Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 7mm Remington Magnum Outdated?

I used the same exact combo last fall on a 125lb doe…. Ran 50-75 yards too. Lungs were mush.

Sometimes you can’t predict nothin…

I had something like that happen to me in my younger years. 150 yards broad side shot on a big bodied 5x5 Whitetail buck. Double lung, clean pass through. This was around mid October with no snow on the ground after rain fall. Deer took off, followed the blood trail (It was the most impressive blood trail i have seen to date) followed to about 100 yards where a creek came through. Crossed the creek but no blood trail to be seen. Got a little worried, went back to confirm where the blood stopped, scanned the creek up and down and found him dead down creek , with his antler sticking out of the water. Wish i had my camera to capture that sight. It was front page magazine worthy. Lungs were jelled up and nothing left of them. Sometimes these deer sure have a will to live!

"Sometimes these deer sure have a will to live"!

I had a similar experience with my best GA deer, an old mature deer with a unique rack. He was chasing a doe coming straight at me, I was in a box stand, about 300 yards out. The doe made a hard left into the pines so I knew it was now or never. I took the shot with my 7mm RM 154 Hornady SP and just broke the skin on his left shoulder (he was 270 yards at this point and I was chilled to the bone - humidity in the south). He stopped, I shot again dead on and he dropped. I watched him and after maybe a minute he tried to stand, when he did I shot again broadside and we was down, two solid hits at this point.

I gathered myself and gear and made my way to him, it looked like a crime scene, blood in a large circle on the ground all around him. I checked him with a barrel touch to the eye and he blinked! I stepped away to let him die in peace, figured another round at this point would be a waste of effort.

I turned my back on him and had the strangest sensation, it sounded like someone was walking up on me, I spun around and he was on his feet, just barely walking away, about 20 feet at this point, I had one round left and I shot him going away at the base of the neck, he was a dead deer walking but didn't know it. Mature animals have an incredible instinct to live, that deer left an indelible impression on me.

Here's another Len Brownell 7RM, this one on a Champlin and Haskins action. This C&H action has a Canjar trigger, tang safety.

IIRC it was built around 1972. He did all the wood and metal work, even made the QD rings; seems they were a prototype for Kimber rings.

The way he positioned the front ring pretty far forward and with the quarter rib, not an easy gun to scope. This Zeiss 1.5-4.5x18 worked out about perfect.

DF

Great rifle DF. Mine was made in 65 going off the list I found.

His checkering is some kinda deep and perfect.

His checkering was outstanding, as was his metal work. Not many smiths are that skilled at metal and wood work, they either excel at one or the other, not both.

He was also did sculpture and carvings, quiet the artist.

As you know Bill Ruger hired him to design and produce rifle stocks at his New Hampshire factory. So, we can think of Len when we handle a #1 or a 77 Ruger.

DF

Yes sir. I feel quite proud to have that rifle. My buddies are probably tired of me babbling about it but other than the 1-10 twist part I cannot think of anything I’d charge. To be honest it feels like it was made for me when I get behind it.

Just make the 10 twist work for you. It’ll give you a bunch of good options for most of what you’ll hunt. Other than really high ogive, long bullets for extreme range shooting, 10 twist is good to go. It did fine until extreme bullets came along.

DF

Oh yeah it works fine. I was just a little worried when the 160 Trophy Bonded Tipped were hitting sideways. Once I moved to shorter bullets to get the stability up it’s been great.



Once I went shorter and got the speed up a touch all has been kosher.

Scotty, I’ve got an extra room at my place. You could come stay here for the fall. I’m at high elevation so that’ll add an inch to your twist. The hunting is good as well.

Fairly simple to change to a faster twist

Careful what you offer Chuck…

My family had a ranch out side of Huntington. Seen some nice deer. Let some dandies go bow hunting, wind wasn’t right.

Long range
My first elk hunt 40 years ago was in the Bob Marshall . Our guide carried a Ruger 77 that had seen many miles hanging off a horse. Scratched up and blueing very thin. First night in camp our guide wants to know the rifles and cal. we brought on the hunt. After the questions he states I shoot a 7 mm mag , hollow pts. packed with salt. Ok …. ha ha. Yeah he says I kill elk so far away cross canyons the meat will be spoiled by the time I get to the critter to dress it out.

The 7mm magnum is just a loud 270, yeah I've heard that one.


But my trusty .270 Winchester maximum is a 160 partition at maybe 2700 fps, and that's with a fast barrel & max charge of Reloder 23. The 7mm can handle a stout 175 grainer at a slightly higher velocity. Now is that enough of a diff to keep both? Or do l move on to a bigger big rifle like a 9.3x62? Good question....


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