Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What Happened to the 7mm Rem Mag?

I have run into a definite bias against the round literally every place I've hunted out west. Seems everyone out there has a "lost too many elk (or mule deer, pronghorn, etc)" story regarding the 7mag. Might just be a statistical thing...since there are so many out west, then that would leave one to believe that if an animal was wounded and possibly got away, then statistically, more might be from that round. I don't know...but the bias against that round is very real in the circles I travel out there.

redundancy abounds in the shooting world......

It does exactly what it was made for.

For me, the value in the 7mm RM is to achieve 7x57 performance over longer ranges or just adding a little more wind stability and trajectory advantage over those longer ranges.

Having said that, choices and circumstances now include the Remington Magnum and not the 7x57 in my rack.

The 'mouser' does kill just as good as the RM but the 7 RM will do it 'farther' and 'flatter' and with less drift because it is FASTER.

But never mind any facts.

bobknob,

Jerry Fisher decided he wanted to go to New Zealand and kill a big red stag a few years ago. He took his converted pre-'64 Model 70 7mm Remington Magnum, but decided he didn't want to hassle with ammo, so asked the outfitter if he could provide some. The outfitter said, "I've got plenty already in camp from previous hunters."

Jerry showed up and they drove all day to get to the outfitter's lodge in the mountains. The outfitter went to check his ammo stash and found ONE 7mm Remington Magnum round. Jerry said, "Well, so much for the scope-check shot. Just get me within 200 yards." The guide did, and the stag died.

Billy,

Many ".300 magnum minimum" recommendations occur because a lot of guides aren't very sophisticated about cartridges, bullets or even shooting game.

I went on a moose hunt in Alberta a few years ago, and the outfitter recommended that clients bring a minimum of a .300 magnum. I knew this outfitter well from several other trips for waterfowl and deer, and he isn't particular sophisticated about rifles. He doesn't even handload, and when buying ammo generally doesn't get into any more detail than bullet weight.

I drove up so there was no reason to check my rifle on the camp range upon arrival, but when my guide (not the outfitter) and I headed out the first morning, he asked what cartridge my rifle was chambered for. "Seven millimeter," I said, betting the guy would think it was a 7mm Remington Magnum. (I'd also met this guide before, and knew he was about as rifle-sophisticated as the outfitter. In Alberta, as in Montana, when you say a rifle is a 7mm the average hunter assumes it's a 7mm Remington Magnum. In fact many people don't know there IS another 7mm cartridge.)

There's a good moose population in that part of Alberta, and after looking at several bulls we found a suitable specimen on the second day, the range about 220 yards. I put a bullet through both lungs, about a third of the way up the chest, and the moose just stood there, as they often do, but after a few seconds it started walking VERY slowly toward some nearby brush, then stopped. The guide asked me to shoot again so it wouldn't get into the brush. I did, and the moose took a few more steps and keeled over, 19 yards from where it was first shot. (I doubt the second shot made any difference, but shooting again made the guide feel better.)

After the moose was gutted and loaded on a flatbed trailer for the trip back to the lodge, the guide said, "It didn't look like that 7mm of yours kicks as much as most of them." I said, "That's because it's a 7mm Mauser." He just nodded, and we continued on down the highway.

Back at lodge the guide told the story of how my little 7mm stopped the moose before it got into the brush. The outfitter said, "That's exactly what happened when I shot my moose with my .300 Winchester!"