Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles "Busting the Magnum Myth" R. Seyfried

WOW, glad I decided to sit this one out

Sipping my morning coffee with shaky hands, relieved that I survived all those years of traipsing around the Kenai without a .338 in my hands.

Now that round is a dandy, & the reason why I'm running my 9.3's at 2300fps with 250gr TT's.......Perfect amount of thump without the extra fuss.

If I could get a 35 Whelen barrel in the R8 I would be all over it like flies to a freshly laid turd, but the 9.3x62 is a close enough cousin for me

If I'd ever go after Brown Bears whatever I'd shoot I would want an experienced Guide with the appropriate caliber gun to back me up....

And a CRF at that, preferably an M98........

Dang, I'd be off the wall if I just had an elk tag... If I couldn't find about 30 choices to shoot it with in 15 minutes then I missed the boat... If you have one gun the 270 flat works.. NO ONE here has one gun.

Funny, the arguments here all point to which cartridge works best but if you just math it out it boils down to anything over 6# scoped sucks anyway so start from there...

6# x 100 Grns powder= detached retina



40-60 grains of powder and a good bullet go very far. I will never afford to hunt brownies or anything else that will eat me. Moose every 15 years if I am lucky. Still want a 6# 338RUM and the 257 Weatherby is the best of all worlds... 7 Mag is what the 06' isn't. 270 isn't any more than the 7-08. 223 between the eyeballs is DRT.

Wish I had more time to shoot.... That would make me very happier indeed...........

W

Pretty much an "each to their own", but shootability of what one chooses, is important no matter what,,,,then bullet selection!!! In my younger days, I read and dreamed of certain magnums as well. Thought with the .300 Win Mag. 7mm Rem Mag. and .264 Win Mag's, most anything was possible with one. Never bought either however, I just kept with the .30-06. And to this day is still the fastest biggame cartridge I hunt with. A few others are slower, in the 23-2600 fps range, with middle to heavy weight's for caliber. Still the .30-06 with a 180 gr. NPT is my go to for most. If that is more than I think needed, a 7mm driving a 150 gr. NPT at 2600 fps suits me fine.
For me, it became more about just being out there, pitting my skills against the animals instincts. Getting close as possible is where the fun and challenge is for me. Yes, I have to pass sometimes, and yes I don't always fill my tag. I guess if it was a matter of putting meat in the freezer for survival, it might be another matter. But I like working in close, just cuz I know I can. And if it don't work out,,,,well, that's hunt'n!

I'd like to read a few thoughts from Mule Deer on what Ross wrote about. Clearly MD addresses this issue all the time so maybe it would be redundant. But then again, so what!

Wish I had.

That which does not kill us makes us stronger

Friedrich Nietzsche

I lucked out...grew out of my magnums years ago. Of course, if I to hunt elephants and brown bears, I would get another one.

though a few cranks to work out of it this winter, I am enthralled with my Legend stocked 375 H&H. admittedly, it is a utility built rifle and while not pretty i have every confidence it'll provide many years of valuable service.

for the time being i choose to become proficient with this one firearm until she and i are well acquainted with one another's little ways, to paraphrase John Taylor.

magnumitis? hardly. just a love of the caliber.

Your killen me

This is funny, everyone is getting caught up in the headstamp of the brass. Exactly what Ross was trying to get away from.
His point is to get you to use what YOU personally shoot well.
Newbies tend to not shoot rifles so well with heavy, sharp recoil and excessive muzzle blast. The individual cartridge does not really matter, as long at it is sufficient. Shot placement and bullet construction do.

This is like the old real estate adage: location, location, location

Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement!


Phil,
A simple question on the big bears you guide for:
A 180gr 30-06 in the boiler room or a 340 Weatherby in the guts?

What about a 160gr 6.5x55 in the boiler room vs a 375 in the guts?

Which bear would you rather follow into the alders?

To paraphrase a gun writer from another era.....if it takes a 338 to kill a 700 pound elk...what does it take to kill a 14,000 pound elephant?

A good bullet in the correct spot, shall we reference Bell? I am pretty sure we have all witnessed the big doubles in the wrong spot on the African hunting shows with the necessary subsequent follow up shots.

So if shot placement is apparently the only answer, all I need is a 270 for frontal shots on elephant?

30mm, all the way. Anyone got a Warthog I can borrow for an African trip?

Certainly not!! A 7x57 is called for in this instance.

Now that's funny, that right there. I don't care who you are

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