Do the big case 7mm's offer much over a 270 Win when it comes to medium game?

If you were to have a big case 7mm built, would you pick the STW or RUM ?

Joe

Some will argue that the big 7mags give you more range. Most (yes there are some who can) shooters can't use it anyway. It takes a lot of practice to use the extra range that they give you. The 7mm does allow the use of a heavier bullet than the 270.

I have a 7x57,280,280PDK,7Rmag, and 7STW. The STW will give me close to 200FPS with a 140 over the first 4. That makes no difference for medium game at NORMAL hunting ranges. I built the STW for a ranch in west Texas where long shots might come up. Even with the STW I find that for a 4-500yd shot I still need a range finder. With a range finder and knowing the round the first 4 would work as well.

The STW is WAY overbore you are buring a lot of powder for marginal gain. The RUM just burns more powder to get to basically the same point.

The advantage of the big cases takes place way the hell out there where taking a shot at a game animal ( for which I hope we all have some respect) becomes a poor decision. Give me a rifle and a shooter who doesnt blow the 200-300 yard shots as opposed to some gun nut with a huge rifle who wants to take a ridiculously long shot. My last five shots out of my 7x57 have piled up four deer and an antelope. I dont like long shots and consider getting into good rifle range part of the game. Its childs play compared to bowhunting range!

I have a 270 and I have a 7mm SAUM.
On medium sized game both are great choices.

The RUM shoots a little flatter and hits a little harder.
The 7mm is my main hunting rifle
and I have used it with great results.
The advantages to the 7mm is flatter trajectory with more energy. The tradeoff is increased muzzle blast and recoil. The recoil is certainly something almost anyone man, women or teenager can handle.
If your shots are under 300 yards I dont see any medium sized game animal that will notice the difference between the two.

I have this simple rule: for shots under 300 yards, non-magnum calibers apply. For those who feel comfortable shooting over 300 yards, then magnum calibers apply.

IMO, most hunters are not comfortable with shots over 300 yards.

In the end, shoot what you like. If it tickles you pink to shoot a deer at 50 yards with a .375 H&H, knock yourself out.

Conversely, if you want to take a deer at 400 yards with a .270, knock yourself out.

What kind of game are you talking about?

For deer and antelope the big 7's won't provide any range advantage over a .270, and their additional power is irrelavent for this size game.

Black bears aren't typically taken at long distance, and the extra power of the 7's is only useful on the very largest of black bears.

Caribou, sheep, and mt. goat are sometimes taken at long distance and are a bit larger than deer, so the 7's might have a bit of an advantage over the .270.

Many elk and moose have been killed with a .270, but the 7's ability to handle 160-175 grain bullets gives them a definate advantage here.

The same might be true of brownies, but then most folks want more than a even the biggest of 7's for brown bears.

I've had 4 .270s and 3 STWs, one on it's second barrel.As much as I liked the .270 when I was using it there is no comparison. Bear in mind that I live in flat, wide open spaces. What some would call specialty use is what we call "Going huntin'" I have no experience with the Ultra-Mag whatsoever.

To me, the greatest advantage of a big 7mag is to push heavier bullets faster than you can a 150gr 270. Pushing a 150gr 7mm 200fps over the 270 doesn't offer much. Pushing a 175gr bullet faster than a 270/150gr, now you are talking 400yd+ hunting thump.

I used to have a 7mm-300 weatherby, which is in the same class as the STW. It was quite a bit faster than the 7mm rem magnum. I never really warmed up to the gun, it was accurate but I bloodshot more meat with it than any other rifle that I have ever owned. If you wanted to build and were a handloader, I would suggest that you consider the .280 remington or the AI version of the same. It really is an excellent cartridge and will be my next custom rifle after my current project is finished.

I canget a 270 featherweight rifle.....I can't geta 7 STW or RUM featherweight....nuff said!

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I canget a 270 featherweight rifle.....I can't geta 7 STW or RUM featherweight....nuff said!

Or a .280 ft.wt. now we're talken.

Just go with a 270 improved --- a 280 Remington that is forget the others.

Hello

All three rounds you mentioned are good calibers you can't go wrong with either one. Pick the one you like and shoot the best and never look back.
It always comes down to bullet placement

Good Luck

Steve

I like the RUMs. Like the others have said, it really only makes a difference if you plan on extending your ranges.

But those big 7s do hit HARD, very hard.

Inside of 400 yards on game 300 pounds and smaller, the only benefit I see to a magnum is the bullet gets there a little quicker but they all die just the same.

I have three 270s and one 7RemMag. I wouldn't give up any for the bigger 7s.

JFE,I had the 270Win and the 7mmRem mag and shot many caribou and a few deer with them.Both are poor performers in that they do not have the extra power needed at 300yds for big deer or caribou and the 130 or 140gr bullet gets really stressed.I had more one shot kills and no trailing after wounded animals with a hot loaded 300WM and 180gr TSX bullets.The 300RUM is also a good round from what I read.That said,there isn't a caliber I don't like and those you mention are very accurate and flat shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by K3yston3:
I used to have a 7mm-300 weatherby, which is in the same class as the STW. It was quite a bit faster than the 7mm rem magnum. I never really warmed up to the gun, it was accurate but I bloodshot more meat with it than any other rifle that I have ever owned. If you wanted to build and were a handloader, I would suggest that you consider the .280 remington or the AI version of the same. It really is an excellent cartridge and will be my next custom rifle after my current project is finished.

the next rifle i get will be a 280AI. after a bit of thinking i think that it is ideal for shooting deer

Thanks for the replies.

My favorite medium game calibre is the 270 and it has worked very well for me. I generally dont shoot game beyond 250 yards and even that is long for me. Given the choice, for larger game I would use larger calibres.

However before I get too much older I would like to hunt Chamois and Thar in NZ. The hunting is generally in steep difficult terrain and ranges can be long. This class of game wont need any more power than what the 270 provides.

My question about the big case 7mm's is about this specialised application and not meant as a replacement for the 270. From what I gather from the replies, the difference is not all that great (for this sort of application) and I should simply use a range finder and practice at longer ranges with my 270.

Joe

quote:

Originally posted by JFE:
From what I gather from the replies, the difference is not all that great (for this sort of application) and I should simply use a range finder and practice at longer ranges with my 270.

Joe

That is what I suggest. I can tell you that a 270 with a good, accurate load will drop a deer at 500 yards when the bullet hits the shoulder.

I've shot caribou at 25-50yds and have recovered bullets from the heart.Would these bullets have penetrated to the heart or busted a shoulder and spine at 500?

I don't know. What kind of bullets were they?

What I can tell you is that I shot a big whitetail in MO at 130 yards with 150 Speer flat based spitzer behind the shoulder broadside and the bullet didn't exit but it was a pretty mushroom.

I can tell you a 150 Btip will penetrate a whitetail's shoulder at 412 yards, dump it, and weigh about 98 grains when recovered.

And a 130 TSX will pass through both shoulders of a buck that dressed about 190 at just beyond 500 yards while making goop soup of the lungs and the top of the aorta.

I used to hunt with a guy in Alabama years ago. He usually got 2-3 bucks the first week of rifle season and he always used Remmy factory corelokts. At 40 or so yards, 2 bullets did not pass through with lung shots. At 200 on a food plot, one did. All bucks weighed around 175 pounds, all shots were behind the shoulder and broadside.

As controversial as the Btip is, I've never had one not pass through at ranges between 75 and 150 yards, but that one kill with the Speer bullet (150 grain) still kind of bugs me to this day. Don't get me wrong, the deer fell right there but in those days, I thought the bigger the bullet, the better the chances of passing through. Turns out, IME, it's simply not true.

quote:

Originally posted by JFE:
However before I get too much older I would like to hunt Chamois and Thar in NZ. The hunting is generally in steep difficult terrain and ranges can be long. This class of game wont need any more power than what the 270 provides.
Joe

You will be more than well armed for Thar/chamois w/ your 270. I took my 7mmDakota for Thar & practiced alot out to 400yds. My bull fell to a pretty short 125yds or so shot. You MIGHT have to shoot out to 400 & should practice for it but getting closer can often be done. There just isn't that much drop advantage in the 200fps or so the 7STW provides. The 7RUM, way too overbore for the 7mm. You get little vel. gain over the STW for the whopping amount of powder used. It's definetly a bbl. burner.
Shootaway, there is nothing wrong w/ any of the 7mm for game upto & including elk. Bullet choice is more important but matching the bullet to the game & the 7mags are equal to the task.