28 nosler vs 7RM

[nmbarta]

I just went through this and ended up with building a 7x300 win mag.
I'd take the 7rm over the 28 for 800 yard elk. It has more than enough.
The real difference at 800 yards, is 12-20 inches of drop, and 200-300 ft-lbs depending on how you set them up. The 28 will buck the wind a little better, in a 10 mph wind, the 28 will save you between 2 and 3 inches of drift.
The 28 hits harder for sure, but the 7rm hits hard enough at 800 to kill anything on the continent. At 1000-1200 isn the 28 starts to makes more sense to me.
All of that and I went and built a 7x300 win mag.
Cost/brass availability/recoil/barrel life/one less round in the mag, are really the only cons I see with the 28. If none of that matters to you, the 28 will do everything else better.

 

[cape cove]

If I was building a rifle with custom barrel and twist I would take a long look at the 7mm Wea mag. With a 175 gr bullet I can get 3157 ft/sec from a 26" barrel. Seems to me to be a good balance between the cartridges mentioned when it comes to velocity and trajectory as well as powder consumption , barrel life and recoil/To take advantage of the high BC bullets you would want a faster twist than the standard Weatherby one. JMO

 

[mfk]

There is a reason the 7 mag is the, or one of the #1 elk cratridges. The guys on long range hunting shows have been killing animals over 1000 yds with them long before the 28 Nosler was born.
I find it laughable that the hunting community has been brainwashed (marketing) into thinking they need a howitzer to elk hunt with, but innumerable elk-sized animals have been harvested with the .243, 30-06, 7mm-08 and .270, as-well-as many other "lesser" cartridges.

true, many calibers would work, you just have to know your real distance limits based on external and terminal ballistic info as well as known accuracy of your gun, your abilities and conditions. the other side of it: I heard a kid took down a grizzly with a .22 but that does not mean it makes sense to hunt grizzly with a .22. Nor do I think it is a great game plan to take a .243 on a western trip for elk. there are better options. 7mm rm is a great caliber!

 

[Christopher Hanes]

I'm also debating between a 7 RM and a 28 Nosler. Lots of great points here for each. Not helpful, lol. I'm really leaning toward the "get there the fastest with the mostest" mentality, but the cost of ammo for the 28 is what gives me hesitation.

 

[Trevor Ogden]

I just did the same thing. I ended up ordering a 28 nosler throated for the 195 bergers from Ryan pierce at piercision rifles. If ammo is a worry I would defiantly do the 7mm. I have been searching for 2 months to get everything to reload. I'm still only have 1 box of the 195's and only 4 pounds of n570 so hopefully I can find some more before my gun is ready. My idea was just to buy enough reloading components to get me to the end of the barrel life. Then If I decide I don't want the 28 rebarrel to something different. I chose the 28 mainly because I want to hunt to 1000 yards but target shoot to a mile or more. The 28 is just so flat it makes that easier to achieve with turrets. Either way I think you will be happy and they are both capable of everything you or I could want.

 

[Weatherby Fan]

Reality is either 7mm will get the job done and you won't be wrong with either choice, just depends on your style of hunting/shooting you do, if you want to shoot out to 800-1000 yards and beyond go 28 Nosler if your inside of that 7mm Rem is just fine, but in most cases when guys start chronographing 7mm rem mag ammo its a fairly anemic cartridge, you are limited in factory ammo with the 28 Nosler to that company and its pricy.

I built a Custom 28 Nosler on a 1991 Rem 700 action, 26" #3 fluted Benchmark Barrel, Wildcat Stock and it was very snappy to shoot, Scope was grazing my forehead every shot so I put a brake on it and tamed it right down and its a pleasure to shoot now,
I just shoot Factory Nosler ammo as its extremely accurate as is, a rifle like that has an intended purpose and its not my idea of an everyday hunting rifle if your doing lots of walking, I hunt with a 280AI for most of my backpack hunting which is more than adequate.

 

[Christopher Hanes]

I just did the same thing. I ended up ordering a 28 nosler throated for the 195 bergers from Ryan pierce at piercision rifles. If ammo is a worry I would defiantly do the 7mm. I have been searching for 2 months to get everything to reload. I'm still only have 1 box of the 195's and only 4 pounds of n570 so hopefully I can find some more before my gun is ready. My idea was just to buy enough reloading components to get me to the end of the barrel life. Then If I decide I don't want the 28 rebarrel to something different. I chose the 28 mainly because I want to hunt to 1000 yards but target shoot to a mile or more. The 28 is just so flat it makes that easier to achieve with turrets. Either way I think you will be happy and they are both capable of everything you or I could want.

What is barrel life looking like on the 28?

 

[Trevor Ogden]

What is barrel life looking like on the 28?

Depends on the accuracy your wanting to achieve. I have heard 700-800 rounds usually if you want sub 1/2moa. If your just wanting a hunting gun you could probably squeeze 800-1200 and stay under 1 moa. I'm guessing I will get in the 900-1100 range for what I'm looking for but I really don't have first hand experience with the 28 yet. It also will depend on how hot it's loaded. There are guys that ryan has built rifles for that are shooting 195s 3150-3200fps I'm shooting more for a 3050fps load. I'm going to baby it and see what I can get. If I can get over 1000 then I will probably rebarrel into a 28 again.

 

[jreagle]

extra velocity is always nice; but how much do you really need though for the conditions of your use and is the trade off worth it when comparing to something that uses a lesser powder charge? only you can decide.
edit - cost, quality, and availability of reloading components usually have some weight in the decision making process for me

 

[Christopher Hanes]

The practical side of me says go with the 7 RM. I already own the reloading components and ammo is easy to get and less expensive. The other part of me says "what if we need to shoot a ground hog at a mile and need the extra umph", lol

 

[Trevor Ogden]

The practical side of me says go with the 7 RM. I already own the reloading components and ammo is easy to get and less expensive. The other part of me says "what if we need to shoot a ground hog at a mile and need the extra umph", lol

Haha exactly that's pretty much where I was at. I'm wanting to build a lighter weight 7mm next just for hunting but I dunno we will see. My 28 should be around 7.5 pounds but I put a NF atacr so it will probably be around 10 with the scope

 

[Tidus56]

For me, I think its either go all out and get the great performance and deal with the kick and cost. Or simply go with a tame cartridge thats nice to shoot and will get the job done under 600. I decided the cost and recoil was worth having the performance. so the 28 Nosler made more sense to me. After shooting a 9 pound 7 RM and a 9.5 pound 28 Nosler (both using same muzzle brake) I decided recoil wasn't an issue after all. Truthfully even with the brake off it wasnt a big deal. The only advantage I could see for me of the 7 RM was brass prices and to me its a hunting rifle how much brass do you need? Also looking at powder who cares if you use 20 grains more? Its a hunting cartridge you'll use 75 shots a year, its just not a big deal. The ballistic advantages of the 28 Nosler out weigh the cost JMHO. With that said I have seen people get the job done with a 243 on a cow elk at 600 yards, that was an epic hunting experience!

 

[Tidus56]

Haha exactly that's pretty much where I was at. I'm wanting to build a lighter weight 7mm next just for hunting but I dunno we will see. My 28 should be around 7.5 pounds but I put a NF atacr so it will probably be around 10 with the scope

My 28 Nosler weighs 10.3 pounds and its a joy to shoot.

 

[Trevor Ogden]

For me, I think its either go all out and get the great performance and deal with the kick and cost. Or simply go with a tame cartridge thats nice to shoot and will get the job done under 600. I decided the cost and recoil was worth having the performance. so the 28 Nosler made more sense to me. After shooting a 9 pound 7 RM and a 9.5 pound 28 Nosler (both using same muzzle brake) I decided recoil wasn't an issue after all. Truthfully even with the brake off it wasnt a big deal. The only advantage I could see for me of the 7 RM was brass prices and to me its a hunting rifle how much brass do you need? Also looking at powder who cares if you use 20 grains more? Its a hunting cartridge you'll use 75 shots a year, its just not a big deal. The ballistic advantages of the 28 Nosler out weigh the cost JMHO. With that said I have seen people get the job done with a 243 on a cow elk at 600 yards, that was an epic hunting experience!

I say go 28 nosler. If you want a custom one give ryan pierce at piercision rifles a call he is great to work with and his 28 nosler shoot .1 or .2 inch groups