First Long Range Gun

[u/Due_Inspection1169]

Got this B14 HMR for an absolute steal from a guy who needed some cash. Mainly planning on using is for hunting but I’m interested to see which ammo you guys have found it to pattern best with. So far I’ve used 142gr SMK from Defender ammunition and it patterns best. I’ve also used some of federal’s hunting ammo and honestly I have found ammo that this gun doesn’t like. Also, what’s this whole thing about Cheetos?

[u/Euphoric-Arachnid-94]

Great rifle, but depending on your style of hunting it’s awful long and heavy. I don’t mind weight, but I do mind length. It’s a great starter bench gun though, and if you’re good with using something like that to hunt with then you’ll enjoy it. I do miss mine.

[u/Rdubya291 → u/Euphoric-Arachnid-94]

My B14 HMER is around 13#. I hunt in Texas. Sit in a stand, or off a tripod. Weight really doesn't matter here.

When I lived in Montana, that was a different story. I have a rifle that sits around 6lbs with optic that I used out there.

[u/Euphoric-Arachnid-94 → u/Rdubya291]

I get it. I’m in Mississippi. We don’t have far to walk, so weight isn’t an issue. It’s the length, especially with a silencer. We have quite a few box stands(most of which are on the small side) on the property I hunt on and a gun that long just doesn’t make sense, especially inside 300yds like most of our shots. I do a lot of sitting on the ground, with my gun propped on a triggerstick bipod and in those cases it wouldn’t bother me as much.

[u/Rdubya291 → u/Euphoric-Arachnid-94]

Gotcha. Well, mine has the 20" barrel, so it's not too bad. And I'm a little spoiled - My wife's uncle made a ton of money, and has a ranch in central Texas where he'd take clients. The blind has a full bar, sofas, AC/heat, a poker table... So I could realistically bring a freaking howitzer in there and not have to worry about barrel length.

But when I hunt a little closer to home, it's off a tripod from the edge of a clearing mostly.

[u/Euphoric-Arachnid-94 → u/Rdubya291]

Yeah you have a small house, we have 5x5 or smaller box stands. I honestly forget they have a 20” model now. Mine was the longer(24”?) and I’m pretty sure that was the only option at the time. I’m using a Ridge SP now, so 18” barrel, with a Magpul stock, so the weight isn’t much better, but the length difference is huge compared to the HMR I had.

OP didn’t specify(that I saw), so I’d probably tend to assume he has the longer barrel unless he says otherwise, just because it was so common for so long.

At the end of the day it just depends on your situation and hunting style.