Alaska rifle - Short Barrel Caliber

[Wrench]

Ammo availability was always high on my list when I was living in AK. I could always find 375h&h, 308 and 30-06.....and all are super effective to farter than you'll be able to find a critter.

Boutique cartridges are neat....but could be a nightmare if you forget ammo or the transporter messes up.

 

[UnckleBob]

Looking at a new lightweight, short barrel build. Have a cabin in AK, mostly chasing moose in the jet boat, tundra fly in caribou, blacktails when we head down to Kodiak. The question I have is in comparing muzzle velocity on 2 cartridges the 338RPM 185 gr 18" 2860FPS and a 7BC 190 gr 16" 2770FPS Both have "similar" muzzle velocities, I assume 18" on the 7BC would be faster by a bit. The ballistics charts I've seen have them within a .5" drop at 300yards and 2" at 400. I assume the 7BC carries more speed and energy downrange due to diameter, but with brown bears in the backyard "there is no replacement for displacement" comes to mind. Not set on these calibers, Weatherby went all in on the short barrel 338 a few years back and has some info on their site, and 7BC came out as the short barrel answer, but what advantage does it really have in this scenario? I can build both sub 6lbs MKV TI 338 RPM comes in closer to 5.3 lbs, I reload so ammo cost is not a huge deal, short overall length for the super fun AK brush is a priority. Also, this is hunting rifle, not a bench rest punching paper rifle, with conditions 500 is max,probably closer to 3-400 in real life. Common sense says to build a 300WM in 20", be able to buy ammo at the hardware store.... Thanks!

I doubt it makes a difference which one you pick.

Thoughts:
1) The 7BC case is slimmer. Does ammo capacity matter?
2) If you plan to hunt suppressed, a common 30 can will work. With the RPM, you have to buy an another can (unless you already have one).
3) With the 7BC, you save 2" of barrel. It should be easier to handle in tigh spaces.
4) The 338 will make a wider hole.

Basically, you are choosing between a pretty blonde and a pretty brunette. They are different, but they are ultimately the same,

 

[wildwilderness]

…pull out a ruler and look to see how little .5” really is.

Yes it’s negligible like a couple oz.

But I’m sure no one wants to cut 1/2” off any part of say your body