Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 7 Rem mag as good as it gets

Yep. The 7mm Remington Mag will be a helluva good gun up to Moose and elk at any practical range. And like I’ve said no less than five or six times, it isn’t anything magical or special. But some people, no matter what figures you put in front of them think it kills things deader. There’s a sucker born every day I guess especially when it comes to the magnumitis belted cartridge cult. I guess case design,efficiency and functionality don’t hold water.

Should we bow to your superior knowledge?? Have you hunt most of North American game or is this an internet jockey???

I’ve heard good things and they look like they would be ideal. Only problem is they always seem to be on back order every time I order bullets and Hornady 162 ELDX’s end up in my cart.

W C H

None are so blind as those who will see..

None are so deaf as those who will not hear..

None are so ignorant as those who will not learn..


I quit 'trying' to talk to a fence post.
There's no substitute for experience.


Jerry

And I suppose you are because you hail from the great “out west.” What I do know and,anyone with an eighth grade education could figure out is, that if factory 7mm Mag ammo is the “ideal” for everything load than anything that duplicates said holy grail is it’s equal. A 7mm Mag factory load moving a 162 gr. bullet at 2940 FPS (Hornady Precision Hunter not some outdated chit) and a 280 Rem or 280 AI handload doing the same or bit better SAFELY will do the same job. For that matter any cartridge that can take North American big game up to moose and elk at like distances as the 7 Mag is just as good. Anyone that has the coin to chase the big bears ain’t doing it with a 7mm Remington Magnum.

It's amazing how many guys feel threatened by the 7mm Rem Mag. I know one thing, Big Bears keep getting kicked around here and I'd sooner have Remington's Big 7 in that situation than a 270, 280 AI, or 30-06 even.

You can’t beat a 7 mag, it has speed and power with out insane pressure.

I don't care what anyone uses. Most hunters are using factory, check out some of the ammo sites and their listed velocities...I'd like to chrony these and see if they are even as advertised as some I've chronied was a solid 200 fps less than they claimed. I'm just not sure exactly what the 7 Mag will do the others can't?



I'd agree...when loaded to it's potential. But since 95% of hunters are using factory...really not much real world difference other than in their minds. I know one guy I hunt with has told me about how powerful his Big 7 is...I think I'll pack my chrony next hunt and run his factory loads through then watch the look on his face. Another who hunts with a 270 bought a 7 RM because he "wanted something a lot more powerful". He shoots factory too....

A 280 is about the only one of the more common 7mm’s I don’t own. I couldn’t see having a 280 when I own several mags.

my 7RMs stay in the safe cause the 280 does all I need done.

I think that one has to clarify how a fellow is going to "use" a rifle....."point & shoot" up to a realistic distance and or/ use Kentucky windage/holdover or dial in for longer distance/windage correction" type hunts/shoots.
For "Me", I'm a "point & shoot/Kentucky windage/holdover guy." I think the majority of guys are too. I want to zero my rifle at a known distance, measure the drop out to 500 and "holdover" or "subtend with reticle". The "ideal" is a flat shooting round with good energy/bullet performance" at the target. Before we had the lighter weight monometal bullets or Premiums, we got best results with Magnums, for their speed with a mid-weight to heavy bullet with good BC. Now, we "point & shoot" guys can do very well with smaller rounds that use 110s-130s that can shoot through elk broadside at 500yds, most of the time. We can reach even further out by using the same weights/styles projectiles in a Magnum, again, for more speed.
Drop back to dialing them in, and you can kill game over 1000yds with some very small rounds...but this is a special skill that one really has to study/develop in. Its 'still" dang hard to know how fast the winds is blowing in a short grass prairie just by using "indicators, ha. It eats my lunch and pops the sack in my face, I admit it! But I can/have made some 375-405yd kills. I like to hit animals with enough mass/momentum to break them down, so I use more "powerful" rounds than some do, but they do OK. I just "don't want him that bad" to chance gut shooting him...but again, that's my "choice". So, in my mind, again, the 7mm Remington Magnum with a 120TTSX is one flat shooting monster...and the 140-150s factory loads get er done pretty well. More powder, more speed with the same lighter weights, "in my opinion". Being a "finite" creature, the more I know the more I realize I don't know, so I "can" be wrong...:)

The 7RM is more gun than the 280 to me. The 280AI it is almost a wash and I doubt many could tell any difference in field performance with the 160 grain and under bullets. For longer ranges the magnum has an edge with 168 and heavier bullets.This edge may be more under the cap than in reality but it is there on paper and in actual performance.

Guys, the following quote comes from another thread per a diff subject but the truth applies to a lot of things, THIS thread not withstanding.





It's NOT hard to tell those who HAVE experience from those who DON'T.


Jerry

There's an old saying that goes; "Not every 7mm mag owner is an idiot, but every idiot owns a 7mm Mag."

While there are certainly plenty of intelligent sorts who have hunted with the 7mm Mag, when these threads come up and the round is defended by guys like ClarkM, jwall, and pete53, it's pretty clear to see that the saying holds true. The only potato who seems to be missing is Ringman.

160 gr+/.600+ BC/3000+ FPS...... is what defends the 7 Mag... the numbers don’t lie. That’s rare air.... suffice the other mid-7s (WSM, Bee, Mash, Rocket Fuel loaded .280AI, etc), there’s only a handful of cartridges that can meet/exceed that trifecta..... and they all recoil WAY more.

And an argument can be made with modern bullets and powders that the numbers for the 7 RM/WSM/Wea/Mash/etc jump up to 180 gr+/0.750+ BC/2950+ fps...with very reasonable recoil and component cost.

You two make good points, and I'm not denying the 7 Rem Mag's effectiveness. Same thing with BobinNH and JGRaider.....guys who also used the 7 Mag to take lots of game.

It's some of the other users who make the 7 Rem Mag hard to love.

I love the 7rem . Love the creedmoor too. Both cartridges merits escape you. Sad

Here’s a hint.Both of the cartridges merits are the same. Both have short OAL in regards to their action length , both push high bc bullets at speeds impressive enough that they will beat cartridges that burn double (or more) powder at twice the recoil .. I know it’s all so confusing

Yeah, I know, I killed him TOO DEAD !

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that is just one of many WT I've killed with 7 R Ms. As I said in that post, I moved him for the pic-- I only turned him 180*. That is where he was standing and fell. I rotated him so his back was on the uphill side.

Notice the red (blood) line angled away from his right hip. That is where the bullet drew ,sucked , or blew blood and mucous from his off side.

My comment per "too dead" was sarcasm. I give most people credit for knowing there's no such thing as "deadER"

** What I like about the 7 mag and other Hi Speed rounds is Flatter Trajectory ** Out to 400 yds. there is NO hold over the back line.
Out to 500 yds the drop is +/- 24" With an 18" (at least) depth, you need only to hold a FEW inches above the hair line to put the bullet in the boiler room. FLAT TRAJECTORY.

Jerry

I have two 7 mags. A Browning 1885 High Wall in 7mm RM and a Remington 700 Ti in 7mm RSAUM. The Browning is basically a safe queen now, but it shoots 145 Gr. Speer Grand Slams darn near in the same hole and has accounted for my longest west Texas muley kill at 603 yards. I've got some old factory Federal Premiums ammo that used the 150 gr. Sierra BTSP that I've clocked at 3150 fps and they shoot as well as the Speer GS. It was too pretty a gun to be hauling around in the jeep so I bought a Model 7 in 7 RSAUM, but never did like the 20 inch barrel and thought I was giving up too much velocity. I finally found a 700 Ti in 7 RSAUM and traded off the Model 7. That Ti shoots 140 gr. Barnes TTSX's at 3050 fps and consistently under .5 MOA and has accounted for more west Texas muleys and whitetails than I can shake a stick at.

Neither rifle has been a mule kicker.

Sadly, they are BOTH safe queens now. I've used a 700 CDL in 7/08 with 140 gr. Accubonds and took a good whitetail at 302 yards last year. He just spun around and fell over. Now, I've purchased a Barrett Fieldcraft in 6.5 X55 and that will probably turn everything into safe queens.