Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire best 7mm hunting round

You know, with what building a new rifle costs you might be better off just buying a factory rifle and some good glass. Spend all that extra money on good reloading outfitt and components.


I've wildcatted, and spent some good bit of time with others and their wildcat rifles. Here's what I've come to believe. The round itself is not that much of an improvement. It's just that the guy is a rifle loony and spends that much more time developing loads for that rifle and, more importantly, time on trigger. So it's not the round that really makes a difference, but the man shooting the rifle. The numbers look pretty, but in the field they really don't do much for you.

So, with that in mind I'd say get a good solid rifle. This Ruger Hawkeye M77 in 280 Rem is as solid as it gets, and will do anything on this continent. Put on some good glass in the form of two or more scopes. Put them in Warne Quick release rings and change the scope to fit the hunt.

Hawkeye M77



By doing that and using scopes pre-zeroed for different loads I wouldn't be afraid to hunt a Mississippi swamp for hogs one day, and the top of a Montana mountain the next. Simply swapping glass and load to suit.