300 Win Mag or 7MM
 

This is prob. beating a dead horse like a Ford vs. Chevy or .270 vs. .30-06 debate but I'm gonna ask it anyway... I'm in the market for a new rifle to be used for deer, elk, & black bear. For some of you very familiar w/ the ballistics of these 2 shooting out to 5-600 yds., what do you recommend? I know either will do fine but if you had to choose one, which would it be & why? Never shot a 300WM but own & shoot a .338WM, what's the recoil of a 7MM like compared to a 300WM? Thanks!

People use them for pretty much the same things. Everything's a trade off. You'll have a little more "reach-out-and-touch-ya" w/ a 7mm, but more energy at those longer ranges w/ the 300. Kind of depends which interests you more - range or sustained knock-down power. But in terms of deer, elk, and black bear, either will do the job well.

Neither. I'm about as far away from being a mag fan as one can get. A good .30-06 would take any of the 3 animals listed just as easily from just as far away as any ethical hunter should take a shot from and at around 1/2 the ammo cost! But if you are dead set on falling into magnumitis, you pretty much answered your own question in your post. Either one will be suitable for the 3 listed animals and more. It would ultimately be up to whichever rifle you felt best with at your shoulder.

Edit to add: Nice looking little Beagle Hound in your pic there cool!

Ole' saying;

"shoots as flat as a .270, and hits as hard as a .30-06" !

7MM Rem. Mag.

...................... but You decide ??

Already owning the 338wm, I'd say one of two options make the most sense:

1) Buy the .300wm as backup to stand in for your 338wm, if that makes any sense to you.

Or

2) Get the 7rm to get something significantly different than what you currently have.

Personally, I have and use both, and wouldn't find myself without either. If I could only have one and I went PURELY by objective logic, I'd only have a 7rm. If I go by purely subjective gut preference, I'd only have a 300.

They're both right answers to the same questions - there are very few applications where one is a right answer and one is wrong. But since you already have a heavy hitting 338, I'd lean towards option 2 above and find myself in a 7rm for a flatter trajectory and a very different weight class of bullets.

Simple...do a 7mm/300 Win or have us spin you up a .284 Diablo...best of both worlds ;)

I shoot a 300 WM and have for quite sometime now. Agree that the .06 will do all that you ask of of it on most critters. One thing I know that when my .300 goes off deer drop. I hunt mostly in WV so extended range doesn't come into play for me, maybe 150 yes at most in these hills. I have a hard time finding bullets that don't destroy meat. Shoot then in the neck and it darn near decapitates them. I used to shoot an .06 but I prefer my 300.

Agreed. You can't hit them unless you practice. The cost of the ammo and the recoil discourages a lot of practice. At practical hunting ranges, neither caliber has much over a 30-06. A bigger cartridge will not compensate for poor shooting. I've shot, one time or another all 3, dead, with one shot using calibers less powerful than a 30-06.

I purchased a 300WM a couple of years ago. Had always used my 30-06 for everything including elk. Like previously said, the 300 hits hard. I have only killed a few animals with my 300 but they didn't go far. I have a moose hunt coming up and am looking forward to seeing what it will do on a moose.

Incidentally, check out the Weatherby Vanguard Series 2. It's a very accurate rifle that is well priced.

Good luck . . . Rob

.300 Win. Mag.

Ford.

7mm/300 wn mag is named the 7mm practical. If it were me I'd have it built, if you get one of the factory rifles and the best it will do is 1.5" at 100 yards, then your looking at a best case 9" group at 600 yards, If my long range rigs won't shoot 2" at 500 I have them looked at.
RR

If you truly need more than a .30-06, then you truly need to move up.....(way up) in caliber. to the .375 H&H....everything in between is just that.....in between!

When you say, "truly need more than a .30-06," are you meaning more power for larger game? Or more range for the same game species?

I'm sorry, but the OP asked for it.

Very well said

What advantages specifically are you looking to gain? You already have a .338 Win Mag, and I'm not so sure the 7 will outperform so stunningly on bullet drop unless you really are shooting at or past 500 yards. And even then, that's primarily if you're putting a 140-grain 7-mag against a 225-grain .338; the 160-grain 7 hardly stands apart from the same .338 round. And the 140 doesn't outshine a 180 that much.

You can play around with this ballistics calculator and decide which seems to perform better in terms of drop and energy.
http://gundata.org/ballistic-calculator/

If recoil is the problem, on the other hand, then that's another issue, in which case my vote goes to the 7mm.

Do your kids know your playing with their toys, AGAIN!?!?!?! LMAO!!!!!!
That being said, I as well own a 300WM and a .338 Lapua. So Im kinda bias on this story. As the others have said, its a coin toss. Slower, bigger, heavier bullets, higher trajectory arc and more kinetic energy when it gets there or faster, lighter bullet, less trajectory arc, less kinetic energy when it gets there?

those are mine.....hahaha:biggrin:

Thanks guys - so for all intents & purposes, the 7MM & 300WM are about the same out to 600 yds (kinetic energy & ballistics)?

For all intents and purposes, yes - there's about 2" difference in drop at 500 for a 154grn 7mm vs a 180grn 300, and energy is about within 10% - and well over 1500 total. They do shoot differently on the quiet end, but they're both right answers to the same question.

A .300WM does what a 7mmRM does but with a heavier bullet and a step up in recoil.

I have a 300 wby, rum, and win mag as well as a 7mm mag. They will all do what you need, kill an animal. It all boils down to what you actually want. 7 mm will shoot flater, but unless you plan on being a sniper and shoot out past 1000 yrds, the difference is moot. Especially if you get to know your weapon.

Exactly. I went with the 7 mag, primarily to have that option if I needed to get some distance, and the recoil.

Does a 7mm Rem Mag really shoot any flatter than a 300 Win Mag? The 300 propels heavier bullets to the same speed, which, I would think, would make it a little flatter.

Depends on the bullets used and the BC on the bullets. Either one can be "flatter" depending on the boolits...

^This!..... Do any of these internet ballistic experts study ballistics?
its not the cartridge, its not the velocity, Its BC that rules at long range.
BC will outrun velocity every time beyond 600 yards.

Any 2 given bullets of the same BC drift and drop exactly the same regardless of weight or diameter....FACT!
RR

http://chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm

check this out

That's a bunch of malarkey!!!

Actually I feel dumber for even reading most of it!

means less than nothing, if you knew ballistics you would know why, my 6.5 gibbs burns less powder than the top 5 in the charts, yet it outperforms them because the bullet I shoot instead of having a BC in the .4's has a BC of .7, as far as wounded deer beyond 300, it happens, but speaking as a person who has killed 66 beyond 400 yards, dozens beyond 600, 10 beyond a grand, I know if you hit one, even if its not immediately fatal, not near as many are unrecovered simply due to the fact that there is no "in their face" muzzle blast, they are hurt and bed down, most of the time within 50 yards of impact, they are easily recovered. ok don't believe me, shoot a few at 600 and tell me about it.
learn what a bullet does from trigger break till impact and get back with me.
RR

Adam first mention of wounded deer and I bailed, been around the horn enough to know better
RR

I hesitate to say this but here goes. I feel that if I can't get within about 300 yds of the animal I'm wanting to shoot, I'm not hunting very well. I'd be more concerned about my strategy and physical conditioning than what caliber of rifle I was using. But that's just me.

If you've got a 338 Win Mag, then of the two I think you would be better suited with the 7mm Rem Mag. That said, the 300 Win Mag might give you slightly more options as far as factory ammo and handloading goes.

In case you're wondering, I have a 300 Win Mag. Thing is, mine's a pistol.

Cool story man!:hail:

Bench shooting a 300 Win mag is misery.

Heavier fights wind better though - correct ? :rolleye0011:

RR you know that I love it, when it's just plain simple !!! :guiness: