hunting rifle dilema!?

Question

I want a new hunting rifle for Elk, Muley, Antelope and whitetail.. I want a bolt action. Here is what I am considering;
7mm mag
7mm-06
.300 mag
.270

I currently have a 30-06 semi-auto, but i would like another gun to hunt big game with... what do you like/dislike about the guns I have mentioned? Do you have any recommendations?

Answer 1

Bound's hubby here:

While I think your '06 would be fine for your hunting interests, I think you should look at the .300 Win Mag.

Specifically, I think your best bet would be the Remington 700 Sendero in .300 Winchester Magnum.

Why the 700 Sendero? Basically, the heavier barrel (essentially a magnum varmint rifle) will give you a higher degree of accuracy for the longer shots you could expect with elk and antelope. I have the 700 Varmint in .308, and am comfortable with 600 yard shots on deer.

Why the .300 Winchester Magnum? The .270 is a great cartridge, but I feel the bullet is too light, and at the longer ranges for elk, just a bit too little bullet for the game. The 7mm Rem Mag is good too, but the higher velocity of the 7Mag destroys (burns up) the barrel too fast. Also, the bullets in 7mm I feel would be too light for the elk and other larger game at longer distances. I feel the .300 WIn Mag would be superior, since you have the heavier 180 to 220 grain bullets that, with good placement, will drop larger game (elk) at longer distances (400 to 750 yards). Granted the distance of your shot is dependent upon your rifleman skills.

Also, another benefit of the Sendero is its slightly extra weight ... it will help to dampen the recoil of the .300 Win Mag, which is not really all that bad ... especially since it has become a premier target round for 1000 yard matches. (If you can shoot 20 shot strings effectively in competition without fatigue, you can take a couple of accurate shots for a trophy elk without fear of recoil!)

Good luck and good hunting!

Answer 2

Bound’s Hubby has spoken well, and I agree with him on many points.


The 30-06 will handle anything you want to hunt in North America. The semi-auto may leave something to be desired for accuracy, but not necessarily (depending on the rifle).

Without considering what you already own, I’d opt for the 300 Win Mag. However, I would tend to shy away from a heavier rifle like the Sendero, but that depends on your hunting situation.

I used to hunt the mountains of Alaska. When climbing in thin air and working your way through heavy undergrowth for hours on end, a few extra pounds feels like a ton at the end of the day. If you plan on walking for miles on end (like with Antelope) or hiking the mountains (like with elk), I’d opt for a lighter rifle. If you are going to drive on an ATV to a stand and sit all day, but all means, opt for a rifle with a heavier barrel.

Lighter rifles typically have lighter, shorter barrels. This may affect accuracy to a point. However, inside 300 meters in less than ideal circumstances, most people will not be able to tell the difference, the gun will still outshoot the shooter. In the lightweight rifles, my pick is the Sako 75 Finnlight series. They cost about $1100, but they are light, accurate, and fit like a glove (they also can be hard to get). I also like the Remington 700 Mountain rifle series (I’m not sure if they make one in the 300 Win Mag though). The downfall will be recoil. When you are shooting at an animal and the adrenaline is pumping, you won’t notice the recoil, but when you are on a bench, target shooting, the recoil of a 300 Win Mag in a light rifle may get old after awhile (a lot of recoil tolerance has to do with shooting experience, so this may or may not apply to you).

To be honest, I have not played with a 7mm-06. I really know nothing about this round. The 7mm Mag and the 270 are decent alternatives to the 300 Win Mag. If you are careful and have good shot placement, you can take an elk with either round. Deer and Antelope should be no problem for either cartridge. Personally, I’d opt for a 280 over the 270, but that is just me.

Considering you already own a 30-06, I’d probably opt for one of the smaller caliber cartridges. There isn’t a huge difference in trajectories between the 30-06 and the 300 Win Mag. The 300 Win Mag does carry its energy farther down range (given a 180 gr bullet, the 300 Win Mag will have about 2575 ft-lbs at 200 m versus about 1625 ft-lbs for the 30-06), but within 250 to 300m, you should still be able to put an elk down with a 30-06.

You can look at trajectories, energy, and velocities all day long for a cartridge, but at the end of the day, shot placement is what matters.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Answer 3

Dude... A 30-06 will kill a full size brown bear.

a 300 mag will kill the bear and spray a cone of red onto the snow behind it.

If you're looking for a new rifle thats cool. But the 30-06 is powerful enough to kill anything on legs in north america.

But a bolt for accuracy.... Plus 30-06 is probably the cheapest ammo out of your mentioned selection. And the 30-06 is made in more loads with more data on each then any of the ones your mentioned

But... 300 winchester SHORT magnum is damn cool.

Answer 4

I do both as well, but prefer bow hunting. In the state where I do most of my deer hunting (ND) you get a longer season for archery. I will admit I am usually more successful while rifle hunting. The last time I was home for the rifle season I shot 4 deer vs usually only 1 or 2 deer a season with my bow. That isn't due to missing or anything just the fact that you have a lot more range with a rifle. That and I pass on a lot of deer with my bow, but with rifle we normally shoot any deer that meats the requirements. I still prefer archery hunting. If you plan on hunting this season you should get started soon. If you choose archery then you need to practice a lot and your running out of time before the season starts.

Answer 5

7mm rem mag.
Savage 110.
The 7mm rem mag is plenty big enough to take an elk...many, many a big brown bear have been taken with them, they work great. Hornady 139 GR Interbond moly is a great little round...Very consistant, very accurate, very flat shooting. devastating on whitetail and pronghorn. Great thing about the 7mm rem mag is the fact that you can go with as small a bullet as a 139 grainer, and as heavy as 175-180grains, and still have a really flat trajectory.
The 7mm-08 is an outstanding little round, and it's been called by more than a few "the perfect deer cartridge". I have little experience with it myself. Ammo is a little more difficult to find...and when you go off to, say Colorado to chase elk, it may be difficult to find in a mom-n-pop gun store.
The .270 win is an outstanding little round, too, though it's never been my cup of tea. Wouldn't be my first choice for elk, though. Doesn't carry it's energy out like a 7mm rem mag. Gotta remember, a .270 win has a diameter of 6.858mm...gonna carry in the wind a touch better, but it's still never gonna get as heavy as a full-blown 7mm.
The .300 win mag-I'm assuming you are talking about the .300 winchester magnum, and not the weatherby version- is a great little round, too, and if you were just gonna go after elk, this would be it. But for the smaller animals, i.e. whitetail deer and pronghorn, personally, I would consider it a little on the heavy side. Lightest projectile I can think of, off the top of my head, is a 150 grainer...and they are REALLY scootin'!
The reason I say Savage 110 is simple: they are one of the best values on the market today. Remington has stopped free-floating their barrels...cain't get a bill under the new ones-I test every one I come in contact with, and I come in contact with ALOT...and that reduces your accuracy. I can explain that if anyone needs it, but I don't feel it's necessary at this time.
In the past five or six years, Savage has skyrocketed in quality...the Savage 110 action was always a very accurate action, but quality control issues caused problems. Now Savage has straightened these issues out, and are making one of the most accurate rifles, straight out of the box, that one can buy. They are completely free-floated, they come the with Accu-trigger---which any idiot can adjust at home, blind-folded, with their thumbs cut off---and Savage rifles have AWESOME barrels...for factory barrels. Factory barrels are crap-that is an inalienable truth. If you want really good accuracy, ya gotta get an aftermarket. But, most folks never notice. Savage rifles, though, have really good factory barrels...even though they are still crap, they are way less crappier than most. Plus, the option of changing calibers by changing barrels is MUCH easier for Joe Blow to do at home, thanks to the barrel nut on the Savage rifle.
Savage's biggest downfall is it's synthetic stock. It's crap...I don't mean, like, crap a professional shooter would complain about, I mean, it's crap. Get a wood stock, or an aftermarket synthetic.
Another outstanding rifle in about the same price range ($450-$550) is the Tikka. Outstanding rifles, on top of being just plain sexy.
Ok, I've rattled too much, already.
Just my 2cents...

Answer 6

Nothing wrong with any of them. I'd go with the .7mm Remington Magnum. It is established and ammo is easier to find than some of the other .7mms. If you are not recoil shy you might try the .300 Winchester Magnum. If you are then take the smallest one on your list, the .270 Winchester. All will work on the game you've listed.

H

Don't you mean .7mm-08 rather than .7mm-06?

H

Answer 7

I would opt for the .300 Win. Mag. It plenty powerful enough for the Elk, not to powerful for the deer, and shoots flat enough for the antelope. My second would be the 7mm Mag. just because it's more popular, meaning you have more selection of guns and types of ammo.

Answer 8

30-06 is a great all around for all of the animals listed the .270 is too small in my opinion for an elk, .300 mag is good I HAVE A .300 WINCHESTER SHORT MAGNUM it is good for whitetail to moose to bear.

Answer 9

i have friends that shoot elk with 270 short mags,300 weatherby mags,300 win mags,i shoot with a model 70 300wsm.all bolt action rifles,and they all seem to work pretty well.
i would recomend shooting whatever u feel comfortable with.all of these calibers of weapons are sufficient for downing elk and other large game.
good luck with ur choice and happy hunting.

Answer 10

Bound's Hubby said it all. I've sucessfully taken elk at 500yds +/- with 165 gr Nosler partitions in a .300win and been very happy with the cartridge and bullet preformance. I don't know as I'd be comfortable trying that with a 7mm mag