What would you chooses for elk, sheep, and moose? I'm leaning towards the .300 win mag but open to suggestions. Im looking at a winchester or weatherby vanguard meateater series. Any other rifles you would suggest?
Esox357;
Good morning to you sir, I hope this second last Monday before Christmas is going okay for you thus far and those who matter in your world are well.
For rifles, I'd absolutely suggest handling as many as possible to see what feels best to you and what seems to fit you best.
On a Canuck forum I'm on we're in the midst of discussing rifle fitment and it's effects on felt recoil - short version it's a pretty big deal. I'd recommend a couple of John Barsness' books on the subject too as he's able to explain it better than I, but again the short version is he's right in my experience and it matters - a lot.
Everyone has a line in the sand which they'll do their best work with as far as perceived recoil goes. I used to shoot with a chap who was 14" taller than me and scaled out at more than 400lb while I was a towering 5'6" and 150lbs... We used to have spirited discussions on which of us got the worst of a featherweight .458 Win Mag a buddy had as he'd just sort of soak it all up and it would hurl me off the bench.
Over the years I've played with 3 different 7mm RemMags quite a bit, then 3 different .308 Norma's and a couple .300 Win Mags.
As a broad statement I'd say that with a 24" barrel we had an easier time making the .300/.308 Mags run up to "book" velocities with 165/168/180gr bullets than the 7mmRemMag achieved with 140-160gr bullets.
Please note that was a good long while ago and newer powders might change all that considerably - I don't know.
While there might be some small difference in perceived recoil, if one had two identical rifles in both cartridges and was shooting similar weight projectiles, it may or may not be a factor. My gut feel is it wouldn't be much difference however.
Having been there when a 7mmRemMag killed deer sized animals and then helping to process a few more for friends, I'd be shocked if anyone could tell any difference in animal reaction whatsoever when similarly constructed bullets and shot placement were involved.
The vast bulk of my experience is with deer/black bear sized animals, but I have shot a California Bighorn and we live in sheep country so get to talk to a fair few folks who also have shot sheep. While a sheep does have a blockier front end for sure, they're about like deer when it comes to reacting to being hit by a bullet.
Moose are a different thing in that they sometimes need to cogitate on life and death for a wee bit before falling over. I've talked to guys who hunted mountain goats who said they reacted a lot like moose when hit, which is to say sometimes not much at all.
Lastly, if you're leaning towards a .300WinMag, I'd just make sure that it works fine through the action of the rifle you're buying. While that may sound a bit odd, I've worked on Ruger 77's that were just a tad short for some .300WinMag factory ammo and in fact that's why my own tang model Ruger 77 is chambered for the .308 Norma.
Hopefully that was useful for you or someone out there sir. Good luck with your search for a new hunting arm whichever way you decide.
All the best to you this Christmas Season.
Dwayne
