chosing a rifle

Welcome. I see you are joining us from France. What animals do you think you would hunt and at what ranges?

Also, do you load your own ammunition?

Off the top of my head, it occurs to me that the French may not be allowed to use military and ex-military chamberings? Something I read in the past....

If true, that would potentially rule out the .223, .308, and .30-06. Perhaps our new member can give a list of what is available and help narrow down the choice that way.

Forget about hunting to 700 yards. If you are just starting, you need to do a LOT of target practice to even shoot animals half that far. Trust me, when you've worn out a couple of barrels at the target range, then you can think about shooting animals out past 300 or 400 yards.

It's harder than it looks!

vipinaiter said:

just for saying I am a experimented hunter. And I have already worn out a couple of barrels

Click to expand...

Ah OK I did not know that. We get a lot of new members who are planning on doing that with their first rifle, thus my comments. Well, perhaps something with a good track record at long range? .270 Win, .300 Win mag? The .270 is perhaps our classic sheep caliber.

Biggest problem at extended ranges may be having a bullet that will still open up and kill the animal. Generally speaking, the serious long range hunters use the heaviest bullets in the caliber that have good aerodynamics. A 200 or 210gr. bullet in a .300 Win Mag will have a bit of recoil. Not for the beginner!