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I am trying to decide which caliber I am going to buy for my next hunting rifle. I hunt mostly in south Texas, and can't honestly say that I have ever shot anything closer than 200 yards down there. I have narrowed it down between the 7mmMag and the 300WSM. I thought I wanted a 300WSM until the last 3 people I talked to swear by the 7mag. Any thoughts, bias, opinions, educated guesses? I am looking for a little more knock down, and flatter trajectory than my current 308.

jdhz28 wrote:I am trying to decide which caliber I am going to buy for my next hunting rifle. I hunt mostly in south Texas, and can't honestly say that I have ever shot anything closer than 200 yards down there. I have narrowed it down between the 7mmMag and the 300WSM. I thought I wanted a 300WSM until the last 3 people I talked to swear by the 7mag. Any thoughts, bias, opinions, educated guesses? I am looking for a little more knock down, and flatter trajectory than my current 308.

IMO, it's a toss up. Either one is a fine choice. I would probably pick the 300 WSM just because there are more choices in bullet weights. If you handload you probably already have some .30 cal bullets laying around.

I would go 7mm Mag. It is an excellent long range cartridge, having been used for long range shooting for many years. I don't know much about the WSM. IIRC the 7mm requires a long action while the 300WSM is a short action?

In any event. What are you going to hunt in S. Texas that you need that much power? A .308, with the proper handloads, will work fine out to 800 yards or so.

Most cost effective is the old 30-06

I am a big fan of the short mags, you get the power of a magnum without having to use a long action. So, I would go with the 300WSM.

I have owned both & kept the 300wsm. Hands down I like it better.
If you go past 150 grain bullet the wsm will out perform the 7mag & above 180 it just I seem to remember it was a great difference.
If you reload there is a much better sellection of bullets.

All the above is my oppinion & some think it is worth just about what you PD for it.

What are you going to hunt in S. Texas that you need that much power? A .308, with the proper handloads, will work fine out to 800 yards or so.

I don't just hunt in south Texas, I do spend most of the time there. While I have no problems punching holes in paper out to about 500 yards, I have had to track too many animals in the dark. I either want to open up a bigger hole so I have more blood to follow or drop them on the spot. A headshot normally works, but sometimes you don't have that option.

I have a 30.06 and a 7mmMAG. I hunt in West Texas, and the 7mmMAG is overkill for most of my hunts. Truth be told, I could probably do just fine with a 30.30

Thanks for all the advice guys