rebarreling savage 111, 7mm rem mag... go to .300 win mag?

[YJrockhopper]

I love my 7mm and have several. One the barrel has seen its days and needs to go out behind the barn... I am set with a stock, Barrel make, optics, etc.. I am wanting a bench/long range set up. I am wanting to keep the 7mm but itching to go .300 win mag. Will bolt faces be the same or need to switch? May convert to a detachable 10 rd mag as well. 7mm I can go easily to 1K yards. I know the .300 dos the same and much further. The .300 can put a heavier projectile down range though. 1K will not be an everyday shot... I use black hills 162gr Amax in 7mm. My gun loves that load.

Pros and cons (I have googled) of 7mm v .300? I have 26 years behind a 7mm. Yes, its very hard on barrels but the .300 can't be much better can it? Any info is greatly appreciated and thank you in advance!


Marc

[Hotolds442]

Bolt heads are the same. I see a lot more brass available for the 300. Not much difference between the two, the 300 performs a bit better in the wind.

[darkker]

1)7mm I can go easily to 1K yards. I know the .300 dos the same and much further.
2) The .300 can put a heavier projectile down range though.
3) Pros and cons
4) Yes, its very hard on barrels but the .300 can't be much better can it?

1) I shoot my 308 Winchester to a mile, don't get caught-up in internet nonsense arguments.
2) And with ONLY one exception those heavier bullets have a worse BC, so your drift and drop will be worse. Again internet chatter among those who have differing choices for rifles. Get a real ballistic program like Shooter, or Bergers and start looking at them side by side.
3) all choices my friend. You said you are itching to build one, so do it! You don't need our permission :)
4) Better is in the eye of the beer holder, if you say she's pretty, I'll believe you.

The only meaningful difference that the average schmoe is likely to fight, is pressure. Honestly FAR to many think that the absolute max speed before blowing apart brass, is magically somehow the only accurate load.

The 7 is infamous and well documented to have unexplainable random Pressure excursions, typically found with very heavy bullets and slow powders. Take the 195gr Berger, which destroys all but the 240gr 30-cal bullets.
If you are one of those people who think that 200 fps over Pressure tested book data is safe, you may find yourself on the losing side. If you play by the rules, expect some random good brass to have to be tossed out from time to time.

[yobuck]

At your nursery, if you want to plant some smaller size trees youd be apt to just grab a shovel and dig the holes.
But if it were 10" diameter royal palms, you would no doubt be using something else to dig the holes. Or maybe wish you had.
Point is there are times when special tools are required, not only to make life easier but also to do a better job.
There are only two logical reasons for anyone owning any type of a magnum rifle. One would be the energy factor,
which is eliminated as a need for anything roaming this country at least. The remaining factor is the potential for shooting
longer distances. Which is of coarse the main reason some of us own them.
Darkerr states he shoots his 308 out to a mile. No doubt he does, but he also knows he could shoot a 300 win mag better at that distance for (consistant) accuracy.
And the fact is a 300 win mag isnt a very good one mile cartridge either. Fact also is, that none are what we might call really good cartridges at that distance.
Some days maybe yes, and some days very definatly no. All that said, if your set on building another gun so that you can occaisionaly shoot beyond 1000 yds, you
might just as well build one that gives you the best potential for hitting what your shooting at. After youve run the gauntlet of trying them all, the last one standing
will be the big 338s. And thats not just my opinion, its everybodys opinion thats (actually) done it or even watched it being done. My reccomendation would be to get a custom action to start with. Then you would be free to pick any cartridge that appeals to you. Otherwise, id pick a cartridge that works with the standard magnum bolt face. The 30 calibers can be an option also, but if your going to use the heavy bullets like 240s, dont go less than the 300 ultra mag.

[darkker]

I appreciate the vote of confidence yobuck, but I promise that I can not shoot the 300WM or the 338WM better at distance; been there, have that T-shirt...

It comes down to what a shooter wants, and is willing to put up with.
I detest muzzle brakes, but understand others will choose differently. Sans muzzle brake, the big 30's firing extremely heavy bullets, or any 33 bigger than the Federal; they will kick the snot out of me.
For a guy like me who wants to lay prone and shoot a hundred rounds or so, that is far too much kick to enjoy and continue doing. If a guy puts a good brake, and fires a box of bullets from a bench; any choice is probably irrelevant.

Unless you use the 210gr - 230gr Bergers, the 6.5's have a much better BC. From a Creed/260/Swede, will out perform with much less shooter stress at distance. For the 7mm's the 195gr Elite Hunter bullets will out perform all but the heaviest of 338 bullets.

So back to this simply being a discussion of Choices. A cartridge may make it easier in terms of drop/drift, to hit at distance purely by the numbers. That same cartridge if it isn't fun to shoot, will exponentially decrease the shooters engagement and development of skill and form. So suddenly that "Better" choice will actually become a bigger detriment of ability. Although it pains me to say this, look at something like the PRS series. Those boys shoot 300 - 1500 yards, in high volumes of fire, from many different positions. If the 338 Lapua was "Better" for that task, I promise they would use it. Most of them are using 6.5's from Creedmoor sized cartridges, with a second group using the 6mm Creedmoor.

All depends upon what your goals are, and what you truly plan on doing. Do you want to focus on your skills and shoot a lot? Then don't get a big recoiling cartridge that is expensive to shoot. But most importantly, do what makes you happy; not what one of us thinks you should do! We have our own rifles and choices.

[memsu]

The heavier 7mm bullets have some of the highest BCs of any bullets besides the really heavy 30 and 338 bullets. Build a 7mm-300 Mag for easy to obtain 300 Win Mag brass and the ability to shoot higher BC 7mm bullets and not take a pounding shooting heavy 30 caliber bullets.