Thread: 7mm rem mag ammo availability

the other thing to consider is how many shots you are going to need in a year

lately im under a box a year, It only usually takes two shots per animal once your sighted in
one to put it down and one to finish it

I got chased by a stag with big antlers that Id knocked out so I really recommend that second finishing shot between the eyes

I’m not convinced a Magnum is the best rifle to buy as your “First” ideally you want something that fits you well, you can afford to shoot a bit at the range to get comfortable and competent with, I’ve seen plenty of new shooters getting beat up at the range with rifles that are beyond them, they develop flinches and poor techniques and most of all don’t have fun.

Better to shoot well with a smaller rifle than badly with a bigger one. There’s nothing in NZ you can’t shoot with a 243 & 100gn Bullets.

First question is what type of hunting will you be doing? Open tops, back of farm, bush, type of game?

With the shortages of ammo at the moment I’d look at 308/270 with a suppressor or 243, 7-08, 6.5 Creedmoor

And yes an unsuppressed 270 does have a decent recoil but it’s less than a magnum! You can always trade up to a bigger rifle later on, another point is invest in a good quality scope.

My first hunting rifle was a .270 and I owned it before suppressors were a thing. On the range I would notice the recoil after 10 rounds or so, never felt it actually shooting deer.
At the time I weighed about 65kgs so there wasn't much of me to absorb the recoil.
A suppressor would have made it more comfy to shoot, a muzzle brake would reduce recoil even more, not all ranges allow muzzle brakes though, not a problem if you have private land to shoot on.
That said... given the availability of ammo at the moment, .308 would be a good choice. It will kill anything in NZ.

learning with a 7RM is a good way to develop a flinch too
at the time I was shooting the caliber it was $3.50 per shot
I imagine it has gone up substantially since then