witch one is better

[7mm]

ok this is what i have, one 7MM Rem and I am buying a 338 Ruger M77. I have had great sucess with my 7MM and wanted somthing a little bit bigger for Brown Bear hunting. How is the recoil on a 338 compared to the 7MM. do you think that i needed a bigger gun. Just a few Questions that i have. thank you for any imput that you may have

Robert

 

[dwhunter]

Re: which one better

Re: which one better

If recoil is a concern I would go with a 375H&H IMO, it is a more tolerable push compared to a hard slam against your shoulder. Although as I mentioned in another post with better recoil pads and things like mercury recoil reducers the medium to much bigger bores can be made to be very tolerable even from the bench.


Doug

 

[AKWannabe]

Which?

Which?

Robert,

hope you don't mind my input, seeing as how I'm far from Alaska! That sounds like quite a combo. That 7mm Mag. is just the ticket for all the ungulates out to as far as you should shoot, especially since you are already very familiar with it and have confidence in it.

Of course, any number of other standard calibers and smaller magnums would fill that roll as well (.30-06, .270Win, .264WinMag, 7X57, any short mag, etc.).

You really can't do much better for the money than that Ruger 77 .338 for the heavier/tougher critters. Again, plug in any other standard or magnum medium bore (.338-06, .35 Whelen, .350 Rem. Mag., .358 Norma, .376 Steyer, etc.) and all you need now is an inexpensive "fun" shooter for year round practice and varmint/furbearer work. Best in this class; .223 Rem.(most economical), .22-250 Rem. and .204 Ruger, IMHO.

Now, with the .22 lr and 12/20 ga. shotty, you're set!

Forgive me for going on like that, I'm sure you are well aware of what constitutes a good basic battery, I guess I just kinda added that extra stuff for the benefit of those who may not.

Back to the original question, regarding .338 recoil, when I first got my .338 (since sold), I got a Win. Mod. 70 with the B.O.S.S. attatched. I guess my thinking at the time was that I'd use it more as a muzzle brake than an accuracy enhancer. Well, I didn't care for the extra muzzle blast so I started shooting it with it off and lo and behold, it wasn't really that bad! Stout, but that actually made it more fun. Kind of invigorating shooting something that you know has got to be hitting hard down-range.

BTW, that was just a plain jane (no offense to any Janes out there!) standard (7-7 1/2 lb.) rifle with a not-very-thick recoil pad. If you were to get the Ruger and add a really nice Decellerator or LimbSavr pad, it should definitely be doable. You could also start out with some 200 gr. Win. PowerPoint loads (cheap too) which would recoil less, just to get used to it in stages.

Good luck with that,

Dave

 

[Bill S.]

I have a 7mm rem mag I got back in 1977 and its by far my favorite rifle. It can take every game animal in Alaska with the exception of buffalo and I would not take it on a brown/grizzly hunt. I know they have been taken with the 7mm but its a bit on the light side. The.338 is an excellent caliber and I have shot it also. The recoil is noticeably more then the 7mm. I choose the .375 for my "other" Alaska rifle. It can take every game animal up here and the recoil, although strong, is not, in my experinece, as sharp as the .338. If you can, find someone with a .338 and ask to shoot it a couple times. Same for the .375 if you want to compare. Just a thought.
I would highly recomm3nd a bigger gun then the 7mm for brown bears.

 

[DR B]

Why are so many people down on the 7mm for Bear and other large game. If you look at the balistics a 7mm Rem mag vs the 30-06 they are so close that no animal is going to know the difference. I would hunt BB with my 30-06 or my 7mm.
Phil Shoemaker says his choice for a personal hunt would be a
30-06, and he has noticed little difference when a BBis shot with a 338 or a 30-06. That comparison would logically extends to the 7mm rem. mag..
Its been my experince that the 7mm bullets penetrates better 30 cal bullets, and penatration through a BB shoulder into the chest is important.
If you are use to your 7mm and shoot it well wy change?

7mm Rem mag 175gr Nosler Partition 2900 fps 3352 fp

30-06 180gr Nosler Accubond 2803 fps 3134 fp

Dr B

 

[dwhunter]

7mm

7mm

I just prefer heavier bullets for heavier critters with big teeth. Just my preference.

Doug

 

[Murphy]

7 mm Rem vs 30-06...

7 mm Rem vs 30-06...

DR B,

I will agree with you, the 7mm and the 30-06 have virtually identical capability in the field, when loaded as you show with 175-180 grain bullets of good construction from a 24" barrel. Also , recoil is about the same and the seven will have a slight edge in trajectory, but for practical purposes the same performance. Don't shorten the barrel or go to 140 grain bullets in the 7mm, and we'll be ok. What I would hunt with the 30-06 I would hunt with the 7mm Rem. BUT, I would not hunt brown bears with either. If I were stuck between a hard rock and a lot of teeth and claw, I could make do with either rifle, but that wouldn't be part of the plan.

I can't speak for others, but in my experience I have seen a significant difference in the field performance of the 338 Win vs the 30-06. Animals just seem to show signs of a mortal wound sooner with the 338 Win than with the 30-06. I can recall times when the 30-06 and 180 grain partitions really stole the show, and times when the 338 didn't hit like I thought it should, but that was less bullet than needed. Now, when the wrong bullet is used for the 338 and the right one for the 30-06, not so much difference. Shooting solids or bullets that don't expand seems to degrade the performance of anything. I will say 200 grain power points in 338 mag is a serious mistake for anything except ground squirrels!

For the record, I would prefer more gun than either the 7mm Rem or the 30-06 for moose but for elk/kudu size (and smaller) those two are fine. Here once more, only if the 175/180 gr bullets of good construction are used and then there is no margin for things going wrong or having to take a less than perfect shot. I want to take my shot when I'm ready to take it, not when or if I get a cooperating target. When I'm on the shot, I want to take it. When I use enough gun I can do that.

If you have a 7 mm Mag and can shoot it, by all means go for it, but if you have a 338 and want to hunt bears with a 7 mm, then I would question you methods, and possibly opt for a change in your medication. Good point.
Good shootin'.

Murphy