7mm Remington Ultra Magnum Questions

[priv8ter]

I was looking through the Clearance/Discontinued Items book at Sportsmans Warehouse, and my interest was piqued by a Remington 700 BDL in 7mm Rem Ultra Mag, for $515.

Now, if this rifle had been in any one of about 15 other calibers, I would probably own it already. But, 7mm Rem Ultra Mag is a caliber I know very little about.

After looking at the ammo section, I noticed WAY less factory loads for the Ultra mag than regular 7mm Mag.

I used to have a 7mm Remington Magnum, and I liked it. It will kill elk and deer as far as I feel I can shoot. I want to get another one. But...no matter how fast you move a 7mm bullet, it's still only .284 caliber, right?

So...does 7mm Ultra mag have some hidden abilties I can't tell by looking at a ballistics chart, and is it possible to down-load it to a 'Not-so-Ultra-Magnum' Magnum(and less punishing/costly) load?

Thanks for the help.

greg

 

[sumpnz]

Unless you really like recoil, I'd pass on it.

Why bother to download it when you already have a 7mm (non-ultra) mag? All that'll do is kill the accuracy.

 

[priv8ter]

Well, see...

I don't have the 7mm Rem Mag anymore

I used to own in in that mythical time and place known as my 'Teen-Age Years.' My dad bought a Winchester Model 70 off one of uncles for $250 dollars, then when I joined the Navy and moved away, he sold if to someone else for $175, because...hey, it's 3 years older.

So, currently, the only ldeer/elk rifle I have is a .270 I bought for my wife last year, which is why the Model 700 caught my eye.

greg

 

[dakotasin]

i just got a 7 rum... it fits in the rack nicely w/ the 7 rem mag, and, well, a few other magnum chamberings.

the 7 rum can be downloaded to 7 rem mag levels, or less if you wanted to - but if you aren't a handloader, i don't know that downloaded ammo is available.

i don't think the recoil is obnoxious. sure, there's more than the 7 rem mag, but at 25 or so more grains of powder (and the accompanying velocity increase), you'd expect there to be.

the 7 rum is not without its faults though - the most glaring of which is how overbore it is. i am of the opinion that the 7 stw is the pinnacle of 7mm performance... but, stw's are hard to find. so, i went 7 rum. it will outperform the stw, sure, but takes more powder to do the job.

if you are stuck shooting factory loads only, i would reccomend you pass on the rum. if you handload, or are seriously going to start, then the 7 rum should snuggle right into your safe just fine, and will stop many a heartbeat for ya.

performance! the 7 rum and 300 rum have that in spades.

 

[redneck2]

Just remember, velocity increases at 25% of the increase in powder. More noise, more recoil, and less barrel life for maybe 150-200 fps. Hard to find and expensive ammo

I have a friend that had a .30-378 Weatherby. One of the absolute ultimate long range calibers. Could have bought it pretty cheap with 800 rounds fired, but then I found out the projected life of the barrel is something like 1,000 rounds. With the muzzle brake the recoil was not bad, but you had to have a cloth on ground at the muzzle or it would kick up a lot of dust and dirt. He shot it ONCE without the brake.....

It appears the super magnum craze of 5-8 years ago has died down. But hey, if it's your thing, you're the one that's got to be happy with it

 

[berettashotgun]

I bought a rem 700 ss 7mm RUM in 2001, Never have shot a factory load from it and had a rough time getting the thing to group under 1moa, really rough time :banghead: I now currently own EVERY brand and bullet size in the wonderful .284 caliber as a result of my ignorance and the lack of educational material on the 7mm RUM at the time I purchased the rifle. It will literally explode a deer at 300 yards with 140 nosler ballistic tips now. Now the reality check- ditto with the 300win mag, or the easier to reload for 7mm STW's in my "collection". I personally think (don't know ) that a 190gr bullet is needed to actually explore the potential of the 7mm RUM, the most accurate loads I found for MY rifle were in the 175gr bullet weights, and I know I shouldn't print this~ but here it is- 3328fps 50 shot average (yep- 50! NOT AT ONCE ) with H870 < it has been discontinued, but I still have 14 lbs> I found the accuracy I was after required maxing out the load, something I'm VERY reluctant to do. The RUM calibers are all excellent- I don't have the 338, but the 375 is a real performer- it is highly recomended for anyone wanting a .50 in a slightly reduced size/performance but (almost) duplicates the trajectory exactly. I've been on the soap box long enough, had way too much coffee this morning, but personally I'd get the rifle. A 300 win is a much better choice $$ wise, but the 7RUM will see its day. Like I said- a HEAVY bullet and a 1:9.5 twist would wring out the actual accuracy potential from this cartridge. ps~ it don't "kick" that bad- a SBE with full-on goose loads is a LOT worse!!

 

[berettashotgun]

Needed to add that the reload cost of the RUM cartridges is pretty steep after all, brass is about 2 for a buck, 100 min, and the cases hold A-LOT of powder; 95grains is the mean average for most loads. This includes the 7, 300, 375. I have never reloaded anything short of 10ga goose loads that were near as expensive. I have been thinking about getting the dibs on a 9.3mm(366) ultramag.