Thanks for the reply. I am very interested in the 7mm-08.
As for the blood trail. Can you get that with bullet selection? I understand your desire, and am just asking a question. I know that it can really matter with a big fat black bear, but the structure of the animal is so different. Heck, look at what those Berger VLD bullets do (in 7mm). High shoulder shot, jellie insides, drop like a rock. The 7mm 168's have a BC of .643 (from what I've heard, the quality varies a lot from bullet to bullet).
It is really interesting to go to Winchester's web site, and see how similar the 7mm mag and the .325WSM in the XP3 are in velocity and trajectory, but man is there ever a difference in foot-pounds. I would venture to say you are going to get a bigger blood trail more from the explosive energy departed on the tissue than from simply increasing the frontal diameter of the round. It would be very interesting to read more on this. Time to check out google.
It really sounds to me like you know what you want, and are now prepared to justify it to your wife. The .325 should perform a lot like the 7mm in the air, with more terminal damage. You should be able to shoot the heck out of it. It is almost as if you were meant to have one!
Good Hunting,
5Points
