Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 7mm or 300 win mag

A little light IMO

Agreed since they weigh around 200 pounds in my locale. I guess a true giant may top out at 250 or so. I know a Zwickey will kill one fine. If I was rifle shooting, my main concern would be not blowing a softball sized hole in the cape.

.243 or .260. A 7-08 would work pretty nicely, too.

Just to stir the pot, since it's Halloween.

Brook Range, AK taken w/a .243. That's my partner who's no longer with us. Toughest sonofabitch that's ever walked this earth.



But seriously, I'd go with a light 6.5 - .280 in something lightweight. I can't imagine how steep those mountains are these days.

Bob

Agree 100% - the 270/280 are excellent for a mountain rifle.

Looks like I stand corrected.

I hear you Bob, the ones around here got a lot steeper this year....

30338,

Headed to NW CO tomorrow. Hope it's all flatland.

Bob

Bob, I hope you punch some tags! The NW part I have hunted in isn't too bad really though you may have some snow this year up there. I keep messing around on that continental divide and it feels like it stops at the moon....

Good luck to you and safe hunting.

I just got it on paper and chronied. And really, 300 yds is where you really find out how good they will be.
My Coues deer hunt starts tomorrow, so it will be a few weeks before I know. The Bee stays at home till I wring it out.

So, The 700 Ti 270 Win is going.

There are lots of opinions here and many seem to be from what are called in BC hunting camps, "dudes", who go on guided hunts, may well shoot a fair number of relatively rare game animals and often own very costly, custom rifles of all types to do this with.

I am a "poor" pensioner, and was badly "bitten by the gun bug" some 60 years ago. I was born, raised and started wilderness work, often solo for extended periods, in BC's and later, Alberta's wild sheep country. I have never been very interested in "trophy collecting" and my experiences with sheep have been largely during work.

I have a different concept of the "ideal sheep rifle" and it is shared by a number of VERY experienced and "professional" hunters here in BC. I actually own a full custom "ultralight" 7-08 "sheep rifle" built by one of these guys and his partner in custom rifle building and it IS a GEM.

However, he used it on ONE northern trip and then sold it to a fellow who soon sold it to me. I also have well in excess of a dozen LIGHT custom .270Win. and .280Rem. rifles, all setup for BC mountain use, but, would not carry one on a serious sheep hunt, especially solo.

So, what is my personal choice? A Dakota 76-.338WM, Talley mounts, Talley "peep", custom banded front/Euro. post and,usually, a Leupy 1.75x6. This is in a "Hill Country" handle by Micky, weighs just under 8.5 lbs. and it SHOOTS, actually so well I can no longer use it to it's full potential.

WHY, would a 67+, rather badly gimped ny injury, man WANT to carry this rather than one of his excellent lighter rifles? For the same reason the chap who built my light 7-08, a former guide, BC Conservation Officer and experienced hunter, decided against packing it, the situation now in BC, with Grizzlies.

Each to his own, but, as I get older and gain some more experience and reflect on the years I spent living/working alone in the bush, I am impressed by the fact that rifle weight is NOT the major "problem" in mountain hunting and one CAN learn to shoot a bigger gun WELL, if you WANT to badly enough.

THE issue is YOUR "weight" and "fitness" and also determination. So, IF you REALLY GET FIT, VERY FIT and also practice with YOUR rifle, I consider a bigger gun better here in BC. From the two given, I would prefer the .300WM by far and have not even owned a 7Mag. since 1981 and won't buy another.

I guess that the area you hunt sheep in and your fitness are THE major concerns when selecting a rifle/round for the task and my opinions are ONLY concerned with BC conditions. YMMV, just an alternate POV, but, one that makes me comfortable.

Kutenay, your argument is right for you, in your BC mountains and perhaps elsewhere, but the validity will wax and wane with the particular area a hunter finds himself. In many areas further north, in the great expanses of open tundra, grizzly density is low and arming oneself for a chance, unexpected encounter while sheep hunting seems counterproductive, to me.

But, for example, hunting the Kuskokwim river drainage one year for caribou, we knew we'd be seeing brownies every day so I carried my 340 and it comforted me.

Arguable also is whether a 270-30/06 loaded with any of the premiums wouldn't do acceptable, decisive service on a much smaller mountain grizzly should that rumble actually have to occur.

You are dead to right concerning personal weight and fitness as the Ace in the deck. It all starts there but my point is, assuming THAT is true, I hence don't become careless about the weight of my other gear, not insinuating you are, but still striving for me, an acceptable weight to proficiency ratio with everything I have to carry.

So to the point of the thread, it would be my 6.25 lb Z3 scoped 284 with 150-gr TTSXs at 2900 fps. This bullet/load at 100 yds will penetrate five feet of flesh and bone. I know this.

Can't believe no one has recommended a 1/4" bore!

We agree, largely, on the main issue here in that the specific circumstances of WHERE and to a lesser degree, WHEN a hunter seeks his ram, have great influence on his rifle/chambering choices.

However, my comments are much more broadly applicable than you seem to think and my actual field experience in wild sheep country, includes all species of our Canadian sheep and in all of the regions where they occur, both by "natural" means and by human "planting" during the past several decades.

The Grizzlies in sheep country here in Canada, NOW, are far more numerous than when I started actually living/working in the bush and we are experiencing more potentially deadly and actually lethal interactions between humans and these bears than ever before. The Grizzlies, in our sheep-bearing mountains are NOT ...much smaller... and one that did attack a group of professional BCF&W staffers a few years ago, later weighed almost 1200 lbs....and, these larger bears DO occur in many of our most productive hunting areas.

The Canadian northern territories, my first time living and working there was in spring, 1966 and both my wife and I have worked there, she much more than I, have a lot of "tundra" and so does northern BC, in/on our mountain ranges. Grizzlies, abound in these areas, in Dall's and Stone's Sheep habitat and the chances of a dangerous encounter, see Yukon "GO" Chris Widrig, as one example, are quite high and increasing.

So, I feel that, of the two cartridges concerned here, the .300WM, is a far superior choice and a rifle chambering it at 8,25 lbs., shooting a 200 NP or other such bullet, is a more effective and still quite easy to shoot choice.

As I posted, I also have these ultra to very to quite light rifles, a 7-08, 7x57s, .270s (3), .280s(3){ my favourite and may build two more on Brno 21s I have stashed}, VERY light at 6-10 all up Classic Compact STS custom .308, light .30-06 and had 7mmRMs, but, I feel better with the bigger bores, bullets and the 1-2 lbs. of extra weight is not an issue for me when I am fit and hunting alone in remote wilderness where help in an emergency is not usually available.

IF, I could not carry/use a .300 or .338, my actual preference for all serious wilderness hunting, I would not bother with a 7mmRM, but, would drop down to a (usually) slightly lighter and, IMO, about as effective 7.25-.5 lb. .270Win. or .280Rem and these are about one pound heavier than my lightest rifles in big game chamberings.

Anyway, all good fun, given my lifelong and intense love for guns, especially rifles and "combo" guns, I enjoy discussing ALL of these possible options.

If we had a "Hunter Host" programme here in BC and I invited you to come hunting in this one spot with some HUGE RMBighorns I know as my guest and you asked what rifle I would like you to bring, as this IS backpacking ONLY and a brutal hellhole far from any chance of horses, etc, I know I would say, ".340" and hope that you would agree.

There are a LOT of Grizzlies in the area and attacks have increased in recent years, so, 'nuff said for me!

Kutenay, would you not feel comfortable toting a 7RM with 175 NPTs cruising 2900? Seems like that's a pretty formidable load.

Tanner

Kutenay:

You make a lot of sense...

While my experience doesn't include sheep, it parallels yours in some ways (see my latest blogs). I'm ten years your senior, and my primary rifle for big game is now a T3 Lite chambered in one of your favorite cartridges... 9.3 X 62. It comes in a 7.6 lbs all-up ready to shoot (see the ballistics on October 22 blog).

I've owned (and used) all of the suggested rifle cartridges (except a .243) but have always wondered about some complaining over the recoil of a .300 magnum! That would be my choice of the two mentioned!

About fitness: I've written in my journal on the .458 WM that FITNESS is the key to toting a heavy (or heavier) rifle!

I would rather loose 10 - 20 lbs of unnecessary weight than carry a rifle 2-lbs lighter to "save weight". In the past 20 years I've lost 40 lbs which is excellent considering a tendency to arthritis (from my dad) and having diabetes. At near 78 I can cover rough country in our Haliburton Highlands as well as my hunting partner ( a retired Conservation Officer) who is 15 years younger, over 6' at 220 lbs!

I give thanks to God!

Thank you for sharing your experience and keep at it!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

So, Kute, when are we going? I replaced the 340 with the same weight and tuned 375 Ruger; ok, I'll take that if it makes us both feel better.

Not hard to understand.

1. 1/4 bore not among OP consideration.

2. With Griz on the possible MENU, why ?

Maybe on paper, but the 270 has no real advantage over the 7-08 nor the 308 in the field, and short action rifles can be made lighter. I'd take a 7-08 or 308 over a 270 any day. If a meaningfully flatter trajectory is the goal, get a 257 Wby mag.

A lot of good advice you can pick from if it applies to your hunt. A few things to think about.

-Are you going to be in known Grizzly country?
-Is your guide prepared to deal with that?(big bore back up)
-How much recoil can you deal with and shoot well?
-Is it a once in a lifetime hunt, sheep aint cheap!
-How far are you willing / comfortable shooting?
-Are you comfortable if he is standing on the edge of a days worth of work if you don't anchor him right there?

All things to think about, its a little different than popping a doe in the middle of a field with a 6mm at 600+ yards with nowhere to go. I shoot a variety of cartridges and have learned through experience with everything considered your gut will tell you what to use. I've never seen an animal too dead or more dead. No apologies for hitting them hard when needed.
Have a safe hunt and post the pics.