Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Why Does One Need a Magnum???

I'm kind of partial to the .357 Magnum, but only when I'm shooting heavy bullets at long range in a strong crosswind.

Except for the .375 H&H and perhaps the .22 WRM one doesn't!

I needed a magnum because the first rifle I learned to shoot was a 257 Wby Mark V Deluxe. It was beautiful and accurate. Then I was 14. I dreamed from that day forward owning a Wby Mark V. Finally, when I turned 48, I treated myself to a Wby Mark V in 7 Wby. For those 34 years I never forgot that someday I planned to own one.

One other thought. Why is it guys devote so much time and thought into what gun another uses?
I surely dont care what gun the next guy shoots.
I like Mags, I like standards and use them both. they are all fun to play with.

Since the only magnum that I own is the 375 h&h I'm probably not qualified to get into this but one could ask the same about a lot of different calibers of firearms. I have known people that shoot smallbore rimfire most of their lives, they don't need a centerfire. Should we say that centerfires are not needed?

Don't think that I wish you all to sell your magnums and quit reading old Elmer. I'm just asking if I am a lesser rifleman because I don't have a magnum.

ddj

I do understand that there is a time and place for a magnum.

ddj

The purpose of a rifle is to give enjoyment to its owner. If shooting a magnum gives someone enjoyment, then I'm happy for them. It's not more complicated than that.

perfect answer

I don't buy the recoil argument. With the right choice of a quality high-end recoil pad, a 7mm RM or 300 Win Mag is pretty tame to shoot. You get all the benefits of magnum ballistics with minimal felt recoil. I've yet to find a good factory recoil pad, which makes an out-of-the-box rifle sometimes feel like a whole different rifle vs. with an aftermarket pad.

If all I hunted was deer then I wouldn't but I hunt elk and bigger deffinately is better there. Yes, I realize that many elk are killed with smaller cartridges but the added power and frontal area certainly does not hurt.

For most of us shooters and hunters, "need" never enters the equation. If a belt on a case flips your trigger, go for it. If not, don't buy a belted case chambering.

Of course not You can shoot and hunt very successfully the rest of your hunting career without a magnum cartridge and the skill of the user is more important than the extra fps offered by a magnum case,so long as your choice of a standard cartridge is "reasonable" in the first case.I know lots of people that hunt with nothing but standard cartridges and own no magnums and these are among the finest hunters and field marksmen that I know.

OTOH,magnum cases can offer some advantages under certain conditions in the form of extra velocity,the use of heavier bullets that resist drop,better wind resistance,etc. The extra velocity helps in expanding tough bullets to longer distances, etc and all of these things can be of SOME benefit when you're confronted with having to deal with the prospect of a bull elk at close range in the lodgepoles,or the same elk,on the same hunt,at barrel stretching distance across a yawning canyon.The tough bullet from the magnum case will perform at close range,ie hold together and penetrate under high impact speed,and the extra velocity with the same bullet can make hitting easier and helps expand that same tough bullet at somewhat longer distance.

All this is relative and depends on the skill of the user to apply whatever advantage a magnum case offers;if you routinely hunt where distances can be on the longer side, have practiced with the rifle enough to be confident in its' use,and generally worked hard enough(lots of shooting)to be proficient,then a magnum case can offer some advantages.

You can,no doubt, pull off the same shots with a standard case under the right conditions but there are very good reasons why cartridges like the 257 Weatherby or 300 Weatherby have such a vociferous following.Magnums are not a panacea for careless,rotten shooting and indifferent bullet placement,but can offer a discernable,if slight,advantage under certain circumstances. The advantage is probably not required a majority of the time but is there and can be of assistance to a skilled user under certain circumstances encountered in the field.

Some folks buy them just because they have "heard" they are better or "necessary",and I would guess that if you don't shoot a great deal and practice with them,shoot lots of rounds annually to "learn" them,then they probably don't offer any advantage at all under the circumstances and average distances most of us hunt,most of the time.

there are places in this world where a fast .28 or .30 makes it simpler to place your shot well...

BobinNH seems to have stated the case quite clearly. The only magnum I have is a .375 H&H. Why I have it is uclear, except that I wanted one. Whether I'll ever use it on anything big enough to need it is debatable at present. As to smaller magnums, I've never felt the need for one. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to by a Hawkeye .264 Win Mag locally, when a 6.5-06 will do almost as well with much less sturm und drang. But, if someone else wants to shoot a magnum, and enjoys it, who am I to dissuade him? That would be like telling someone that the car he's had for 12yrs and 150,000+ miles is a piece of crap, when he's obviously quite happy with it. In the rifle game, need rarely enters into choices once you have a single rifle that does what it's supposed to.

I think that if some magic recoil system was developed that enabled one to shoot a .300WM with the recoil level of say a .223 and have a carry weight of a Nula-dang I have to quit saying that word-a lot of the non-mag people would be changing sides.

In the real world there are those willing or able to handle the recoil and take advantage of the mags capabilities and I say more "power" to them.

Recoil usually defines one side, power the other.

battue: If it came in a 7 pound rifle,made the noise and recoil of a 243, I'd shoot nothing but a 300 RUM....

+1! There aren't too many of us that truly like a lot of recoil, but sometimes the performance advantage of a magnum makes a difference.

I know several guys that use 7MM Rem Mags for deer and
black bear. They say the recoil is tolerable, not much
more than a 30-06. I also know a few guys that have bought
300 Weatherbys and later sold them or leave them in the
gun cabinet and use something else, because the recoil was
more than they bargained for. What gets me is hunters that
miss or wound deer and think they need a magnum and go out
and buy one, when all they need is more target practice or
better shot placement. One guy I know tells me that his
338WM kicks less than his 300 Win Mag.

I don't know how to respond to that one except my father had a Savage 110 in 30.06 that kicked the snot out of me more than any other 30.06 that I ever shot. Are these two guns the same with the same style stock???