For those who like 7mms

Got my first quite recently, a T/C Contender in 7mm TCU for Handgun Metallic Silhouette. Still picking .223 brass (I do not own an AR) and learning the ins and outs of case forming, reloading, shooting and even hitting something with the thing. It's fascinating to fire in a pistol something that looks like a miniature rifle cartridge.

My first was an 1895 Chilean Mauser.
I'm rather fond of this little rifle.
I've added a few others in this caliber, none of them being particularly modern.

7mm Mauser all the way...

My first elk rifle at 14 was a Spanish M1916 short rifle. Now I have a lefty Zastava M70 sporting rifle and would like a M1908 for a military 98 action platform.

I like my XP-100 7mm IHMSA. My wife likes both of her 7mm-08s - an old tang-safety Ruger 77, and a newer Winchester 70 Featherweight with the pre-64 action. However, our oldest daughter has pretty much laid claim to the Winchester, and our oldest grandson has pretty much laid claim to the Ruger. So, my wife had an even newer Winchester 70, 7mm Rem Mag customized to fit her and her whimsies. That's what she shoots and likes now.
That's our oldest daughter, Chrissie, her son Jake (in orange) and Jake's friend Zack in the picture. That was the deer Jake took with his grandma's (my wife's) old 7mm-08 a few years ago.

Sorry, I don't know how I attached the same picture twice.

I spent 6 years in Montana 1987-1993 and hunted a lot back then. Killed a lot of deer and antelope and most were taken with a 7MM Rem Mag. I used to hand load 162 gr BSP Sierra bullets. Game Kings I think. Took several speed goats over 350 yards away...all one shot kills from bipod rest. One nice Muley buck was across a canyon probably 300ish yards.

Nothing against the other great 7’s, they are excellent too. But from my experience with the 7MM Rem mag, it’s a wonderful deer and antelope gun.

I like the seven perfect balance between 27 and 30.

I always seem to have a couple...

My first rifle that purchased myself was a savage 110 package gun with a cheap simmons scope, chambered for 7mm Remington Magnum.....thus started my love affair with everything .284

I havent had that many different chamberings really.
7-30 waters
.280AI
7mm remington magnun
7mm Stw

Ive had 4 differnt 7mags, and one of the rest.

I like the .280 and 7mag the best of what ive used.

I'm pretty fond of the 284 Winchester. Great balance of ballistics and recoil with factory 150gr loads is great, I could shoot it all day. I sighted in at 30yards and attempted 300 yard shots on 2' sized target with dead on hold I was within about 12"of bullseye!!!!!!!!! About 6" from where I should have hit. So with that being said, my very limited experience, I can't say enough good about it. I imagine recoil will increase some once I get a nice load figured up.

It's basically a 270 in a short action with a slight bigger hole, and bullet weight

7mmBR in a XP-100, 7-08 in a Model7, and 7mm mag in a 700 BDL. All flat shooting and do well with everything from 110 HP to 175 Partition.

I've never fired any other 7mm and want to try a 7mm mag but everyone says recoil is worse than 30-06? Well see!

98s1lightning said:

I've never fired any other 7mm and want to try a 7mm mag but everyone says recoil is worse than 30-06? Well see!

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I dont think it is....stay away from Abolts with synthetic stocks and original pads tho. For some reason browning decided to try stamp its name on shooters shoulders with the pads on those....Even my 9.5lb abolt was miserable for more than a box or two.

rebuilt in .375 and a pound lighter and its fine.

I've had a couple of 7mm RM rifles and a couple of 280's over the years. I have a ton of respect for everything 7mm. I think the 280 might just be the perfect all around cartridge for North America. But I don't currently have anything in 7mm.

Not because I don't like them, but because 45 years ago I made the choice to buy a 30-06 based on the advice of older mentors. And that was the best choice for me at the time. I had a ready supply of free military surplus ammo and for a 17 year old kid who had to scrape up enough for the rifle, free ammo was a big deal. I made the right choice in 1975.

And while I've flirted with them in the past I keep coming back to the fact that the advantages simply weren't enough to justify owning both 30-06 AND either 7mm RM or 280. And by the time I experimented with the 7's I already had too much history with the 30-06 to sell it. So the 7's were sent to new homes.

I've never fired any other 7mm and want to try a 7mm mag but everyone says recoil is worse than 30-06? Well see!

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7mm RM shoots the same bullet weights to roughly the same speed as 30-06. The difference in performance is that in the same bullet weights 7mm bullets are much more aerodynamic and will perform better down range. Recoil is pretty close to the same. A 7 mag will burn a bit more powder to get the same speeds so 7 mag recoil is slightly more than 30-06. But most 7 mag rifles are a touch heavier which helps offset that.

Anyone who can handle 30-06 recoil will have a hard time telling the difference in recoil from a 7 mag unless they let it get between their ears. Lots of people convince themselves that anything with a magnum headstamp is a hard kicker. And if they go into it expecting to get kicked hard they will. In reality when you do the math both 7 mag and 30-06 are virtually the same.

98s1lightning said:

I've never fired any other 7mm and want to try a 7mm mag but everyone says recoil is worse than 30-06? Well see!

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I feel that the recoil of the 7mm rem mag is similar to the 30-06. The 7mm is normally a little heavier and this helps with the recoil. As LoonWolf mentioned the stock design will make a difference.

7mm BR is my favorite.

I have owned a lot more 30 cals than 7mm rifles, but that doesn't change my deep appreciation for the caliber.

My first 7 was a Browning BLR in 7mm-08. Shot a few freezer does with the lever gun, worked great. A friend was looking to buy a rifle for his kids to hunt with, well I'm a sucker to help a new hunter so there it went.
My next 7mm was a Weatherby Mark V ultra lightweight in 7mm rem mag. I bought the rifle in 2000 and love it. It's more about the rifle than the cartridge, but the 7mag has never let me down.

jmr40 said:

7mm RM shoots the same bullet weights to roughly the same speed as 30-06. The difference in performance is that in the same bullet weights 7mm bullets are much more aerodynamic and will perform better down range. Recoil is pretty close to the same. A 7 mag will burn a bit more powder to get the same speeds so 7 mag recoil is slightly more than 30-06. But most 7 mag rifles are a touch heavier which helps offset that.

Anyone who can handle 30-06 recoil will have a hard time telling the difference in recoil from a 7 mag unless they let it get between their ears. Lots of people convince themselves that anything with a magnum headstamp is a hard kicker. And if they go into it expecting to get kicked hard they will. In reality when you do the math both 7 mag and 30-06 are virtually the same.

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Also, at least when I bought mine in 1980, the 7mm mag came with a nice recoil pad whereas the 30-06 came with a hard buttplate. At that time, being LH, if you wanted a LH bolt, you had the choice of 270, 7mag or 30-06 from Remington and Browning.

Jeff Cooper was a 7MM-08 fan. His belief was that a true Scout Rifle was either a .308 or a 7MM-08.

I like the 280AI. It runs close to the 7 mag with recoil similar to a 30-06.
7 RM starting load velocity is pretty much max for 280 AI.
It makes a great medium range whitetail round.

George P said:

Also, at least when I bought mine in 1980, the 7mm mag came with a nice recoil pad whereas the 30-06 came with a hard buttplate. At that time, being LH, if you wanted a LH bolt, you had the choice of 270, 7mag or 30-06 from Remington and Browning.

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Of those 3 choices, I would have taken the 270 and ran.
Of course this is a 7mm thread so let's not get sidetracked.