Hunting & Fishing 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

[Matt_3479]

Hello, im looking to get things moving in my first custom. For those who dont know i will quickly fill in. This rifles main purpose is moose, but will also be taken very often on Elk, Caribou, Black bear, Whitetail and antelope. Shots will be 800 yards and less! some shots will be 40 yards and less (moose hunting can be close). I have a very accurate 7mm mag remington 700 BDL that will be my base to work with. I am 99% sure i will be going with kevin at MCR rifles due to the fact he is close by and does amazing work as well as helped my through a lot with decisions and information for this build.

I would like to keep powder burning to a minimum due to cost wise and thats why my original posts were only between the 7mm mag and the 300. mag. Recently i had someone tell me to take a real hard thought into the 300 RUM and that is the purpose of this thread. I know the 7mm mag and 300 mag are more then capable and speeds reaching 2900-3000 fps aren't unrealistic from the 7mm mag with 180 grain bergers and 2850-2950 from the win mag with 210 bergers. I have heard of a few people only getting 3000 fps from the 300 RUM which is burinng more powder without the upsize in ballistics.

What is your opinion in caliber?

 

[SilencercoJames]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

I have a buddy that shot a moose up on alaska this year with his 7mag and it took him 5 well placed shots with 168 bergers to drop it. Now, I KNOW SOME ONE HAS "DROPPED ONE WITH ONE SHOT, FROM 1,000,000 YDS WITH A .223". Im just saying that I would have as much bullet as I could justify for that kind of game. So my vote would be for the 300 rum. I have never had a 300 but I did have a 7 rum and I could push the 180 bergers to 3300fps in a 26" barrel. so I would imagine the 210 should so at lease 3200.

 

[3hundredWM]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

I shoot a .300 Win Mag. It has taken all of the above animals. And with only one shot. Of course shot placement is everything, but I like knowing that I have the power to make a long range kill. My moose was shot broadside just behind the front shoulder. Shot was a little high but the moose went down within a minute of being hit. The shot was 500+ yards. I was shooting factory HSM 185g Berger VLD's. And at $15 for a box of 20...they did the job and I am pleased.

 

[ykrvak]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

Apparently, I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. The resident expert is now going to tell you how life is going to be. I obviously spoke about something I know absolutely nothing about and retract the lunacy I just spewed. Sorry for all the hurt feelings. I'm out...

 

[rszkutak]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

<b>ykrvak, your my new best friend since you live in alaska! </b>

We'll my 2 cents worth here.

I have both of those calibers. My determining factor is not as much what you hunt, it's where you hunt that really determined the best suited rifle for the job (no bullet talk yet).

In Arizona I use a .270 Winchester successfully for everything in this state, from mountain lion to 800 pound elk. All my shots are always on shot kills. Our shots here in Arizona tend to be 25-350 yards, in that range almost anything will drop whatever you are shooting at. The only exception I make here in AZ is for 2 animals, Javalina and Antelope. If I am hunting Javalina I use a 6.8, Antelope I use a 7mm rem mag. I choose the 7mm because it fly's flat, over a very long distance and I drive the ever loving shit out of my bullets from the 7mm, and the .270 I don't like how it drops after about 650 yards. I shoot 160gr bullets at about 2900 FPS, and yes they are wicked accurate.

When I go to Wyoming, now that's an entirely different rifle. I take my (Remington 700P with a Leupold Mark 4) 7mm as primary weapon for that state, with a .308 for backup. 2 years ago I got a shot off (and successfully killed) and antelope at a bit over 1100 yards.

Since you are in Utah, I suspect you have similar conditions as I do down here in AZ, but of course what kind of terrain you are hunting makes a difference as well.

I am a firm believer that if you slam, and i mean SLAM an animal hard with a solid bullet it's going to go down, right now, which brings me to a point about your friend. On my last Wyoming trip 2 years ago I shot the same Berger VLD bullets as your friend did. It's true they shoot amazing and I cannot say anything bad about berger, except their "hunting" bullets SUCK! When I retrived the deer I dropped there (shot at 345 yards), as i was field dressing it i noticed the heart did a "hand grenade" and just vaporized. Now that's a great shot, don't get me wrong, but i found the bullet in the right shoulder of the animal when I was butchering it (not a cause for alarm), and removed it from the meat. After I removed it (and wasted about 50% of the shoulder due to blood shot meat) I weighed it, the bullet lost over 50% of it's mass, worse yet it literally came apart in pieces in my hands.

Since that time I have switched every one of my hunting bullets over to Nosler Partitions. I run Partitions in my .270 and .308, but the 7mm was Berger up until that hunt. I have slammed elk here in AZ at 350 yards with a partition and never recovered the bullet but once. when i recovered the bullet, it was 150gr when it was loaded, when i recovered it the bullet weight 139gr. Impressive for a bullet going 2800 FPS and only loosing 11gr of weight! Partitions have a very unique design that just keep the bullet driving through the animal, simply put they are just amazing bullets.

 

[Matt_3479]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

I believe I will be going with the 300. Win mag and loading 210 vld's hopefully around 2900fps+, but like I said I have and will have close encounters so I will also be loading up some 180-200 grain misled accubonds/partions or Barnes for them close shots

 

[C.West]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

Ive had no problems getting the 26 inch barreled 300RUM to push the 210 class bullets at 3200. Of all the powders tested, Ramshot Magnum is the ticket if you are wanting to really stand on that cartridge. Just my .02 worth. That being said, the 300WM gets my vote given your circumstances.


Colt

 

[Matt_3479]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

see the thing is my exsisting 7mm mag is fully factory and will be getting sent it to be bedded, trued, and what not. So i figured why not go full way and put in a stock, get a new barrel and jump up from 24" to 26-28" to optimize mag performance and what not. Then i started thinking of a larger bullet to help and i love the 300. win mag/300 rum. I think the 300 rum is too much so my main debate is between sticking 7mm and custom it or switch to 300 and custom it.

looks like i will be going the route of;

700 action, fully blue printed.
pillar and glass bedded into a mcmillan a3 adj stock,
brux 26-28" barrel with a muzzle brake.
timney/jewel trigger,
flutted bolt,

So i figured 7mm vs 300 and thats the reason for this psot

 

[courtgus]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

300RUM

 

[ranger1183]

Re: 7mm mag vs 300 win mag vs 300 rum

Moose are HUGE (at least in Alaska they are). Yes they can be harvested <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">at short range</span></span> with smaller calibers, as can kodiak bears.

BUT, if you're ass is on the line then use a cartridge built for the biggest and most dangerous North American game.

I recommend stepping up to the .338 magnum cartridges. .338 Norma Magnum, .338 Lapua Magnum, .338 Edge (.300 RUM necked up to .338), etc.

Strike moose off your list and the .300 magnums will be just fine.