300WM, WSM or 7 Rem Mag?

[PhOnEpHrEaK]

My friend is stationed in Korea for the next 8 months or so. I was talking to him last night and he wants me to put a rifle together for him. He insists that needs one of these cartridges, but I'm unsure of which to advise him to go with. He's wanting a 700 LA, with a varmint barrel in a McMillan A5 stock with a DBM, and still 10 pounds or less. (not likely to happen). What can you guys advise me to tell him?? He wants this as a dual purpose target/hunting rig.

 

[vszero]

My friend is stationed in Korea for the next 8 months or so. I was talking to him last night and he wants me to put a rifle together for him. He insists that needs one of these cartridges, but I'm unsure of which to advise him to go with. He's wanting a 700 LA, with a varmint barrel in a McMillan A5 stock with a DBM, and still 10 pounds or less. (not likely to happen). What can you guys advise me to tell him?? He wants this as a dual purpose target/hunting rig.

for hunting i'll prefer 300 win mag or wsm but my friend loves 7mm rem mag for hunting
for target shooting, i'll lean to 300 win mag because of flatter and more velocity

 

[Hunt4life]

My friend is stationed in Korea for the next 8 months or so. I was talking to him last night and he wants me to put a rifle together for him. He insists that needs one of these cartridges, but I'm unsure of which to advise him to go with. He's wanting a 700 LA, with a varmint barrel in a McMillan A5 stock with a DBM, and still 10 pounds or less. (not likely to happen). What can you guys advise me to tell him?? He wants this as a dual purpose target/hunting rig.

Just waiting on my XLR to wrap my 7mm Rem Mag project up. It has a McGowen 1-8 twist, RS brake on a 28" fluted varmint contour barrel. 7 mag brass is easy to get and the 7mm has some great BCs.

 

[turbo54]

He's wanting a 700 LA, with a varmint barrel in a McMillan A5 stock with a DBM, and still 10 pounds or less. (not likely to happen). What can you guys advise me to tell him?? He wants this as a dual purpose target/hunting rig.

I'd tell him that I want a car that looks awesome, seats 6 adults comfortably, goes 0-60 in 4 seconds or less, top speed of 200+, gets 40mpg or better, and costs less than $30,000.

 

[former naval person]

7 Mag. 10 pounds is doable for the rifle, but tell him the scope and mounts will add another 2 to 3 pounds.

 

[Muskyjerk]

for hunting i'll prefer 300 win mag or wsm but my friend loves 7mm rem mag for hunting
for target shooting, i'll lean to 300 win mag because of flatter and more velocity

Please explain how a 300 is flatter?

7mm = better B.C.

the last article I read it had more ft pounds at 1000 than a 300

my first question is what does he want to hunt? Moose? Elk? or is he looking at goats or ?

 

[fmsniper]

correct 7mm rem over 300 for a LR hunting rifle

Please explain how a 300 is flatter?

7mm = better B.C.

the last article I read it had more ft pounds at 1000 than a 300

my first question is what does he want to hunt? Moose? Elk? or is he looking at goats or ?

 

[3M-TA3]

How long is he shooting? At 1000 yards plus the 7mm RM rules ballistically. At shorter ranges the 300's may be better.

The advantages of the 300 over the 7mm are:
Longer barrel life
More bullets to choose from
For hunting, the bullet will be tougher at close range

The advantages of the 7mm are:
Flatter trajectory
More energy for a given bullet weight beyond ~1000 yards
Better sectional density
Less recoil

All of them will do a stellar job, and none of them would leave me feeling I had to compromise too much. For 300, I'd stick with the WM, but that's just my preference.

BTW, thanks for taking care of this for our troop! South Korea can't be too much fun with that loose cannon running around up north.

 

[PhOnEpHrEaK]

How long is he shooting? At 1000 yards plus the 7mm RM rules ballistically. At shorter ranges the 300's may be better.

The advantages of the 300 over the 7mm are:
Longer barrel life
More bullets to choose from
For hunting, the bullet will be tougher at close range

The advantages of the 7mm are:
Flatter trajectory
More energy for a given bullet weight beyond ~1000 yards
Better sectional density
Less recoil

All of them will do a stellar job, and none of them would leave me feeling I had to compromise too much. For 300, I'd stick with the WM, but that's just my preference.

BTW, thanks for taking care of this for our troop! South Korea can't be too much fun with that loose cannon running around up north.

It is the least I can do for him, he's basically my brother we grew up together, went from K-12 together then he went off got married and joined the army. In January before he shipped out I went and visited him. Took my rifle with me and got him hooked on the longer range stuff..

My guess is the biggest things he'll hunt are moose or grizzly in Alaska ( he has family there.) Most common will be elk or deer and most likely inside 800 yards knowing the area that he hunts.

The weight I'm not too worried about I'm thinking a finished weight of 12-14 pounds (he'll get over it). I don't really have experience with magnum calibers at all, I know I see a lot of people shooting 300s. However he's leaning toward the 7mm

 

[3M-TA3]

Good on you for taking care of him - I fully understand the sentiment.

For those animals at that range, I'd be inclined to pick the 300 WM. For the ones that can kill you like the griz and moose I'd go with a heavy and tough bullet as well, like a Nosler Partition. The 7mm is still a very good choice, I'd stick with well constructed bullets unless the range was beyond 1000 yards, then I'd be thinking Ballistic Tip/Accubond or equivalent. You really can't go wrong between the two.

 

[swampbuck]

There is quite a bit less barrel life with the 7mm.

 

[Aimsmall55]

correct 7mm rem over 300 for a LR hunting rifle

What in the hell is a 180 grain amax?? I've never heard of it. Is it new??

 

[18Echo]

I'm a 7 mag fan, the full size belted model. I have a Brux 1-8.5 barreled 700 that I shoot 162 AMAX out of and it's scary accurate. I don't push them too fast, about 2980ish.

 

[swampbuck]

I would say maybe 2500 vs. 1500. 800 to a 1000 rounds

 

[Niles Coyote]

300 win mag is the poor man’s 338, run the numbers on bergers 215 and 230 hybrids... almost as flat as the 7mm berger 180g hybrid and it does beat it in the wind while hitting 200lbs + harder (all at 1000y). But there is nothing wrong with a 7mm mag.

IMHO both mags are going to burn through barrels pretty quick.

If this is a custom build, a 300 wsm on a long action and throated for the 208 or 215 would likely last longer than the other two while not giving up too much performance.

With any caliber you go with, using a #5 barrel (heavy bull sporter) and an EDGE fill A5 should get you close once scoped to 10-11 pounds. Switching to a rem varmint contour should put you real close to 11-12 pounds scoped. Be careful on the optic and mount, you can easily stuck up extra weight quick.

 

[VKC]

7mm rem mag for higher BC and velocity, as well as less recoil. Barrel life is less but that's expendable.

 

[Tango27]

How much less recoil is the 7mm mag? How would it be compared to a .308 win?

 

[s002wjh]

whats the typical barrel life for 7mm-rem-mag and 300 win-mag?

 

[EasternNChunter]

I wouldn't worry about recoil. Just put a brake on it. My .300 with a brake kicks a lot less than my old 7mm without a brake.