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Raisuli. I rememeber that article. I also remember that he had that Remington 700 throated out so he could seat those 175 gr. bullets farther out to take advantage of the long magazine of the M700. Not only that but Bob Hagel was notorious for loading ammo hotter than the hinges of hell. I've never been able to come anywhere close to any of his loads in any of my rifles. I have hard though that the 7MM Rem. Mag. was downloaded due to pressure fluctuatons when loaded to original specs. I'm not a big fan of the 7MM Rem. mag anyway. I figure if I'm gonna shoot a magnum, it might as well be my .300 Win. Mag.
Paul B.

PJGunner,

I cannot fault your loyalty to the .300 Win Mag. It is a fantastic cartridge.

All too often, selecting a cartridge boils down to subjective criteria.

I first bought a 7MM Rem Mag because all of my hunting friends used it. It wasn't until I was much older did I realize what a fantastic cartridge it is. The sectional density of its bullets offer excellent trajectory and phenomenal penetration.

The 7MM Rem Mag was designed to be a long range elk rifle. It is all that and more. I have harvested big game at long ranges with the .270 Winchester and 7MM Rem Mag. Were I to have one rifle for ALL North American big game, it would be a 7MM Rem Mag.

I have no knowledge of Hagel's loading beyond pressure limitations. And yes, he did throat a 7MM Rem Mag, but if I remember correctly it did not offer an appreciable increase in velocity. He was able to get 3100 FPS with 160 grain bullets and 3000 FPS with 175 grain bullets using a stock Remington with a 24" barrel.

I have never fired 175 grain bullets out of my 7MM Rem Mag. I have fired only 150 ballistic tips, 160 Partitions, and 150 grain factory Core-Lokts. Using R22 I was able to get better than 3200 FPS with 160 grain Partitions. While there were no objective signs of pressure, I liked my load of H4831 that gave better than 3100 FPS with zero signs of pressure.

150 grain factory Core-Lokts gave me better than 3200 FPS. If the newer Core-Lokts are like the old stuff, I will quit hand loading and just use Remington's factory stuff.


Take care,

R

JGRaider,

Thanks.

I agree. Were I limited to only one 7MM Rem Mag bullet, it would weigh 160 grains. And out of my 24" barreled Sako, I can easily get better than 3100 FPS using 160 Partitions.


Take care,

R