Big 7s vs Big 30s final decision

[rharfo]

A friend shoots 3 rounds @100 yards a year on thanksgiving for the start of rifle deer season.
He calls a few days into the season and tells me my hand loads suck. Gotta change the bullet. My first question. Where did you hit the deer? First shot in the leg, second in the guts as they ran at unknown distance in a field. He goes on to tell me the 140 Accubond out of his 7RM should be changed to 120 grain. Faster kills! Lord Help Us!

 

[nksmfamjp]

A friend shoots 3 rounds @100 yards a year on thanksgiving for the start of rifle deer season.
He calls a few days into the season and tells me my hand loads suck. Gotta change the bullet. My first question. Where did you hit the deer? First shot in the leg, second in the guts as they ran at unknown distance in a field. He goes on to tell me the 140 Accubond out of his 7RM should be changed to 120 grain. Faster kills! Lord Help Us!

I think there are lots of lessons in this post.

 

[blueprairiedog]

338 rum I call her the answer

 

[VLD Pilot]

Hi all! Kinda of narrowed it down to 4 cartridges that are pretty similar but just looking for any experiences or reasons to go towards one over the others

The 4 I'm looking at are the 28 Nosler, 300 Norma Mag Improved, then the 7 and 30 RBH from RBros.

This is for a gun that would be a North American game rifle, built around 10 pounds when field ready. After it's broke in and I'm comfortable with the rifle it would be lucky to be shot more than 5 times in a year. Simply only used when I pull a tag out west(which is hardly an annual thing), and to make sure it's still shooting straight after the summer. So barrel life and case life is not really a factor to me, it will take enough time before I need one that a new barrel or a new set of brass would be fun to shop for at that point. The rifle would be a longer range(up to 1000 yards)hunting gun for elk and mule deer mainly.

I would be pushing all these rounds pretty hard: 28 Nos would be using the 195 and going about 3150, 7 RBH would use the 195 going 3200-3225, the 300 NMI would be using the 230 going 3100-3125, and finally the 30 RBH would use the 230 going 3150-3175

Again, any experience with any of these, advice with them, or reasons one may be a little more of a pain to deal with than the others is helpful

300NMI hands down if those 4. I'd throw the 30/338 improved in that formula also. Same bolt face as the 300NM but more capacity if your stuck on the 30 calibers.

 

[Terry Scott]

Buy a 330 rum or a 300 prc
I have been fortunate to hunt just about everywhere and the 230 gr bullets wil flatten everything in North America with ease
Been to Africa same results
Not unpleasant to shoot lots of great bullets available and most of the bigger bores shoot well if I had only one big game gun it would be a 300

 

[littlebighorn]

What are you using to push that 177gr HH?

My load is with RL33. and GM215 primers.

 

[wwbrown]

I've got a buddy that shoots about twice a year and this was his target last year before elk season that he shot at 100 yards with his 300 win mag. He said he was good out to 600 yards. There's no hope for some people

No problem there! Everyone knows that the 300 Win Mag goes so fast that the 100 yard zero is good out to at least 600 yards, it only drops an inch or so at 600 yards. Plus it becomes more accurate at longer range because the bullet finally "goes to sleep".

Said with extreme sarcasm which is hard to impart with text so I come right out and state it so everyone does not think I am a raving idiot.

 

[Joefrazell]

No problem there! Everyone knows that the 300 Win Mag goes so fast that the 100 yard zero is good out to at least 600 yards, it only drops an inch or so at 600 yards. Plus it becomes more accurate at longer range because the bullet finally "goes to sleep".

Said with extreme sarcasm which is hard to impart with text so I come right out and state it so everyone does not think I am a raving idiot.

O yeah my favorite is "well I've got a magnum so I can really reach out there and kill stuff" meanwhile I'm killing stuff with my 25-06 and creedmoor further then they can even touch anything and I'm talking 400 yards lol

 

[VLD Pilot]

Sounds like we all have experiences in this area. Mine was years ago maybe around the late 70s early 80s at deer camp. As a young hunter I remember vividly an older ( 40s-50s) hunter in camp talking about hunting mule deer in Montana with his 300Win or Wby magnum. He was really boosting and even proud of hitting a nice mule deer buck in the front leg with that magnum rifle and saying it's all it took to kill that buck. Obviously it was true but the hit was lower in the shoulder or it was BS but making the point that the "Magnum" is capable of killing with less than perfect hits. Either way, it's a mentality that's out there with some people shooting magnums. I believed that story back then and eventually got a 300wm because of it. So proud of that rifle and it's capability that I ran my mouth about that story for years until I learned how crazy it really was. That was after I started shooting and loading and learning about realistic experiences. Today there are still the stories generating about a magnums ability to do what non-magnums can't with less than good hits. I'll always remember that story and hearing it. I prefer to think of it as just an old deer camp story like many others heard. It keeps me having respect for the old timers that taught me many important things in those early years at camp.