300 win mag or 7mm rem mag

I don't know about you gentlemen, but one thing overlooked here, that I've kept in mind with every rifle I've bought: availability of ammo.

My hunting buddy's rifle of choice is the 7mm Rem Mag, and he's shopping for a 300WM now because ammo is too hard to find and too expensive for him. He loves the gun, but ammo's getting harder and harder to find, especially the loads he likes, and selection of loads. He complains of not enough choices unless he handloads.

If I were looking for something in a heavier caliber, I'd go with the .300 just for that reason. For now, my '06 and .45-70 will do.
 
If a .280 will do the job for you at 325yds, the 7mmRM will do it at 475yds.

Now there's a stretch for an extra 100fps :rolleyes:


If my only choice was between 7RM & 300WM???
While shooting at game recoil of either one wouldn't bother me.
I'd pick the 7RM
At the range I know I could shoot it better, which leads to confidence.
 
NorthernCX said:
I don't know about you gentlemen, but one thing overlooked here, that I've kept in mind with every rifle I've bought: availability of ammo.

My hunting buddy's rifle of choice is the 7mm Rem Mag, and he's shopping for a 300WM now because ammo is too hard to find and too expensive for him. He loves the gun, but ammo's getting harder and harder to find, especially the loads he likes, and selection of loads. He complains of not enough choices unless he handloads.
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Availability of ammo should not be an issue with a 7mm mag or 300 win mag, they can both be had at can-tire
 
NorthernCX said:
I don't know about you gentlemen, but one thing overlooked here, that I've kept in mind with every rifle I've bought: availability of ammo.

My hunting buddy's rifle of choice is the 7mm Rem Mag, and he's shopping for a 300WM now because ammo is too hard to find and too expensive for him. He loves the gun, but ammo's getting harder and harder to find, especially the loads he likes, and selection of loads. He complains of not enough choices unless he handloads.

If I were looking for something in a heavier caliber, I'd go with the .300 just for that reason. For now, my '06 and .45-70 will do.
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I have a .300 and no 7mm Mag at present, and live in a small northern town 8 hours due north of the nearest major city (Edmonton). There's more 7mm Mag on the shelves of the hardware stores, and I do believe 7mm Mag sells more rounds of ammunition than .300...? Seem to remember reading this from ammo manufacturers but could be wrong.

In the end, as a handloader who's interest lies in the heavy end of big game hunting the .300 with its 220gr load option won me over. However if I hunted only deer I'd pick the 7mm as I prefer its marginally longer neck as a handloader, the .300's neck's too short.
 
Just curious, why is availability of ammo always a buying issue, like seriously, let's think about it.

No matter what you shoot , when you are up at 4 a.m. and realize oh crap, I've got no ammunition, or you get 400 Km away and find no ammo in your case, is availability of ammo really going to help you?If you forget or can't think to buy more than one box, they it is your own doing.

I have rifles that don't have the most common chambering found at CT or Wally world or even some of the gun shops.Has it ever been an issue , no, because I don't forget my ammo! When I shot over the counter ammo I would buy enough for sighting in and a fair bit extra when it is available.Friends of mine that also have these choice in rifles haven't had an issue.

Don't even worry about the availability of ammo, in today's day and age you can get pretty much anything shipped to you.

Buy the damn rifle that you like.

Between the two chamberings I would go 7mm, only because I have a fondness for 7mm stuff.They both will work just fine.
 
actually, the answer to this is NEITHER- it's the 06/308 that is the most popular for deer, moose , or elk, all with 180 grain slugs- and after that, the 30/30 just b/c it's what's in the scabbard at the time
 
for the record, a CALIPER is a MEASURING INSTRUMENT or a part of the brake system on your car;
a CALIBER is the DIAMETER OR BORE in thousands of an inch- the 7mm is just a METRIC VERSION of your rifle/shotgun/whatever; ie a 7mm /280/284 are all the same; CALIBER; as is 308, 30/30, 300, and 3006
- basically THIRTY CALIBER
A CARTRIDGE takes into account both the case and the bullet- that's where the DIFFERENCE lies
and since we're on it , CARTRIDGE isn't correct either- ammo comes in cartridges, rifles/shotguns pistols come in CHAMBERINGS; that's the "hole" the cartridge goes into- the one that's precisely made to fit the cartridge; but MOST people don't know what that is
 
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Kelly Timoffee said:
Just curious, why is availability of ammo always a buying issue, like seriously, let's think about it.

No matter what you shoot , when you are up at 4 a.m. and realize oh crap, I've got no ammunition, or you get 400 Km away and find no ammo in your case, is availability of ammo really going to help you?If you forget or can't think to buy more than one box, they it is your own doing.

I have rifles that don't have the most common chambering found at CT or Wally world or even some of the gun shops.Has it ever been an issue , no, because I don't forget my ammo! When I shot over the counter ammo I would buy enough for sighting in and a fair bit extra when it is available.Friends of mine that also have these choice in rifles haven't had an issue.

Don't even worry about the availability of ammo, in today's day and age you can get pretty much anything shipped to you.

Buy the damn rifle that you like.

Between the two chamberings I would go 7mm, only because I have a fondness for 7mm stuff.They both will work just fine.
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i hate when people bring up availability of ammo, theres this place called cabelas that will ship you whatever you want. you dont go to a gun shop and say well i useally shoot accutips but all they have is core-lokt so that will have to do, you order the accutips you useally shoot, and like ive said before if you go on a hunt and forget something as important as ammo, thats the least of your worries!
 
l.denison said:
i hate when people bring up availability of ammo, theres this place called cabelas that will ship you whatever you want. you dont go to a gun shop and say well i useally shoot accutips but all they have is core-lokt so that will have to do, you order the accutips you useally shoot, and like ive said before if you go on a hunt and forget something as important as ammo, thats the least of your worries!
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Might work nice for you here (if you're happy paying Dangerous Goods courier rates for a box of ammunition), try hunting Africa with an oddball chambering; your ammo's packed in a separate box, the most common box to go missing. An aside from this thread, but your tone made me scoff as it seems you assume everyone hunts within range of Cabelas shipping.
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
Just curious, why is availability of ammo always a buying issue, like seriously, let's think about it.

No matter what you shoot , when you are up at 4 a.m. and realize oh crap, I've got no ammunition, or you get 400 Km away and find no ammo in your case, is availability of ammo really going to help you?If you forget or can't think to buy more than one box, they it is your own doing.

I have rifles that don't have the most common chambering found at CT or Wally world or even some of the gun shops.Has it ever been an issue , no, because I don't forget my ammo! When I shot over the counter ammo I would buy enough for sighting in and a fair bit extra when it is available.Friends of mine that also have these choice in rifles haven't had an issue.

Don't even worry about the availability of ammo, in today's day and age you can get pretty much anything shipped to you.

Buy the damn rifle that you like.

Between the two chamberings I would go 7mm, only because I have a fondness for 7mm stuff.They both will work just fine.
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My same post above applies equally to this. I do most of my big game hunting outside Canada now, and yes, availability of ammo is right at the top of the concerns list as I really like using my own rifle. And yes, I've had my Pelican case of ammo go missing, that little box of dangerous goods seems the most common thing to go on a mystery trip. Not that .300 or 7mm are wild and new choices, my argument's simply in favour of availability as a concern as there are thousands of us here that hunt where that matters (a friend on this forum works in a hunt camp out of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and I'm sure the same applies there- don't fly up with a .300 RCM and count on them having spare cartridges when the ammo doesn't make it).
 
My mistake, the OP never stated whether he is hunting on or off continent. :rolleyes:

I assume , we weren't on African Gun Nutz so I figured that it applied to what he would be hunting local or semi local.

It's simple , forget your ammo, become camp #####.


Ardent said:
My same post above applies equally to this. I do most of my big game hunting outside Canada now, and yes, availability of ammo is right at the top of the concerns list as I really like using my own rifle. And yes, I've had my Pelican case of ammo go missing, that little box of dangerous goods seems the most common thing to go on a mystery trip. Not that .300 or 7mm are wild and new choices, my argument's simply in favour of availability as a concern as there are thousands of us here that hunt where that matters (a friend on this forum works in a hunt camp out of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and I'm sure the same applies there- don't fly up with a .300 RCM and count on them having spare cartridges when the ammo doesn't make it).
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back to the OP....

I have both. That being said I'm 225, and 6'3" and reallly really good looking.... so says my wife... can't figure out why she is snickering when she says it.

.300 is kind of a work horse. Super available and a zillion bullets available for reloading if you care.

the gun that I shoot the most and hunt with is my .300 win mag / remington 700 with never miss scope :)
 
I too find the advice people give to guys buying a new rifle, namely that they should get something like a 270 or 30-06, because they can buy ammo at a mom and pop shop if they forget their ammo, rather silly.

If you are hunting remote places or different continents by all means buy whatever is easy to get where you are going, what your guide is using etc.

Most people asking the question about what caliber to get for their first gun will most likely not be going to far off places. If they do forget ammo they will learn this lesson and not forget next time. And just because you can by cheap winchester 7mm rem mag ammo in the boonies doesn't mean your gun will even shoot that oh so readily available ammo. If you have handloads worked up for your gun or it only shoots a certain type of factory ammo well, what's the point of buying cheap power point ammo if your gun doesn't shoot it?

Get whatever caliber you want and unless you are going somewhere far away it doesn't matter what caliber it is. Bring enough ammo along, put some in your hunting jacket as well as your pack and vehicle, quad whatever. Create failsafes so if you do forget you have something to fall back on. Another good idea is to get the same caliber as a friend or someone you hunt with. Chances are at least one of you will remember to bring the boolits.

Edit: To the OP I would get the 7mm RM. Will kill all that you mentioned without any fuss.
 
Now here is one I love, the big guys says they can handle the big recoil therefore shoot bigger guns.

Time for some physics. :D , In my world!!

IMO a smaller lighter person will be bruised/hurt less than a bigger heavier person.

Here is why. A smaller framed person is going to move when the shot is fired and the energy is absorbed throughout the body.A heavier person stays put and has more energy/recoil transferred to the isolated area of the shoulder.

Kinda like these range experts standing behind a person pressing both hands against their back while they shoot, what the heck do you think is going to happen?Put a pillow for their bum when they fall over if you wanna help.;)

Ok I am done.

I'd still go 7mm.
 
It's simple , forget your ammo, become camp #####.
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And even that depends on the group that you hunt with.I hunt with five other people on a regular basis, and not one of us owns a 270win, or a 30-06, so even if you shoot a common cartridge, you might be out of luck,if you need to borrow ammunition. On the other hand, five of us own 7mmremmags, two of us own 280AIs and two of us own 7mmSTWs. We also own a 260rem, and a 6.5x55. And even if someone had the correct cartridges, none of us shoot factory loads, so one persons loads might not even chamber in another persons rifle.
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
Now here is one I love, the big guys says they can handle the big recoil therefore shoot bigger guns.


IMO a smaller lighter person will be bruised/hurt less than a bigger heavier person.
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I weigh 240 pounds. One of my friends weighs probably 150 pounds in a rain storm. I don't mind shooting harder hitting stuff. Granted I went through a spell where I couldn't handle it due to injuries, but now back to normal I soak it up. My friends .30-30 beats him up. It depends on the person, not science.
 
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