Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 300 win mag or 7 rem mag

2X find friends and shoot them both.

Both would work as well as the other until you get to the the "margins" of each. Plenty out there to choose from without having to break the bank. Components and loaded ammo are a wash. Worst case is you get a rifle you don't like and have to move it. As said, the 7mm is likely to recoil a little less (160g 7mm v 180g .308s) in like rifles and you probably don't need anything bigger for the hunting you are expecting.
FWIW, I have owned both and both have worked as advertised. Find one you like and enjoy.

Many 7RM factory twist rates are 9", but even a 9.5" will marginally stabilize the 180 ELD, 190 ATip, and 195 Berg at 7RM speeds. As a worst case you may lose a few percentage points on the BC value, but they'll shoot fine. Unless you're at sea level shooting in 0 F weather with a 9.5" twist, the reduction in BC will be minimal and possibly non-existent.

Of course the 162 AM is a peach in the 7RM.

Used a 7mm RM exclusively for elk hunting for 20+ years starting in 1982. Took my last elk with the 7mm RM in 2015.

Got a .300WM and have taken multiple elk with it as well.

Can I tell a difference? Not really. At or past 600 yards I'll take the 300, but my longest shot on any big game animal is 487 yards.

I'm a 30 caliber guy. I'd take a 300 anyday over a 7mm. To me a 7mm doesnt have much over a 270 or 280.

have used 300 win on sheep, goats, elk and moose perfect caliber, if u are on foot about 8 pounds all up is the right weight! if u are on horse/atv does not matter much.

have fun, shoot straight!

Thanks guys.

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Looking at the Federal Premium site and comparing loads for the .270, 7mm RM and .300WM using the Terminal Ascent bullets, the 7mm RM has a bigger advantage over the .270 than the .300WM does over the 7mm RM. At 500 yards, the max range for the charts, the 7mm RM has the most velocity, least wind drift and least drop of the three cartridges. When it comes to energy the .300 load has 140fpe more than the 7mm RM but the 7mm RM has 382fpe more than the .270.

Federal does not offer the Terminal Ascent in the .280 Rem, but I have loaded them for both my .280 and 7mm RM. Tne resulting velocities were 2898fps and 3085fps respectively. The 7mm RM leads by all ballistic measures. At 500 yards it leads by 157fps and 246fpe. If using equal velocity and energy as the measure, the 7mm RM adds 115 yards to the effective range of my .280 Rem. That is pretty significant in my book.

Subjectivity and emotion always play a large role in discussion topics like this one.

Get whatever one you like...No animal will care which one you use...

Been shooting the 7mm Mag since I was 13 and I am 57 now. It has done everything I needed it to do in the USA, Europe and Africa. If I need to go bigger than the 7mm I go to either a 9.3x62 or a 375 H&H. Not enough difference between the 7mm and the 300 to make me switch.

either will work. I would lean towards the .300WM... I have shot one for elk for years and am impressed with it.

7RM...or 308 if efficiency is king.

The gains in velocity are disproportionate to the increase in recoil when you move above 308, and it will unequivocally do what you’re looking for.

With that said if I had a once in a lifetime hunt and might only get 1 opportunity with a 400 plus yard shot I would want a 7RM.

After shooting the 7mm RM for 39 years and the the .300WM for 18, I tend to agree.

So I bought a .338WM.

If you want the lighter bullet weight of the 7mm, just use 165's in the 300 and you'll have a real zinger. I used them in my 300 WSM and they worked great on elk.

Im leaning towards a 300 win mag. But have limited experience with a 7mag. Curious if anyone notices more bloodshot meat with one or the other?

Have been observing the effects of the 7mm RM, .300 WM and 338 WM for 30+ years on a lot of big game around the world. Have yet to see any vast difference in "killing power," given equal placement of a deep-penetrating bullet, put in the right place.

I suspect there are three reasons some people believe in a difference:
1) They believe the harder a rifle kicks, the "better" it kills.
2) They're more willing to put a bullet through heavy shoulder bones with bigger caliber bullets. In my experience, this affects "killing power" more than caliber or bullet weight.
3) As a result of 2, they firmly believe in "examples of one."

I've killed a lot of deer with both rounds. Your answer depends on 2 things.

1. Bullet Used.

2. Bullet placement.

Jerry

I killed several whitetail with a 300wm. If you put it on the shoulder inside 150 yards, they don't take a step, but you also nuke some meat.

Having personally used, and witnessed both used on Elk and Moose....300 Winchester Magnum hands down. Our entire hunting camp has made the switch over the years...we used to me a 7 Mag camp, now there isn't one to be found.