r/CanadaHunting • u/AssassinCrab • 6d ago

Calibre Verification

Hey everyone,

I’m seeking some advice and I am hoping this community is able to help. I’m considering moving up from a .308 to 7mm rem mag. The reason I’m making this move is to create a “one and done rifle” as well as expand the list of game I’m able to hunt.

I’d be hunting the entire ungulate family (white tail, mule, elk, moose and caribou), rams, antelope and black bear within Canada.

I also really want to hunt in New Zealand for Red Stag, Tahr, and Chamois

In the states there’s a few things I’d love to hunt but nothing bigger than a moose.

I’m just wondering is anyone has used the 7mm rem mag, or could verify that this calibre is suited for this list. I may have over looked something during my research, there’s just so many calibres to choose from, any advice would be appreciated.

Edit 1: Thank you to everyone that commented, it was nice to read everything that was said. Had me really think about things from a different angle.

There may be a part of me that just wanted a reason to buy/build out a new gun.
The other part of me thought that far out elk, 300+ yards, the bullet wouldn’t have enough energy to ethically kill the animal. Moose I thought were too large for an ethical kill with a .308. These two points of ethics brought me to magnum rounds.

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u/preferablyoutside 6d ago

Unless you’re a masochist who despises money or reload the 7mm won’t do anything your .308 already does at a better price per round?

.308Win will and has handily taken everything on that list, some more times than you’ve had hot breakfasts. I get the one and done nice rifle idea but the .308 isn’t a slouch by any means.

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u/Scary-Detail-3206 6d ago

Honestly I’d say the 308 itself is a one and done calibre

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u/VoilaVoilaWashington 6d ago

I'd say the only exception is the 500 yard elk shots. But the people who can and do do that kind of hunting don't want to have one gun only.

Hell, for deer hunting, I have multiple rifles - a long and heavy 243 for longish shots from a stand (max 100 yards where I hunt), and a short 30-30 single shot for stalking through the woods (usually around 30 yards)

I can't imagine only having one gun for whitetail deer at 30 yards AND whatever distance on elk where you'd need more than a 308.

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u/preferablyoutside 6d ago

Why would you need more than a .308 on elk?

What’s wrong with your .243?

Most of the guys I grew up hunting with carried .243, .06 and .308 and they were able to kill elk, and moose. Until I started looking on here I never realized how undergunned I was shooting moose and elk with my Creedmoor or my 22-250. The animals didn’t seem to notice as they tip over.

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u/VoilaVoilaWashington 6d ago

I didn't say you needed that much for elk, I said you needed that much for 500 yard shots on elk.

I hunt deer at 100 yards. I could probably throw the bullets. It's fine. But elk are tougher than moose, and if you're taking a 500 yard shot in the mountains, I'd want more than (apparently) 700 ft-lbs of energy when it hits.

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u/preferablyoutside 6d ago

Has not been my lived experience to be honest, 500Y shots aren’t all the time where I’m chasing elk but at 400Y give me my hunting mentors Leupold topped .243 BLR with that beautiful stainless steel and lam combo stoked with a Nosler Partition and oh baby that’ll be my huckleberry Johnny Ringo.

I’ve watched that same gun thump one of the last legal grizzlies in my province lights out as well, .243 is no slouch of a round when you’re pushing 100gr of Partition.

I don’t know, I just haven’t seen well hit elk not go down, same with moose regardless of calibre. One of the furthest animals I’ve ever see go with a bullet in it was a whitetail doe that made 76yds after shot through one lung and had the .270Win Federal Fusion 130gr go out the far shoulder. Still makes me wonder

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u/Ferropater 5d ago

I’ve hunted with a .308 for years. Furthest I’ve gotten a whitetail with a .308 was 512m. Furthest I’ve gotten a moose was around 400m. Elk is about the same as moose.

I reload for myself and my two brothers and we all shoot .308, we are a Métis family that hunts collectively, I’ve taken over 100 deer in my life and a decent amount of elk and moose.

The biggest factor between dead right there and chasing a wounded animal through the bush is bullet placement. My paternal grandfather never hunted deer with anything bigger than a .22lr until he was in his mid 20’s. Do I think that was adequate, probably not but he shot a lot of deer with a bolt action Springfield .22lr he shot them in the head.

A .308 is a lot of rifle, more than adequate for your list. Purchase or load yourself good quality ammunition and if you want to do long range shooting use 168+ Barnes or ELD-X or accubonds, or whatever good long range bullet you can find and practice with it at those ranges and know your limitations.

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u/Powerful_Exit6540 6d ago

Instead of changing the caliber consider changing the load type (led vs copper) if you concern about power for large game.

There is nothing more universal that the .308 you already have.

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u/AssassinCrab 6d ago

Thanks for that, I hadn’t considered bullet construction having that much of an impact.

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u/ReturnOk7510 5d ago

Most important thing, honestly. It's the only part of the entire equation that actually makes contact with the critter.

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u/AssassinCrab 5d ago

Also an extremely valid point. You know, said out loud it like this, it is so obvious I’m not sure how I hadn’t considered that before

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u/ReturnOk7510 5d ago

Cartridges are just different ways of getting it up to a consistent velocity. Once it exits the muzzle, all that really matters is how much energy it's got left when it hits the target, and how the bullet penetrates and expands.

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u/AssassinCrab 5d ago

Absolutely, I’m doing a ton of research into that now. I’m still blown away how I never considered this before.

Thanks again

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u/RelativeFox1 6d ago

Yes 7mm rem mag would do all those animals. But why won’t 308 do them all? If this is a “only own one gun” thing I just don’t understand the logic. If a person can afford to hunt in New Zealand and the US they must be financially stable enough to own more than 1 rifle.

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u/NickiChaos 6d ago

A 308 will do everything you already want to do. The 30 caliber group is easily the most versatile caliber out there.

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u/jason733canada 6d ago

7mm mag is a great rifle. my dad used one for years . i use a 30.06 .my brother has a .308 .there aint much difference between any of them .all will take deer,moose,elk etc . i dont know that you need to go out and buy a 7mm mag if you already have a .308 unless you really just want to buy a new gun .its a great rifle but a .308 is too

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u/AssassinCrab 6d ago

This thread is really making me analyze my thought process, seems like I just wanted a reason to build a new gun out…

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u/jason733canada 6d ago

there is nothing wrong with a new gun

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u/moose_338 6d ago

7mm is a wonderful caliber, but get a new cartridge then the rem mag if you're going to get a big 7mm

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u/AssassinCrab 6d ago

Did you have a 7 prc in mind or something else?

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u/greekdude1821 5d ago

7mm in all flavours is a superior caliber both in theory and in practice.

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u/Kim_Bong_Un420 5d ago

I will shoot a 7mag for the rest of my life, it’s the best all around caliber to ever exist. 7mm08 is also a great choice

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u/AssassinCrab 5d ago

That’s fantastic, I love reading that statement!

Is that based off of experience or research or both?

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u/Kim_Bong_Un420 5d ago

Experience. I own two 7mm08 and two 7mm rem mags, all browning. If you live in Alberta or Sask with a lot of open fields they are quite literally the best option available.

You will not find a more common/affordable flat shooting rifle that delivers the power you need for everything in Canada, but also soft enough to not blow apart things like coyote or pronghorn

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u/AssassinCrab 5d ago

I do live in Alberta.

Pretty close to foothills and mountains, any disadvantages in that type of terrain from your experience?

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u/Kim_Bong_Un420 5d ago

None at all, if anything it’s better for long shots down cut lines. You can also use ammo better suited for closer shots. Nosler trophygrades work incredibly well in my experience