Quote Originally Posted by yobuck View Post
The 7 STW and the 7x300 WBY would be pretty much clones balisticly. I use 78 gr of 7828 in my gun with the 162 Hornady match BTHP bullet.
I have used up to 80 gr but that can be a hot load if the wether is warm. So if your brother isnt using 7828 in his gun, id recommend he try it.
My load for the 7 mm Rem mag when i was using that cartridge was 65 gr 4831 with the 162 gr bullet, and in my factory 24” barrel it was right around 3050 fps. My longest kill with the 7x300 WBY was 1200 yds, and i wouldnt care to try for a longer one with it. Again, not saying it cant be done, just asking WHY, when better choices are available. Mind you we still use the 7mms, but only at locations where we know the distance cant exceed about 1000 yds. I get the same velocity from the 300 Norma using a 190 gr as i do with the 162 from the 7x300, and the difference in performance on animals at the longer distances cant be compared.
Animals dont die from bullet energy, they die from blood loss caused by tissue damage, unless they have been hit in a very vital location like a head or good neck shot. Even a spine shot wont cause them to die quickly unless considerable tissue damage has been done.
It takes a combination of bullet weight and velocity for a good long range cartridge for hunting. Which is why the smaller ones have lost out.
Look, the man who holds the 10 shot world record for the 1000 yd (heavy gun) class, did it with a 300 WSM cartridge. He is also a PA long range hunter, but for that he uses a 338 Lapua with an improved case. Id be willing to bet that the vast majority of shots taken at animals with that gun are less than a 1000 yds but it handles those very well also.
I like to think of myself as a pretty successful deer hunter and have taken roughly 50 deer in the 35 years i have hunted with my best year being 4. In that time the 7mm Rem Mag has carried the load with over 30 of them, and other than the 7mm RM, i have taken 300 -350 yard deer with 300 wsm, 7.62x39, 7x57, 6.5 Creedmoor, and a .243 Savage Stryker target pistol. I think you are overestimating the durability of white tail deer. BTW, my older brother has taken a deer out to 1080 with his 7mm WSM, and it died just fine.