7 mm mag or 300

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
I’m sorry should have said 250_500 yards I have a 30.06 and am comfortable to 300
Honest either a 7mm Mag or 300 mag will do whatever you need them to do.
Many of todays off the rack rifles are capable of custom rifle accuracy.

I do not own a rifle in any caliber and in any action type that I have not been able to shoot 1" or often much less groups with.
 

nmurph

Senior Member
Are you really going to take 500yd shots? I know it's done, but you need be 100% proficient to make it an ethical attempt. That means hitting a vitals- sized target everytime shooting from the same position as you will be when hunting. I killed an 8pt two years ago at a measured 340yds with a 30-06 shooting 150gr Accubonds. One shot, dead right there. That was from a prone position with the gun resting on a backpack.

If I was going to hunt deer at 500yds it would be with a .264/6.5 in one of the hotter chamberings. Doping for distance is the easy part. The harder part is reading the wind and making the correct adjustment. The .264 bullet is about the least deflected by crosswinds of any caliber and will deliver the 1000ft-lbs of energy at .5k yds generally considered to be necessary to take a whitetail.

BTW, which 300...several flavors are available.
 
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Buckstop

Senior Member
Either is fine. I’d probably go with a 7 RM but thats just a personal preference. Your 30-06 would do just fine too. I’ve hunted in KS 4 or 5 years with a 270 win and never felt under gunned.
 

bullethead

Of the hard cast variety
Realistically, a handloaded 30'06 round to its potential is not far behind, if at all, to most factory loaded 7mmRMag ammo of similar weights.

If you plan on handloading your ammo you can get the best out of whatever cartridge you use.
 

Buckman18

Senior Member
300 win mag all day long. 180 gr ballistic silver tips. Bang, flop.
 
Are you really going to take 500yd shots? I know it's done, but you need be 100% proficient to make it an ethical attempt. That means hitting a vitals- sized target everytime shooting from the same position as you will be when hunting. I killed an 8pt two years ago at a measured 340yds with a 30-06 shooting 150gr Accubonds. One shot, dead right there. That was from a prone position with the gun resting on a backpack.

If I was going to hunt deer at 500yds it would be with a .264/6.5 in one of the hotter chamberings. Doping for distance is the easy part. The harder part is reading the wind and making the correct adjustment. The .264 bullet is about the least deflected by crosswinds of any caliber and will deliver the 1000ft-lbs of energy at .5k yds generally considered to be necessary to take a whitetail.

BTW, which 300...several flavors are available.

100% proficient to me means that you can group less than an inch at 100yds.
A lot of "hunting rifles" are sighted in within 2 or 3 inches at 50 yds, and that's "close enough". lol

What size do you figure a "vital size target" to be?


What's the difference in taking an "unethical" 500 yd shot or taking an "ethical" 50-100 yd shot, since a lot of people just shoot a deer in the side with a bullet that will leave a good blood trail, so as to further enhance their tracking skills?

How would someone know beforehand what position they will be in when the opportunity arrises for their shot?
I've shot game standing free handed, prone, kneeling, right-handed, left-handed, propped on fence post, rocks, trees, limbs, tractor tires, and truck doors.
 

wareagle700

Senior Member
Deer rifle for 250-300 yards and you are cool as ice? Take a .243, .260, 7mm-08, or 308.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Not trying to be rude, but if you're only shooting 300 can't you just use a .243, 30-06, 308, etc... 300 is pretty short range shooting.
Unless you're like me. I probably couldn't hit a durn boxcar at 300 yards with a match-grade rifle and ammo. :)
 

JeffinPTC

Senior Member
I like my WBY Sporter in 300 WinMag. If you load, you'll find bullets from 125 to 220 grains from Nosler, for example. You can load a 125 gr to 3500FPS. And for GA deer, a 165gr is a good choice. Nosler offers at least 9 bullets in that weight.

https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/300-winchester-magnum/

http://www.shootersproshop.com/loading-reloading-bullets/shopby/f/caliber/30/isAjax/1.html

Nosler's outlet. If you're a Vet or responder, get 10% off.
If you get to Kansas and realize you forgot your ammo, you'll probably find the 300 WinMag quicker than more exotic calibers. Every mom and pop has 30-06 though.

Buy loaded ammo the first time and save the brass. Weatherby, for example, charges about as much for brass as a box of Norma Spitzer loaded.

All said, the 30-06 165 gr max loaded with 61.5 gr RL19 is exactly the same speed(2982) as the min 300 WinMag with 71 gr. So you get about 200 fps extra with the mag over a 30-06. More powder = more barrel wear also.
 

hayseed_theology

Senior Member
I'd vote for the 7 Mag if we are talking deer hunting. That's what I carry when hunting agriculture fields around here.
 
Owned both, still have the .300. It will do anything the 7 mag will and more. While the 7 mag is a decent round, not significantly better than .270, .280, .30-06.

I love my A Bolt 300 Win Mags. I have no use for a tracking dog.
Horns don't run off and the only meat loss on a doe is the brains. lol
 

Lilly001

Senior Member
I would pick the rifle first.
Then I would look for the cartridge.
Most rifles are available in a cartridge that will work.
Why a long action round?
There are lots of short action cartridges that will do the job you want. And many are more efficient than the 7 or .300.
I have both, but I like short action rifle, for the most part, so my recent acquisitions have not been the long actions.
 

baddave

Senior Member
I’m sorry should have said 250_500 yards I have a 30.06 and am comfortable to 300
if you have a 30-06 then you really just want to buy a new rifle ..can't blame you at all . i do the same :) it's definitely up to you and you only . a guy told me when i first started reloading to don't ask everybody just do what works for you . he was right:cheers:
 

Robert28

Senior Member
Is this a guided hunt you’re going on? If so you might call them and ask what their minimum caliber they recommend and go from there. Some guided outfits won’t let you go out with calibers less than a .270 AND whatever you showup with they usually make you shoot it about 5 times to see how accurate you are with the gun.
 

lonewolf247

Senior Member
It mostly comes down to a preference thing, at this point. The 7mm Rem Mag can take down the biggest deer at ranges greater than any Average ethical hunter should think about taking.

That being said, so can the .300 win mag. So like I said, what’s your preference? The OP has a 30-06 already, and can cover out to 300 yards, the .300 win mag or the 7mm rem mag does not have a max point blank range that exceeds that by a large margin, in the real world.

According to ballistic tables, I’ve seen online, the best mpbr for 30-06 is about 290 yards, the 7mm rem mag is about 310 yards, and the best .300 win mag is a whopping 321 yards. If you want flat shooting, the .257 Weatherby mag can stretch that to an impressive 340 yards!

This is about where the average ethical hunter can realistically draw the line. Anything beyond that, you are either fooling yourself, are you have to start compensating for bullet drop, and trajectory.

Many hunters don’t have the opportunity to shoot that far, and even the ones that do, most really don’t have a realistic plan on how to shoot out to 500 yards. This is not to say there aren’t a few that have actually prepared to shoot that far, and by all means, the OP may be one of those people. I’m just making a general statement that the average hunter is not prepared to shoot that far, even if they were capable.

I put myself in this category. I am not prepared to shoot past the mpbr of the particular caliber I carry to hunt on a given day. Most of my opportunities to shoot that far, are on narrow pipelines, where a deer is just crossing and not out in an open field, so there is no time to range the deer, and click a turret, to take that sort of shot.

That being said, I sight in for mpbr and 300 yards is about my limit. On contrary, I hunt with a few people who sight in for zero at 100 yards, yet they say they can make 500 yard shots, all day, any day. However, most haven’t killed a deer over 200 yards. ?

Anyhow, what’s your preference? OP, has a 30-06, a .300 win mag, will offer 30 more yards. 7mm rem mag will give you 20 yards above 30-06. Maybe if you don’t have a caliber in .280, this will cover that slot. However, to shoot 500 yards, you have to start looking at some serious optics, and a rangefinder.

Like I said, I’m just making general statements, and not directing this towards anybody. 300 yards is about the best I can do with the hunting situation I have. Peace ✌️
 
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