Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7Mag vs 300Mag

I just can't warm up to the 7. For me it's the 300 and I agree with Dober It just don't get any better than the 200 grain Nosler with it.

caribou:Yes, it works great...BTDT.For me the 300's kick too much,weigh too much.

I wonder what it is the mag 30 does with a 200 Partition that the mag 7 with 175 Partition does not do......(?)

Bob , that's where the 300 wsm fits for me......I find that cartridge to belt me a liitle less than a 7 mag and somewhat friendlier on the muzzle blast.....a little less of the "jet " effect I think ....


the little 30 mag does give up some trajectory to a 7mm , but not enough to bother for most use.

SD: Yes,this is true. The 300WSM does split the baby pretty well. So long as you don't make them too light....I like the cartridge but doubt there is any difference on game between it and a 7 mag.

All things being equal,it cuts a .24 larger hole and wound channel.

Jayco

I would have to look it up to check the BC but I suspect the 200 grain bullet has a better ballistic Coefficient, Sectional Density, leaves a bigger old and penetrates deeper. But I also suspect the difference is minimal enough for the animal to not know the difference. Different calibers appeal to different people. 30 cal has captured many of Americas hunters imagination whether the '06, 300 WM, 300 wsm, or tons of others. Up here, its tough to even sell a 7RM.

As an owner of both, there is very little I would do with one that I wouldn�t do with the other. The .300 and heavy bullets would get the nod if going into griz country, the 7mm if shooting things deer-sized and smaller. For elk I use them both and have found the 7mm/160g to be �more than enough�.

Nope, nope, nope and nope..




Yep

My decision to go with the 7RM over the 300mag. is that the 7RM is the biggest round I can shoot well. When you're talking elk I think one should use the biggest round he can handle. The rub is that many of us are not so very honest about that. For me, as I've gotten older, I have become way less recoil tolerant. Could be I'll be shooting a 7x57 soon. Not a bad thing at all.

For a general purpose rifle, I don't get real nit-picky about pros and cons of various bullets, but I looked up the differences between the 7mm/175 gr and the .30/200 Nosler Partitions:

.30 BC=.481, SD=.301
7mm BC=.519, SD=.310

So the 7mm bullet has slightly higher numbers.

And there is of course that .024" difference in bullet diameter, an advantage for the .30 cal.

I dunno. Like them both, have used them both. No longer have a .30 magnum around, but that's not to say I won't have another one in the future. This year it's the 7mm and the .375 I'm planning on exercising afield. Long ago I figured out that there wasn't much difference afield for what I hunt, and I'll stick by that.

Regards, Guy

I think they're two peas in a pod... personally I like the 30's (have had exactly one 7mm RM), and prefer mine in the WSM flavor. A 180 NP at 3K+ from a 300 WSM is a serious package for up close or out far. My longest kill on game was 547 yards on a bedded antelope with that combo. One shot, dead lope. In the Kimber Montana you can have it in a 7lb 4oz package (all-up) that's a joy to pack.

But I'm likely Kimber's biggest cheerleader...

So its said; in real life I've never seen a difference in how they kill,ie dead stuff on the ground.

Sure frontal area counts,but only if the bullets you use give it to you...

I'm hoping that at some point in the future, there will be an opportunity to take a big Asian sheep, or another trophy bull elk, or an Alaskan bull moose, or a tough Nilgai bull, or a sable, or a grizzly.

When and if that day comes for me, the 7mms will probably be left at home, and the trusty old .300 Wby. Mag., with its 1 MOA handloads of Barnes TSX bullets, will probably get to make the trip.

I have seen the 7MM kill Elk and I also have seen and used the .300 Win Mag on Elk and in those three times I saw the 7MM in use,I'll stick to the .300 and 180 Noslers...Never had one go over 15-20 steps getting fed a 180 Nosler out of the 300.

Experiences differ!!!

Now the little 25-06 penetrates as well as the mighty .375 H&H so are we all going to sell our favorite Elk rifles and by a 25-06 because the little 100 grain bullet penetrated as far as the 260 Nosler out of the 375?

Jayco

I've seen a spike bull elk keep a 160 Speer Hotcore in its hide on the offside on a 200 yd shot via a 7mm RM... ditto the 180 Partition via 300 Mag on larger bulls. Elk hides are pretty darn thick and elastic and those wanting two holes on big bulls are going to be disappointed more often than not no matter what they shoot IME.

These internet discussions confuses me..All this BC/SD yadda yadda and the little 30-30 kills Elk every year without the numbers the net says were supposed to have.

The one guy I know who has killed more Elk than anyone else I know,uses a 25-06 and he doesn't know better not reading any gun rags or has access to a computer

One day he will get a magazine for Christmas or look at the net at one of his kids places and realize how wrong he is and has been for 65 years of hunting.

Jayco

I've had no issues with either one;but generally I've shot well and used good bullets in both.....nor have I seen much difference in the hands of others so long as good bullets were used,and placement was proper.

I have 7mm bullets recovered from game that retained more weight,and have more frontal area than some 30 cal bullets fired from 300 mags.

I've seen elk poorly hit with both....the 300 offers no advantage whatsoever...the elk go a long way and they are not any sicker from the big 30 than they are the 7mm.You have a problem either way.

I used to believe there was a difference between roughly comparable rifle calibers,but don't believe that any longer.Bullets mean much more in how cartridges kill IMHO,right along with good placement.

Jayco, were I limited to "just" a 308 Win I know I'd not punch a tag any differently or any less often than if I were armed with a 7 or 30 magnum. Yeah, I know a guy that does the same thing with the 25-06 year in, year out.

So you are saying that a 375 H&H or a 338 Win Mag has no advantage as an Elk caliber over the 7MM?I no were talking 300 Win Mag but where do you draw the line as to when a larger caliber with more weight and frontal area is a quicker stopper or do they all stop them the same way with the same effect?

We totally agree on bullet choice and shot placement..Larger calibers do make a difference in immediate effect,of course just in my opinion and what I have seen but when does this start??Maybe .24(300) or .54(338) or maybe .91(375 H&H over the .284(7MM)...

And I won't even mention JJ Hacks "7MM Hit 'em again" thread.

Jayco

Yeah I know..My favorite for years was my 270 Win when that was all I had and it did the trick if I was up to it and my wife still does on occasion..

The 7MM is kinda like the Barnes bullet to me..Once you see something not work your not in a big hurry to join the crowd even though zillions use both with success.

Call me old fashioned or just plain older than dirt for not changing something that isn't broke.

Awe heck..All in fun ehhh..

Jayco