Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Under Gunned?

Pretty Similar here.

What difference does it matter to anyone what Rifle or cartridge someone else likes and uses??
Self assurance ? Insecurity ?

IF it’s legal I don’t care if someone hunts .17 or .204 OR 378 RUM.

For myself, it’s not a matter of Power (fpe) or powder charge. I hunt a variety of
terrain/topography. I can be in a thicket OR an open pasture on any given day.
MY requirement is FLAT trajectory and that’s hard to get with SLOW bullets.

I’m 69 yo, and in the last few years I have come to the opinion that a 7 Mag (Rem or Wby)
is one of the BEST all around cartridges out there. Close OR Far the 7 is FLAT and dependable. I’ve killed WT at 12’ (feet) and out to ~400 yds with the 7s.

The 270 / 280 are not far behind but NOT the equal of a 7.

Over my WT hunting career I’ve killed WT with 243, 6 mm, 6.5x55, 270, 7 RM,
30-30, 308, 06, 300 WM, 8 mm RM, 358 W, 35 Whelen and

44 RM, & 54 cal Mzldr. I’m familiar with trajectories of all of em.

It doesn’t take a cannon to kill WT but all rounds are NOT flat shooting.

Hunt and shoot what you like and don’t worry about what ANYONE else thinks.

Jerry

Oops - forgot the 284 W.

.....................................Nope!! +2.......Someone else said nope so I concur.

I like my 4. Nobody else shoots 'em. My money bought them. And I can more than handle the recoil. I don't get hurt on the back end from either. However on the receiving end??? You can figure that one out.....

And besides. All magnum owners who reload, can always use the faster burning powders to reduce the velocities if the need for the higher velocities isn't needed. THAT is seldom discussed anytime this subject presents itself.

OH! Ya gots a magnum? WHY,,,what in hell ya need a magnum for? All ya need is a 270 or "06............LOL>>>LOL>>>LOL........

And I'm thinkin..... Get yer ass back to your bench and don't worry about what I shoot!!!....Continuing my thoughts....When your $$$$ buys me my rifles, then I will heed your advice for further consideration........LOL>>>LOL

I like my .338WM. Last shot about 10 years ago. Just because I've been shooting others.... the recoil doesn't bother me any. Nor the weight, for what I use it for.

The .260 ( rebarreled from .244) Rem 725 just took two caribou - probably use it for moose too.

Single shots work, but I really gotta replace that broken extractor....... the replacement has been sitting on the gun cabinet shelf for a year now...

Don't know about the rest of you fellas,but I'm impressed.

Sako isn't the only one.




I don't notice recoil WHEN hunting, the concentration and excitement are dominating.


Jerry

I have never been recoil shy. I have always shot 7 mags as my go-to rifles. I now own an'06 that kicks harder than either of my magnums. I have pretty much benched all of them in lieu of my Creed and .260s. The lighter recoil is much more fun at the range and since I primarily hunt deer and antelope, I don't need the heavy bullets all that badly, now.

As I get older, I guess in some ways I get a bit smarter. I used to think that it was all about velocity etc., but now, with all of the good bullets and powders, it just is not necessary to shoot heavy kickers for most hunting.

For years I ran around with a m77 tanger in 338 Win mag for PA whitetail. Killed the chit out of them too. As did the 300 Ultra and Win mag. I too am a 7 Rem mag fan. My favorite all arounder. Nuttin wrong with belts or big cases. Billions of dollars have been made pushing heavy for caliber bullets to new and exciting levels. Doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good 270 Win or creedmoor. Life is short. Shoot often.

agreed see here http://gsgroup.co.za/fotis.html

I sold all my magnums years ago. Now my big gun is a 308.

Should have just tried a Limbsaver recoil pad, would have made it feel like a Red Ryder.

I have a friend who, for whatever reason, brought me his deer hunting rifle every year just before season and asked me to check zero for him. A tang safety Ruger 338 WM. I complied with his request for several years up until about 15 yrs. ago. I told him I was done with that hard kicking SOB. I have shot 7mm RM’s, 300 Wm’s, 375 H&H, even one 458 Magnum. I didn’t say I’d never shot the bigger calibers, just that I hadn’t owned any. My decision from shooting other people’s guns was that I didn’t need to tolerate the amount of recoil they produced.

Some people play golf, I reload and shoot! And mostly from a bench at varying distance at both paper and steel. I also hunt, but I spend much, much more time at the range than I do in the hunting fields. I want my rifles to be both capable for the hunting I do and light enough on the recoil that I can go to the range and enjoy myself while shooting forty to fifty rounds in a session. I don’t seek other people’s approval. I just wondered if others felt the same way or not. Thanks for the replies.

I like to handload and shoot too. Most of the time I don't load my 308's full throttle.

i am lucky my body handles recoil ok the only gun a dislike to shoot with recoil is my Savage 220 bolt action 20 gauge slug gun that sometimes is a little nasty with recoil. my Ruger #1 458 Lott seems to have less recoil that that Savage 220 20 gauge slug gun.

As far as being under gunned I did experience this in Alaska. I had taken my 300 mag instead of my 30-06 because of the 300 FPS second difference with 180 trainers. I was dropped off and was walking out after dark past two moose kills that had been fed on by grizzlies. It hit me how stupid this was and was wishing for something like a 458 or such. N ever did that again. I felt very undergunned at that point. Ed k

I have 243’s up to 338 Win mags, recoil doesn’t bother me. After seeing grandkids slay deer and pigs with 243’s, yes I’m over gunned for deer and piggies. A 223 with a 62 grain Barnes or Bear Claw will kill a 200 lb pig with ease. I would like to have a Swift or 22-250 with a 1 in 8 twist barrel.

Try one of these:

http://www.mcwhorterrifles.com/22-creedmoor-release/

I like the 308 too. If I was gonna buy another rifle in another chambering, that’s what I would get. However, my 7mm-08 is not too far behind the 308, just as the 6.5 CM is not too far behind the 7mm-08. Oh well. I usually don’t load balls -to-the-wall either, as my goal is the best accuracy I can find with decent velocity. There are a few bullets that I have wanted to shoot however that seemed to be at their best when pushed pretty hard.

If I rebarrel my main hunting 308 it will most likely become a 6.5 Creedmoor.

Back in my youth I borrowed a .30-30, .30-06 and .300 WM from a gun guy buddy of my dads and shot deer with all of them. Actually that first buck with the .30-30 tipped over faster than with the other two. Then like an earlier poster, I had to have a .30-06 and then a one size does everything 7mm RM. I shot a bunch of deer and a few elk with that big 7, but then one cold opening day the recoil of that thing shooting an 8 pointer compressed my down parka such that my forehead was what stopped lots of that recoil. It took that jolt between the eyes to knock some sense into me to build up a 7mm-08 with a .300 Savage back up rifle for my deer hunting. I'd probably still use that RM for an elk or a moose, but it is sure not necessary for a WI. whitetail. In reality a deer shows up fast here and from anywhere and less gun with less recoil is an asset when you might need to shoot in a twisted around position. Then too we all talk about super long range accuracy, but the reality is that most guys will shoot MORE accurately with less recoil than they would with a big howling magnum.

I can help with the clue dep't.