No experience with the 7mm Magnum. Got A few Questions . . .

[Aqeous]

Me and my buddy have been debating the pros and cons of the 7mm magnum. Now mainly I have stuck to the .308 and 300 Win Mag, and they have both done their intended job respective when called upon.

I am being told that the 7mm magnum effectively “bridges” the gap between the .308 and the .300 Win Mag---being that the 7mm Mag has similar characteristics as the .308 (BC) but flies flatter, and faster. Thus more accuracy at 300-500 range shots on a windy day, but with less recoil then the .300 win mag. Anyone want to join in??

As far as I can tell he might be right. Most “long range” shots I am interested in are right around the 4-5 hundred mark. And even though the .308 is more then capable, the wind often widens the groups up more then just a little bit. .300 Win Mag does an excellent job against the wind, but, he’s got me thinking that it may be a bit over kill for what I am (primarily) using it for. The Win Mag will give me great groups all day long at 500 yards even on a windy day, the .308 is usually not quite so good (or at least substandard in my own eyes).


We’d go out and test it for ourselves but his 7mm mag is MIA at the moment. So I bring the debate here . . .

1.) Could a 7mm reach out to 400 and 500 yards notably better then a .308?

2.) How does it compare to the tried and true .300 WIn Mag at that range?

2.) How about lethality, hit a heavy dear at 400-500 yards with a 7mm mag, will it know the difference compared to being hit with either a .308 or .300 Win Mag at the same distance?

Does anyone know for certain? Or like so many things firearms related is it just up for preference and speculation?



P.S. My response to him was "Why go magnum at all in that case, according to your line of thinking the .270 will do just fine. And with even less recoil then the 7mm Magnum."

 

[Schleprok62]

The Comparison between the 300 WM and the 7mm RM is kinda mute... One is as good as the other at the ranges you refer to.

However, if recoil is something of an issue. The .280 Rem is a much more versitile round than the .270, and, if you reload, can give performance close to the 7mm RM. The 270 (as good as it is) is a bit light for those ranges, IMO.

 

[Ash]

But, the 7mm's recoil is in the 30-06 range, albeit on the high side, and would be absolutely all you ever needed.

Ash

 

[MT GUNNY]

I think the 7mm will have flater flight.
If I remember properly the 7mm round has better BC than .30 call round of same weight.

However with all that said you can get more lead behind a .30 call than 7mm,.

Bullet construction would be something to consider if hunting at those ranges with 7mm

All but two deer I have taken with a 7mm most droped in their tracks others have ran a few steps and colapsed. All within 300 yards.

Again like most will agree that shot placement is Key.

 

[Hoppy590]

the 7mm rem mag is heads above the .308. much bigger round (bigger than 30-06) farther, flatter, faster. i have no experience with the .300 but 7MM rem mag is more than enough gun for anything in the Americas.

 

[MT GUNNY]

Hoppy Ill agree with you on 7mm being heads above in proformance.

However the diameter of the 7mm is smaller than any .30 call round
(.284 I think is the measurment of a 7mm round)

I am sorry, if you ment BETTER in place of BIGGER

 

[Schleprok62]

I think he was refering to the size of the case...

 

[Ash]

Yeah, the 7mm case is bigger than the 30-06.

Ash

 

[Aqeous]

Any one know if its true that a 7mm mag actually has a SHORTER BARREL LIFE then a 300 win mag?! I have heard this said and that might be the deal breaker. Personally I don't see why it would but I have heard it stated more then once.

 

[336A]

The 7mm Rem Mag is a great cartridge and my favorite cartridge for high power rifles. It is fully capable of shooting out 400-500yds accurately as long as the rifle, ammo and the shooter is up to the task as well. When comparing different calibers one has to look at more than just bullet weight and velocity. As an example it is not a fair comparison to compare a 7mm Mag shooting a 175gr to a 300 Win Mag shooting a 180gr bullet. When comparing 2 different calibers in this case 7mm and .30 cal you need to look at Sectional density (SD) and Ballistic Coeffcient (BC) when making a comparison.

If you look at the Hornady web site you will find that the 154gr 7mm Interbond bullet has a SD of .273 and a BC of .525. In order for a .30 caliber to come close to those numbers one has to jump up to a 180gr bullet. Going back to Hornady, the .30 cal 180gr Interbond bullet has a SD of .271 and a BC of .480. What this shows is that shooting a 154gr bullet out of a 7mm cartridge is the same as shooting a 180gr bullet from a .30 cal cartridge since the SD is nearly identicle. The 7mm Rem Mag will give you less recoil than the 300 Win Mag and a flatter trajectory due to the higher BC and resultant higher veolcity. However IMHO no one would be able to tell the difference between the two as far as on game performance is concerened.

The last I knew the Secret Service Counter Sniper Teams are using special built rifles in 7mm Rem Mag, that should tell you something about its long range capabilities. As far as barrel life you can expect to get about 2500 rounds from both the 300 Win and 7mm Rem Mag. Hope this helps.

 

[Aqeous]

I guess my man here was right . . .

I'm going to be looking into this a little further. If the 7mm can do what I need at 400 + yards then maybe the butt kicking .300 Win Mag I have loved for so long may not be necessary . . .

Go figure . . .

Keep the posts coming if anyone has anything more to add . . .

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Me and my buddy have been debating the pros and cons of the 7mm magnum.

Any one know if its true that a 7mm mag actually has a SHORTER BARREL LIFE then a 300 win mag?!

Dude. WHICH "7mm mag"?:

-7mm Rem mag?
-7mm RUM
-7mm WSM
-7mm RSAUM
-7mm Dakota
-7mm STW
or
-some other one?

Please specify. But regardless, save the last two, they're pretty similar. Yes, the barrel life will be shorter than a .300 win mag - but who cares - it's still probably a longer life than any hunting rifle will ever need. You're not burning thousands of rounds per year competing with it, are you?

The 7mm Rem Mag is a most outstanding cartridge - it's popular for good reason. Ballistically, it is just about the ultimate long-range hunting round. Look at what 336A said above. 'Bout the only knock on it is the belt (and the dreaded "belt bulge"), which is only a problem if you're reloading for it.

 

[Aqeous]

Response to PremiumSauces

The 7MM Rem Mag . . .


And yes, I put allot of rounds through my guns . . .

So how much of a shorter life can I expect?

 

[Hoppy590]

I am sorry, if you ment BETTER in place of BIGGER

ya i meant better i suppose. i said bigger, meaning more powerfull, stronger etc. yall got my gist. sorry for any confusion

 

[336A]

Here is some long range data for you. I used the above mentioned 154gr Interbond bullet, as well as the factory velocity specs when putting it into a ballistic calculator.

Calculated Table
Range Drop Drop Windage Windage Velocity Mach Energy Time Lead Lead
(yds) (in) (moa) (in) (moa) (ft/s) (none) (ft•lbs) (s) (in) (moa)
0 -1.5 *** 0.0 *** 3041.3 2.724 3162.4 0.000 0.0 ***
100 1.4 1.3 0.6 0.5 2855.1 2.557 2787.0 0.102 17.9 17.1
200 -0.0 -0.0 2.3 1.1 2676.6 2.397 2449.5 0.210 37.0 17.7
300 -6.2 -2.0 5.3 1.7 2505.1 2.244 2145.6 0.326 57.4 18.3
400 -18.0 -4.3 9.8 2.3 2340.0 2.096 1872.1 0.450 79.2 18.9
500 -36.2 -6.9 15.8 3.0 2181.1 1.954 1626.4 0.583 102.6 19.6
600 -61.7 -9.8 23.5 3.7 2028.4 1.817 1406.6 0.726 127.7 20.3
700 -95.6 -13.0 33.2 4.5 1882.2 1.686 1211.2 0.879 154.7 21.1
800 -139.3 -16.6 45.0 5.4 1743.1 1.561 1038.8 1.045 183.9 21.9
900 -194.6 -20.6 59.1 6.3 1612.0 1.444 888.4 1.224 215.4 22.9
1000 -263.2 -25.1 75.9 7.2 1489.8 1.334 758.8 1.417 249.5 23.8

13 Apr 2008 15:15:48, JBM [http://www.eskimo.com/~jbm]

 

[BigCompetator]

first of all let me say that the 270 is a perfect gun. the 7mm mag will out do 308 any day as for the 300 the 7mm is faster and flatter and will probably be a better choice for the 1 grand shot but the 300 has more guts at longer ranges.

 

[rangerruck]

As far as long range goes, i don't think their is enough diff in bbl burn, between 300 mag, and 7 mag. The 7 mag has much better b.c. than any 30. bullet.
Some dude in England used a 300wsm/7mm(300 nexted down to 7) to punch a 3.67 inch group at 1000 yds. Awesome!!!!

 

[nyresq]

the amount of recoil a 7mm rem mag generates only a little more then a .308, but the difference between the 7mm and the 300 mag is huge. The 7mm in a light sporter kicks, but is handled by most hunters. The 300wm on a light rifle becomes uncomfortable for most people.

 

[skinewmexico]

I'd look at any of the 6.5s, but I don't like getting hammered by recoil when I shoot a lot.

 

[RobG5538]

Speaking strictly about felt recoil, I had a .300 WM with syn. stock, scoped, soft recoil pad AND a PAST recoil shield and couldn't do more than 15 or so rounds before it hurt. So, I sold it. I can shoot my 7mm RM, syn. stocked, scoped, with "hot" 160 gr reloads all day with no problem. I have put as many as 100 rounds through in one session. I followed that with 20 12g slugs. Now those hurt

 

[rangerruck]

And as an aside, the old remmy 6.5 mag, or the winny 264 winmag, with a 140 , grain bullet,leaving a 24 or 26 inch bbl at about 3200 fps, duplicates or betters the 7mag, and that includes going way out there, and was allways a better cartridge, its just they were introduced in the wrong rifles, and still are marketed wrong to this day. Shame really.