7mm mag/STW/ultra?

the loveable rat...

i'm looking at getting one of these in a sendero. i'm a newbie looking for this for elk and mule deer, mostly, and i'm wondering about the relative issues- cost,performance...recoil-wise, i can handle my 7.62x54r no prob., are these remotely close? 300winmag instead? thanks!ps- anybody know anything about .408 chey tac?

Nate

I have a 7mm rem mag and I love it, it is a little more then is really needed for white tails where I live. Compare it to 7.62 x 54R??? I really dont think you can compare the two. 7.62 seems like a heavy 30/30 or a light 308... Now which 7mm to go with, that is tough. The 7mm rem mag has been around since the 60's if I rember right. There are tons of factory loads to pick from. 7mm STW was introduced a few years ago, will it catch on? Ammo could be an issue in the years to come. Same thing with the Ultra mags, it seems the curent trend in new calibers is make them shorter and fatter. But will these catch on and be in production for the years to come. Only time will tell. So if you are not a handloader I would say go with the 7mm rem mag. As far as recoil, you need to lots of time shooting to get used to it. Shooting off the bench can be really painfull. 10 to 15 rounds of 7mm rem mag and I done for the day, but then again I have an injury to my shooting shoulder.

the loveable rat...

thanks- my problem is now to find a sendero in 7 mag...

JustC

If you are going to buy the Sendero, the recoil is immaterial. I have that gun and it is quite pleasant to shoot off the bench. I will try handloads and factory loads at different distances and it is nothing to run 40 rnds before I am done for the day. The STW is more performance, however, the trend is moving away from the belted mags and to the older 404 jeffreys and 416 rigby cases necked down. The 404, I believe, if not, then the 416 is the case which is necked down to the 300 ultra mag. I have shot my neighbors Sendero in 300 ultra mag and it was also not that bad. Recoil is a lot of times over-rated. One thing you may also want to consider is the 7mm short action ultra mag. I here some GREAT accuracy reports and power goes without saying.here is an excersise for you, go with some people who have larger calibers to the range. Start with a small bore (223 or 22-250 etc) then shoot some 308's or 270's. then move up to a 30-06. If this still seems o.k., then shoot some magnums. keep in mind, if you are shooting light weight, wood stocked, pencil barrel rifles, (which mind you, there is nothing wrong woth them) they recoil much more than the Sendero even in a magnum caliber. If you can handle recoil well, I would have the Ultra mag or the Short Action Ultra Mag. I have heard and read some WICKED reports on those in Africa.

He Dog

Though I don't particularly like .30-06 and don't own one, I have to say that it is about the perfect caliber all around for elk, and probably gets used on mule deer more than any other single caliber. The seven rem mag recoils about like the .30-06, but the ammo choices for the -06 are nearly endless. If you must go 7 mag. The rem is the way to go. The STW is likely to be short lived, as already suggested.

the loveable rat...

thanks all- i'm away from the stw due to barrel life issues, and starting to lean to 300 mag(or still the 7 mag?)...and damn the recoil! i don't want to contribute any more wussines to an already unbearably wussified country where complaints about carpal tunnels and coffee thats too warm take precedence over caliber arguments. i was leaning earlier to 3006, but i'd like to have a "performance" gun, and prefereably only one....to save some money for a high dollar trout rod. God Bless The Remaining Portion Of Amercia!

He Dog

Recoil on any of them will not bother you much in the field, but you can get pounded sighting in and testing ammo to see what the new rifle likes. I would not call any of these "performance" rifles over the -06 and for a do it all rifle, I still think that is the top choice for any reasonable range.

ghotie_thumper

I've got a 7 mm rem mag and when shooting 175 grain hand loads it has noticeably more recoil than the 30-06 with 165 grain handloads. The hornady light magnum rounds for the 3006 are supposed to give you 300 win mag velocity so it still could be what you are looking for. I've loaded my 7mag down for deer with 120 grain ballistic tips. They don't kick bad at all and are devastating on deer when hit in the vitals or neck. Both the 7mag and 3006 are very versatile if you handload, with the edge imho going to the 3006 for versatility. I used the light magnums in a 308 a couple years ago on an elk hunt and found they were very effective.

Guns & Glass

When reading articles on many of the new "wonder cartridges", don't forget to wash off the B*ll s^#t off your hands.Shorter, fatter cases don't mean super accuracy! That's B*ll S^#t. Peroid.Ie., compare the Hornady Light Magnum performance in 30-06 vs 300 Win Mag as was previously mentioned.Ie., compare Federal's High Energy accuracy performance. In general....poor for the cost.Ie., compare Hornady Heavy Mag performance.Ie., a .308 Win will not out shoot a 30-06 at ultra long ranges in stock production rigs. The.308 is used because the military wanted a lower recoil round first, then cost savings in purchase price= more cartridge cases/lb. of brass & less powder used. There are simply many, many many more .308's used over the years than '06's, so there will be more advances. It's simply statistics.You are being "marketed" (even lied too)that bigger is better, newer is greater.I'm not promoting any cartridge over another, just simply suggesting reading between the lines.Incidently, recoil has always been a personal opinion, with each shooter having their own opinion. Opinions are formed usually by experience, reading, and word of mouth. All very suspect to accurate testing.Ie., using a "Classic" stock with a straight line top comb, will transfer more recoil energy to a shooter than a Monte Carlo with a cheek piece. This "absorbed energy" is known as "felt recoil". So, if you want a lower level of "felt recoil" pay more attention to stock design, composition, scope height, and last but (butt)least cartridge.

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Happy Bullet Holes!

the loveable rat...

uh...you're over my head, i'm just thinking that the max, best, fastest rifle i can afford to buy for colorado mule deer and elk and paper is a sendero in 7mm mag or 300. i think a 3006 is good enough and more versatile, but would prefer to shoot straighter, sooner(even if only paper targets), so i'd rather go 270 than 3006...i think...

He Dog

Actually none of that is really over your head, though I think that classic stocks transfer less felt recoil than Monte Carlo stocks and not more. I you look at ballistics tables, you will find that the ballistics on the 7 rem mag are not significantly different from the 300 win mag. Many people feel that the 30 caliber bullets "hit harder," because they are usually heavier. I think you are psyching yourself out a bit here, but if you want a belted mag. get one, no problem. Van Zwoll considers the 06 the best caliber for elk, and I think he is right. I do not notice much recoil difference in the 7 mag and the 06 personally, and I suspect you will be pretty happy with it. With lighter loads you can hunt mulies and with the heavier loads elk. Most of both in the west are killed at under 100 yards, so get what you like or what you want.