Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Why has the 7Rmag lost its popularity??

Isn't that the truth!

It may not be as popular among younger or newer hunters as it used to be, but people who have used it generally still like it!

I have noticed a good many of the people I've hunted with since the 1970's seem too worried about the recoil to even shoot it.

But this is not an accurate fear. I'm a small frame guy of 5'-8" and when they watch me shoot it at the range it blows me around, but really doesn't hurt.
Then when I shoot their .308s for example, they punch the hell out of me, but they don't push me around. So, they don't believe me when I say their 308 actually is just as painful if not more so than my 7 mag.

From the bench:
7 Rem mag 40 rounds with maybe very mild sore shoulder.
Less than 8 lb. 308, 15 to 20 rounds = sore shoulder.

My .300 WM does everything I'd ask a .300 WBY to do. If the .300 WM won't do the job I'll take my .338 WM over a .300 WBY.

Frankly, I'd take another .30-06 over a .300 WBY, and I already have three.

Only you would load a 300 WBY to 300 Win Mag levels...

I was in Gunsmith school (many many years ago) when it first came out. Built one up out of a Mark 1 Springfield action, Douglas supreme bbl and a Yamawood stock with a Leupold of course. Still shoots inch groups and if I told you how many animals it has taken over the years especially the long shots I shouldn't have made you would call me a liar. Love it. I also shoot a 7mm-08 around here because I like the 7 calibers. One last note, anyone who thinks a 270 is as good as a 7 mag I think has a mental issue or has read to much Jack O"Conner.

No bigger fan of JOC than myself, and I love the 270 Winchester (have 4 right now).....but I think you're right.

At least nobody is picking on the lowly 30-06.....

It's simply because they started making production rifles in 280AI.

I have had at least a half dozen 7RM rifles. Never killed anything other than paper and white rocks. Understand, this was from the days when 7 mags tended to weigh 1 1/2 to 2 pounds more than a comparable .270 or .30-06. I was not willing to pack the extra weight for the slight ballistic advantage.

Back in my gun of the week days, I did score a 7 Wby out of the South Gate place built on an FN action that was light enough to use. With a full 6/10" freebore, one could seat the 160s long and make it hummmmm. I kept that one and hunted with it for a season, and it is one that I regret selling, even though I dislike the Weatherby stock design. High tech synthetics were just coming into their own at the time, so that could have been solved.

As I have grown older, light is better and I find that my most used rifles are .308, .243, and .223. Modern bullets such as NP, bonded and mono metal have put the smaller calibers on steroids. I haven't hunted with any of my .270 or .30-06 rifles in many years. I have sold all of my belted magnum rifles. A 7 was the last to go, some four or five years ago.

Best wishes,

Jack

In most of those cases I have seen, its guys that have gut/liver shot a deer or three with a smaller cartridge and lost it, or occasionally a guy who just had some plain bad luck. They figure they can make up for poor placement with more displacement or imagine that it buys them "insurance". The usual progression goes from either 30-30 or .243 to .270/30-06 to magnum. Once they get themselves a 7mm or 300 magnum, at least they quit blaming the gun for their poor results which is a step in the right direction. Then they start being more conservative with their shooting, perhaps practice a little, start placing shots forward of the guts and begin having success....which they attribute to their magnum rifle's superior "knockdown power". Then the next guy comes along and loses a poorly hit deer with a standard caliber. Our hero tells him he used to lose deer all the time until he got his big rifle......and the cycle repeats, and the magnums are really popular with southern deer hunters.

I seriously doubt it.

I maintain that IF a 300 WM will not kill something.......

A 300 Wby can not !!



Yes I know there is 'some' difference but NOT enuff to put the Wby in a diff class.


Jerry

It's not new and improved and not old enough to be called "venerable" like a 30-06.

Come on man. I just laid the bait out for an uber classic CH 15 paragraph reply.

Don't spring the trap before he finds it!

Okay - I'll delete mine if you delete this last post.

Jerry

Here in Montana it's been interesting to watch the popularity of the 7mm Remington Magnum over the decades. When it appeared in the 1960's EVERYBODY had to have one, to the point where a friend of mine who worked his way through college by working at a local sawmill, said they issued every guy a hard-hat and a "Seven Em Em" (which is what most people called them, that or the "big Seven," or even just "THE Seven).

It remained really popular through the 1990's, but lost a little steam to the .300 Winchester Magnum. However, when the .300 WSM appeared a BUNCH of older 7mm RM's showed up on used racks at local gun stores, because the boys had read all the hype about how it matched the .300 Winchester Magnum with less recoil.

That last a few years, but lately .300 WSM's aren't selling like they used to, partly because it's harder to find brass, and many .300 WSM shooters are handloaders. 7mm Remington Magnum shooters can be either factory ammo shooters or handloaders, and there's a lot more easily available 7mm RM brass, and even ammo is still far more abundant.

Lately have been seeing about as many .300 WSM's on used racks as 7mm RM's, which is interesting because the 7mm RM has been around far longer, so there are far more 7mm RM rifles around. I don't think this means .300 WSM fans tend to keep their rifles more, either, as I know quite a few who discovered (thanks to chronographs) that it wouldn't match the .300 Winchester with handloads. They also found it kicked more like a .300 magnum than they were lead to believe.

Many if not most of the used 7mm RM's I see on used racks are pretty old, in particular a lot of tang-safety Ruger 77's. I suspect some of those have just quit shooting very well, due to barrel erosion. Found one at a very low price myself a few years ago and that's what had happened to it.

Sevens may not be as popular here as they were 25-40 years ago, but there are still LOTS of hunters carrying them, especially hunters who don't chase the latest fad. And there have been more fads in the past 25 years.

Magnum craze came and went. Then it came and went again.

I think many finally figured out that they do not need a magnum for most hunting. Or should I say, lots of folks carried magnums that didn't need them. They have their place, but I have seen many hunting woods and thickets with them and often wondered why. If it was your only rifle, for east and west and in between, I could see it.

Another thing is that bullet technology has come a long, long way, in recent times. I feel 223s and 243s, etc. are much more widely accepted as viable choices nowadays, whereas they were often considered not enough gun, or marginal, in the past. I.E. smaller cartridges are now being used on larger critters. Of course, some still will disagree, and are stuck in their way of thinking in this regard.

I can't comment on the trends out west, but cartridges like the 300 Savage, 35 Rem, 30-30, 32 Win Spl, 45-70, 444, etc., are still very much alive and well here during deer and bear seasons. I feel many have gone the magnum route, then switched back to "old faithful". Most of the bolt guns are 308s, 243s, 30-06s, and few 270s thrown in. And with today's bullets, they are better than ever.

I still like the 7-08 best overall for general big game, in bolt actions anyway. Not much it won't do. And that trend isn't likely to change any time soon.

The 7mmRM is still a great cartridge though. One I am very fond of, actually. But I use it mostly for LR shooting and not hunting.......

My brother shot a nice buck with his 7mm Rem Mag, my handloads, using 160 gr NAB, at 534 yards.

Two days prior I killed a buck with my 7mm-08, 140 Partition. 541 yards. Who needs a magnum?




P

As a reloader I have always considered the 7 Rem mag nothing more than a glorified 30-06. Like John said, you see quite a few on sales racks for reasonable prices, especially up here in Alaska as they never caught hold up here like they did in the Western US. But I just picked up an older round top, tang safety Ruger M-77 in one so I can use up some of the 7mm bullets and ammo I have accumulated over the years.

As a newbie to Idaho 25 years ago I carried a .30-06 elk hunting since it seemed like a logical choice. Saw a nice elk out in an open area but it was 350-400-450-500 yards away? This was pre-LRF days and I hadn't gotten used to range estimation in the mountains. Anyway, just a bit too far for me to feel comfortable shooting with the rig in hand.

So I bought a 7mm RM since it was and is a very flat shooting round. I loaded it with 150 grain Nosler Partitions and Bob Hagel powder charges, then practiced with it all year and got to where from prone I could make good consistent hits out to 500 yards.

When elk season rolled around next year I was ready for come what may!

So, of course, a nice elk stepped out of the forest about 30 yards in front of me. The 7mm still worked. Killed a nice deer with it that year as well, it was maybe 45 yards away.

Went back to a .30-06 and had a string of one shot kills for the next 10 years in a row.