Use Enough Gun

[Swamp Rat]

The muzzle flash and noise level from a Browning muzzle break are the only real issues I have with my 7mag. The first time I shot a deer with it I was too blind from the flash to know if I hit it and my ears rang for 3 days.

I now know that hearing protection is my friend.

The only hunting rifle I have that isn't suppressed is my old Swedish Mauser. I LOVE hunting suppressed... and so does my hearing...

[ADP]

If you're using a Browning gun with the Boss system you can get a factory CR sleeve. No more flash and not lounder than any other traditional rifle.

[WhitewaterDuck]

Don’t know if you’ve made a decision or not, but look at 28 nosler. I’m trying to put together the “perfect” long range rifle capable of knocking down elk at 1000 yards if needed while still being a good whitetail and antelope gun…meaning there won’t be ridiculous meat loss if I screw up and miss the double lung and get into the shoulders. I’ve been a 270 guy all my life, but the BC and weight of the 270 bullets don’t lend to accurate long range shooting in the Wyoming wind. Thought about 30s, but I’m worried about the beating a 30 cal will deliver in an ultralight gun. 28 nosler spits heavy, high BC 7mm bullets at ridiculous velocities out of a standard, 30-06 length cartridge thus standard length action. Ammo is more expensive, but their popularity is increasing and prices are coming down. Throat burn is an issue if you will be shooting it a ton, but it’ll take me a lifetime to put 800 rounds (where most say throat burn starts affecting accuracy) through it in hunting situations. I think the maximum point blank range…where you can aim dead center of a deer sized animal’s body and hit the vitals without any turret adjustment…is ~364 yards with a 175 grain bullet, and it’s capable of easily knocking an elk in the dirt out to 1100 yards or more. 7mm mag is probably a better choice if you are keeping shots inside of 800 yards due to ammo price and availability, but I’m wanting the option of dropping something at 1,000 if necessary.

[WhitewaterDuck]

Y’all probably watch or know of this guy, but just in case, he seems to be a great resource when it comes to researching different rifle calibers for getting into what will fit what you want. This is just a discussion of the various 7mm options, but he has vids on just about any options out there.

[Tha Dick]

Don’t know if you’ve made a decision or not, but look at 28 nosler.

FWIW, The 28 Nosler's I've fooled with have been very picky on load development. Just be prepared that you may have to settle on 3/4MOA at best.

[WhitewaterDuck]

FWIW, The 28 Nosler's I've fooled with have been very picky on load development. Just be prepared that you may have to settle on 3/4MOA at best.

Thanks for that info. I haven’t yet made up my mind, and was hoping to get some real world feedback prior to pulling the trigger.

[FLS]

If you know anyone that has one, get some trigger time behind a 28 Nosler. The difference in recoil between it and a big 30 is insignificant.
A 7RM and 280 Ackley burn a third less powder and still have enough velocity to make a hunting bullet expand well at 1K.

[WhitewaterDuck]

I just pulled the trigger and purchased a Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT in 7mm rem mag. Got four boxes of Hornady SST 162 gr bullets to break the barrel in with and will reload the brass with 162 eld hunters…I think. Going to top it with a vx6hd 4x24x52. Hoping I can get to know it and get some loads that will shoot tight at loooong distances before October. I’ll post my experiences with getting it dialed in once I’ve got it dialed in.

[FLS]

Nice rifle.

[nitro5x6's]

I just pulled the trigger and purchased a Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT in 7mm rem mag. Got four boxes of Hornady SST 162 gr bullets to break the barrel in with and will reload the brass with 162 eld hunters…I think. Going to top it with a vx6hd 4x24x52. Hoping I can get to know it and get some loads that will shoot tight at loooong distances before October. I’ll post my experiences with getting it dialed in once I’ve got it dialed in.

Great choices. 7 Rem Mag is capable. Couple friends have the Christensens and are well pleased.

[Swamp Rat]

Good choice. I've likely bought my last centerfire rifle UNLESS I go out west. In which I'd do something similar - buy a lighter 7mm RM than the one I have now. I think that 7mm Rem Mag is likely one of the most versatile cartridges for about anything that walks in North America. Although I may go bigger for a brown bear. But... I ain't gonna hunt brown bear. So... 7mm it is.

That's a LOT of glass for that rifle... Good glass though. I may have gone with the 3-18 myself (either 44mm or 50mm), but you won't be disappointed.

I'm in the pref points buying cycle in Wyoming. Maybe one day...

[WhitewaterDuck]

Break in…not sure, but it’s listed in the CA website. There is debate about the necessity of such a break in period, but I’m going to defer to my bud out here who’s gun I used to kill the big boy last year; it is a CA in 7mm mag, and the first time I “pulled the trigger” ( more like I thought about squeezing and the gun went off before the thought reached my finger), I hit a yoga-ball sized rock at 850+ yards in a 15mph quartering to wind. His gun is a long range tack driver, so whatever he suggests, I’m going with it.

I got too caught up in the numbers over the last year trying to figure out what I wanted. To a long range firearms novice like me, the 28 Nosler looked like a no-brainer on paper. I have just enough experience with rifles to have had a gut feeling that all may not be as it seems, and thanks to the replies on here for giving me some real-word insight. I’m sure you can dial a 28 nosler in to be as accurate as anything out there, but I’m also sure it would take a LOT of time and effort and money between the reloading bench and range to do it.

7mm mag seems less finicky to get dialed in tight, and my bud has shot mule deer and elk at 700+ yards without any issues with them dying rapidly. If I can’t get to 700-900 yards from a big bull elk, then it wasn’t meant to be….and I’ll be in the market for a 300 ultra-mag on a 12+ lb rig!

[WhitewaterDuck]

On a different but related note…I just want to brag about how freaking cool my wife is and how extremely blessed I am that God brought me through a plethora of could-have-beens in my debauchery-filled 20s to run head-first into Abby when I was absolutely not looking for or expecting to find love…and it was love at first sight. We both knew we were going to marry each other within 30 minutes of meeting; I knew in ten minutes, but she says it took her 30. But I digress.

Knowing I’d held off on buying a long distance gun trying to make my 270s work out here, and knowing that I’d had to borrow a gun to kill big-boy last year, she was all for me getting a new rig. As I looked for what I wanted, I kept running up the ladder to GunWerks. What a deal! 12k for a sub 1/2 MOA gun with a Kahles scope with custom turrets for two different loads, a superior hard case, and ten boxes of ammo hand-loaded to the absolute best load for that particular barrel/gun. Break in is completed by the staff while developing the ideal load, and you get a “free” invite to their long-range shooting school. Heck, I even saw a SkunkWerks package for a little more cash that included an African Safari with the purchase!

Abby was shocked when I told her I was thinking of going that route, (had I settled on 28 nosler, I woulda likely gone with Gunwerks, as it might have cost me more getting a different gun broken in and shooting well), but she didn’t protest much.

When I told her CA had started shipping the Ridgeline FFT and I was about to make the purchase, she stopped me and asked, “are you sure you won’t regret not buying that “skunk-gun?” Then “happy father’s day, get what you are going to love.”

Yup…amazing wife, mom, woman, and child of God (and she’s ultra hot too), and I’m blessed beyond measure. This post is not to boast, but to let any of the young whippersnappers out there know not to settle; God will lead you to all the people you are supposed to have in your life and to all the places you are supposed to go…all in His perfect timing for us;” so pray, listen, and obey.

I mean, you’ll never get quite as lucky as me, because there’s only one Golden Horseshoe, and I’ll never let you close enough to my blind-side to snatch it, but God will bless you beyond what your mind can comprehend if you’ll just give up some control of the steering and let Him lead the way. God-bless