7mm vs 308 vs 338? Making myself nuts

[Trout Hunter]

Shoot the .308, used to shoot both a 7mag and .338 win mag. Here is my take on them.
.338 is too big IMO for anything smaller than elk. Just destroys too much meat on deer and smaller game. I like to eat what I am hunting for. Sweet round but but without a muzzle break the recoil is pretty brutal with heavy handloads. For a moose hunt I would consider it.
7mag. I like it in heavier bullets personally 175 is slower but the bullets are a very good BC and tend to hold true down range very well. For me the recoil was the reason to get rid of point. Call me a pansy but for the limited extended range over a .308 I figure its hunting, If I can't close the yardage to make the .308 relevant well then I need to improve my hunting skills.
.308 What I started on and what I shoot now. 165 Grain for both elk and deer out to 500 yards and pending conditions you are good to go IMO. Last elk i shot was 458 yards and anchored my bull. Recoil is more manageable than the other two. Burns less powder and up to elk is a great round.

[<MADDOG>]

I do love these threads where people interject their favorite calibers that were not included in the original post's question...

Money per round, in comparison to the money spent on a hunt (unless one lives on hunting land, which 95% of us do not), pales in comparison.

So, digress back to my original questions; how far is "far" is far? As another member pointed out, a .308 will easily accomplish the mission out to 500 yards, given the shooter knows the dope. The 7 and 338 will fair better with drop and wind (the real kicker IMO), but not exceptionally so unless you are going distances exceeding that. From what I know, and I don't know it all; point blank range for .308 and a .338 (depending on bullet), is a little over 200 yards. 7mags will be about 250, again bullet dependent.

My next observation: I've seen knuckleheads out at the range that couldn't hit a Mack truck with 7 's and .300 magnums (Weatherby/RUM/pick your flavor) at 100 yards because they were scared of the recoil, and they don't fair much better in the woods because the "flinch" gets ingrained in their brain. A .338 is not for the timid, and probably has double the recoil of a .308, and at least 1/3 more than a 7RM. Yea, I know, you can put a brake on it; just blow your hunting partner's eardrums out...

I have personally seen, and also heard of, bulls taking multiple 140's and 150's from 7 mags and acting like nothing hit them; and when they did realize something hit em, they ran for quite a ways... So my suggestion is to follow another member's advice and do not go below 160's, regardless of caliber. They seem to do quite better, especially the good ole' Partitions. Also as Trout stated, I believe a 338 might cause too much damage, but I haven't seen that round's effects, so that might be bullshit; I dunno.

So, with all that being said, I say pick what you can effectively shoot, and by that I mean how well can you dope drop and wind, and handle recoil. Either way, just stick to a heavier bullet.

Those are my thoughts; good, bad, or indifferent.

[dwalker460]

Money per round is important because it takes practice to hit a target at long range, and practice takes rounds downrange. The more those rounds costs, the less people tend to shoot them. The worse the recoil is, the less they shoot that gun. It is all relevant.

I was faced with a similar choice recently and did not pick the 338 Lapua or a 7mmSTW or 7mmRM mostly because of recoil, availability of projectile types, and cost per round.

[brianakell]

How far, wanting to make shots at 1k. Not hunting at that range, just because I want to! Hunting, currently I wouldnt take a shot over 300yds. With the equipment/experience I have now, thats all I feel I could be sure I can make the shot needed. So Im looking for rifle/caliber to grow into I suppose. As for recoil, limbsavers are fantastic, and winter coats add quite a bit too.

Poking around more, WAY more choices in 7mm than 338wm. I think winchester makes 3 times as many rounds for 7mm.

[streetglideok]

How far, wanting to make shots at 1k. Not hunting at that range, just because I want to! Hunting, currently I wouldnt take a shot over 300yds. With the equipment/experience I have now, thats all I feel I could be sure I can make the shot needed. So Im looking for rifle/caliber to grow into I suppose. As for recoil, limbsavers are fantastic, and winter coats add quite a bit too.

Poking around more, WAY more choices in 7mm than 338wm. I think winchester makes 3 times as many rounds for 7mm.

You'll no doubt find alot more factory ammo options for the 7mmrem mag. If you can handle the recoil of a 30'06, then the big 7 wont be an issue. Heck my wife shoots 300winmag with no brake. Now if you are looking at 1k yard shots and want to get serious, then you should really consider reloading, IMO. Alot of people favor the 338 caliber for long range stuff now, with the availability of 300gr bullets, as long as you have enough powder to push them, ie RUMs, Lapuas, Weatherbys, etc. For the 7mm crowd, the 7mm rem can get it done, but for the heavys you might consider the STW and 7mm RUM, but keep in mind the reputation for burning out barrels. Practice is a major factor, and it will take a decent amount with a heavy recoiling gun, hence I own a few to rotate thru at the range. Make sure you are onboard with the idea, you need a great scope, not anything from Simmons, or Tasco. At 1k yards, with a cheap scope you're gonna have real issues, not to mention they likely will not withstand recoil.

[Zombie Steve]

Well shucks. They would all work for 1,000 yard targets or 300 yard hunts. You'd have to learn trajectories on any of them, and meat destruction is going to depend more on bullet construction than anything.

So you could just say get the one you think is coolest and learn thy firearm.

But...

The forums (and deer camp conversations) would be considerably diminished if we couldn't nit-pick over the trivial little details.

[C Ward]

338 WM is not a reliable 1K yard caliber , the bullets that would be used for that can not be pushed fast enough because of case capacity .

The most important question is the budget allowed for this endeavour . Most all times the answer to the question posed with the given info is 308 .

[Zombie Steve]

338 WM is not a reliable 1K yard caliber , the bullets that would be used for that can not be pushed fast enough because of case capacity .

Just playing devil's advocate here, but why not? Sierra's data has a 300 grain matchking supersonic out to 1,700 yards.... and that's going 2400 fps from a 21-1/2" barrel. BC is shown between .75 and .768.

[dwalker460]

The 308's effective range is about 800meters, it will hit out further but it takes a lot, generally it will just make expensive holes in the ground. Out past 1000yds you are typically looking at 300WSM, 260Rem, 338Lapua, and similar.

[C Ward]

You may get 2200ish with a 300 SMK in a Win mag case , there isn't enough throat and most of the bullet is jammed into the case . There way better choices to push the 300's

I'll remember my 308 is no good past 800 meters next time I go out and am making reliable hits to 1300 yards , its not about distance but distance where the bullet goes trans sonic . A 175 at 270ish MV goes trans sonic about 1350