain bullets will drop respectively 33 and 35 inches with each bullet have over 1400 lbs. of energy at that distance more than enough to drop a deer humanely.
http://www.rifleshootermag.com/files...65-chart-1.jpg

[Troy800]

Take a look at 28 nosler or 7mm STW.

If i was me looking for a 500 yard rifle i would look at BC and wind drift before drop. Calculating bullet drop is simple. The most difficult part of long range shooting is doping wind drift. My personal choice is 7mm mag. Not the best but a great balance of drop, drift and managble recoil. Next for me would be 300 win mag. However i have had a recent fascination for the 28 nosler.

[FrankenMauser]

.26 Nosler will match the 7mm WSM to 500, and beat it beyond. (140 'Match'/VLD)
6.5-300 Weatherby nearly duplicates the .26 Nosler, at least on paper, with 140 VLDs.

But, of course, you can skew the numbers any way you'd like by messing with the zero distance, just like Weatherby does to sell their cartridges (300 yd zeros).

[Scorch]

While I understand the appeal of the flat-shooting cartridges, reaching 500 yds and placing a shot at that range is not very difficult. While I am a fan of the 7mm, you can reach a 500 yds target with about any .24, .25, 6.5mm, 7mm, .30, take your pick, no need for a magnum anything. The primary advantage of a magnum cartridge is flat shooting, energy on target is a much-discussed but over-valued part of the equation. The primary advantage of flat-shooting is the room for error in estimating distance. While you can shoot animals at 500 yds with just about any cartridge
(from slow to fast), the margin for error when estimating range becomes very small with the lower-velocity rounds. For example, misjudging the range to your quarry by as little as 50 yds with a slow bullet can easily result in a miss, whereas with most of the high-velocity numbers it would have little effect. With today's laser technology, flat-shooting loses much of its advantage due to the ability to know exactly what the distance to the target is, and there are even scopes that incorporate laser ranging and automatic trajectory compensation. So don't get me wrong, but why do you need a magnum?

[Dufus]

Check out the 30-378 Weatherby.

[BBarn]

Consistently killing deer at 500 yds. requires a steady rest and possibly some additional aids. Using a typical deer hunting cartridge (even the common magnums) with a simple scope zeroed at 200 or so yards leaves a lot to chance. The majority of hunting cartridges and bullets will drop more than 10 inches (some even 20 inches or more) between 450 and 500 yards with a 200 yd scope zero, and result in a miss with a ranging error of 50 yards (at that distance).

A scope with some form of bullet drop compensation will go a long way to compensate for bullet drop at long distances. And a rangefinder will greatly reduce the range estimation error. Those tools, along with some form of steady rest will greatly increase the chance for a 500yd. kill.

The use of some super high velocity round like the 28 Nosler or 7mm STW will also help by flattening trajectory, but the other items I mentioned above are perhaps more important.

[jmr40]

Flat trajectory simply isn't on the radar as a concern anymore with either target shooters or hunters. Virtually all modern bottle necked cartridges can shoot flat enough out to 300 yards that no hold over is required with a 100 yard zero. Hold on the top of an animals back at any range beyond 200 yards and any bullet drop out at least 300 will still land in the kill zone. Inside of 200 yards simply hold in the middle.

At 500 yards even the flattest shooting rounds are going to be dropping somewhere around 30". If you're smart enough to account for 30" of bullet drop then you are smart enough to account for 40" of bullet drop.

The use of range finders and BDC scopes have made flat shooting magnum rounds dinosaurs. Magnum rounds shooting light bullets at very high velocity will always shoot flatter. But much milder recoiling cartridges shooting high BC bullets at moderate speeds will match or exceed bullet impact speeds and energy levels down range. They do it with less recoil and drift less in the wind. Modern technology will allow you to compensate for the trajectory.

[OzeanJaeger]

Without running numbers my flattest rifle is probably the .220 Swift pushing a 36gr spire point at well over 4100 FPS. There are some wildcats that will do better, but not by a lot. Flat is a function of speed, because everything falls at about the same rate. You could just as easily ask what’s the fastest muzzle velocity.

[std7mag]

6.5-300 Weatherby mayde...

[Art Eatman]

If you're seriously interested in killing Bambi at 500 yards, use a laser range-finder.

As an example of trajectory, an '06 with a 200-yard zero will drop two feet at 400 yards and four feet at 500 yards. "Guesstimating" can thus easily result in an error of a foot or more.

The "hot-shot" cartridges will do better, of course, but not all that much better.

Use a laser and memorize the trajectory.

[Deaf Smith]

The majority of hunting cartridges and bullets will drop more than 10 inches (some even 20 inches or more) between 450 and 500 yards with a 200 yd scope zero, and result in a miss with a ranging error of 50 yards (at that distance).

This is my main concern. I wish a rifle/cartridge where I don't have to 'guesstimate' to much. Almost all rounds, including a 45/70 can be set to hit at 500 yards but their trajectory makes it difficult to hit at almost any other range without some calculations.

The less drop the better! All I see for the .270 Winchester is 50 inch drop at 500 yards while such as the 7mm WSM 35 inches. AH, using 'Superperformace' powder... I'll do more research on that! Thanks ms6852!

Do you guys think a simple Winchester 70 hunting rifle (polymer stock) has the accuracy for 500 yard shooting? I see them for $400 all the time.

I use a Remington 700 XTR 24 inch barrel in 7mm-08 and it gives me honest 2 inch groups at 200 yards (three consecutive three shot groups and the all measured 2 inches with no flyers.) I want to keep that one sighted in at 200 yards and I feel I need more power for 500 yards than it delivers.

It looks like for most cartridges 32 inch drop is about it. I don't want a round that burns the barrel out after just 600 rounds (as it seems the .300 RUM does!)

Thanks,

Deaf

[HiBC]

I agree flatter trajectories are useful.
Not so long ago,range estimation was eyeball,or if you were a rare individual who understood the use,MilDot.
It was not so common for scope adjustments to be accurate and repeatable.
You might use up 40 rounds chasing zero around a sight in target.
In my experience,on the scopes of not-so-long ago,twisting knobs in the field was to be avoided.
And indeed,for most folks hunting out to 300 yards or so,maybe 400,trajectory and holds will work.Probably better than knob fiddling.
But you are talking 500.
IMO,at that point,you should have time to laser range,look at a range card,check the wind,and dial some clicks into quality optics adjustments.Then hold dead on.
There are a number of BDC scopes with ballistic cams that streamline the process.
Just verify where your rifle shoots.
FWIW,I studied the actual values of the Boone and Crockett Reticle.
Then I played with ballistic software to find a trajectory that matched.
I'm at Colorado altitude. I found the 30-338 launching a 200 gr Accubond at 2900 fps was a very good match,with the center crosshair zero'd at 300 yds.
The lower duplex tip was 600 yds. Windage value was 12 mph.
I built the rifle. 26 in Lilja bbl and a Leupold Vari-x 111 3.5-10 B+C.
Sighted 300,longest target at the range. Went on public land,lasered a 500 yd target. First round,cold barrel was a center X hit using the 500 yd hashmark.

Its not a 500 yd flat trajectory. It required compensation. I just made it easy.

If I increased altitude significantly,or any other change in environmental conditions,I'd have to compensate.
A few years back I took my brother with the AR-10 T pronghorn hunting.
He spotted his buck a long way off. He went crawling bush to bush through prickly pear a few hundred yards and ran out of bushes.
He lasered,checked wind with a Kestrel,did his calculations. Shot once,dead pronghorn. Heart/lung within 3 in of his aiming point. 563 yards. Its a 308.

[reynolds357]

The flattest cartridge to 500 I have personally shot is the .25RUM. It is practically a worthless cartridge, but it fills your bill. My favorite bean field rifle is 7 RUM. I have killed Elk with it at 720 yds and 780 yds and regularly shoot whitetail with it at 600 to 800 yards. (Laser ranged)
I don't shoot it for its flatness, I shoot it for its energy. At those ranges, you better understand your dope.

[Mobuck]

It used to be the 257 Wby. I killed deer @ 420 yards and a coyote @540. Minimal(vs many other cartridges) holdover and adequate energy at those ranges.
Be advised, it's not the bullet drop that is the bugger in long range hunting. Bullet drop is lineal and can be easily handled. WIND is the big factor and makes this sort of shooting borderline unethical.

[FrankenMauser]

This is my main concern. I wish a rifle/cartridge where I don't have to 'guesstimate' to much. Almost all rounds, including a 45/70 can be set to hit at 500 yards but their trajectory makes it difficult to hit at almost any other range without some calculations.

As far as trajectory goes, all you need to know is the range.
One of my .444 Marlin loads launches a 437 gr 'Postell'-inspired, flat-point bullet at 1,850 fps. Slow. Heavy. Not what most people think of for long-range shooting.

But I took the time to work out the drop to 500 yards, and then went back and calculated the holds on my scope reticle for pre-determined distances and maximum magnification (2-7x scope). There's no reference on the crosshairs that matches 500 yards, but I can use that scope reticle for a good, identifiable, repeatable elevation hold to 430 yards (with room for some hold-over if I'm feeling stupid).


As others have said, wind is your real enemy. But using a bullet with the highest BC you can get will make some difference.


I like flat-shooters, too. But the last time I took a game animal at more than 215 yards was seven or eight years ago; and all shots over 250 yards can be counted on one hand.

[disseminator]

IMO the best cartridge that is commonly available for your application is the 7mm Remington Magnum. Recoil is noticeably less than the 30 caliber magnums and very high BC bullets are readily available.

[SA1911]

I'd much rather have an accurate rifle than a flat shooting rifle, assuming I couldn't have both in one.

Very, very, very, very, very few hunters are capable of making a 500 yard short at Rocky Mountain altitude. Conditions would have to be 100% perfect to even consider such a shot.

In contrast, a wise hunter upon seeing big game at 500 yards for which he has a tag will figure out how he can close distance. I'd rather shoot at a hundred yards than farther every single time. And I have very accurate rifles that'll shoot 500 yards, though I'd never attempt such a shot. 400 yards under perfect conditions with no ability to close distance is my self-imposed maximum.

Walking up on wounded big game that's fighting for its life will screw with your head for the rest of your life. Trust me.

[SA1911]

disseminator,

I agree with your post 100%. The 7MM Rem Mag is the definitive long range big game cartridge.

I can flat guarantee the mega magnum boys that a .300 RUM will not kill big game any deader than a .308 Win. Dead is dead. There's only one degree of dead and that's dead. Big game doesn't get any deader than dead. All hunters have to do is place bullets into necessary equipment for topside oxygenated blood flow, and they'll walk up to dead big game animals every single time. The science of biology is controlling, not cartridge size. A huge bull elk won't know whether a .30-30 Win or a super duper mega magnum deprived its brain of oxygenated blood. All it's gonna know is that he's heading for dirt because its brain ain't working.

[std7mag]

You know they make both reticles and turrets that allow you to shoot to 500 yards.

Vortex Crossfire II is pretty spot on for me using 7mm-08 and 140gr bullets.

Me personally i use my Strelok app for shooting distances beyond 300 yards. Of course i shoot up and down hill also. Not perfectly level here.
And shooting at deer 500+ yards. I KNOW i can hit it. I choose to get closer.

Coyotes are a different story. Lol

[Don Fischer]

Never fooled with one but I suspect what you want is either a 30-378 Weatherby or a 50 BMG!

By the way, what is a 6.5 RM?

[603Country]

I have a buddy that hunts with a 30-378 Wby. He uses a Nosler 125 gr BT and his MV is about 3800 fps or so. That puts him right with my 220 Swift with a 55 gr bullet, which when sighted in at 200 yards, drops about 5 inches at 300, 15 inches at 400, and around 35 or a bit more at 500. That’s about as flat shooting as anything I know of.

For shooting at 500 yards a plain old 270 will push a 110 gr Accubond at 3500 fps, which is right there with the 257 Wby and a 110 gr bullet. Get something like that and a really good turreted scope and do some serious practicing, and I hope you read wind better than I do. And you will need a rangefinder, and a pretty good one. My Nikon 600 is good to 400 yards max on pigs, deer, and coyotes. That’s all it’ll do, even on a good day, though I could range a truck to 800 yards or more.

I did shoot a hog at 490 yards with my 260, on a no wind day. Used a Nosler BT of 100 grains, at about 3000 fps. Lucky for me that the hog was standing in front of something I could range.

[SA1911]

std7mag,

As another posted correctly indicated, wind is but one variable that would make a shot beyond 400 yards very risky, especially at Rocky Mountain altitude.

If you're confident of shooting at 500 yards, I'm good. As for me, I want to be confident that my shot will cause quick, humane death. I want to walk up to dead big game.

You're right: coyotes don't count. They're scavengers that kill fawns.

[Rob228]

I've done pretty well with 5.56 at 500, but I also purpose built a .243 for shooting at 500.

For the least amount of drop you are probably going to want any of the new or old 6.5mm.

[Pathfinder45]

Since the intended target was listed as deer, I think the hunter should try to get closer. As far as long range hunting calibers go, there have been endless attempts over several decades to improve on the 270 Winchester. While some modest gains have been demonstrated by more powerful magnum calibers, there have been utterly no gains achieved without substantial compromises. But apparently, we have learned something out of all this, as the current trend is to emulate the long range performance of the 270 with cartridges that are milder at the muzzle. Thus, it would seem, is that the best of the old-school attempts is probably the 7mm Remington magnum; while the current best candidate is the 6.5mm Creedmoor. Pick a reasonable cartridge without losing sleep over it, and devote more time to physical conditioning and sharpening your outdoor skills. I like the 270 Winchester and consider it to be among the very best; but I am honestly having more fun with tang sights on an old 30 WCF. Of course, 500 yards is completely out of the question with that rig, but in the woods, you will never even see that far.