Looking to get a second rifle, I have a howa superlite in 7mm-08 that I really like and use for deer and pretty much anything deer sized like antelope and sheep. I know I can hunt anything with it using good bullets but I’m looking to get a new rifle. I want something a little bigger that could handle elk or even some bigger African plains game. I don’t think I want a magnum like 300wm or 300prc. Is the 6.5prc, 308, 30-06 and cartridges similar to those too close to 7mm-08 that it’d be pointless and that I should look to a magnum like 7 rem mag or 7mm prc. I’ve looked at ballistic charts but I want peoples real experience opinions.
I tend to think about this type of question as if there is a big gun rack in the garage with every cartridge, ammo in every bullet weight, and I can pick anything to go shooting or hunt _____. Whatever gives me the most warm and fuzzy feelings is the correct answer.
Just a bigger hole in the barrel is fun, so I can see the appeal of 308 or 30-06. Something like a 180 gr or heavier bullet starts to cut into the 308 powder capacity, but the 30-06 does well with heavier bullets. As a pure setup for larger than deer I’d pick a 30-06 over the 7mm08 most days, but if a rancher friend invites you over to shoot a cow elk off his haystack, sort of a fish in a barrel kind of situation, I’d probably take the smaller gun.
6.5 PRC is cool - it’s a fun shape and shoots pretty flat. If you just think it’s interesting nothing wrong grabbing it off the rack, if it’s more deadly than the 7mm08 or not. Same for the 270 win, a 280ai, 25-06, 7 mag, or anything else.
Since you have some 7mm experience on game, it helps to frame the 7 mags in terms of what you already know. When you’ve shot an animal with the 7mm08, the 7 mag would do the exact same thing with same velocity in the same bullet 250 yards further down range, no more and no less.
You can’t make a bad decision, so I’d grab what sounds interesting.
