Choose one Western big game caliber

[milkie62]

I own a M700 7mm mag but when I was young I always wanted a 300 wm but never bought one.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I own a M700 7mm mag but when I was young I always wanted a 300 wm but never bought one.

You're not missing anything bud. Trust me, I own both. Have hunted with the 7mm RemMag for going on 16 seasons now (with other calibers mixed in-between as well), but when I'm going deer hunting I always find myself grabbing the 7mmRM when I open the safe.

 

[FEENIX]

My .300 WM remains my goto chambering from antelope to elk size game up to 1K yards. They simply rock!

 

[memtb]

I couldn't vote because you left out one of the best and most obvious popular factory cartridges available for most hunting distances.....the .338 Win. Mag. JMHO memtb

 

[Kimber7man]

Thank God I have a year to think all this over lol. Originally I wanted a GA Precision Non Typical in either 7mm rem mag or 300 wsm, even though the wsm wasn't on the poll. Might just stick with one of those. Main thing is get something with a little more energy than my 6.5 creedmoor for elk.

If you're going the GAP route, don't overlook the Extreme Hunter 6.5 GAP 4S....

 

[SCdeerhunter]

If you're going the GAP route, don't overlook the Extreme Hunter 6.5 GAP 4S....

Don't even get me started on that lol. When I picture the perfect rifle for me that's it. Down to their color scheme and all. Thought about seeing if they'd build one in 300wsm but at that price I have to resist. But caliber wise, I'm wanting my next build to be either 7mm or 30 Cal, although the ballistics are really impressive on the 6.5 gap 4s.

 

[SCdeerhunter]

I couldn't vote because you left out one of the best and most obvious popular factory cartridges available for most hunting distances.....the .338 Win. Mag. JMHO memtb

A 338 of some variety is on the list but that'll be later on down the road. My wife and I hope to hunt Alaska and Africa one day and that's when I plan on going that route.

 

[WildRose]

I know these threads are pretty common and get kinda old but I still want some opinions. Starting to dream up my next custom and need some help deciding on caliber. The direction I'll be going is more of an all around hunting rifle. Want to keep bare rifle weight around 8-9 lbs. Will be used primarily for elk, deer, bear and antelope since Im moving to Colorado next year. Hopefully it'll see a moose hunt as well but that's more of a wish than anything. Right now I'm thinking 7mm rem mag, 7mmstw, 28 Nosler, and 300 win mag. I like the availability of ammo for the 7mm rem mag and 300 win mag but for some reason the big, fast 7s are really appealing to me. I know factory ammo is kinda limited for the stw and Nosler but it's still some out there. I also plan to be reloading by that point in time as this rifle is at least a year out. So if it were you guys which caliber would you choose and why.

Practically the 300wm has to be tops on your list but the 7mm STW is still my favorite.

One of the biggest considerations especially if you travel much for hunts is the availability of factory ammo and of course every store in the country that carries any centerfire ammo is likely to have some .300wm on the shelf.

The STW however to me is pretty well superior in every other way at least shooting out to 600yds where the higher BC of the .30 cals's gives the WM an increasing edge.

 

[WildRose]

A 338 of some variety is on the list but that'll be later on down the road. My wife and I hope to hunt Alaska and Africa one day and that's when I plan on going that route.

Skip the .338 and jump to the .375 Ruger for Africa and you'll never regret doing so.

 

[Methow Packer]

If you're going the GAP route, don't overlook the Extreme Hunter 6.5 GAP 4S....

You know, I'm a 30 cal man too. I've had and used a 300 winny for years. I'm waiting for a Kimber to come back. 8400 mag action rebarreled in a 26" Brux for the 30Nosler and throated for the Berger hybrid 215s. Having the action blue printed and rebedded as well. I'm excited to see the results.

 

[WildRose]

Yeah I've always been intrigued by the stw. My cousin had a sendero chambered for one when I was younger. My longest shot on an animal was actually with that rifle. Then he ruined the barrel with some handloads someone gave him that were really hot. It's a beast of a round though. What kind of barrel life have you gotten with yours?

I'm still shooting my original 700 Rem Custom Shop Stainless/Synthetic I bought in 90. I thought it was time to rebarrel and had a gunsmith look at it and he said I've used up less than half of it's useable throat.

It's nothing special, just don't shoot one hot and keep on shooting and it'll last a very long time.

A lot of the data on nitriding shows that doing so can in some cases double the life of a barrel so with any of the high velocity magnums it's certainly worth considering.

Practice though with something easier on barrels and wallets like the 6.5Cm or .260 Remington both of which are more than adequate for all but the biggest North American Game out to 600 yds.

 

[SCdeerhunter]

I'm still shooting my original 700 Rem Custom Shop Stainless/Synthetic I bought in 90. I thought it was time to rebarrel and had a gunsmith look at it and he said I've used up less than half of it's useable throat.

It's nothing special, just don't shoot one hot and keep on shooting and it'll last a very long time.

A lot of the data on nitriding shows that doing so can in some cases double the life of a barrel so with any of the high velocity magnums it's certainly worth considering.

Practice though with something easier on barrels and wallets like the 6.5Cm or .260 Remington both of which are more than adequate for all but the biggest North American Game out to 600 yds.

Yeah ever since shooting my cousins stw I always wanted one. Ammo availability was a big part of never actually doing it. One of the main reasons I'm planning on get into reloading. Won't be dependent on factory ammo, plus there's a couple other wildcats I want. The barrel life issue used to scare me off too but when I actually thought about it I realized it was kind of foolish. Even at 100 rounds a year, which would be a good bit for a hunting rig, it'd still last 7 years or so according to some figures I've heard from other steps owners. And like I said I have the 6.5CM to practice with. I've never really read into the nitriding deal. I'll have to check it out.

 

[memtb]

My wife has used one since the mid'90's for all of her hunting. Alaska and Africa were on the future ( never made the trips) menu... it was bought so she would become comfortable and proficient with it. We never made it to the "Big A's", but she quickly fell in love with it's performance on game. She's used it exclusively since '95, on Pronghorn, deer, elk, moose, and bear at ranges from around 30 yrds. to a measured 400 yrds. Almost have been one shot kills. She has "no" desire to use anything else. A lot can be said for " comfort and proficiency "! memtb

 

[WildRose]

Yeah ever since shooting my cousins stw I always wanted one. Ammo availability was a big part of never actually doing it. One of the main reasons I'm planning on get into reloading. Won't be dependent on factory ammo, plus there's a couple other wildcats I want. The barrel life issue used to scare me off too but when I actually thought about it I realized it was kind of foolish. Even at 100 rounds a year, which would be a good bit for a hunting rig, it'd still last 7 years or so according to some figures I've heard from other steps owners. And like I said I have the 6.5CM to practice with. I've never really read into the nitriding deal. I'll have to check it out.

I'm so addicted to the STW I have three of them. The two I shoot most often are both more than 20 years old and the third is one I bought 2nd Hand from fellow poster here that he'd been shooting I think for more than a decade.

Don't shoot them hot and certainly don't keep shooting one after it gets hot and don't try to push it to or beyond the max and the barrel life won't ever be an issue for you.

My friends and clients declared my first one to be a "600yds Laser Beam" back in the 90's and you know, it's not too far off from accurate.

I took my favorite .300wm and .375 Ruger on my first trip to Africa and I still feel guilty for not taking one of the STW's so the Model 70 Sharpshooter and the new .375 Ruger (MRC) will be making the trip in 2018 or 2019.