Looking to purchase a new rifle and scope for next year. Planning a desert mountains mule deer hunt here in Texas and possible aoudad. Will also be used for most other hunting I do. Looking for something not too heavy to lug around but with some weight to help with stability. Shots out to 3-400 are possibility. I would say minimum .270 caliber. Budget for the combo would like to stay under $2500

Tikka 7mm-08, .30-06, .300 WSM, 7 Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag.

EGW one piece rail.
Talley Tactical rings.
Burris XTR II 3-15X or 4-20X

And that leaves room for lots of ammo.

What he said in 30-06 flavor.

$1000 for the scope, $150 for base and rings, $150 for ammo. That leaves $1200 for the rifle, lots of good options out there

This:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/legendary-arms-works-model-m704-280-ackley-improved/2711593.uts?Ntk=GunLibrary&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26Ntk%3DGunLibrary%26Ntt%3DLegendary%252Barms%26x%3D-687%26y%3D-823&Ntt=Legendary+arms

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bushnell-Elite-Tactical-Hunter-Matte-3-12x-44-G2H-FFP-Zero-Stop-LRHS-LONG-E3124H/292377871125?epid=2256044484&hash=item4413144315:g:t0kAAOSwTmtaOmoR

Rings will put you slightly over but not much...

Or:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/gun-library/firearms-sale-rack-gun-library|/pc/103792680/c/103800780/beretta-mato-dakota-action-7mm-rem-mag/2327860.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffirearms-sale-rack-gun-library%2F_%2FN-1103077%2FNo-40%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_103800780%3FWTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNP%26recordsPerPage%3D40

Same scope combo---

Rem 700 CDL in .270 Win Leupold bridge-base/rings & Leupold 3x-9x scope. Get a good leather sling, scope covers & pelican case & some ammo. That pretty much hits your budget. You can save a few dollars by going cheaper on the case.

IMHO...

Sako A7 in 270 weighs in right at 7 lbs. cost is $1,000. A7 long range in 7 RM is going to weigh in a tad over 9 lbs. cost bumps up to $1,200. Depending on whether ease of carry or a little more horsepower is priority. Either one is going to shoot well. No need to dial elevation at 300-400 yards with either in my experience. Top it with a Z-5 Swarovski. It meets the budget and either would be a very capable rifle for your stated purpose. Quality setup that is going to perform well without any upgrades.

forget the Tikka

Cooper Back Country
Fierce

Perfection is the Barrett Fieldcraft with a Swarovski 3-18X50

Barrett Fieldcraft

Bushnell LRHS or LRTS 4.5-18. Deals can be found to stay under your budget.

And call it a day.

Go take Jason's LR class 1st...and see what appeals to you AFTER you understand what it takes to hit at 800 at will ...in the wind...BRIGHT sunshine 0R dark/foggy and cloudy yadda yadda Just Sayin..don't put the cart before the horse. THEN go pick out something that you believe will do what you need it to do when you KNOW what it takes to get there...Hands ON Knowledge is King.
Ron

^^That is why I have a rental rifle/ scope/ and hand loads. It has served its' purpose many times. And every time, the man leaves with a very good idea of what he wants in a rifle and scope.

Preciate the support, Ron.

I didn�t see him mention anything about �hitting 800 at will�.
Why confuse the thread?

Three to four hundred yards is in the realm of some many calibers and bullet selections. I have shot many mulies that distance with a .22-.250 and a .243, but I wouldn't start recommending there. For what you are wanting, if I was going short action I would go plain vanilla 7mm-.08 or 6.5 Creed. If long action, then either a .270 or .30-'06 will be your Huckleberry. For shooting at that distance, I wouldn't worry about dialing, nor would I settle for simple subtension. I would pick another plain vanilla scope, a Burris II 3-9. Sight in the crosshairs at 200 and then on an actual range I would know where each subsequent line below the crosshairs hit.

On an actual hunt, simplicity is your friend. Know your weapon, know your load, and know your scope. When that muley jumps up and starts stotting out there, you may not have time to get out your rangefinder, dial your dope, set up and shoot. He is not there to be your living target. You need to be prepared to drop down into a supported shooting platform, guesstimate your range, and hold accordingly.

As for a rifle, I absolutely hate pushfeeds, but if I were going that way, I would go with a Howa. One piece bolt, better extractor, integral recoil lug...You aren't hunting out of a blind and your rifle will take punishment that it doesn't see on a whitetail hunt. As to rifle weight, remember that weight seems to defy logic and increase exponentially with distance walked and increases in elevation.

Spend your money on practice ammo at the range and a good pair of boots and binos. Spend your time getting to know how to shoot distance from field positions and be in shape. There aren't many benchrests in muley country and that bipod sometimes doesn't work on the side of a hill. Get a good pair of shooting sticks and learn to deploy them quickly. The actual shooting of the deer is the easy part once you are ready for it.

I think his point was to learn features and capabilities of firearms, glass, loads, and shooter then using that knowledge to determine the best configuration for his needs.....not simply to hit steel at 800 yds......

^^That's the way I took it.

I can't remember how many times I've explained, going out to 800 on steel, makes one better prepared for 400 yard hide.

Here's a great deal:
https://www.eurooptic.com/sako-85-black-30-06-spr-jrs1c20.aspx

They also have it in 270. That leaves you $1500 for premium glass like a Swarovski.

And here's your scope which leaves you plenty left for quality rings/bases, ammo, and even a session with FJG!

https://www.eurooptic.com/swarovski-z3-rifle-scope-4-12x50-plex-59021.aspx

OP affirmatively posts he is looking for: 1)a rifle for hunting only and 2)his maximum range will be 300-400. That pretty much describes about 95% of Texas hunters.

Yet, as always, we go straight to 800 yard shots, dialing scopes, and shooting classes. It�s a wonder 99.998% of the hunters in this state can do just fine without all that.

An 800 yard rifle/optic is a whole different animal than a normal hunting rifle/optic. Most people don�t shoot at 800 yards. 800 yards ranges aren�t everywhere. It�s not necessary to shoot at 800 yards to be a fine shot at normal hunting ranges.

IMO:
1)Any mid-sized caliber will work fine. The calibers mentioned above by Fireman are all great. Just personal preference there. I like the .300 Wins/WSMs.
2)Most any good rifle will do great also. Again, personal preference. I like Tikkas, Sakos and Weatherbys.
3)You don�t need to dial, so you don�t need to spend $$ on dialing stuff. Spend it on quality optics instead. Swaro Z-5 or Leupold VH6 HD variables up to 14-18x would work great.

Not made for a short range or lightweight hunting scope but we just got the Revic scope in and it is awesome so far. Love the built-in digital CDS.

This one?

Did I bring up 800 yards? No, Ron did. And I explained what he probably meant. But you choose to ignore that. And no one said he had to dial, but the scope I mentioned gives that ability.

Two hours ago, I lasered a hog at 343 yards. I dialed for it, because it was near dark. A black hog sure stands out up against a tree line, but I couldn't see my reticle well enough to hold it. Stil a shot hog, when all is said and done.

He didn�t say you brought it up. He just said it was brought up, and he�s right.

Having shot at the distances in years past that I was comfortable at, that maxed out at about 400+ yards, I was amazed on a lease out south Sonora where it was accepted practice to run shots lots farther than that. I grew up on nothing 100 yard ranges and had never taken many shots at past 200 yrds before then except for one in Wyoming where I trusted the guide who was using a 50X spotting scope & calling the Dope, and was successful with a 257Rbts and slow 100gr WW Silvertips on my only pronghorn at 444 yards ...leaning across the hood of the guides Bronco . So when I got to Sonora years later, I had at least some idea of what was entailed.

My reference to 800 yards "AT Will' was simply a reference to be comfortable with the knowledge of HOW to make shots up to 800 or ?? yards or more IF YOU SO Chose, 'cause you'd already learned HOW to do it. I can't hit at 800, never tried, nor would I attempt it unless someones life was at stake and I could change the odd's for someone to a more positive outcome by attempting something I'd never done before.

In Wyoming I watched my pard try and push a herd of pronghorns, from a high ridge, by trying to flush them towards a dry wash at mebbe couple miles or more away with a 7rmg...and saw his bullet strikes fade far behind the herd. Never thought that I'd see that, but had the same outcome years later chasing a herd of Aoudad's the LO had told us to kill all of 'em , with a 270 when the bullets ran out of reach, and me sitting with a 500'+ altitude advantage, hoping my partner on the other side of the box canyon would get a shot.

So here is where Dirty Harry Callahan's famous admonition comes into focus...A Man's Gotta Know His Limitation's...or said another way His Maximum Capabilities.

Every time I've done something radically stupid in Life was when I Ignored my "Known Capabilities" and tried to do something I knew was pushing the envelope toooo Far.

One time it cost me an eye, working on something I knew better than to fool with, another time I killed a 6'+ rattlsnake waaay back in the bush , and being totally unprepared, carried that 22lb 10 oz buzztail that was/still is minus about 6"s of head and neck - as weighed on a Licensed meat scale in Abilene that nite - I carried that snake out to the truck thru almost a mile of thick mesquite in the dark, in Dockers & tassle loafers without a flashlight or compass on property I'd never been on before, with only 3 bullets left. 1 for the first snake to bite me, and 1 for the last snake to bite me as they were responding all around me to my snakes headless but almost continual rattling while coiled around my arm ....and the last one for me....and still get nitemares about it everytime I smell a snake up real close.

So If someone KNOWS He can hit at ??? yards his confidence level to take a shot he would never attempt BEFORE he LEARNED HOW, becomes more of a moot question, and only concerns the ?? of other factors, 'cause THAT Can I Do It ?? has already been asked and answered.

Them guys on that Sonora Lease played a "Follow Me Game" I'd never seen before or since where they flipped a coin to chose the Lead shooter and so on, then antied up a dollar or 10 dollars or whatever the Lead called, and attempted to hit the same rock or cactus across the canyon he had, from the same shooting position he had, sitting, standing on one foot, leaning against a thorn tree, off hand ...whatever the Lead chose to do when he picked out a target with his bullet...stupid game got really spendy sometimes when 4-5 shooters were good enough to stay in the game for a couple rounds. Saw one pot hit over $200 at $5 a shot in 1985 $'s ...deer didn't have much of chance with that crowd at under 5-600 yards either in those pre range finder/mildot/super tuned LR gun days . But I learned a bunch and got good at running shots with a 270 or 300Wmg at longer distances than I ever thought I could on Jack Rabbits too...taking whatever shots at MY will I wanted to take. Manana Ya'll
Ron

I like how this guy thinks!

Nosler, MRC, Cooper, LAW, Sako 85 mentioned above would all be nice choices. You've got a good budget. You could also definitely do a modest 700 build and stay in that range.

You can get a Alamo Precision Rifle with a Curtis Axiom , Muller barrel, Timney trigger and Greyboe stock for $2050.