New Caliber, please help me decide
 

Hi everyone, I got a bonus and need to spend it before the wifey finds out. I am trying to fill a slot in my " hunting" battery, which consists of .25-06, .300 win, .416 Rem and .45-70. After HOURS of thought I narrowed the choices to 7mm STW or .340 Weatherby. I hunt elk, deer, antelope and would like to try bear, but would be blackies. Elk hunting is my preference. If you could share your opinions I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

CE

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

You already have your bases pretty well covered. A 7mm-STW would be my first choice. :)

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

The 7mmstw is a no brainer.I have two and have taken deer,bighorn pronghorn,moose and elk with them.Flat shooting plenty of energy and manageable recoil.

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

Yeap the 7mmSTW would look real nice in that spot and provide you a nice alternative to what you have already. It will handle what you are asking of it.

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

I like your cartridge spacing! No putting together a group of rifles that are essentially equivalent! That is a nicely spread rack of rifles and you have identified the two gaps you need to fill and what to nicely fill them with! Either would be great, I' d knock off the 340 Weatherby first myself -- its your call though.

Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime,
EKM

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

I have a Weatherby Mark V .340 Wby. Mag., and it is one of the best rifles I own. I have killed 3 elk with it all one shot KILLS. Good luck.

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

If I had to choose between those two, presonally I would take the 340. Its a fantastic elk gun, more than adequate for bear and with some cast bullets you could load it down to take deer.

I have just never cared for the 7mm calibre, not sure why other than the bullet choices seemed limited for handloading.

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

I vote for the 340. Unless you wanna get a real class cartridge like a 348 Winchester, I' d go with that one. Better yet a 338-06.

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

If I were buying with your battery in the safe, I' d probably actually get something on the lines of a .22-250 or .223, since you don' t have 22cal centerfire, then you' d have everything you could need (which you' re already pretty well covered, but everyone should have a good 22cal CF). Of your two, I' d probably get the .340, the 7mmstw would be almost a match to your .300mag, while the .340 is kind of a half step between your .300mag and the .416rem. It' d be a little better for bear than your .300, but not as much overkill on them as the .416, so it' d be a good brownie gun. Obviously the price isn' t an issue, so this doesn' t really matter, but you' d spend less money by a long-shot by getting the 7mm stw, but like I said, it' s almost a perfomance match to your current .300mag, so the .340' s the way to go.

RE: New Caliber, please help me decide
 

Now you see, I asked this same question in the same way, said I needed to " fill the gap" in my arsenal. Then people start saying that you have what you need already.
Of course you don' t. Man can' t have too many guns. It' s just an impossibility.

Get yourself something big, fast, and mean. Spend the $ before the little lady buys something pretty with it.:D