WSM, RUM, RCM

[tahoe2]

Winchester Short Mag, Remington Ultra Mag, Ruger Compact Mag, the craze continues, I'm still shooting rounds like
7x57 mauser, 280 Remington, 300 Savage, 8x57 mauser, 30-30 & 375 Winchester. Of course the longest shot I've
taken at an animal is 175 yards or thereabouts, but I figure the 7mm's & the 8mm are good to 300-350 yds or so in
my hands, probably wouldn't shoot any farther than that (in absolutely perfect conditions, no wind, good rest etc...)
Knowing ballistics and range time is all well and good, but practicing in field positions is how I determine my capabilities.
Finding places to shoot those distances can be challenging, but worth it when you find it. haven't shot factory ammo
in over 25+ years. Anybody else with me on any of this ??

Read More

 

[jluck]

Nope, I hunt deer east when 400+ yard shots are common,I just picked up a 300 RUM. Same rifle works for close up duty too.Also three power levels of ammo available for it.
It's good you have found what need.

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

You know, I can't think of a single animal that won't go down with 8x57...heck, the lowly 30-30 was my grandfather's go to rifle, along with a 30-40 Kraig. Can't imagine he would bother with a magnum anything.

I agree - know your ballistics and shot placement will work fine.

 

[mjbskwim]

Every time you think you need a MAGNUM rifle,remember there is someone flinging arrows at the same heard and taking meat home.

Heck I've watched vids of guys killing them thar grizzlies and moose with arrows and smoke poles!
Whodathunk?

Only reason for the magnums is you don't want to hunt ,you want to snipe an animal

 

[jluck]

Every time you think you need a MAGNUM rifle,remember there is someone flinging arrows at the same heard and taking meat home.

Heck I've watched vids of guys killing them thar grizzlies and moose with arrows and smoke poles!
Whodathunk?


Only reason for the magnums is you don't want to hunt ,you want to snipe an animal

I know I won't take shots with a bow at 200 yards. And I agree with the arguement about muzzleloaders and bow and arrow stuff but that's kind of a totally different season.
I have always hunted with my trusty '06 but decided I wanted more termanal energy at longer ranges to make clean kills.
I do want to be able to snipe animals or other vermin at long ranges, YMMV and that's why more than one caliber is made. If a freedom of choice.

 

[One-Eyed Ross]

True, freedom of choice. What annoys me is when I'm on a forum and the magnum guys all say you HAVE to have a magnum to hunt "animal x" because the bones are stronger, or some such BS. If'n I do my part, I'll have a dead animal, one shot kill with the animal going less than 50 yds...

(Notice I said, if'n I do my part. I've passed up shots because I wasn't SURE I could do that, drop it quickly. It's an ethics thing for me).

 

[mancat]

Here's my experience on the magnum craze...

My dad and several of his hunting friends all hunted for years with .270 Win, almost exclusively. All of them dipped into the magnum craze in one or more caliber for a couple years. All are back to the .270 Win. The primary reasons being that 1) they sometimes had trouble finding ammo "in the field," 2) the recoil for most of the magnum rounds were enough to bother the older guys, 3) they really couldn't tell a difference in performance at the distances they were shooting, 1-200 yd.

My dad sold his .270 Win Mag rifle, bought a Browning X-Bolt .270 Win, and handed his old BSA .270 to me, so I profited off of it too.

 

[mjbskwim]

Yes it is indeed your choice.That's not my point. There are all the different calibers so rifle manufacturers can sell more guns. Every caliber out there has been killing animals for many years. With only the 50yd run.
With proper placement.
Most of those calibers,including and I suspect more so,the larger magnum calibers,have also NOT killed game humanly. And I say that about the magnum calibers because of what I have heard from long time hunters about the recoil of them.
If the rifle has severe recoil,MOST people will react to it as they pull the trigger,not just after the hammer drops.Same as they flinch with that ole 44mag revolver.
I'm sure you can handle the recoil and be just fine,but maybe not. Then that easy 400 yard just takes a chunk of leg off and you lose the animal

My point is,if you get closer to the animal your lowly 30'06 will be just fine.
And the point of the archery comment is that you can get closer than 400 yards and I'm sure someone in your area is taking game with a bow at 30-40 yards or less.
I have no idea what the 200yd bow shot came from.

 

[jluck]

And the point of the archery comment is that you can get closer than 400 yards and I'm sure someone in your area is taking game with a bow at 30-40 yards or less.
I have no idea what the 200yd bow shot came from.

That was just senseless blabbering on my part and a contribution to a irreverent point to the topic reply. I agree with the heavy recoil issue too, mine has a break witch will help with recoil but be ridiculously loud but a tradeoff I will live with.
I am old enough to know a sharp old timer with a pointy stick is always better than some whippersnapper with his cannon

 

[tahoe2]

jluck; I'm with ya, if you can make that 400 yd shot more power to ya. I know, I can't make that shot, and I'm ok with that,
I just have to get in closer; when hunting Antelope in Wyoming 200-350 yd shots are the norm, it took me 7 or 8 stalks before
I got to under 200 yards (175) and made a good shot. Magnums ? I got nothing against em, they're just not for me, alot of my
friends have em, 7 Rem, 300 Win, 257 Weatherby etc... I'm sticking to the standards ( that's just me).
Haven't done the stick & string thing and not interested, muzzleloader ? maybe someday, I have a .50 Hawken I play with occasionally.
Good Shootin to all !

 

[clambo]

I shoot the older calibers mostly as I prefer the older guns. I do own 2 magnum hunting rifles, one is .338 Win in an MPI stock. I had it made up when I was about 19 or 20 and I haven't shot it since then either. Kicks WAY too hard for me. I also have a .300 H&H magnum 721 Remington. I still use and love it. Not so much because it's a magnum but I just have a thing about older rifles and calibers. In truth a .300 H&H isn't much hotter than a warm .30-06.
I have 3 .30-06 rifles, one .270, one .300 Savage, and one .257 Roberts that I do 99% of my hunting and target shooting with. I would not care to shoot over 300 yds or so..and the longest shot I've ever made on an animal was about 225 yds or so. The " oldies " work just fine for me. I would rethink that a little if I were going to big bear country but I don't plan to, at least not to hunt.
I don't consider myself an expert but I am experienced. I have shot deer with just about everything you can think of at one time from the centerfire .22's to .375 H&H Mag. another and all the deer died promptly. I do reload and I do practice but I do not use premium bullets. Hehe, my idea of a premium bullet would be cast lead in a .30-30...and that works too.

 

[MountainBear]

Still shoot .30-06 for most everything...

 

[Otter]

I'm a regular caliber type of person too. I do understand the appeal of a 7mm Mag and 300 Win Mag for long distance shots, and the .338 Win Mag for really large and dangerous animals, but I will pass on such abusive recoil. I hunt deer with a .270 Win and elk with a .30-06, and use both as backup for the other. I can consistently hit a heart/lung size target out to 300 yards with both of them, provide the wind isn't hurricane force and I know the distance. If in doubt I close the distance or don't take the shot.

I think the explosion of all the short and super short magnums on the market is more about marketing and selling more rifles to short peckered hunters than about any real world ballistic advantage.

 

[2ndtimer]

I think the explosion of all the short and super short magnums on the market is more about marketing and selling more rifles to short peckered hunters than about any real world ballistic advantage.

While I don't disagree with your opinion about the new cartridges being marketing driven, I do take exception to your remark about hunters who choose them. Why wouldn't I choose a .270WSM over a standard .270 Win, even if the advantage is only 100 fps? Any edge is still an edge, and I prefer a short action. I don't disparage people who choose older cartridges, even though my 6.5x55 swede (a Howa 1500) has been a disappointment both in accuracy and velocity. I don't get the haters about the short magnum line of cartridges. And as for the manufacturers bringing out new cartridges that make no sense, how else are they going to sell the rifles they manufacture? I mean it's not like you need to buy a new 30-06 every 5 years, so they have to do something to try to sell new rifles.
And being a handloader, I can load my .270WSM's down to 7mm-08 recoil levels, or up to performance rivaling the 7mm Rem Mag, if I choose to. Try to load a standard .270 Win to that level and you will be buying a new one every few years, if not sooner. If the Short Magnums don't float your particular boat, don't buy one. But don't insult people who find them enjoyable, useful and effective.

 

[speeddemon94]

I will shoot anything with my .308. I had a 7mm mag years ago, but no thanks. I just couldn't see the hype of the new magnums. I carry and use 2 different rounds: 175gr for out to 600 yards, and 185 for larger game and shots beyond 600. I have never had something not drop in a pile where I shot it. Shot placement is the name of the game for me. I don't care about trophies and am strictly a meat hunter, so the .308 does not destroy meat, provides plenty of knockdown, phenomenal accuracy, and I could shoot it all day because the recoil is nothing.

Just never been an fan of the magnums.

 

[jluck]

I too am fond of the .308, I even like it with different size brass behind it.

 

[speeddemon94]

Here...7.62x51, Period. If I wanted to abuse myself, I would move into a .338 Lapua.