Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 7 Remington Mag Magic

I like that "Ladies Magnum" bit.....lol. It's a good spot to be when you might want a bit more velocity than a .270Win/.280Rem but don't want the recoil of a .30cal magnum. From talking to a lot of hunters over the years that really weren't shooters, objectionable recoil generally starts at 300WinMag in a typical sporter-weight rifle. I re-zeroed a 70yr old neighbor lady's .270WSM for her last weekend and she loves the rifle but is intimidated by her late husband's 300WinMag in the safe.

I carry my reliably-accurate 7mmRM several times each year, but only on hunts where I can see past 300yds. I can get it done with a handier and more compact rifle when the ranges are modest. A 160NAB at 3000fps does great things when put into a shoulder of a hog or deer, near or far. Forgive the overused pic....

Funny stuff. Like Scott, a 7RM (a nice Husky H-5000) was my first CF hunting rifle, and I killed all manner of Alberta and NWT big game with it for several years. I eventually came to the conclusion that it’s more bullet diameter, powder, and recoil than is needed for deer and sheep-sized critters. My second hunting rifle was a Sako AII in .243 that I killed a bunch of deer with.

The idea that the 7RM is light for elk is pretty humorous. Our group has been killing elk and moose from 50-650 yards for the past several years with the 6.5CM and 7-08. No complaints at all. Our only real reason to step up to a 7RM is to fling the 180 ELD-M at 2900-2950 fps when the wind blows and shots are expected to be beyond spitting distance.

Maybe the 280 is just a light loaded 7 mag.

It’s a cartridge that’s hard to beat up through elk.

yep

7 rem mag 150gr nosler ballistic tips with 63 grains IMR 4350 in remington 700 bdl with classic wood stock. Killed a truckload of deer with that rifle and bullet combo and prolly 90 percent were bang flops.

140gr Ballistic Tips here and like you said probably 90% were bang flop.

I got my first 7mag in 1971, killed truck loads of Montana mule deer with it and quite a few elk. Remington made. I have another model 70XTR and a couple Husqvarnas. I think it’s a fine caliber and it’s never failed me.
While guiding all those years I saw a lot of game fall to 7mags when the shot was made right. I found the 7mag to be an excellent follow up gun when clients asked for backup. No complaints here.

Osky

My time with the 7Mag was with a M77 shooting 150 gr factory Corelocks (after my bang flop 6mm was stolen) in the early 80’s. Found out the Corelocks just didn’t expand enough on the deer I shot with it (no bang flops, full penetration and each ran 30-40 yards). Switched to 160 Partitions and solved the running dead deer problems.

My son has it now and still shoots the 160 gr Partitions with good results when he shoots straight 😀

Jesus that is one pretty rifle Guy! I hope I am around if you ever decide you don't want it anymore!

I'd believe it starts lower than that, but the 300 mag is at a level that's easy to admit to.

Agreed. I've seen grown men that didn't do much shooting that always had a very difficult time with the .30-06 and 7RM, but got along easily with the 7-08, .25-06, etc.

It has nothing to do with the 7mm cartridge being too much or not enough. What matters most is utilizing the right bullet for the intended game at a predicted distance and knowing impact velocities at various distances.

It is the age old goal of a bullet maker to produce a bullet that you can rely on from 100 yds-700 yds on game. None have been able to do that. Some are better close in, others far away, and some strike a balance in the middle. Up to the hunter to choose a bullet for the best predicted scenario regarding game and distance.

Today there are no shortages for finding bullets for any and all occasions.

I've killed a number of mule deer with the 7mm Rem Mag. It worked fine, but some of them ran a ways, maybe 50 or 75 yards, especially one really big buck that I remember. Still, I don't think I ever needed a follow up shot, mostly using 150 grain bullets ranging from Core Lokts to Ballistic Tips.

Putting said bullet in the correct location is also important.

For sure, grandkids kill cshit out of pigs and deer with 243’s

Never had a problem with the 30-06 or the 7mm Rem mag. But even though I can shoot it well my recoil headaches start with the 300 Win mag

I tried a 7 mag for a few years as a step down from the 300 RUM that my idiot 21 year old self thought I needed. Winchester ballistic silver tips didn’t seem to give great results, switched to core lokts and seemed to get quicker kills shooting lungs. However, my 7 mag magically got buried next to that 300 RUM in the back of the safe when I figured out 260, 25-06, and 7-08 worked every bit as well with much less recoil. I’m 6’2 240 lbs and will admit that a Rem BDL 7 mag is more recoil than I care to deal with.

BDL’s seem to recoil more in a 7 mag. My Sako 7 mags don’t kick near as hard. I have a REM 798, not as bad as a BDL either.

I had a new left handed Remington 700 SPS in 7mm Remington mag worked over several years ago. Recrowned the 26" barrel, action lugs squared, Timmney trigger, B&C stock with alum block glass bedded. Leupold Mark 4 6.5x20 with TMR reticle. Kind of my way of doing a low budget "custom" rifle haha.

I shot Nosler 168 grn LRAB when they first came out at 3025 fps using H1000, until a couple years ago. I found that inside 300 yds the bullet was too soft for elk, lost a lot of weight, caused excessive meat damage and often would not exit even on mule deer. First 5 elk or so they worked fine, as the ranges were extended, but the closer the animals were the performance wasn't what I wanted. I absolutely realize that it wasn't the bullets fault, they were performing as designed, it was my fault for using them as I was.

So I switched to Nosler 160 Accubonds. They run 3100 fps with H1000 in my rifle, and the drops are so close to the 168 LRAB I shot previously I haven't had to change my drop chart on my rifle. I guess the added fps makes up for the difference in BC? The rifle actually shoots them a bit better than the LRAB's and is very accurate out to 500 yds, the furthest Ive shot them. This year I shot a good mule deer buck bedded at 283 yds through the neck. Thats how confident I am of this rifle and accuracy.

Performance of the 160 AB has been exactly what I was looking for in the first place. Accurate, shoots flat, does well in the wind, less meat damage and exits the animals. I haven't caught one yet, but very little fragmentation is apparent, yet good expansion based on exit wound size as well as the holes in the lungs.

My 7 is now what I originally intended it to be. Flat shooting, good in the wind, can stretch if need be but good at closer ranges too, mid size big game rifle. All this to say, like most cartridges, proper bullet selection can change the personality of the 7.

Regards,
Manny