.308 savage vs 7mm browning

[taylorce1]

Jehu,

Sorry you got your boxers in a bunch about some of the comments here. However, if you are going to insult people or take offense to other people disagreeing with you maybe this forum isn't for you. As far as only being able to work with the info given, the OP had modified his previous posting when you made this comment:

Use YOUR brain cells Einstein. The 7mmRM is the better caliber thru the spectrum of animals he says he wants to shoot and ,IMO, the Browning is the better quality rifle. I'm not downing your Savage rifle!!

May not hurt to develop a little thicker skin and reread the thread from time to time before you post.

 

[AllenJ]

Alright sounds like the browning is going to be my best choice here; my thanks to all of you who sent your advice. My question now is what caliber is best for hunting elk, deer, and antelope, I had posted that I was going to get the 7mm rem mag because that was the advice I was given from a reliable source but it seems there are a lot of mixed opinions about that cartridge. So what would you hunt these types of game with if you had only one rifle.
Options are:
22” barrel 7mm-08 rem
22” barrel 308 win
22” barrel 30-06 spfld
26” barrel 7mm rem mag
26” barrel 300 win mag

The "best" cartridge is the most powerful that you can shoot comfortably. I'm not sure why there is mixed opinions of the 7mm Remington Mag, I've always considered it one of the finest big game cartridges on the market (and no, I don't own one....yet). I've taken elk with a 30/06 out to 300 yards and had no problems but moved up to a 300 Win Mag since I had to pass a shot that I felt was out of the 30/06's effective range. I've been using the 300 for about 20 years now but the recoil of it is finally getting to much for me so I'm planning on moving down to a 7 mag soon.

 

[taylorce1]

I've taken elk with a 30/06 out to 300 yards and had no problems but moved up to a 300 Win Mag since I had to pass a shot that I felt was out of the 30/06's effective range. I've been using the 300 for about 20 years now but the recoil of it is finally getting to much for me so I'm planning on moving down to a 7 mag soon.

Here is my take on the 7mm RM so TIFWIW. I've owned two big 7's, .280 Rem, .280 GNR, and two 7mm-08 rifles. The most disappointing ones I've ever owned are the .280 and 7mm RM, because Remington screwed the pooch with both rounds. In factory ammunition the both do nothing better than a .270 Win or .30-06. The .270 shoots as flat as the 7mm RM if not flatter to 500 yards and hits as hard as the .280 Rem and is only about 200 ft-lbs less than the 7RM at the same range. While the 06 doesn't have the trajectory advantage it will deliver nearly the same amount of energy with a larger bullet at 500 yards as the 7mm RM and more than the .270 or .280. My take on it is if you can't shoot an 06 to 500 yards effectively then you probably aren't going to shoot a 7mm RM well at that distance either.

Unless you hand load for a 7mm RM you aren't gaining any ballistic advantages of the 7mm bullets. When realistically a 160 grain bullet should have a flatter trajectory and hit with more energy than the .300 Win shooting a 180 grain bullet, but in factory ammunition it doesn't. In factory ammunition the .300 Win is slightly faster, shoots just as flat, and hits harder.

The reason the 7mm RM doesn't do this I'd because it would recoil just as hard as the .300. Hunters who buy factory ammunition don't want the 7mm RM to feel like try are shooting a .300 Win when the could just shoot it in the first place. So if you want a rifle that nearly delivers 7mm RM without the recoil a .270 Win and now that the factory ammo is starting to improve the .280 Rem.

 

[GeauxTide]

I'd go with the 7mmRM.

A 7mmRM with a 160gr Nosler Partition at 3000fps is good elk medicine. The B/C and trajectory is in line with the 30 caliber 180gr. Taylor's comments about the recoil of the 300 are very relevant. I was going to get a 300 until I shot the 7 some 40 years ago.

 

[a7mmnut]

Plus one with the 160-165 gr. pills! Awsome medicine for anything that moves out past 500 yards. The kick is substantially less than the .300 with even a 180 gr. load. You will also have lots less holdover with the 7mm mag and high BC bullets, but that 7mm-08 is calling my name. They are really sweet, super accurate guns, mainly with 140-150 gr. loads and never over 400 yards for me. Truly, I'd pick the onethat had been the luckiest for me in the past. I'm a7mmnut, but that may just be the .300 Win. Mag. for maximum long range butt whoop an 190 gr. Hornady SPBT's! The choice is still yours. Just don't forget to take a cheap shooting prarie dog gun along.

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