7mm Remington Magnum

[stevetford]

Hello again guys. After reading some ballistic tables (keep in mind my experience with them is novice) from what I can see the 7mm Rem Mag looks to have a nice flat trajectory with a good BC and still packs a good punch at 500 yards. The ammunition I have used as a baseline for this round is the 140gr accu tip boat tail Remington. But I am currious as to why I do not see or hear about more people using this round. Is it that everyone has to have the latest and greatest ammunition avaliable that the old stuff no longer appeals to them or is there something truly wrong with the 7mm? Just curious, I am shopping for a new rifle and am seriously looking into this round, but when I find the features I like (heavy barrel, thumbhole ect) the rifle is never avaliable in 7mm Rem Mag. When at the gun shps and explain what I am looking for I am always told to go either .223 .204 22-250 25-06 or .308 but from what I see from the ballistic charts at 500 yards the 7mmhas them beat. So my question is, have I missed something?

 

[viking499]

Had one for 20+ years. Love it. Likes 175 grain reloads. Killed a couple of deer with it past 300 yards.

 

[W.E.G.]

The 7mm kicks butt.

Kicks your shoulder and cheekbone too.

Its a great cartridge if you really need to hit something hard.

I think you are slipping into the world of "oddball calibers" when you get to 7mm -- which is fine if you have a good battery of rifles in "normal" calibers, and a proper supply of ammo.

 

[jpwilly]

You haven't missed anything...the books your reading are quite right. You may not be able to buy a 7mm Rem Mag with all of the LR features your looking for but if you get a Savage or Rem 700 you'll at least have the right platform to build your own. That said Magnum rifles chew up lots of powder will go through barrels faster and aren't as easy on the shoulder or optics. Have fun on your quest.

 

[dakotasin]

i have a few 7 rem mags. awesome cartridge, and deserves all the respect in the world. one of the original long range elk guns, and has always been an ***-kicker on deer. my favorite loads revolve around 162 hornadys, and i have had nothing but great luck w/ it in all respects; everything from accuracy, to distance, to shootability.

a word though... i have never met a 7 rem mag that was punishing w/ recoil unless it is in a wood-stocked savage. i'm convinced that a wood-stocked savage can make a 22-250 seem like it has recoil! if you must go savage, stay w/ synthetics or go laminate.

an option... remington has/had some fat-barrel 7 rem mag options available, but you'll not find it configured the way you want one (by any manufacturer). find a sendero or similiar, and then get your thumbhole stock from boyds (which supplies remington's laminate stocks, anyway).

 

[Sharps Shooter]

I gotta disagree with you W.E.G. and jpwilly, and I think you're reading the wrong books stevetford.

"This is one of the most successful Magnum rifle cartridges ever developed."

"Remington took the best features of the other 7mm Magnums and introduced their 7mm Magnum in their popular-priced Model 700 bolt-action rifle. Shooters' acceptance was almost immediate."

"The 7mm Remington Magnum is at its best when taking long shots on deer, sheep and elk."

The above comments are from one of my Speer manuals.
I don't know, but the 7mm Reminton Magnum might not be as popular in your neck of the woods stevetford. But if I was to hazard a guess, I'd guess that as far as big game cartridges go, around here it's only second in popularity to the 100 year old 30-06.
My personal opinion of it is that it's every bit as good of an all-around big game cartridge as the 30-06. Plus, 7mm bullets have just a little better sectional density in comparable weights. Of course, there's always the argument that there is a wider range of bullet weights available for the 30-06. And there's no doubt the 7mm Rem Mag burns more powder and taps you on the shoulder a bit harder.
You probably ARE going to have problems finding a factory 7mm Rem Mag with the features you mentioned (thumhole, heavy barrel, etc.) stevetford. But you could always do what jpwilly suggested - get yourself a Remington or a Savage 7mm Rem Mag and you'd have a good platform for a custom stock and barrel. That's exactly what my wife did. Only she had her custom 7mm Rem Mag built on a "classic" Winchester 70 action.
Oh, and my wife is all of 5'2" tall and weighs 120lbs. And she swears her 7mm Rem Mag is the sweetest shooting rifle she's ever owned. Then again, my wife has a lot of big game hunting experience - over 35 years. Even so, I'll bet if you get a 7mm Rem Mag that fits you right and practice with it, you'll hardly notice the recoil after a little while. You'll probably even learn to like it.

 

[anymanusa]

try the 7mm win SHORT mag for even better performance.

 

[brasskeeper]

I have had a remington 700 in 7mm rem mag for years and it a great rifle and a fine caliber.

 

[7mmsavage]

I can back up what dakotasin said about wood stocked savages. My first time out with my 110 (with plastic butt plate) was really punishing. Switched to a Boyd's JRS classic and it's like a different gun. To me it's a great hunting round, but not something you want to shoot all afternoon, save the plinking for something less powerful and less expensive.

 

[ConfuseUs]

The 7mm Rem Mag is a very good hunting round, especially for long shots.
Since the 7mm Rem Mag isn't new it isn't interesting to gun writers so there's less blah blah about it from that quarter. It's more or less got a place in the top 10 big game cartridges, possibly even the top 5, in N. America, so that may be another reason it isn't talked about much.

 

[Bartkowski]

The 7mm rem mag is a wonderful cartridge for long range hunting. But no one cares about it like they do the new and supposedly better calibers coming out. I don't usually like magnum guns, just because I don't see the need for that much power, but the deal was right on the gun I picked up, and now I really like the gun and caliber. And it kicks like a 30-06, so recoil is no problem and ammo is available in just about every store I go to that has ammo. And remington makes a 700 Sendero I believe that is chambered for the Rem mag.

 

[MCgunner]

I think you are slipping into the world of "oddball calibers" when you get to 7mm -- which is fine if you have a good battery of rifles in "normal" calibers, and a proper supply of ammo.

"Oddball"? Who's doing the defining here? The big 7 has been around since what, 1962? It's only the most popular belted magnum extant, at least in MY neck of the woods. It's extremely flat shooting, as light on the shoulder as the vaunted .30-06, yet more power downrange due to superior BCs in 7mm and superior velocity/energy at the muzzle. If the .30-06 can kill it, the 7 can kill it 100 yards or more farther down range.

When I was looking for another caliber than my .257 Roberts and thinking I might be going elk hunting in New Mexico with it, I settled on the 7 mag for the reasons given. I was seriously looking at the .284 as a 7mm alternative to the 06 (better bullet BCs) when I thought, why go .284 (aka 280 Remington aka 7mm express) when I can get the same gun in 7 mag and if I want less whop, I can down load it? So, I got a 7.

Well, full power, it's sorta too much for Texas whitetail. Yeah, it's got range, but I much prefer to keep my shots inside 300 yards. I'll push that a hundred yards if there's no wind and the shot is flat, perfect conditions, but rarely do I get a shot outside 200 yards, frankly, even out west. I did make a 350 yard cross canyon shot on a mulie one year in New Mexico with the gun, guess it helped there, bullet went right where I was placing it.

But, since getting that cannon, I've obtained a little Remington M7 in .308 and that's about all I use anymore. The little short action gun is light to carry, very handy size in a box blind or stand, marvelously accurate, and all the gun I need in Texas. I still like the 7, it's just a big, heavy chunk of metal and HUGE physically compared to the little M7 which, honestly, kills deer and hogs just as dead about as far as I am going to shoot.

I think if you walk into a gun shop in Albuquerque, you might find the 7 more popular there. It's a great gun for the western mountains where long shots can occur on big, tough targets. Down here in south Texas, the .243 is actually more popular and people even hunt deer with the .22-250, though I'm not one of 'em.

BTW, my 7 is an older M110 Savage and I don't find it kicks that bad. Hell, the thing weighs a ton. I did put a Ramline stock with recoil pad on it and I do use a Past recoil shield when shooting off a bench. In the field shooting at game, I don't even notice the recoil, frankly.

 

[whited]

.

Its plenty popular as a hunting round where I live, especially for deer and
elk. Whether you "need" the characteristics of the 7mm versus others, only you can decide. Its a great round and my friend
uses it, but its not for me.

.223 .204 22-250 25-06 or .308 but from what I see from the ballistic charts at 500 yards the 7mmhas them beat.

I should certainly hope so. Most of those rounds aren't in the same
category as the 7mm Remington Magnum round.

 

[ZeroJunk]

The 7 MM Rem mag is a great cartridge.I haven't had one in the past 20 years or so because it was too much the cartridge du jour.Now that the 6.5X 55 and all the little short mags are the cartridges du jour I may buy a 7 MM Rem Mag.Never much cared for the current fad.

 

[ojibweindian]

Here in Alabama, the 7mm Remington Magnum is probably too much gun for most deer. And, ranges at which deer are typically shot usually aren't more than 150 yards.

That being said, I know of several areas in the WMA that I hunt that have clear cuts which can be somewhat expansive, allowing for shots of 300+ yards. That's why I've got mine.

 

[atblis]

You know

I thought about getting one, but it really doesn't appear to be that much flatter shooting than 30-06 or 270. I compared them using some ballistics programs, and there really wasn't that big a difference. You think it's gonna be this bad*ss cartridge, and then when you get down to it, it really isn't any better ballistically. I think most people think of them as being hot because they're loud. Kinda like loud cars.

Comparing Fed. Premium Rounds with NBTs
150gr for the 7mm
130gr for the 270 Win
150gr for the 06

At 500 yards
270 Win drops 38.2" and has 1209 ftlbs of energy
7mm Mag drops 37.2" and has 1517 ftlbs of energy
30-06 drops 42.6" and has 1240 ftlbs of energey

7mm Rem Mag is a good cartridge. Just don't expect anything magical.

If you want something that hits harder than 30-06 or 270 at longer ranges, get a 300 win mag or even a 338 Win Mag.
338 Win mag will have 2000ftlbs or more at 500 yards and drops 42.6"

How bout a Savage BVSS in 300WSM?

 

[ojibweindian]

From your data, the 7mm Mag hits with 277 foot-pounds more energy, and drops 5.4" less at 500 yards than a 30-06. That seems to be at least somewhat statistically significant.

 

[Zak Smith]

7RM and 7WSM have pretty much equivalent ballistics. 7 WSM has about 5gr less H2O capacity if loaded to 2.860, but equivalent water capacity if loaded a little bit longer.

These 7mm magnums are excellent and popular cartridges for long-range shooting because they can shoot the approx 0.64 BC 168-gr-class bullets at about 3000 fps, or the 180-gr-class VLDs (BC over 0.70) at 2800-2900 fps.

In this class of cartridges, however, you won't see ballistic differentiation within 400-500 yards, provided you are using comparable bullets (BC).

 

[atblis]

Yeah

The drop difference is insignificant.

Practically, I'd say that the extra recoil, cost, barrel wear, etc. aren't worth it.

 

[MCgunner]

My pet 150 Sierra game king load has a point blank range of 325 yards and drops 11 inches at 400 yards (my self imposed limit) and 26" at 500 yards. It also hits with 1716 ft lbs at 500 yards. It only starts out at 3150 fps, but has a BC of .532 according to the "bulletsmiths" at Sierra, the number I used to calculate these figures.

When you step up to 300 win mag, you also step up significantly in recoil force. If that doesn't bother you, go for it. It wouldn't bother me, frankly, but I just like 7mm and figured I didn't need a 300. I have a friend with a .300 Win Mag in a rather heavy BAR gas operated semi auto. He doesn't reload it and frankly 1.5 moa is better than he can use being the shot that is isn't, LOL, but I've fired the gun some and it really attenuates the recoil force to the point it kicks LESS than my 7mm bolt gun. I don't wanna haul that thing around in the mountains, though, and he's in a lot worse shape than me if we make another trip out to New Mexico. Hell, he was huffin' and puffin' just walking to the back of his dad's 400 acre farm when we were dove hunting in Waco this year, LOL! Ain't a mountain in less than a day's drive from Waco, LOL!

I really think it's all just what you like between the .30-06, the 7, the .300, all the short magnum stuff. They're all in the same class, anything huntable in the lower 48. Frankly, in rough country, I'd probably carry my little M7 in .308 and leave the 7 back at camp. I'm sure the .308 can do the job inside 300 yards on an elk with a Barnes X bullet well placed. I don't need that cannon, just kinda like it and ain't gonna sell it.

 

[MachIVshooter]

The 7mm RM is a great performer, and has been one of the 5 most popular hunting cartridges in the US for a long time (right there with .30-06, .308, .270 Win. and .300 Win. Mag). It'll take any game in the world, though I'd use something heavier on big bears or other truly dangerous game.

try the 7mm win SHORT mag for even better performance.

On what planet? The WSM falls short of the RM with every bullet weight. It offers better efficiency, NOT better performance.

 

[atblis]

Well

Yeah, you can beat the factory loads by a little, but you can also do that with 270. Both cartridges are pretty much at the max. It's not hard to get a 150gr 270 bullet going over 3000fps.

I would guess that the NBT and the Sierra bullets are least equal in BC. The published BCs aren't exact.

I still don't see where the 7mm Remington Mag is that much better than the 270 Win. In theory it should be, but...

 

[MCgunner]

I still don't see where the 7mm Remington Mag is that much better than the 270 Win. In theory it should be, but...

On paper, it is in fact, just look at your own numbers. However, in practice, any will kill an Elk to about as far as the other, within 50 or 100 yards. Just details, that's all. Out to 350 yards, I need not hold over one inch on an elk and sighted for a 275 yard zero to no more than 3" PBR, I can still hold high on the shoulder of a whitetail at that range and make the hit. The 06 ain't got the trajectory and the 270 ain't got the pop nor can it shoot up to 200 grain bullets, 175 commonly available.

But, pretty much, Jack O'Conner had it right, you can hunt anything in the 48 states with the 270 successfully. It is rather light on the shoulder at the same time. Still, when it came to picking a new gun, I went with the 7 because I can always load it down if I don't like full power level. Can't make a 280 or 270 perform like a 7 mag, just ain't got the case capacity for it.

10 or 15 years ago the 7mm STW was the whiz bang kid on the block (at least in "Shooting Times") and it was getting real popular around here with the "must have the latest and greatest" crowd. The justification was shooting down senderos, but hey, whatever. Now, no one talks about the STW anymore, it's all about the short magnums. Again, whatever floats your boat. It was all done in the first half of the century IMHO. While I like some of the newer cartridges, it ain't like it ain't been done before. A good example of that is the new .30TC. What can it do that the .308 can't?

But, in the 7 mags defense, it does have top five caliber popularity and I think for good reason. It gets the job done on American big game about as good as anything else, if not better, and better than most. The .270 is still popular as, of course, is the .30-06. The original post seems to state that the 7 mag isn't popular, well it's right up there in sales. I prefer popular calibers for component availability in my rifles. I have one oddball contender barrel, 7mm TCU, I decided on for BC reasons when I was shooting some IHMSA, same deal, flat shooting. It really matters more in competition than in the field, of course. Them 200 yard rams ain't gonna get any closer while you're laying back there in a Creedmore shooting, and the quicker you can get the bullet down there and the less you need to adjust for elevation, the better. I thought about the 7-08 over the .308 when I got my M7, but I got a deal on the .308 so that's how I went. I'd have had to order a 7-08 and, I mean, there ain't a dime's difference in the two in actual practice. But, I've always like 7mm, even had a 7x57 for a while.

 

[atblis]

Well

They sell the ammo at Walmart if that tells you anything.

 

[learningman]

Browning sell's their A-Bolt Eclipse w/Boss in a laminate thumb hole stock in the 7mm magnum with a 26 inch barrel. They have it listed on their website for an msrp of $1,187. The 7mm is a great caliber and will do the lions share of the hunting available here in the states. Good luck.