Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 7MM Remington Magnum for Elk

What is the consensus of the Plain Jane 7MM magnum. It doesn't seem to get much press here like it's little brother the .280. What is the favorite load for this round for anchoring elk. The reason I am asking is that I have my eye on a used rifle in said caliber.

I would imagine that a 160 grain Partition in a Federal factory load would do quite well. My tuned 700 BDL lefty prefers it.
Bob

The 7mm RM is an excellent cartridge for elk. With many loads recoil is similar to a .30-06 but it can shoot a little flatter and deliver more retained velocity and energy to the target. My first centerfire was a 7mm RM back in 1982 and it was my elk rifle for the next 20+ years. I lost my first elk with it last year but that was due to poor placement rather than the cartridge or bullet. Most of the elk I’ve taken with the 7mm RM have gone straight down or taken only a few steps, with the notable exception of two cows that made it about 40 yards and the cow I lost last year due to poor placement (a failure on my fault, not the bullet or cartridge).

Because of the bullet velocity, I prefer premium bullets in my 7mm RM. In general order of preference:
1. 160g North Fork SS, 150g Barnes TTSX, 160g Trophy Bonded Tip (Federal)
2. 160g Nosler AccuBond, 160g Nosler Partition, 160g Speer Grand Slam
3. Cup-and-core bullets (Remington Core-lokt, Winchester Power Point, Nosler Ballistic Tip, etc.)

Full disclosure – I’ve not used all the bullets llisted above in my 7mm RM, but either use them in other rifles or have seen first-hand what they can do. Specifically, I’ve used only 120g and 140g Barnes TTSX in my 7mm RM but use other weights (100g to 180g) in rifles from my .257 Roberts to my .300 WM. My hunting buddy of many years used Trophy Bonded (pre-tip) for several years before going back to 160g Speer Grand Slams, which I used for 20+ years. I use Nosler AccuBonds in several calibers and weights, including my .280 Rem, but not in my 7mm RM. Finally, although Federal Premium 160g Nosler Partition loads were my backup ammunition for many years, I’ve never shot one in any weight or caliber at game and am relying on the results I’ve seen others achieve with them.

In spite of my preferences to the contrary, standard cup-and-core bullets will work fine most of the time. If Remington Cor-Lokt, Winchester Power-Point or whatever shoot well in your rifle, use them with confidence. Chances are you won’t see any difference when it comes to animals on the ground. My only suggestion there would be to stick with 160g or 175g bullet weights for the 7mm RM.

My favorite bullet for elk is the North Fork, which I use in my .280 Rem (140g), 7mm RM (160g), .308 Win and various .30-06 rifles (165g), .300WM (180g) and .45-70 (350g). Just ordered some more .308” 165g and 180g two days ago and plan to load the 165’s for Daughter #1’s .308 Win for her first elk hunt.

My plan this year is to take my new .280 Rem elk hunting. My bullet choice will be either a 140g North Fork SS or a 140g Barnes TTSX, probably the former. If I was taking my 7mmm RM it would be the 160g North Fork.

We had very good success with a the 7 mag with 154g hornady SP with a max load of R#25, Win mag primer at 3200 fps.

This load shoots holes through both shoulder of large hogs on broadside shots.

A few years back, I got two bulls over a couple of years, shot both with the then new 140g Nosler ballistic tip at 3250 fps. 200 yard running shots, grave yard dead when they hit the ground. Glad I did not hit the shoulder.

When I lived in Az., the #1 elk rifle was 30/06 and #2 was 270 Winchester, both with K Mart ammo. Many Experienced hunters that drew Cow tags preferred the 243 Winchester with K mart ammo.

K Mart ammo = Remington Core Loct

I used one back in seventies and early 80's.I had both Rem Mag and Weatherby mag. They both killed elk. I usually used the 175 gr Sierra, but at times the 169 gr.

This was back in my younger days. I had the wrong impression that the magnum could do something more than a 308 or .06 couldn't and thought I needed one to kill those tough elk with.

I don't do any long range shooting and to tell the truth I didn't see any difference in killing ability or such that see in my present day 30-06. Plus I burn less powder and have less recoil.

When I was escorting deer and elk hunters here in Colorado, quite a few showed up with this caliber. I only remember 1 bull that escaped after being hit. My guess was poor shot placement as the young kid doing the shooting was a poor shot and easily excited. I seldom have the luck others have with instant kills. Estimating half of the elk I have shot and my guest have shot had to be followed up and finished off. Nothing the caliber or bullet caused. Just poor shooting or bad angles. Never got many of the classic broadside shots. I have always preferred the Nosler Partions for everything from jackrabbit to elk.

I've never owned or even shot one but from what I've read, it's fairly easy to shoot out a barrel in one. That's common with most hot calibers smaller than 30 cal. They generate a lot of heat and shooting a lot of hot loads can seriously overheat one. Of course it can be done with larger cals, too, but it's easier with smaller ones.

That said, the 7mm is famous for being an excellent elk round.

I have owned several over the years, think there 2-3 in safe now. Probably my favorite "Wal-mart" test caliber, meaning I can find it about anywhere that I might need to.

I can't quote round counts, or stats on barrel life, but IMHE you'll shoot your shoulder sore many times over before the barrel burns out. Most guys don't shoot the 7mm enough to make this a problem, unless they are an active "F" class competitor.

I like the round with a quality bullet for elk, and it has worked for me:

Nice bull, AH64guy!

A 140 or 160 gr. Accubond should serve you well in the 7 mag.

If you want to burn a barrel, take about any centerfire rifle and shoot 100 rounds through it as fast as you can. My 7mm RM was made in 1982 and was my only bolt-action big game rifle for 20+ years and remains one of my most used. It has been used for everything from range practice to prairie dogs, coyotes, antelope, deer and elk. Based on the number of primers I purchased over the years, it has at least 2,500 rounds through it and is still a very accurate rifle. That said, I’ve always been careful not to heat the barrel up. Even at the range it was rare for me to go 5 rounds at a time. Most often 3 rounds was the maximum before allowing the barrel to cool. I expect the barrel will last longer than I will.

Thanks,

The ammo was the Hornady Custom load, in 162 grain IIRC. It was one of the first loads I tried, and held around MOA, so I didn't fool with it.

I would also submit that finding a good performing factory load for your 7mm rifle is not difficult.

I don't think the 7mm is a great leap ahead of the 30-06 in elk land, and the difference is largely preference over an actual performance gap. YMMV.

The velocity is similar to the 7 WSM which I have seen a fair number of game killed with. Have seen two elk shot with a 7mm Remington mag. One was shot with Remington factory ammo loaded with 175 grain Corelokts. I can recommend this bullet but it is NOT a long range bullet. The other was shot using 160 Partition. I can also recommend this load.

In 7WSM ( same basic velocity) I have seen several slammed with 180 Bergers which I can also recommend.

My old 7mm Rem. is about 1200 rounds old.. It is a great round..
It was my wife's favorite the last years she hunted..

My best friend and his son have probably killed 50 elk with the 7mm mag. Mostly they shoot 150 Balistic tips.. At times the 160 gr. part. With good hand loads it will preform like a true magnum..

As far as barrel life, I have an old Guns magazine around here that reported Les Bowman shooting his 7mm Rem. 5000 rounds and it was still accurate.. The guy who wrote the article said his had 3500 rds and was still accurate.. This was long before the days of good cronographs..

I used one for quite a while back in the day as I was climbing the cartridge latter. It's a very capable cartridge for elk though I took more deer with it than anything else and, of course, it was and is a very good long range deer cartridge. Of course, you don't "need" it for deer.

I think the comparison with the '06 as far as recoil is concerned is probably a good one though in the day before LRFs I appreciated that it shot a bit flatter. With a +2.5" at a 100, zero at 225-250, - 4-6" at 300, and a - 15" or so at 400, you were - 30-36" at 500 yards, depending on specific loads. This way you could hold on deer hair to 350 and knowing the size of deer made 400 yard broadside shots very doable; that is, if you were a good range estimator. Of course it was even easier with elk.

Any bullet from a 150-gr premiums to 175's will work well with elk and you can normally reach 2900-3000 fps with 175's and good hand loads.

Despite the plethora of new cartridges, particularly the short-fats, it is still a good choice.

Nice pic AH64guy.

I burned out the barrel in my Model 70 7mm RM, but it involved a lot of shooting. When I say burned out, the accuracy deteriorated to 3" groups at 100 yds.

I was never that impressed with the performance on elk. It always resulted in a dead elk, but the results left one to wonder if a moose had been hit. Most elk would walk off and stand with their head down, teeter around a bit, and eventually fall over. I used 175 Noslers, 162 gr Hornadys. 160 gr. Speers, and always hit the lungs.

When I re-barreled the Winchester to .358 Norma Magnum, I discovered what knock-down power really meant. Elk dropped immediately, even at longer ranges. I do love the big bores.

Just to add some fun to the conversation, the most immediate elk kill I have witnessed was carried out by a .270 Win and Federal 130 gr. soft points.

It is a most excellent choice. I have tried the .300 magnums a couple of times because on paper they look like the ideal all-purpose western cartridges. But the recoil is just enough that I cannot shoot them as well as I would like. Dropping down to the 7 Rem Mag made the difference.

I will never say it is better than the 30-06 as an elk rifle, but the higher velocity with bullets of similar BC will give the 7 less wind drift.

Not to be too picky, but the .358 Norma Magnum is a medium bore. It is still a very good cartridge, though.

Good point Coyote_Hunter...I think the British believe "big bore" is defined by .375" or above?

My brother and I will be chasing elk with ours this fall with the 160 gr Accubond