7mm provides 300 win mag trajectory with 30-06 recoil and should be fine for elk with a good bullet. That being said, I have the Tikka 7mm mag and am having trouble getting the velocity that the 7mm mag is supposed to have. The same may be true for the 300 in a tikka also. Other than lower velocity, my tikkas have all been super accurate when you find the right ammo or loads. For me the 7mm provides the long range performance. With the recoil of the 300, I'd much rather have a 338 win mag to go with the 7mm.
The 300 is a great round though. I'd just rather have a 338 in its place.
I love my Tikkas in 22-250 and 25-06 but after owning a couple of 300Mags in heavier rifles, I have no interest in owning one in a rifle as light as a Tikka. A 7Mag would be the largest cartridge I would consider in a Tikka, and I don't know that I would take that plunge. But I already have a couple of 7Mags so I'm not in the market for another.
I'd go with the 7mm, though I think that my .270 T3 Lite Stainless is about the perfect Tikka setup when weight and recoil are considered. I like my magnums to have a bit more weight.
7mm has been my primary hunting rifle for over 30 years and has killed truckloads of deer and elk with 150grain NBT and Barnes TTSX so I cant say anything bad about it. For a one gun battery these days my preference would be the 300 WSM in your Tikka. A friend just bought one this month on my recommendation and is now deciding on a scope.
Seeing the results over a Chronograph and feeling the recoil difference between it and a 7 the short fat guy is just more efficient. I was also comparing the WSM to a Weatherby 300 and couldn't get over how close the WSM was in velocity with so much less powder being used.
The 7 would be the last rifle id give up because it is extremely accurate and has been so reliable for me but that 300 WSM is tough to beat and carries a little more oomph without much recoil penalty. With elk on the menu the 30 caliber makes more sense to me but you really cant go wrong with either.
The name stamped on the brass is the subject of many discussions, but is largely irrelevant, when the performance characteristics of any round are largely determined by the choice of bullet.
Considering that the only noticeable difference between these rounds will be on the back end, one can avoid a lot of shoulder thump by loading lighter bullets faster; in the 30 calibers, for example...
A 300WSM or 300 Win Mag loaded with 150 Barnes or 155 Scenar is a great launcher and recoil shouldn't bother most folks...recoil is more like a 308, but then the 308 loaded likewise is nearly as competent.
With the bullets available today, I don't see the need for Magnum anything until very long range comes into play, or for the larger calibers as well.
A 7-08 with a 120 Barnes TTSX will perform like a 7mm Magnum in every way but the thump on the shoulder and the name on the case...the effects on the target are similar.
When a 223 is just about right for a lot of things that I used to think a 30-06 was marginal for...a 243 loaded similarly becomes almost overkill, so it's easy to see why some guys are such fans of their 260s.
Smaller, lighter and handier is the mantra of the day!
I have owned Tikka's in 7mm REM MAG, 300WIN MAG and 300 WSM..
the only one I wish I would have kept is the 7mm REM MAG.
Why? I would assume it was due to recoil.
24HCF in its entirety, is solely responsible for why my children do not have college funds, my mortgage isn't paid-off and why I will never retire early enough to enjoy the remainder of my life.
I've become pretty fond of my T3 300WM once I started shooting 130TTSXs at 3560fps. It makes 400yd work very simple. Prior to using that load, I found the rifle fairly boring.
i had a 7 mag and so no real advantage over a 270, sold it. i've had a Tikka 695 in 300 WM for about 10 years and love it. the point of a magnum is extra velocity and power if needed, and the 300's available heavier bullets does that. i shoot Hornady 180's in it and on 2 occasions have appreciated the additional power on big midwestern whitetails on tough angles, perhaps unnecessary but still appreciated.
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