Caliber Recommendations

[tryitagainhunting]

I am looking into purchasing a new rifle for elk hunting. I am tossing up between a 7 mag & 300 mag--what do you guys recommend and for what reasons.
Thanks!

 

[MThuntr]

within most hunting ranges there won't be much difference. You'll find a lot of guys here use "smaller" cartridges like 7mm-08, 308, and 270.

 

[CForest]

Both good calibers, the 300 will allow the same or better speed with a heavier and obviously bigger bullet. Both have a bunch of great options for factory ammo and available most everywhere. The 300 will have more recoil. If primarily a elk gun I vote 300 (love mine.) If a deer gun that can kill an elk just fine the 7mm will do great. I killed my first half dozen elk with a 7mm-08. Placement and quality bullets are more important than anything

 

[VikingsGuy]

I would go .270, .308, 7mm08, 300WSM, 7mmRM, 30-06, 300WM in that order of preference, balancing ballistics, terminal energy & recoil. But any of them will work fine with a good bullet, good shot placement and a reasonable distance.

 

[3855WIN]

300 mag - WBY, WIN, WSM all great.

 

[wytex]

300wsm

 

[Pelican]

Tryitagainhunting, have you shot a 300 before? For some, that level of recoil is flinch inducing. I’d pick the 300, but the 7 mm RM will work great also.

 

[6mm Remington]

30-06
280 Remington or 280 AI
300 WSM

Hard to beat any of these.

 

[BuzzH]

I would narrow it down to something between a .243 and .338...wayyy too much over-thinking on calibers to kill elk. Spending time shooting and having good bullets is where I'd focus my time.

 

[Gunner46]

I can't remember how many times I've posted this, but here we go again.

The Big Ka'Hunna speaks his peace. I'd listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfd3XkHDaDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDmA-6VsRZQ

You're welcome.

 

[noharleyyet]

I am looking into purchasing a new rifle for elk hunting. I am tossing up between a 7 mag & 300 mag--what do you guys recommend and for what reasons.
Thanks!

...two cup shell game....shuffle em and pick one, you can't lose.

 

[Southern Elk]

^Listen to Harley. You can't go wrong with either one.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

338 Lapua

Go big or go home

 

[rtraverdavis]

338 Lapua

Go big or go home

Yeah. I was going to say nothing less than a .408 cheytac.

 

[ImBillT]

Either will work well. If you intend to put quite a few rounds through it at the range I’d lean 300 for barrel life purposes. For equal weight bullets the 7mag will drift a hair less, but the 300 will have more velocity. The recoil difference will be non-existent and at most hunting ranges the wind drift and velocity differences won’t matter. You could shoot heavier bullets in the 300 for more energy penetration etc. and you could go lighter in the 7mag for reduced recoil, and flatter trajectory. There are some really great 7mm bullets.

 

[Elkhunter24]

I have both guns for elk hunting and they both work great. I reload for both as well and brass and bullets are easy to pick up.

 

[BluegrassBilly]

No less an authority than David Petzal recently had this to say when listing the 7 mil as one of his 10 most overrated cartridges:

When Remington came out with this highly successful cartridge in 1962, they missed the boat. Warren Page, who advocated for the idea, had in mind a more powerful round, and the fact is, if you put a 7mm Remington Magnum and a .270 on a chronograph and see what both do in real life, there’s hardly any difference. Except the magnum kicks more, and the ammo is more expensive.

There is a 7mm magnum with true magnum performance, but Weatherby makes it, not Remington.

I'd go with the 7mm-08 personally, but between the two you mentioned, I'd pick the 300 WM.

 

[oleefish2]

I own both and say either is great. Mine all have 26 inch barrels and so are heavier than my light weight 270 which I carry when doing longer hikes. I do reload but buying shells loaded to do what ever you want are easy to find. Buzz had it right buy something you can practice with and not develop bad habits.

 

[Jape]

I can't remember how many times I've posted this, but here we go again.

The Big Ka'Hunna speaks his peace. I'd listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfd3XkHDaDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDmA-6VsRZQ

You're welcome.

^^^^^ Wisdom in those videos.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I like what 30 cal bullets tend to do on the receiving end. That said, I'm not a huge fan of magnums in general. My main go-to is a .308, but I also have a .300WM. It is highly effective, I just don't enjoy shooting it, carrying it, or buying ammo for it.