A few general LR questions - 7mm Mauser
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
epoletna
Well-Known Member
I believe you'll find that moose is large and takes a lot of knockdown power. Caribou and musk ox, not so much.
The rifle will handle all of those with the right bullet, at realistic ranges. I'm really a mauser fan and whether people like it or not every bolt action to this day can thank mauser. Now to the point of new rifle if you are going to hunt in the west I would buy a good rifle with a good synthetic stock, point being it can be 40 degrees start raining then the temp can drop to 0 your rifle is soaked it freezes the wood will contract which will put your point of impact off, I have noticed this evan on glass bedded wood stocks it has an effect. You dont have to spend 3000 dollars to get a good 600 yd rifle but the scope may get you a little. Sometimes not often though you can find a good used rifle at gun shows, but as hunting season comes to a end and christmass coming up there are deals out there. Good luck and again nice rifle a true classic.
The rifle will handle all of those with the right bullet, at realistic ranges. I'm really a mauser fan and whether people like it or not every bolt action to this day can thank mauser. Now to the point of new rifle if you are going to hunt in the west I would buy a good rifle with a good synthetic stock, point being it can be 40 degrees start raining then the temp can drop to 0 your rifle is soaked it freezes the wood will contract which will put your point of impact off, I have noticed this evan on glass bedded wood stocks it has an effect. You dont have to spend 3000 dollars to get a good 600 yd rifle but the scope may get you a little. Sometimes not often though you can find a good used rifle at gun shows, but as hunting season comes to a end and christmass coming up there are deals out there. Good luck and again nice rifle a true classic.
He also shot them in the eye socket. I'm not really looking to shoot a Moose in his eye.
epoletna
Well-Known Member
Not in the western US, he didn't!
Skimbleshanks
Well-Known Member
If you really want to get into long range then eventually you will start reloading. Eventually you will get a more modern rifle in a more modern cartridge. Until then shoot what you have, have fun and be safe. Learning that one rifle, what it can and can't do and what ranges you and it can perform at as a system will be invaluable when you move to other guns. 7 mauser is a fine hunting cartridge and should work on even elk sized game if you are patient and only take good shots. Bullet placement trumps cartridge. Oh and don't sell that gun to purchase another. When you get something else it will make a hell of a backup rifle should you have an issue mid season.
Fatbikefrank
Member
I was just thinking the same thing! A good friend of mine shot 2 moose with his 7x57. Both of them were under 100yards,but they went down quickly. He was a single father raising 4 kids. Certainly he didn't have money to spend on a new rifle. The 7mm he used on deer worked fine and I'm reasonably sure he used factory loads.
If it was my choice I would save my money for a new one and use what you have. In the meantime read some of the many post on here about different rifles and calibers. Lots of information to be had here and won't take long to figure out who really knows what their talking about. good luck
Reloading is easy when you start, and gets more complicated as you try for tighter and tighter groups. It doesn't have to be that expensive. Get a Lee hand press, and go to a gun show and pick up a scale, or a pot shop for a digital scale. Lee case trimmers rock too. Lee dies work well. I bought Redding dies with a dial seating die, which allows you to get repeatable settings on seating depth. You'll shoot better, and shoot more if you reload. I recommend Berger and Barnes and Hornady A-Maxbullets. You can shoot premium bullets and it still costs less than store bought. Don't let anyone tell you you need a magnum. You don't.
hunter0528
Well-Known Member
Check your local gun clubs. some of then offer clinics along with Bass Pro and Cabelas on reloading metallic cartridges. Usually only a couple of hours for a day course.
hunter0528
Well-Known Member
The real key is not necessarly knockdown power but bullet placement. Set a limit to your skills and work with that. In a previous post SWE123 mentioned Bell and some 800 elephants. He studied elephants and knew where exactly to place the round fired. If I remember correctly he even used surplus Military FMJ rounds.
Yes he did. He shot them in the eye to penetrate the socket and destroy the brain.
