Probably already been said but the ammo is way cheaper for the 308, in terms of paper punching. I was at academy the other day and noticed cheap steel ammo running $9.99 a box. As far as hunting ammo( its been a while since I bought ammo for a 7mag) 308 ammo is, as far as I can remember, significantly cheaper as well. With a wider range of available loads for the 308.

308

Recoil (high), barrel life (low), ammo cost (high), meat loss (high). If one only shoots limited times a year then might as well go for it. If it was my only gun and planned to do target shooting too with it then I would go with something else. Distances in question are short and game is small.

Also if the person in question hunts without hearing protection, there is another reason to consider a milder round. You will still lose your hearing but it takes a longer time to go completely deaf.

While it's fun to discuss potential calibers when choosing a new rifle and ask real world opinions to make a informed purchase. It really boils down to what your buddy actually wants. No poll or ammount of replys can make up his mind. My advise...go to a range and see if they have a loaner in each caliber, try em both out and see what he likes. Is he dead set on 7mag and 308? My vote would be for the .270, a truly great Texas caliber.

For what he is looking to do, many great calibers to choose from, including .270. Of course with a 7RM he is not going to run out of gun if he ever decides to hunt bigger game. If this is an inexperienced hunter/shooter then I don't recommend it of course.

In my opinion if you run out of gun with a 270 then you ran out with a 7mag too.

Any way, you say you think he should get a 7mag, so Im guessing he thinks he wants a 308... right?

I know you say from 50-300 yards but In all practicality im bettin shots will be quite a bit shorter than 300 yards on the average.

Bottom line is he needs to get what he wants. I have never shot an animal over 225 yards and that one animal that was at 225 was a hog 1 shot in the head drt kill with a 222 rem. However I have a 300 wby, why because I like it.

The 308 will be cheaper, probably easier to shoot, less recoil and noise, and probably a smaller frame faster handling gun for shooting hogs... but I alway swanted a 7mag of some variety too.

matt

agreed

My usual response:

Get 'em both! Man can't have too many guns!

Hell, I would just go with a 270!

However, if you are stuck between with the two choices, I would go with 308, killed probably 40 to 50 deer, hogs, whatever. Ammo is everywhere, accurate and it is relatively cheap compared to other rounds.

22 for punchin paper 308 for hunting

as "popular" as the .308 seems to be, in the last 6 years of guiding hunts, i only have had 2 come thru camp.

Personally, i only know two people that have them outside of an AR platform

270 is all you need

7mm-08 alittle of both maybe.

^^^
I was patiently waiting for it to be said.

170-180gr with 3000fps muzzle velocity is something that .270 isn't capable of. In 130-150gr 7RM is only about 5-6% increase in energy. If you hunt big game at longer ranges then 7RM has a huge advantage over .270 as the heavy bullet with high BC (f.e. 180gr Berger VLD) will retain its energy much better than a lighter .277 bullet will.

150gr .277 Berger VLD @ 3000fps has 1568ft-lb of energy at 500 yards while the 180gr .284 VLD has 2150. At 1000y 749 and 1207 respectively. 22% more at 100y, 37% more at 500y and 61% at 1000y. Even if you send the 180gr 100fps slower than the 150gr, it will still have much more energy. Faster .277 has slightly flatter trajectory until 550-600 yards after which the .284 has less drop.

Recoil (high) Some people are not recoil shy.

barrel life (low) I hunt so shooting the barrel out is not a factor.

ammo cost (high) Ya gotta pay for the extra performance.

meat loss (high) Don 't shoot them in the meat.

Have seen 300mag, 270, 7mm-08 suggested. Was the OP read prior to those suggestions?

A lot of these only matter if you don't shoot a lot during the year. Still, I'd pick the caliber based on the situation and game. Why select a caliber with high performance when that performance isn't even put to good use? Might as well shoot these itsy bitsy Texas deer with a .338 Lapua Magnum then...

I am beginning to think that I need to reconsider all my guns except the 50BMG: Hope it has enough power for coyotes, bobcats, and hogs

Good point, sorry. Back on topic. I would get the 7mag, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

That performance is never wasted.



Personaly I'll stick with my 300 Weatherby's, you shoot what ya want. I've got a buddy who's been using a 338 Win Mag for over 25 years.

Don't you have any tall friends

Just one and he goes by 7mag.

308

Sorry, didn't realize you only hunt bears.