THE GREAT CALIBER DEBATE 7MM VS 300WIN

I'd say for elk either one would work great. If I was shooting grizzly bears or moose I'd have to give the 300 Win. Mag. an advantage due to heavier bullets.
 
Remington sendero 300 Win mag. Shoots great and recoil is not bad at all because it's a little heavier than a sporter but not too heavy to carry all day.
 
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Up here the 300 wm is by far the go-to elk rifle. I hunt with a 7m stw but


would choose the 300 wm if I was buying now. As for recoil, stay away from
the straight stocked aforementioned rugers and it's not a problem. I hunt with
a 5.5 pound mountain rifle and have never noticed recoil. Got lightly scoped
once in an out of position shot laying down in grass. The 300 wmag's are a
very efficient round and the ballistics are hard to match for the powder burned.
In bullets of the same weight they kick less than a 7mm in my opinion, not
more. A recoil pad on your shoulder at the range is a good idea if you are
prone to develop a flinch with any of the magnums. m2c



The .300 Win Mag is everything except efficient.It is one the few calibers that it is recommended the the case be filled to 80% or better for all bullet weights.That's not efficient.



edit: if you don't understand the term "efficient" just ask.
 
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Funny......When I moved to Alaska back in 1974 this was THE debate. The strange thing is that the people who were doing all of the debating hadn't yet shot a moose or a bear with anything.

For myself I decided to go with the 7mm Rem mag and I can tell you it does a good job on brown bears and moose so I'm certain an elk would pose no problem.

Both cartridges do an awesome job and I would imagine the 300 Win has a slight edge but I'd still pick the 7mm.

My favorite bullet for the 7mm is a 160 grain Sierra. It's an accurate cartridge and the Sierra is an accurate bullet.
 
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I'd say for elk either one would work great. If I was shooting grizzly bears or moose I'd have to give the 300 Win. Mag. an advantage due to heavier bullets.



Moose? pretty soft animal, and we have biggins' Most folks around here use b.308. JP
 
I dont own a .300 Win Mag but I do have a Laminate Stainless Tikka chambered in .300 WSM. I also have a synthetic Model 70 chambered in 7mm Rem Mag. It should be noted that I am somewhat of a recoil sissy. I cant stand a rifle that beats the crap out of me on the bench. Never notice recoil in the field but sighting in can be brutal. That being said, my 7mm mag shooting 165 grain Nosler partitions hurts me far worse than my .300 WSM Tikka shooting 165 grain X bullets. I did add a Limbsaver recoil pad to the Tikka but the 7mm mag has a decent pad on it too. I just think the WSM is a far more manageable recoil. Either cartridge will do anything you would ever want to do in North America except for perhaps the Grizzly's and Browns. As far as ballistics, on paper anyway, the .300 Win Mag and the .300 WSM are almost identical with like weight bullets. Pick the one you can shoot accurately and are willing to hump around in Elk country and you will do fine.
 
I've owned both and shot elk with both at closer range and at longer range. If you do your part there really isn't a lick of difference between the two. They both seem to kick about the same in equal rifles IMO. My 7 RM is braked now so I can spot my own shots. Kicks about like a .243.

With that being said, I own a Rem 700 BDL custom deluxe in 7 RM at the moment for my LR deer/elk/black bear rifle that is extremely accurate for a tuned up factory rifle, usually around 1/4-1/2 MOA. I just happened to get a good deal on the rifle and couldn't pass it up. The reason I went with the 7 is that its pretty hard to beat the ballistics of them compared to a 30 cal that kicks more. Sure the 30 cal might edge out in energy a tad, but the 7mm wont drift or drop as much, and will be retaining more velocity, and if you can put the bullet in the vitals with either its not gonna make a difference, but I believe the 7mm gives a little bigger room for margin of error on your part, so the little bit of extra energy the 30 cal gives you shouldn't be the deciding factor.

If I was to have just an "elk" rifle though, it would be a 300 RUM or 338 RUM or 338 EDGE. My dad and I are part owners of a 338 EDGE and lemme tell ya with the 300g SMK it is incredible on elk. The spike bull I got last year at 915 yards was DRT. The 300 RUM w/200g AB at 3200fps is also a great long range elk round.

The 7 RM and 300 WM are both pretty accurate cartridges and I believe both have won plenty of matches.

Cant go wrong with either. Both will kill animals farther then most people have business shooting at so just pick one and have fun!!!
 
I have a 7MM Rem Mag and shoot 160 Accubonds with a max load of R22. Recoil is not noticeable. I have taken several deer and a 525 pound cow elk. All complete pass throughs and short recoveries.

On the same trip my buddy was shooting a 338-378 with 250 grain Partitions. Ever seen anyone roll elk off a mountain side at 650 yards with softball exit wounds? He brought the rain.
 
The Remington Express ammo is $2 cheaper for the 7mm 175 grain vs the 180 grain in the 300.

That should make your choice much easier /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I would go with the 7mm just cause it kicks less.
 
I have a 7mm mag. and my brother in law has a .300 win. We have hunted deer and elk togather for 30 years or more. There is not much difference in the two.
 
I am guessing there would be almost no difference in recoil on a 7 mm Remington Magnum shooting 160 bullets compared to a 300 Winchester Magnum shooting 165 grain bullets.

If the bullet weights are 140 grains in the 7mm and 180 in the .300 I would say you might notice some difference in felt recoil.

Both would work well on Deer and Elk.
 
What a can of worms. This is like asking what the best brand of beer is. I do not have a lot of experience with the 7, other than a good friend of mine has a Browning. Lord, does that thing kick. He is running 160 grain Partitions. Must be that particular rifle that makes it boot like that. I have had much more experience with the 300's. I am a 300 H&H guy myself, but have loaded a lot of WinMag ammo for friends. As far as I am concerned, the majority of the 300's (H&H, WinMag, WSM, SAUM, Norma, 30-338, etc) all do the same darn thing: 180 grainer at 2900-3000 fps, and all are pretty darned accurate. When you get into the Ultra Mag and Weatherby class, then the speed goes up, as does the recoil (and ammo/component prices). The 7 vs 300 debate is simple: get what you want. Find guys that have them and ask if you can shoot them at the range sometime. For every 7 Mag guy you find, you will find a 300 guy. I cannot say that the 7 kicks noticeably less than the 300, as the only 7 I have spent time behind boots me aplenty. But as I said before, it may be that one rifle. Guys that have 7's love them, and will tell you that recoil is less and performance is just as good as a 300. They are probably right. Us 300 guys will tell you that recoil is not that much more than a 7, and performance is better due to the same speed (7mm, 160 grainer, 2950 or so fps vs 300, 180 grainer, 2950 or so fps) with a larger caliber, heavier bullet. I have shot a lot of animals with my 300 H&H, and if I hold well, the rifle performs well, no complaints. I run 200 grain Partitions in my rifle, vs the 160 grain Partitions that my friend runs in his 7. And guess what? He has shot just as many animals as I have, and if he holds well, his rifle performs well, no complaints. Despite my preference for the 300's, you really can't go wrong with either. Good luck.
 
TIREDSOLDIER
I have killed elk with a 7mm Rem Mag, .338 WM, .284 Win, and .375 H&H. I don't recall one being any deader than the other, and fortunately, they all dropped DRT. I have witnessed elk being poleaxed by my buddy and his .300 WM, but his were a little less dead...... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I don't think you could go wrong either way.

But since you mentioned long range target practice.................

It seems to me that the .30 caliber is somewhat deficient in the ballistic coefficient department. The 7mm on the other hand seems to be blessed with high BC's at a weight that still allows for some speed. I can't say I can recommend one over the other, but my next project will be a 7mm.

Hope that helps!!

BTW, feel free to shoot me a PM when you get home safe(or sooner). I'd assume you are likely stationed close to me. If so, you may not have to leave the base for some insane bulls.
 
SO I THINK IM LEANING TOWARD THE 7MM IN A REMINGTON SENDERO. LITTLE CHEAPER TO RELOAD AND THE PRICE FOR THE RIFLE ISNT BAD.

CORNSTALKER: IM OUT OF CARSON WHEN I AM THERE. I HERE CARSON HAS SOME NICE BULLS JUST HAVENT SEEN ANY. THEY SURE DO HAVE SOME MONSTER MULEYS BUT THEY STAY RIGHT CLOSE TO THE AMMO DUMP AROUND HUNTING SEASON.
 
I've got a 7mag sendero in pss stock worked up by Score High gunsmithing w/ their brake, one of my best investments yet on a rifle, shoots 175 gr. SMK's exceptionally well.

I'm not going to compare calibers cause it doesn't matter too much, I've got 300win, various 7mag, 300weatherby, they're all for fun, each set up differently for where I'm hunting (short to long range, brush, etc...) ALL of them have brakes though I'm a recoil hater, in the end they all KILL like said above.

This probly doesn't help much but I hope it does, lol

Matt B.
 
tired soldier.....it's a debate i can't contribute to.....but to you and all your fellow soldiers.....we're proud of ya...we appreciate your committment....we support you....pass it around like an ice cold drink.....drink deep,my friend.
 
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