7mm Mag Or 300 Win Mag??

They both kill animals really dead. Not just barely dead, but really dead. But so does a .45-70,.444 marlin, .450 marlin, .308, .30-06, .30-30, .270, .243, .25-06, .257 Roberts, .260 remington, .280 Remington, .338 win mag, .300 H & H, .375 H & H, the list goes on and on. Pick up a rifle in any of the above calibers. If it fits you well, and it points well, and you can afford enough ammo to get to the range and become proficient with it, then buy it, shoot some animals and let us know how you did. People become too fixated on how much speed a particular caliber generates and how flat the bullet travels etc, when all they need to know is how to put a bullet into the kill zone. Most rifles will kill any North American animal if you are a good hunter. I pick my guns based on how comfortable they are in my hands, and how my face lines up when aiming. The caliber part works itself out if you know how to aim and shoot well.
 
I can't imagine you'll notice any real difference in terminal performance on animals, unless you go after bison or something. And frankly, even then...
 
sgt.rock said:
People become too fixated on how much speed a particular caliber generates and how flat the bullet travels etc, when all they need to know is how to put a bullet into the kill zone. .
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You're talking like there is something wrong with a person knowing the ballistics of his cal./rifle. The more educated you are on the ballistics of your rifle the better you will be as a hunter. People that know and appreciate velocity and energy are usually the ones with range memberships and shoot alot. People who could care less and just pick up a rifle, point and shoot are usually the ones that miss the vitals and need to plug an animal 5-6 times.

Cheers!!
 
The more educated you are on the ballistics of your rifle the better you will be as a hunter.
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Meh... to a POINT perhaps. But not really.

Most big game animals are engaged at 100-200 yards. At those ranges, and even out to 250, ballistics is largely meaningless in most modern rifle cartridges. Instead, you use the concept of 'max point blank' range and forget about the ballistics.

The average hunter will be no better off knowing more about ballistics. They'd be better off studying the animals from all angles to have better knowledge about lethal zones, or to spend more time learning how to accurately guess ranges.

In addition, i believe what the poster was saying is that ballistics and energy becomes the prime focus for many newer shooters when picking a gun. And that leaves out a number of very important factors such as recoil or even cost of bullets to practice with. A guy with a 30-06 who's run 200 rounds thru his gun in practice when he got it will be more likely to hit his target than a guy who bought a 338 and can only afford to shoot 80 rounds because they cost more and they hurt his shoulder. You get the idea.

Now dont' get me wrong - if you want to know more about your guns ballistics there is nothing wrong with it. I think it's a great thing, i definately study ballistics and I also take a fair bit of time dissecting the animal to see how different cartridge and bullet combinations perform. I'm definately all for understanding the ballistics of the gun.

But for most hunters, it's really not necessary. All they need to know is that if they're 2.5 inches high at 100 they're 3 inches low at 240, so shoot for the vitals. And maybe that at 350 they can put the crosshairs on the top of the shoulder and still drop into the breadbox. They should really think a little before shooting much farther than that, the VAST majority of hunters really aren't trained for long range shooting, and you get into problems of animal tracking and recovery.

If you have a 7mm remmag, you really don't need to know very much about ballistics to hunt big game animals in north america for 999.9 percent of shots. Even more so if you have 300 winmag.
 
No, I wasn't saying that at all. I was just saying that he was askin about
7mm or 300 win mag. I was just replying that most modern day guns and bullets are more than capable of downing game.
I am VERY interested in ballistics and know all my weapons well. It is or at least should be understood by each hunter and user of weapons.
But since that should be understood, I didn't feel it was worth mentioning. Kinda like buckle up before driving.
Almost all the calibers I mentioned and more are capable of dropping game in their tracks, so I was hinting that not everyone needs to get hung up on "magnum this, or magnum that". I have a .300 win mag and I dont play up the fact that I use a magnum. I also have normal calibers that I use more.
I just think more effort should be put into finding a rifle that works well with you and that you can shoot accurately. Because the fact that any of the calibers mentioned in this thread are capable of killing game, emphasis should be on functionality and precision. I have seen this question beaten to death on other threads and the main theme that seems to come up over and over is that you seem to need a magnum to deliver atomic shockwaves to an animal and this will make up for any shortcomings you have with aim.
I was just attempting to straighten out this thread before it inevitably drove down that path.
 
7MM or 300MAG

wow! you guys respond fast. this is excellent. my brother is the one shopping for one of these calibers. pesonally i don't think anyone can go wrong .30 caliber. i like the availability of the ammo. i think he plans to hunt anything from mule deer to moose. i think a .308 or a 30-06 will kill anything in this country that a guy wants to kill but he seems to like the magnums. he plans to reload so cost of ammo is not as big a deal.
 
Agree w/ both you guys Fox and SGT. but coming from the prairies I see lots of guys grab their .243's or 30-30's and take 350 -400 yard shots and have no idea where their bullet will hit, these are some people Ive hunted with in the past (no longer asscociate w/).
Ive also witnessed guys shoot a 300 mag and don't realize that that bullet can travel a great distance and could potentially kill livestock and/or people. We don't have much of anything out here to stop bullets :)
It is excellent practice to know your animals vitals and at 100-200 yards ballistics is no a big factor but I think it doesnt hurt to be studied up on them and safety.

Cheers!!

Oh BTW get a 300 mag :D
 
personally , i have been hunting for years and i have only one thing to say on this really ......... optics ..... a rifle is only as good as the optics you have with it , i watch a show regularly , called "best of the west" they shoot long range, i mean really long range sometimes out to 1200 yards , can be done , ethically too, you have to know your rifle, have good optics like huskemaw or my latest favorite, the nightforce scopes, then of course practice practice practice, these guys only use 7mm remington magnums and berger bullets , they have shot everything from deer to grizzly and if i hadn't seen it i would never believe a 1 shot dead grizzly with a 7mm rm , so I believe the rifle is only part of the equasion , the other is your optics , everyone seems to forget the scopes, they pay big $ for the rifle and then buy a cheap scope, i have done it and i bet most of us have done it , save $ buy good scope right off. and yes i'm partial to 7mm or .300 wm both fine calibers
 
optics

optics is an excellent point! i've had cheap scopes before and never again. too much frustration! it's not worth it. now whenever i shop for a scope i am prepared to spend a lot more. i know a guy who has a cheap scope on a $1000 browning and to me that's wrong. i can't explain it any other way.
 
Keep an eye on the EE. Get the best rifle / deal in either 7mm or 300 that comes up. Take the $ you saved dump it into you scope or go hunting a couple extra times next season. I did exactly that & am very pleased with how things turned out!
 
found a dealer in nightforce scopes and i'm going to buy one , heh soon as i figure out where to get the 1500$ for the one i want but what a sweet scope , complete with winddrift compensation , just dial in your range and wind drift and you're off to the races. Still can't stress enough tho don't shoot super long range unless you know your rife and scope and can consistently hit the vitals area at your chosen range. AQnd of course don't shoot beyond your "comfort" zone. we all don't want wounded animals running around out there, if just target shooting , well then fill yer boots :)
 
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