Todd1700

Well, I'm a well known fan of the 7mm-08. Light recoil yet enough power for any whitetail and a pretty flat shooting caliber as well. A caliber that even from a light rifle you can shoot all day at the range and not need a chiropractor the next day. I think its just about the perfect whitetail caliber.

Not trying to start an argument but I'm not sold on the new short magnum concept either. For hunting purposes I don't see a significant adavantage over the magnum calibers that already exist or much of an advantage over many of the non-magnum calibers for that matter. Unless you routinely go on long hiking backpack hunting trips for elk or moose where you are forced to carry all your equipment on your own back I can't imagine why anyone would want a lightweight magnum gun. And even in that case I'd get either a Tikka t-3 lite or a Winchester Featherweight in 270 or 30-06, load them with a bullet designed to penetrate well on larger animals and not feel the least bit undergunned.

I know that short action rounds are supposed to be inherently a little more accurate than their long action cousins but you would probably have to be an avid benchrest shooter and reloader to notice a difference. In other words someone able to tune a gun and the ammo to a point that this adavantage would even be noticeble if it actually existed. This a moot point in the above case anyway as the 7mm-08 is also a short action round.

For all I know these new WSM's and WSSM's may catch on and become more popular than girls with big breasts but right now you will find them less available at many outlets and a more limited selection of factory ammo at the places that do carry them. It's generally more expensive too. Especially in the 7mm WSM that you mentioned as it seems to be far less popular than the 270 WSM or 300 WSM calibers.

As for scope opinions, I am of the opinion that it is just as important as the gun. Save up and at least get one up into the 300-450 dollar range. Good choices in this range are Nikon Monarch, Leupold Vari X III, or Zeiss Conquest. I find that scopes in this range offer significant usable advantages over cheaper scopes such as: better coated lenses for light transmission; tougher components that stand up to recoil better without shifting their point of aim; better and more consistent eye relief, they're clearer; water proof, shock proof and fog proof; they stay true when you adjust them from low power up to it's highest power setting (which is often a problem on cheaper variable power scopes); and they carry a lifetime guarantee. Those are all features I can make use of in hunting situations. Now do the 1200 dollar scopes offer advantages worth an additional 800 bucks? Not to me but thats another debate.