7mm vs 300

[wk93]

many people tend to shoot the 7mm's but a lot of people also shoot the 300's like myself because of how hard hitting they are. What do you guys prefer and why?

 

[robby denning]

Hey man! me again, guess we need some more traffic on here.
I shoot the 7 mm Rem mag, but I only hunt mule deer for the most part. Plenty of knock down out farther than I can shoot on deer sized game.

I agree the energy in the 30 magnums are better with the heavier bullets (200 to 220), but for me, on the rare occassion I hunt elk, my 7mm has done the job.

If I were hunting elk or bears only, would probably look at the 30 mags or larger. In my circle, the elk hunters who shoot 338's at less than 400 yards really knock 'em down, but some elk are farther than 400 and the 30's seem to have the advantage.

 

[wk93]

Hello again, we could always use more traffic on here! And yeah I hunt deer at long ranges but also hut bear quite a bit.

 

[JG358]

I prefer the 300, mainly due to the wide variety of heavier bullets available.

 

[muleyman]

With the technology going into the construction of bullets today who says you need to shoot a heavy bullet? I shoot a .300 RUM handloaded with 175 gr bullets. Before I bought this rifle I shot the same caliber loaded with 168 gr bullets, I've never had an animal go more than 50 yards, knock on wood. So IMO it all comes down to what your comfortable with.

 

[JG358]

With the technology going into the construction of bullets today who says you need to shoot a heavy bullet?

No one but it's nice to have options.

 

[a3dhunter]

many people tend to shoot the 7mm's but a lot of people also shoot the 300's like myself because of how hard hitting they are. What do you guys prefer and why?

I bought the 7mm a few years ago, and now wish I had gone with the 300 instead.
You don't get the heavier bullet selection with the 7mm, makes you pay better attention to what bullet you use to "make up" for what you miss not having a 300 IMO.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I have a 7 mag and a 300 RUM. Either way, you can't go wrong. The 7 sees 160ish pills and the 300 goes with 180-200s.

 

[bearguide]

i like the 300, loaded with 185or 180 grain slugs. i also have 7mm that i use 160 grain , both are good guns, the 300 has higher velosity 3300 compared to 3000 with 7mm. but for 800 plus yards the 7mm has more velosity and continues to out perform the 300. i use the 300 the most b/c it out does the 7nn out to 750-800 and it is v rare to shoot that far.

 

[RosinBag]

WK93 if you have access to a ballistic program, trying running the numbers on the 7mm and the 300's. You will be shocked at how close they are from 400 to 700 and then how the 7mm will actually pass many of the 300's with 7mm bullets with high B/C's. You could take either gun, use a quality bullet with a high B/C and kill anything that walks in the North America.

 

[hunting1]

The high BC on 7mm and slightly less recoil is appealing, but .30 will always be a bigger hole. 75.5 grs of RL22 and a 180 NAB will shoot flatter and farther than most should and take any NA animal clean. There is a reason as well the military snipers went with 300Wm and not 7mm. You would be well set up either way for hunting.

 

[RosinBag]

One thing in today's long range world that needs to be considered. If you have a scope that maintains its zero with either a custom turret or MOA markings, the speed of your bullet and its corresponding trajectory are not that important any more. You don't worry about hold over anymore, you just dial in your yardage. So it doesn't matter if you need to dial in 15 minutes or 16 minutes at a 1000 yards. So bullets that perform better against the environmental factors are generally better. But if the environmental factors, like wind, is significant you probably are not going to shoot a long range shot.

So you can shoot either of these cartridges with really good results. No matter what you decide, some will agree and some will disagree with which one is better. Reality is, if you shoot it well and are happy with it, that is what counts.

 

[>>>---WW---->]

I'm no ballistic expert so I can only tell you what I have witnessed over several years of guiding mostly rifle elk hunters. The 7mmRem Mag had the quickest, cleanest kills of any other caliber ,bar none!

I drew a special cow rifle tag last year. I was shooting my 7 mag with 175 gr. soft points. One 200 + yard shot dropped her in her tracks. That's as good as it gets!

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

I shoot a .300Wby Mag and love it. With my load its close to 3150 fps muzzle velocity, and at 2-500 yards I have no problem putting together great groups. Mine has the muzzle break so its about as loud as the come, but the plus to the set up is it doesn't kick nearly as much as otherwise. I have to make sure and use ear protection every time though!

I picked the larger bullet because I wanted to have a little bigger for bear and elk. All of the elk I have shot with that gun dropped with one shot. The bigger hole is also enticing for the simple reason that if it doesn't drop them there ideally would be a bigger blood trail.

 

[Big Sky]

When I was about 16 I bought a 7mag. That was the worst thing that I have ever done. I use it for every thing. Every time I have a little cash and want to buy a 300ultra I just cant justify it with already having such a rock solid gun. The only time that I would probaly feel undergunned would be if I was chasing around the man in the brown suit. But then I would want a 338. Honestly with how good bullet makers are getting both calibers will kill nearly anything as long as you do your part.

 

[7mag.]

My dad gave me a 7mag. when I was 16. I use it for every big game animal I hunt. I have had fancier, more expensive rifles, and some have been 30 cal. I always go back to trusted old 7mag. It never lets me down. With that said, there is nothing wrong with a .300 win. mag. or a .338 win. mag. either. I've owned both, and liked them both.

 

[TwoTikkas]

I have a 7 mag and a 300 RUM. Either way, you can't go wrong. The 7 sees 160ish pills and the 300 goes with 180-200s.

Ditto! The 7 Rem Mag is best suited to the 160gr bullets. I know there are a lot of people using the heavier pills on the 7 Remmy and having a great time of it. For me though,you just can't walk past the 300 RUM in the safe for bullets of 180gr and up.

 

[pyroducksx3]

I like the 7 rem mag if you are going with a custom chamber. I am going to be able to get the berger 7mm 180's to 3000-3050. If I was going to go with a factory chamber than I would go with the 300 wm. With the custom chamber you can throat it long and really get those heavier bullets moving, this will equal what the 300 wm can do with the heavier 200+ grain bullets but with less recoil. Many people will say Im wrong but if you run the number you can see you wont be behind in energy out to 1000 or so yards. In reguards to the 300 ultra they are impressive with say 180 cutting edge bullets or the 210 gr berger but I would skip the 300 ultra just becasue of barrel life. I would go to the 338 ultra or edge and run the cutting edge 225 or 252 gr bullets or the new berger 250 gr bullets. you will see a substantial increase in power and much better barrel life.

 

[RosinBag]

Pyro, I hope you can get those speeds....most 7mm can push the 168's at 3000-3050, so if you get those with 180's it will be that much better. And I believe you on performance with the numbers you provided. That would be a good killing combo out of your 7mm

 

[pyroducksx3]

Yeah with my factory 7mm I got 2850 with 168 gr berger but I had a 24" tube a remington factory chamber, was also using H4831. When setting up my custom I did a lot of research. I found a smith that was a longrange hunter. He has done lots of 7mm and has gone through a bunch of reamer designs to get his 7 Rem mag reamer just right. I'll be using Retumbo and with his custom 7 mag reamer and 26" rock creek barrel he gaurantees 1/2 MOA groups and the velocity to be 3000-3500 with the 180 bergers. He has done a couple dozen and they all got this so I'm pretty excited to get it back. Should be next month so I'll be able to proff this soon.