Contrary to popular opinion a 7mm rem mag isn't "too big" for whitetails and a 7mm-08 isn't "better". A few hundred mississippi whitetails dead at my hands with a 7mm rem mag will attest to that. It works just fine. So does the .375 H&H magnum, 45-70, 35 Whelen, 338 win mag, etc. all of which I've killed whitetails with and are supposedly "too big" according to the experts here.

What people are really saying when they recommend against a larger round for whitetails is that I don't like shooting them because they kick them too much, which has nothing to do with what the OP asked. He's not you, and assuming he's an adult means that he's entitled to make his own decision regarding how big of a rifle he wants to shoot. Imagine the howls of protest on here if half the members were greenies and every time some asked a question about diesel pickups someone chimed in and said you need to be driving a prius, that diesel pickup is too big. Same theory and it really boils down to someone wanting to project their own biases and desires onto the questioner. If someone says they want a 7mm rem mag for deer hunting then I take them at their word that they are OK with shooting it. I can assure you that it works just fine on deer, as well as any 7mm-08 ever invented. Maybe not better, but certainly no worse.

I'm a rifle loonie and my current deer rifle is a 6.5x47 Lapua. I might use it a few times this year then pull out the 7mm rem mag. I might also pull out the 7mm-08, 375 H&H, or a half dozen others. It's all good, they all shoot well and any of them will kill a deer. Use what you want and have confidence in.