BobinNH...Enjoyed reading your post about the birth of the 7mm Rem. magnum. The names you named (Warren Page, Mike Walker, Fred Hunington of RCBS and Les Bowman) bring a LOT of nostalgia and gun-know-how with 'em. In fact, Fred Huntington made up a set of custom reloading dies for my .338 Win. Magnum 'way back in the early 1960s when he was getting RCBS on the map!
Yep... the ol' 7mm Rem. Magnum is a fine cartridge, not doubt about it. It's hard to beat an almost "perfect" hunting cartrige when it does everything well and doesn't kick your brains out.
Both of my sons (now in their late 40's) shoot 7mm Rem. Magnums as their deer & big game rifles... and their rifles get the job done.
And if you want a little "softer" recoil, the 7mm Rem. Magnum can easily be "loaded down" a bit by a handloader to make the recoil closer to the .270 Win. range. Although, frankly... I've shot my son's 7mm's... and the recoil isn't bad at all... not nearly as much as my .338 Win. Magnum in which I usually shoot a hot load of 210 grain Nosler Partitions.
It's hard to believe that just 70 more grains of bullet weight (.338 = 210 grains vs. 7mm = 140 grains) can make such a big difference in "sensed" recoil, but it does.
If I were going to buy and own just one big game rifle, it would be in 7mm Remington Magnum.
Strength & Honor...
Ron T.
