As most know I bought a Rem 700 LSS in a 7 RUM a couple years ago with the intent on rebarelling it for a Long Range gun. Turns out that out of box stock gun was quite a shooter and I didn't need a rebarrel job. Obviously it's not the norm. We have a slough of guns that we use for our long range hunting, all are custom except for this little dream boat. Also, they are all "wildcats" that either require fireforming brass or special dies.
So far I've had 1 shot kills on deer out to 750 and even further with groundhogs! Of course, they are all custom handloads, but the guy could spend $700 on a stock gun and have just what he wants. It's not a gamble either, since all it would require is a new barrel if the stock gun isn't a super-shooter. It's a standard "hunting" rifle that'll easily get me to 1000 yards. I'm still pumping out 1200 ft pounds of energy at 1000 yards with this rig. Oh yeah, have a 300 RUM in a Rem 700 SS and it shoots just as good! That rig with the scope combo gets me to 800 yards and shoots good enough to kill even our small sized deer at those ranges. (both will shoot under a few inches at 500 yards!) Coincidence? Or does Remington just put together a sweet gun? Hardy doubt I lucked into two guns in different models, in different calibers that turned out to be 1000 yard deer killers out of the box.
Tell him to buy a new Remington, break in the barrel, and he's probably going to be suprized at the results. The .284 is a good shooter, but you can't beat a good .30 caliber. (.308,30-06,300 win mag, 300 RUM) Just depends on how much energy you want when it gets there. Obviously a 300 RUM shooting a 180-200 grain bullet is going to travel farther, have less drop and more energy the farther it goes than a .308 shooting a 168 grain bullet.
It's interesting to look at balistics. You'd think a heavier buller would drop faster than a lighter bullet, well not true if the ballistic coefficent of the bullet is higher. I recently switched from a 160 grain to a 180 grain bullet with a .200+ in BC and gained a whopping 80" (that's 6.5 feet!) and 900 ftlbs of energy at 1000 yards with the heavier bullet. Basic rule, is push as heavy as a bullet as you can, as fast as you can and you'll retain more energy down range. My only concern with using a .308 is does it have enough energy at a 1000 yards to kill at deer?...probably yes. I could enter my .308 data into my Exbal to give me the final energy, but it wouldn't be my first choice if he's actually thinking of killing deer at that distance. I'm sure it punches holes in paper just as close or not closer than anything else..but if you only have 100 ftlbs of energy, then you're just poking a hole and have no shock. Don't get me wrong, I love the .308 and it's one of my favorite rounds. I use mine for an all around "carry" hunting gun. I even bring it along while we hunt long range just in case we'd need a follow up shot when retrieving deer. This gun is NOT my choice for long range just b/c it doesn't have the energy at those ranges. I like to pull the trigger and watch them flop at 1000 yards, not watch them take off running
I wouldn't think twice about killing a deer at 500 yards with my .308 though.
Tha being said, I've seen a 6.5x284 roll a deer completely over at 800 yards, with only 500 ftlbs of energy. Who was it that said you need 1000 ftlbs to kill a deer?? hogwash....
So if he's hunting at ranges around 300 yards and just wants to plink at 1000 yards, then a .308 is a good choice. Easy to reload, cheap (you're only putting 40 grains of powder vs 90 grains) and have lots of bullet selection. If he doesn't reload, then he better consider it, if he plans on shooting at those distances. Don't think you're going to pick up a stock gun and factory ammo and expect to even hit a house sized target at 1000 yards
I'm done rambling now :P