What caliber?

gabenzeke

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You'll probably get sick of me because I've always been an archery Hunter. But now I'm wanting to get a rifle capable of shooting long range. I've decided to buy parts to build a rifle, but can't make up my mind between a few calibers. I'm considering 28 nosler, 30 nosler, and 300 RUM. I sometimes see people comment on 7 mm guns not being enough for elk, and most of that is probably due to using the wrong bullet, but I wonder if there is any merit to it. The 300 RUM seems great, but my understanding is that it's expensive to shoot, has a ton of recoil without a brake (not really an issue since I'll have a brake), and isn't as ballistically efficient as the 28. Then the 30 nosler caught my attention. Seems like it eats less powder than the rum, but brass seems a bit tougher to find. It really seems like it sits between the 300 wby and rum but doesn't seem to have as much a following as the 28. So is the 30 nosler unreasonable to even consider? What should I pick? Keep in mind I'd like for this gun to handle all Western species other than grizzlies.

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Since you are looking at the 28 the comparable 7mm would be the 7mm mag. I don't think you will get any comments that the 28 or 7mm mag is "not enough" for elk. Within its effective range it is plenty for elk. What you will see from some very knowledgeable and experienced people that have killed many elk is that the 300 is more effective on elk. There are many threads on the subject.
 
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gabenzeke

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Yes, you're right. I should have been a little more clear. The opinions that the 7s aren't enough seem to be dated from when available bullets werent up to the task. Some of those opinions persist from what I've seen and I have read some stories about the heavy 7mm bullets not performing as well at close range. So I guess my concern or question is, if I load lighter bullets in the 28 to bank on better performance at closer range, am I better off just going with a 30? And would a 30 be a better choice regardless of range? Sorry, I'm a newbie and there is so much info out there...still trying to sort fact from fiction
Since you are looking at the 28 the comparable 7mm would be the 7mm mag. I don't think you will get any comments that the 28 or 7mm mag is "not enough" for elk. Within its effective range it is plenty for elk. What you will see from some very knowledgeable and experienced people that have killed many elk is that the 300 is more effective on elk. There are many threads on the subject.

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ckleeves

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I kinda like the 30 nosler if more brass options become easily available. It’s capacity and length fill a pretty sweet spot IMO. When the barrel goes on my 28 I’ll probably rebarrel it into a 30. The 28 isn’t a bad cartridge by any means I just like 30 cal pills better I guess.

There is nothing wrong with the boring old 300 win mag either. Cheap brass that’s always available, easy to load for, good factory options, Ammo available just about anywhere and barrels last a long time.


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JP100

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Lots of options with calibers.
7mms are great and a rem mag is a pretty good starting cartridge for long range I think, can go for a SAUM,7 practical or a 7mm LRM aswell.

Now that there are some big 180-190gn 7mm bullets on the market the big 7mags are pretty hard to beat with a .30cal.

You will need a bigger/louder/more recoil .30 cal to match a 7mm.

.30cal is arguably more versatile as there is a huge range of bullet weights, but for most thin skinned game a 7mm is plenty.

How far do you want to shoot?
Whats the intended rifle weight?

I would not over think the caliber too much, even a basic 7rem mag or 300win mag can be made to shoot a long ways with a good set up

For my reloading being able to reliably source bullets/brass/powder is more important than a 100fps gain
 

elkguide

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Having just a "few" rifles in a few different calibers, when I head to the west for elk, though I always take a back-up rifle, in many different calibers, I always seem to find myself carrying a .300 Win Mag.

Easy to load for. Lots of bullets choices. Long range capability. Easy to find brass or factory ammunition. Lots of dead elk.
 

Mercyme

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If you're going big bucks in a custom rifle, I'd go with a cartridge that'll see a whole lotta action: '06, .308 Win, .280 Rem, .270 Win. If you want a magnum, I'd go with 7MM Rem Mag.

Take a look at the used rifle market. You'll find far more really big cartridges and heavy rifles necessary to shoot them than any of the aforementioned cartridges.

You're 100% right about a disproportionate powder charge for negligible velocity gain considering the .300 RUM vis-a-vis .300 WM. If you hand load, the same holds true of the .300 WM vs. the '06.

Right now, I don't need a custom rifle. I have factory rifles that'll shoot as well as custom rifles. Even better, they're all chambered for cartridges that do not punish me. But if I were going to go custom, I'd go with a .280 Rem or a .270 Win (I wouldn't exclude the '06), with a 22" barrel, with a great looking wood stock (I'd be good with select grade). I'd want it as light as possible.

Were I to invest in a custom HUNTING rifle, I'd want it to become my primary hunting rifle. I'd want to spend hours bench shooting it. Bench shooting builds confidence. Confidence builds big game. The last thing I'd want to do is drop 5k or far more on a custom rifle that weighs 14 pounds only to realize that a .300 RUM hurts too bench shoot and won't kill any more dead than a much lighter, easier to carry and handle, and far more shooter friendly '06.

I KNOW that cartridge is not the defining criterion of hunting success. Shot placement is. A .270 Win will kill elk just as dead as a .338 LAPUA as long as bullets from either kills really important equipment for topside oxygenated blood flow.

Seems like I've learned far too late that it's always a whole lot better to learn from others' mistakes than from my mistakes. We can see others' mistakes on the used rifle market. Sadly, these guys who've spent 5k and better on big cartridges custom rifles become despondent when they find that they're worth maybe half (if they're lucky) of what they have sunk in them. In contrast, an '06 or .270 Win will hold its value far better.

If you were to go with an '06, you'll use it on everything. And you'll be far more likely to use it on a lot of game. And it'll kill just as dead as a .300 RUM. But in the end, the rifle is for you. Buy what is right for you.

BTW, hunting rifles are like other tools: they will tell tales of use. Every nick in my rifles' stocks are connected to an adventure memory. I have a friend who owns what used to be a gorgeous Mark V. After years of hunting adventures, its stock looks like a piece of badly used furniture. He doesn't care. What he does care about is that when he burns powder, he'll put a tag on a big game animal.

I wish you the best.
 

Jsunkler

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I went thru this when I wanted something a little smaller than my .338 and was very very very interested by the 28 and 30 Nosler, but in the end I went with a 7mm RM for one main reason: AMMO AVAILABILITY

My buddies that have the 28 and 30 cannot find ammo for them, or if they do its insanely priced.

I do not plan to shoot passed 600 in a hunting situation with perfect conditions, and typically stay under 400. The 7mm Rem Mag handles that perfectly and I have a plethora of options to choose from for premium ammunition. In the range it has enough gas to make it fun to shoot out to 1k+

For all western species, you really cant go wrong with any of the tried n trued calibers: 30-06, 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, .338 Win Mag, etc.

Also do not forget two absolute killers: .264 Win Mag and .270 Win Mag. I keep hoping the ,264 WM gains popularity again, I love that caliber for mountain hunting.
 

WRO

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The 'people' you've 'seen' say that the 7's aren't enough for elk, are the people that have never killed an elk.......

I've seen close to 50 die, the 7 will kill them, just not as fast as a 300 all things being equal.

As for the OP's question, get a 300 win mag. The Rums are cool, but if you're under 1200 the win will work just fine.
 

pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

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Most of the context I've seen on the 7s vs 30cal+ was for longer ranges (say 700yd+), the statements were the 30cal+ calibers would knock elk down better when less than ideal shots occurred. In general at typical ranges 7s (and many other calibers) absolutely kill lots of elk and a proper shot with the correct bullet will kill animals, some calibers and bullet combos reportedly are more forgiving on a bad wind call, etc.

ANYWAYS your caliber choices aren't very common in terms of ammo if ever needed or brass. That said if I was putting together a specialty gun w/o concern for component/ammo availability on short notice, etc. I might take a look at 300norma. Since reality does play a roll to a degree my last gun I had built was 300wsm which is somewhat common, not as much as 300win though which is a solid common caliber choice.
 

MIC

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The 300 RUM is my go to for elk. When I was younger I hunted with 30-06 and 270s but they dont compare to the 300. With that said though, the ammo is expensive and i definitely dont shoot it as much as i would like because of that and thats why I'll be building a 300Win mag soon.
 
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gabenzeke

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So as an update, I have come across a Remington 700 long range in 300 RUM that is on sale for 600 bucks. Pretty good price for a 'project rifle' I thought. Conversely, for about that same amount of money I could go and get a Tikka or some other off the shelf rifle in 7 mm of I wanted and work on customizing that rifle as I go. Would you buy the 300 or just pick up a 7 mm in that case?

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gabenzeke

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By the way, I plan to use this as my one hunting rifle for everything. Hunt out to 5 or 600 yards but also eventually customize the gun and shoot targets 1000+

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Apollo117

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Every time I start reading about custom rifles in large, expensive calibers I like to think about all of my factory rifles in small common calibers that don't beat the shit out of me and shoot MOA. I also think about how perfectly adequate a .270, '06, or .308, etc. is for the ethical ranges the average person should shoot big game.

Joking aside, you should do what makes you happy. It sounds like you're leaning towards a custom rifle. I imagine if you don't build a custom you'll always regret it and wish you had.

If you choose custom, start from scratch. I've read too many posts about people wishing they started with a custom action instead of a donor rifle/action. From what I read it costs about the same anyways.

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pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

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By the way, I plan to use this as my one hunting rifle for everything.

If that is the case go with a more common/affordable caliber with limited recoil (in this case if you're braking it you can increase the recoil some). 7rem mag, 300win mag, 300wsm all are solid strong performers that are relatively common (300wsm being less so).
 
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I would go with the 7mm rem mag, and seems like all you hear is good with a Tikka. I dont own one but everythink i have read on here serms pretty good. That is if you buy off the shelf and not custom.
 

codym

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The 28 nosler is pretty awesome. It's also expensive to shoot factory and brass seems to be fairly hard to come by. If you don't reload I wouldn't even consider one of the nosler calibers. I think if I were you I would find a rem700 in 300 win mag, have a brake installed swap out the trigger and go shoot. Easy to load for, tons of factory ammo options and bullets weights for everything. My other big rifle is a 280 AI which is a heck of a good cartridge and I wouldn't hesitate to elk hunt with that 7mm.
 
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