RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

I'd stay real clear of a muzzle brake. A good friend has been shooting a 300Win with a break for years. He's a little hard of hearing now. It seems that you trade recoil pain with hearing pain. Either will develop into a flinch. The 7mm mag without a break, or step down a notch to.30-06. You can get reduced recoil loads in both I beleive, and you can step the load up a little as you feel more comfortable.500 yard shots?????

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

Thank you for all the replys. I would like to say that I know exactly what I'm going to do based on the information you've given me, but I'm still unsure which way to go. I wouldn't be opposed to a 30-06 or a .270 at this point. The gunsmith went to a big show in Oklahoma on Thursdayand said that if he found a really good deal he would pick it up for me. Now, whether he will be getting a 7mm mag or a 300 win as far as a deal, I don't know. After that has played out and I find out whether or not he bought something I will have to go back to the drawing board. Nobody here (of course) made any big deal about the muzzle brake.If I do end up with the 7mag or 300 I'll make it work.Being a first generation hunter sort of makes it hard and you are at the mercy of whoever is helping you at the time!

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

Good luck Lady! I was the only hunter in my family as well. The best way to learn is to just do it. Eventually you will sort it all out. The main thing is use what you want, hunt at your own pace and the biggest things....dont put any pressure on yourself and HAVE FUN!

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

"Like most of the others here, I'd say stay away from muzzle brakes, if you value your hearing! Brakes are louder to the sides than from the shooters position, but even at that, the blast is worse than recoil! Even if it is not "felt," the damage to your ears is not worth it! Believe me, I can tell at the range, even several spots down the line if someone is shooting with a muzzle brake! "


The VAIS brake on my 416 Rigby does NOT seem to fit this description. And I have a Lead Sled coming! But it is to be used primarily with my "brakeless" Ruger 1S in .45/70, which is giving 57 foot-pounds of recoil with the 400-grain Barnes Original semi-spitzer I use in it with 60 grains of IMR 3031.

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

Lady Arwen, when I lived in Fairbanks, AK, in the mid-1960's, there was a doctor's wife there who used a Model 70 .270 WCF for all game in the far north including moose and polar bear. Her load was a 150-grain Nosler Partition (old style) bullet loaded to 2850 FPS. She rarely needed more than one shot for anything.

Shot placement is everything! The biggest bore in the world is no substitute forproper shot placement.

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

Okay, back to choices again. The gunsmith didn't go to the show after all. (Heck, he didn't evenknow what I was talking aboutwhen I called. Not sure THAT is a good sign.)I'm going to try andfindsomeone with a 30-06 and a 270 that will let me shootso I know what those calibers are like before I commit to anything.Is therea place that might let me pay to shoot their guns?Is it like bows where you justbuy based on opinion and hope for the best?

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

Lady Arwen,

If you areconsidering those two cartridges instead of the earlier two magnums, then please go to the Big Game Section and look at the "Poll: Elk Cartridge Preference"....

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1459421&mpage=13&key=&#14951 201495120

I'd hate to see you compromising and choosing off of the "weakest end" of the que.
================================================== ==

I'd wholeheartedly recommend the 30-06 over the .270 (don't let someone sell you on a couple inches of trajectory over the frontal cross section, payload, versatility and "thump-ability" you get with the 30-06). Evenmost the died-in-the-wool 270 shooters will grant that the 30-06 is more versatile.

If you can tell the difference in recoil between them (which I'm betting you won't with correspondingly comparable bullets in each --- 150s in the 270 and 180s in the 30-06) then I'll be surprised. If you do notice a difference, thenyou can always use the next notch lower weight BarnesTSX bullets (165 grain instead of 180 grain)to reduce the recoil and still "delivercomparable goods" down rangeversus the heavier conventional lead bullets. I used to be a Nosler Partition fan (advanced, but lead core bullet) however, as of late, I have been using exclusively Barnes TSX.

(Barnes are solid copper instead of lead like most other bullets --- so the samephysical size of bullet weighs a bit less --- copper is less dense than lead---YET they penetrate like there is no tomorrow by retaining nearly all their weight and opening up into a 4 petal "cutting machine" as they pass in one side and out the other of the critter.)

So much for the "reduce recoil with lighter bullets but still save the day with Barnes" discussion. In closing....

A 270 is a downsized 30-06.
Elk are very much UPSIZED compared to deer!

We had a young lady, new, 100 pounds or so, and 14 get her first elk with us and she used a.... 30-06.
I'd recommend pickingsomething a notch or twoabove the weaker end ofthe que.

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

EKM will tell you that I am probably the biggest .270 fan on this board and will argue its killing abilities all day long but even I agree with this 100%. ;)

The 30-06 is absolutely the most versatile cartridge ever devised bar none and is IMHO the best choice for a single gun hunter that wants to hunt everything from pronghorn to moose. The only thing I wouldn't jump right up and hunt with it would be the big bears although it is certainly capable there as well.

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

I thought the original post was 7mm mag or .300 win mag.

The 7mm mag doesn't have much more recoil than the .30-06.

RE: 7mm mag or 300 win for a lady hunter?
 

Lady Arwen you never mentioned what your primary game you'll want to hunt. If you are thinking antelope and deer 7x57 , 270 and 308 would be my top choices for either sex.
They are all on the mild side when talking recoil and with the proper ammunition and a shooter that practices will take down deer size game at 300 yards and in. On game such as elk or moose shots should be limited to 200 yards or so ,along with the proper bullet.
My second tier would be the 25-06 , 280 and 30-06. The 25-06 s good for deer but a little on the light side formoose and elk but could be used with a quality bullet and shots are kept within reason for the caliber but give you the added option for prarie dogs and such.
Like some of the post here I don't even think about shots beyond 300 yards unless conditions where perfect, no wind , good solid rest , then for deer sized game I'd stretch it to 350 if I was carrying the right rifle. For elk it would be 275 yards. I want the bullet to hit with enough authority to ensure Quick,Clean kills. We owe that much to the animals we pursue.