A couple people had expressed interest in this topic, and I have a bit of extra time for a couple days, so here goes:
Bona fides: I am a former infantry NCO and sniper, hunter, competitive shooter, reloader, hobby gunsmith, sometimes firearms trainer and currently work in a gun shop, mostly on the paperwork/compliance side. Back in the day, was a qualified expert with every standard small arm in the US inventory circa 2003 (M2, 4, 9, 16, 19, 249, 240B, 21, 24, 82 etc.), and today hang around the 75th percentile of USPSA classifications. I've shot Cap-and-Ball, Trap and Sporting Clays badly; Bullseye and PRS somewhat better and IDPA/USPSA/UML/Two-gun with some local success. Been active in the 2A community since the mid-90s, got my first instructor cert in high school, and have held a CPL for almost twenty years now.
I certainly don't claim to be an expert in every aspect of firearms, there's huge areas that escape my knowledge base, but if you've got questions I'll do my best to answer.
Technical questions
Gun control proposals for feasibility
Industry
Training
Wacky opinions
General geekery
Some competition links (not my own) just for the interested.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=U5IhsWamaLY&t=173
https://youtube.com/watch?v=93nEEINflXE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=utcky0zq10E
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Notes -
I’m thinking of getting a longer range rifle. Not necessarily for hunting (but I’d like the option, for deer and possibly defensive against black bears), more for target shooting.
My goal would be able to consistently hit targets at 1000 yards.
6.5 creedmoor, or .300WM? I don’t really care about costs, or the effects of recoil on me, just interested in what is ballistically more suited to shooting bears at 1000 yards.
I have a very large property on the border of Canada and black bears are a problem here is why I include them as a question. If the answer is that neither of these are really good bear rounds, then I’m more just interested in shooting steel at 1000 yards.
.300WM is fine for smaller bear species, but not at a thousand yards. Nobody shoots live game at a grand, unless you're Saint Carlos of Hathcock.
The realistic outer limit for a talented and well-practiced amateur is 500 yards on live game. Beyond that, the delay between when you shoot and when the bullet gets there is enough for the animal to have moved some distance. Makes getting a clean kill much more difficult. Within 500 yards, the .300 is fine on black bear, with the heaviest, toughest bullets you can find. If you have bigger bear, consider going up to a .338, .35 or .45 caliber such as the .45/70. Range will likely shrink, recoil goes up, but so does the power and penetration.
I'd say you're looking for two rifles. One 6.5 Creed to shoot a thousand yards with, one bear gun. The use characteristics are quite different.
Okay good to know. I figured that range was pretty crazy to actually kill a bear, but thought I’d ask! Thanks!
Also, even if you went with the WinMag (which would probably kill a bear at 1000 yards assuming you could see/hit it), the rifle that would do this is almost certainly not the one you want to be packing around all the time in case you run into a bear.
The answer as usual is "more guns" -- get a benchrest style Creedmore (or 308 if you are not a hipster) for LR targets, and something handier for the bears.
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And 500 yards is an outer limit. You really should be thinking of hunting as that 1-200 yard range. Even for bear. People take longer shots on extremely flighty mountain deer.
Yeah, I don't want to seem too condescending, but most people have no idea how difficult even a three hundred yard shot is. Anyone who can tag live game at 500 is probably in the five thousand best shots in the country. But every goddamned customer wants a 500 yard gun and cartridge.
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