Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Is the 7 mag dying?

Maybe, who cares?

Hope not, have recently acquired three of them,2 customs and a Sako AV.

I have a good friend that kills an elk every year with an old Remington 700 in 7 Mag. He wanted a new rifle so went with a .280 AI since it would almost equal his 7 mag. I helped packed his .280 AI elk out this year too.

Have another buddy that kills one every year that can’t stand the 7 Mag…said he has seen too many elk wounded with it. He swears by the .270 WSM which is sooooo different.

I know they are both wrong so I shoot a .30-06, or a .300 WM, or a .30 Gibbs, or a 7mm-08, or a .358 Norma, or a .35 Whelen, or….

Hunters are a funny bunch

That pretty much sums up any "this-vs-that" debate.

I have a custom 7STW and a factory 7MAG. They ain't no dying about those two but the game on the receiving end.

Exactly, the only people in heaven are dead too.

+1. Pretty impressive cartridges both.

Proof that humans aren't all that smart.

There are a few cartridges that are extremely popular. Rifles chambered for these cartridges have flooded the market. In my opinion, some of these cartridges are: 30-06, 270, 243, and the 7mm RM.

If you look at a Remington 700 for instance and look at the prices these bring and compare them to rifles chambered in other cartridges you'll see these are cheaper.

One good example: 6mm Remington and the 243 Winchester. The 6mm Remington will almost always bring more money. Which one is more popular, sadly the inferior in every way - the 243.

So then, if the 7mm RM is dying, so then is the 243, the 270 and the 30-06. We know that isn't true.

It was all the rage back in the 90s in my area for hunters that hunted deer out of stands and shooting houses. South Carolina is where I was at.
Magnums where being promoted by gun mags as the thing to have. I was killing everything I shot at with my old ruger tanger in 30-06 so I never bought a 7mm magnum.
A group of guys I know that hunted in texas all had 7mm mags.
I dont have an opinion on if its dying but most hunters I know are killing whitetails and are opting for lower recoil rifles. Maybe because we are getting older.

Last two 24HCF threads "Which caliber have you killed the most ..." that I tabulated, .30-06 and .270 were neck and neck for #1 and #2 in both threads with cumulatively more than 40% of the total responses. 7RM was always in the top 5. 7RM ain't going anywhere.

My preferred centerfire rifle cartridge is a .270 Win. However, if all I had was a 7 RM, I would not lose any sleep. Nor would I change any of my hunting. The only issue with the boring consistency of the .30-06, .270 Win, 7RM, 300WM, .243 ... Is that boring does not sell more rifles. Hence the continuous media blitz telling us how wonderful all of the new cartridges are. And how woefully outdated our current boringly consistent killers are...

As others have said, for most new hunters, magnums just aren't the first option anymore. The "I'll only have one rifle" folks are fine looming at 6.5s as "do it all" rounds where 20-30 years ago 7 mag and 300wm were it. The trend to go lighter and lighter only exacerbates things. Most casual hunters are only interested in an ultra-lite magnum rig until they've shot it once...

Well said.

It sure is still on the decline, no doubt.

280 AI has a larger following now, which can nearly match it. And those wanting a true magnum go to the 28 Nosler or one of the 30s

I own (3) 7mmRMs, and (7) 280s (one a 7mm Express and one 7mm-06). Velocity wise, the Mag. is only about 100-125fps faster than a 280 in 140 gr. bullets, and maybe 150-200fps faster in the 160 grs. I feel the 7mmRM comes into its own with 175gr over the 280.

I use the 280 in America. In Africa, I use the 7mmRM, because you can find ammo over there in 7mmRM and 7x57. You will not find 280 Rem. or 280AI. Or any other new hot whiz bang 7mms.

On the other hand, I’ve only taken my 7mmRM over there twice out of (11) safaris, because as time went on, I decided my 3-rifle African battery was a pain in the rear to deal with. I now take only a (2) rifle battery, a large & medium bore: 40+ and 33+. These two will kill everything I hunt in Africa.

So, I don’t use the 7mmRM much anymore, but I use my 280 Rem. a lot, mostly for deer & pronghorns (along with my 25-06).

Hanco: I sure enjoy my Remington 700 Classic in 7m/m Remington Magnum!
I have harvested Elk, Black Bear, Mule Deer, Whitetailed Deer, Blacktailed Deer, Mt. Goat and Antelope with mine.
Lots of Elk and Black Bear Hunters I know also use this fine and versatile caliber.
There are SO many new and well hyped, "whoop-de-do" calibers coming on-line anymore that I "imagine" that sales of the various 7m/m Magnums have slowed of recent?
I do know this - I won't be selling my 7m/m Remington Magnum any time soon!
Long live the 7m/m Magnums.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My son has a Savage 110? 7mm Rem Mag that has been an absolute death ray for him. I have two 7mm Weatherby Magnums that aren’t going anywhere but hunting! Also have two 7x57’s and the M70 might go down the road. I’d like to find a Remington 700 marked 7mm Express Remington. I have several .30’s that are used regularly, but the 7’s are staying!

The old standby calibers don't sell as well today because everyone already owns them or multiples of them. Guys like to tinker with new cool stuff so are buying it. good for the industry

Because of this thread, I started doing some search on the old 7 rem mag, to be specific. Figured a 7 mag was a 7 mag, original. Not a short mag or Allen mag or ultra, yada yada. I've had alot of experience with one and I think I may build another. It just flat ass kills stuff. Throat one for 175s or so and your gonna have a hard time finding a cartridge that can outstep it, unless you want to burn a schit load of powder. And as far as a 280 ack goes, it's a pop gun compared to a 7. Maybe with a 140 it does ok, but when you crank b.c., it's not comparable. Love me some 7 mag, or 7mm Remington Magnum.

I’m with you, my favorite caliber!