Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 7 Remington Mag Magic

put a Limbsaver Airtech pad on bros 69 vintage 7 rem mag... that's a nice pad!...

Loco have the same on my 65 model 700 7mag and an earlier one on the 300 makes a big differance..mb

OP,
Every deer drops?
How many?


Head, neck shots?

Even so, your luck WILL change.
I have more faith in the WILL than every.



Dad has been using the 7mm for 40 years, early results were not good.
150 core-lokts, some grenades, some pencil through.
After a guy ran out of ammo trying to kill a cow elk, using 140gr core-lokts,
and i dropped one with one 7mm Partition, Dad switched to Partitions and Sloid Base Boattails. Suddenly, the drama stopped. When they discontinued SBBs, Ballistic Tips
did just as well. Good quick kills, "normal" expected damage, not excessive.

But he still doesn't drop ever deer in its tracks.
One, left actual lung chunks where it was hit.
And ran 75 yards.



The 7 mag ain't magic!

It sits on the upper edge of 7-08, 308, 270. 280, 30-06...7mag.
Only at the very margins would any of them be noticeably different given the exact same conditions.



Match the bullet to the conditions and desired performance, and they all will do fine.



Some pearls and some real BS in these threads.

JMHBS,😉

I sure helps. I have Sako’s, they don’t seem to recoil near as much as the Remington’s in the same calibers.

Shot placement matters more than anything. I thought for years I had to have a 7 mag until I watched grandkids slay schit out of pigs and deer with a 243. It opened my eyes a bit.

I have limbsavers on both my 300 and 7 mags helps on the recoil. You still need to place your shot a lethal manner..mb

Perceived recoil is all about, or at least 90%, about stock fit.

Back around 1983, I saw a Model 70 XTR 338WM on Sale at Carter's Country in Houston. I had a young family then, so no money. Get this...asking price was $250! I told a young friend of mine and when his Tax Return came bought. I helped him mount a Redfield 2x7 on it and he bought the dies for me to handload it for him. Well, he gave me Speer 200HC for "deer" and the Sierra 250 SBT for "elk". I got them worked up all right, but that Winchester stock beat the dogmess out of me, wow! I had a BDL in 7mmMag and shot the 150 PT on deer. I had a load with 160 PT for "my elk load". I loaned it to another friend who had an invitation for an elk hunt, but his only rifle was a 243 and he was nervous about it. He and another guy ended up tag teaming a bull, boy was he happy!

10yrs later, when the first Mod 700's ADL synthetic stock and SS came out I bought one. All I did was have the trigger lightened up and locktighted the Receiver Screws which I gorilla screwed down hard. I worked up a load with the Barnes 120 X, and one time I shot a 1 1/8th", three shot group at 300yds off the bench. I gave that rifle to my Pastor when he came up here from Texas to preach for me. He and I got to hunt exotics that summer when I went down home to see my folks. My Pastor was a great shot and hunter and he loved that rifle! He took a nice BlackBuck at 125yds, DRT. The 120 Barnes did not tear up the cape or the meat. Next day, he shot a Spanish Goat/Ibex cross at what we all guesstimated was 400yds! He shot off cross sticks, which helped and I had given him a Leupold 4.5x14AO which he loved also. Boom, DRT! Through the next 17yrs (until he passed) I gave him several rifles that cost much more than that old 7mmMag, but would you believe he used it more than any other! ha. He had gone to the Federal Premium 160 NPTs and had taken Black Bear in Canada, Exotics and a wad of white tail with it. I have fond memories of him and when the subject of 7mm Mag comes up, I think of that 400yd one shot kill and the big smile and chuckle he had.

I’d have to agree. And for me and my hunting right now the old Whelen is probably ideal. I can’t recall when I shot anything over 250 yards let alone 500 outside of steel plates. Odd thing about the Whelen is that it knocks the hell out of anything, if you need to track it there is a blood trail a blind man could follow and, the meat damage isn’t any worse than anything else and often less. Nothing wrong with the 7mm Remington Magnum at all. And honestly it is probably the ideal cartridge for most hunters in the U.S. who hunt deer with the chance to go for something bigger once or twice in a lifetime. If I were to shoot one I’d have a custom chamber is all, allowing for a little longer bullet, bigger mag, and a 1:8.5” twist at 24” long. Likely a 160 or 175 bonded would wrap things up neatly. I almost bought on a couple years ago but bought a 300 Win Mag Nosler M-21 instead. Thinking a 7 Rem Mag in that rifle would have done just as well.

No thinking at all! A good 7 Rem set up as you described is a monster on animals and bit less of a monster on the shooter

Try the Barnes 120 or 140 TTSX and change your luck.

I've had the same experience. I believe there is no magic cartridge and no magic bullet. Each deer is unique and unpredictable! Even with well placed shots, one can never be sure of a blood trail or how far the deer will run.

Just hunt with whatever you like and shoot the best and enjoy those times when you get to practice trailing. Trailing is absolutely a part of ethical hunting!

Claiming one cartridge is appreciably better than another for most deer hunting is just silly and useless conjecture.

I’m down to one 7 mag. I didn’t think that was possible

Hey Hanco- I've pared down as I have gotten older, but if I had a place to hunt like you do, man, I think I would still have a Dozen, ha. Get Some on those pigs!

Just to add, I can only remember one other deer that dropped right on the spot without it being a CNS hit and that was with a .223, 65 grain SGK right behind the shoulder. For whatever reason, that deer just folded up and dropped right there.

I used one for almost two decades with good results but have found most deer shot in the vitals (heart/lungs) are going to run a bit, 50-75 yards. Had a few drop in their tracks but not all, don't know that I've ever lost a deer with the 7mm but if I recall correctly, I've seen more dramatic results with the 270 with 130s. I've tried lots of cartridges but have never seen anything as consistent as the 270 in killing deer.

Recently, I've tried the 7 PRC and I'm thinking my 7mm RM will go into retirement, the PRC just does about everything better but admit it may be a bit overkill for most deer hunting in the SE. I prefer the 308 suppressed these days for local work on the deer herd.

If I draw KS again, I'm thinking the PRC will get the nod, it's easy to shoot and takes care of business.

this...... started using a 308 myself

I will still have more than a dozen. I’m working on getting down to a reasonable amount. I have some they will have to deal with. My son in law the dicktective works security at the Montgomery County gun show. He will help her get rid of the guns I have left. I gave my two son in laws a rifle apiece, they bought a couple apiece. Gave grandkids one apiece. I’m getting them out from under beds now. I have some I’ll put on GunBroker.

That would be the bullet choice, not the cartridge fault.

Bullet choice, velocity level and putting it in the right place no matter what cartridge you shoot. The old 139 gr Hornady sp (flat base).works fine in my 7x57, 7-08, 280 and 7mm mag. 2800-3200 start fps allways dbl ribcage shot they don't run far or have a lot of meat loss. You hit shoulder and spine bones you have meat loss with anything. I believe with the 7 mm mag the glory is you can load it to all those levels. A good 140 at 2900 is an easy shooting load that kills well and yet it's not a problem to get 3200 with the same bullet. you want hot? Without a doubt the 120nbt as fast as you can push it will exit and.more often than not drop in their tracks. I go.back to 1970 with my old 7 mag adl.mb

I’ll still have a dozen for sure, just not six 30-06’s, six 7 mags, six 308’s. I’ll have no 300 magnums, 270 WSMs, 270 Weatherby, 257 Weatherby’s. It’s a little more manageable now. I’ve gotten most everything out from under beds.