Hello to y'all,

I'm new to this forum and this is my first post.
I live in northern AB right now, though previously in the South of the province.

I'm posting to get some opinions on the ideal sheep cartridge. I've been looking at the 7mm Rem. Ultra Mag. for some time now and was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about this cartridge. If anyone has ever used one could you tell me if it has pleasant shooting characteristics like a .270 or .308?

I don't really want to blow a grand on something that will be difficult and punishing to shoot and ultimately less than confidence inspiring when shooting at sheep.

Any input appreciated,

GordM

The .270 and .308 are pleasant to shoot. The 7mm ultra will have a little more kick about like a 30-06 with heavy loads or similar. You might want to consider rifle weight into the equation also. An ultra mag performs best with a 26 inch barrel and they usually come in a standard full sized gun. Most sheep hunters are more concerened with rifle weight and in a light rifle the recoil might be a bit much for some. It all depends on how much recoil you can tolerate.If your packing it around in the hills it might tend to get heavy after a couple days. As far as a flat shooting sheep caliber it would be excellent. I use a .270 mountain rifle, nice and light with a 22" barrel and havent really needed more than that. you might want to check out the .270 and 7mm Win short mag cartridges that come in a short action fairly light rifle that would be ideal for sheep hunting.

I own a 7mmultramag and two 7mmstw's.The ultramag has recoil about equivalent to a 300win mag.It also uses a lot more powder to drive a bullet only 50fps to 75fps more than the 7mmstw's.The ultramag case works well with the .308" caliber but the ultramag case is just too big too work as well with the 7mmbore.I personally would choose the 7mmstw over the 7mmultramag.I carry one of my 7mmstw's for my own sheep hunting but if I was to have a gun built for sheep hunting it would be chambered in wsm case necked down to .257".This would provide a short action lightweight rifle with very flat trajectory and plenty of power for sheep.If I had to use a factory rifle it would be the tikka t-3 in 25-06.

I would get the Tikka in .270 or .270 WSM.

If you are a fairly new shooter, I would NOT get a 7STW, or a Ultra Mag anything...

Keep in mind the price of different ammo if you don't reload. Anything with a "magnum' name attached to it is going to be more expensive than a 'standard', and anything with a fancy magnum name (like Ultra or WSM) is going to cost even more.

I am in my 40th hunting year with 46 yrs, shooting and 36 yrs. reloading experience and I currently own and use 32 rifles out of nearly 100 I have owned.

Gatehouse is right, a magnum is a very poor choice for a relative novice. A very good idea would be a 25-06 or a .270 Win in a light rifle and then a .338 Win. Mag. a couple of years down the road. I have several "sets" of rifles such as this and it really does work.

I am not a huge fan of any sub 8mm magnum, ultra, belted, wizzum or otherwise. After a certain point, about 2700fps. I think, there is nothing to be gained by muzzle velocity and any magnum is harder to shoot than it's standard counterpart. I have owned three 7 Mags, have a .264 and loaded for and shot a .270 Weatherby, they don't float my boat any more than my .270s or .280s do.

A spare rifle is always a good idea and working into maggie recoil WILL make you a better shooter. Get into reloading for this pair and you are set.

I think the Ultra Mag may be just a little too much for a novice and has a fair amount more recoil than a .270 or .308. If you find the .270 and .308 to be pleasant shooters, then that should make the decision easy for you. Both will take sheep easily, and can be had in a wide variety of rifles. Ammo is easy to come by, cheaper than magnum ammo, and they are well-documented and developed cartridges. I wouldn't hesitate to use either on all game with exception of moose/elk/griz, in which case, you will likely be able to work up your recoil tolerance to the point where a good .300 or .338 won't be unmanageable for you and will be a very versatile rifle battery. .270 and .338 is my current roundup right now, so I may be a little biased.