Any 160gr 7mm from 7mm/08 to 7mm RUM, I want opinions please? This goes hand in hand with my other post about the .270/160 going 2950fps load I have that "mimics" a 7mm Rem Mag, give or take a bit. I was aware that I would hear from more 270 users than 338WM users, it just is a fact of logistics. However, through the years, I have seen more 7mm Mags (all stripes) and 300WMs than 338WM "in the field" or 340W. Both dynamic rounds I know for a fact. In later years, with newer powders the 7mm/08 and 280AI. No one really doubts the effectiveness of a good Medium caliber, (could throw in 35 Whelen and such too) on elk. But "usually" when a person wants more than a .270/308/30-06, they will go to the 7mm Rem Mag. A lot will go to the 300WM.
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The reason you shave seen more 7mm Mags (and particularly the Rem Mag, I would guess) and .300WM rifles is because they are so much more flexible than the .338 magnums. They get the job done with significantly less recoil. And again, particularly the 7mm RM.
My 160g Speer Grand Slam loads were running a max charge of IMR4831 (1g under the old Speer manuals, 1g over more current manuals) for what - after many years of use - I eventually chrono'd at 2874fps. It took me 20 years to recover one. That one wrecked both shoulder joints on a nice bull elk and was peeking out of the bone on the far side.
After getting some .30-06 caliber rifles, in which I use 150g AB and 165-168g North Fork and TTSX bullets and all of which have worked on elk, I've pretty much gone to 140g in the 7mm RM and .280 Rem. A 140g/3214fps North Fork from the 7mm RM exited a cow on a 400-yard broadside.
For Daughter #1 I've worked up a .270 Win/150g ABLR load at 2912fps for her Rem M700, with less than 18 ft-lbs recoil. It maintains 2000fps and 1500fpe well past 700 yards. That should be adequate for elk at her self-imposed 400-yard limit.
Her hubby's brother is in the Navy and I have his .270. After replacing the scope I'll work up the same load for his rifle (Savage, shorter COL required) and he will use it on our elk hunt this fall.
While the Partition was the Gold Standard for many years for some people, the proliferation of mono's bonded and hybrids like the A-Frame, North Fork and Trophy Bonded have provided hunters with more options to achieve the same results - often with lighter bullets and less recoil. And higher B.C. designs have allowed them to stretch the effective ranges for their loads. Given that most loads will work most of the time, many people obsess over possibilities with small (but non-zero) probabilities. (As a fan of the premium bullets, I'm probably guilty.) The fact is that, at least for elk and smaller, just about any well-placed shot will work, regardless of load details.
