Opinions of the Remington 7mm Ultra Mag.

[Paulinus]

Received a Remington 700 BDL LSS in 7mm Ultra Mag. as a gift several month ago and I have not decided if I should keep, trade, or sell. It seems to be a bit much for mule deer hunting even in western Kansas. Ballistics are in the WOW class, but so is blast and recoil. Any recommendations and/or opinions of the rifle or cartridge?

Thanks,

 

[priv8ter]

My opinion

Well, as someone who has owned a 7mm Remington Magnum, but has never owned or fired, or even handled a 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum, here is my opinion.

TOO DAMN MUCH.

Too Much Noise, Too much blast, too much recoil, and if you buy factory ammo, too much money.

Yes, the ballistics do look impressive, but...(and don't flame me), it's still just a .284 bullet, no matter how fast you move it. I am still not going to use a 7mm Ultra Mag in a situation that I feel calls for a .375(big bear in Alaska for example)

I loved my 7mm Rem Mag for deer and elk, and I want to get another one. But, if I can't find a 7mm Rem Mag, there are about 10 other calibers I would get before thinking of gettting a 7mm Ultra Mag.

So, if it was me, it would go in the trade/sell catagory.

But, that's just me, and maybe I'm a wimp.

greg

 

[lycanthrope]

That depends on wether you have a decent mule deer rifle already and wether you wish you could shoot longer on occasion.

I owned a 7mm mag for years and then stepped up to a 7STW. I find with hot loads the STW helps with fast shots out to 400 yards since holdover is minimal. The Ultra will do the job even better. Many people don't hunt this way, but for those who do we need the extra energy out beyond 300. My personal recipe shoots 140gr bullets at 3450fps. Recoil is less than a 30-06 using 180's.

If you reload, the 7 ultra can be loaded down to 7 mag velocity and recoil. When the need arises you can load up. Without the belted cartridge case it will also be inherently more accurate in theory (although there is no guarantee whatsoever).

People tend to have overly negative opinions of the hot magnums, but for the reloader they are simply more versatile. The 7 is also underrated despite better ballistic coefficients than several .30 caliber loadings in the same weight. With a good bonded bullet or Barnes X it will also penetrate the largets of north american game.

 

[dakotasin]

i love magnums, that's for sure... but, in a 26" barrel, i think the class of the class is the 7 stw. i think the rum is just a bit too much of a good thing. however, since you already have the gun, keep it.

if you just can't shoot it, or don't like shooting it, then you should get rid of it - but that is true of any gun, not just a 7 rum.

 

[Paulinus]

7mm RUM

My 7mm RUM has a 26" barrel. As I expected both negative and positive comments. My understanding is that the 7mm RUM, 7mm STW, and 7mm Wby. mag. are all about the same ballistically and in recoil. My other deer rifles are a 270 Win. and a 300 Savage, both Remington 700s.

 

[MolonLabe416]

As the man said, "Too damn much."

Another man asked "What's it for"? Why, to sell, of course. It's a currency exchange device designed to exchange currency from you to the seller.

Unless you shoot 1000 yard matches, you don't need a magnum. You certainly don't need one for hunging in north America.

If you like 7mm, take a look at the old 7x57, or the 280 Remington. Any reasonable shot you take on game, say within 300 yards, is a done deal with either if you place the bullet where it needs to be. The animal will not know it wasn't a super duper ultra boomer kicker louden burner.

 

[Paulinus]

Traded

I got a good trade offer today. I am the "proud" owner of a new Rem 700 BDL SS in 30-06. Not flashly like the 7 RUM, but my shoulder will enjoy it much more. The old 30-06 is cheap and has more power than either my 300 Savage or 270 Win., but not has much as the 35 Whelen.

 

[sumpnz]

Sounds like a very sensible trade to me. I might have chosen something else, but that's only because my personal preferences aren't the same as yours. Good luck, hope you enjoy it and keep 'em in the X-ring.

I'm a bit of a recoil wuss myself so I certainly understand the whole "but my shoulder will enjoy it much more" sentiment.

 

[Hawk]

Unless you shoot 1000 yard matches

Must've been reading my mind. I suspect I've done smarter things, but when I saw the Sendero 7mm RUM gathering dust on the dealer's rack, it struck me as a nice "test the waters" deal for long range rifle.

I thought it'd be a poor man's way to find out if long range rifle was for me - the glass I bought for it is supposed to hold up well on a .50 BMG (If I do stick with it), reloading press is bought and the empties are accumulating. There's a box of 162 gr AMAX's on my desk.

The jury's still out, but I'm having fun so far.

 

[TLR]

RELOAD INFO 7 RUM 140 GR BARNES X

I am not recoil sensitive. I am very fond of my Rem 338 ultra mag and, with the Barnes 210 gr xlc, have had very good success on Colorado elk. Ballistically, the Rem 338 ultra mag in the 185 gr xlc out performs the Rem 300 ultra mag in the 180 gr and also out performs the Rem 7mm mag in the 140 gr out to 300 yds, carrying more velocity and energy and shooting flatter.

I am considering the Rem 7mm ultra mag as a "compliment" to my Rem 338 ultra mag but have no reloading info for the Barnes in either the 140 xlc or tripple shock. Has anyone worked up a good load using either or both of these bullets?

Your help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
TLR

 

[dakotasin]

look to rl-25 to get you in on 3900-ish f/s.

 

[Gewehr98]

Congrats on the trade for the .30-06!

The mule deer won't know the difference. Your shoulder and wallet will.



(8 more...)

 

[MachIVshooter]

My understanding is that the 7mm RUM, 7mm STW, and 7mm Wby. mag. are all about the same ballistically and in recoil. My other deer rifles are a 270 Win. and a 300 Savage, both Remington 700s.

The 7mmRUM is at the top of the heap for factory 7mm cartridges. The 7mm STW is a hairs breadth below it. The 7mm Wthby. mag. is ballistically identicle to the 7mm Rem mag., but predates it by 18 years.

That said, your .270 is better suited to whitetail hunting. The 7mm RUM and .300 RUM were really designed with long range big game hunting in mind. They are premier 400+ yard elk cartridges, but are unnecessarily powerful for whitetail and even a bit much for big mulies. I use a .25-06 for mule deer and trust it out to ~600 yards with the right load. Deer just are not that big (especially whitetails) and do not require the extreme energy delivered by the RUM. IMO, it is more recoil than one should tolerate hunting medium game. I have a .375 Ultra and, while the rifle is accurate enough, I would not attempt a shot past ~350 yards because I cannot shoot such a heavy recoiling gun as well as many smaller calibers (and I'm a recoil junky).

However, if you intend to to hunt elk, moose or caribou, I would hang onto the rifle. Your .270 will put these critters down, but it never hurtys to have more power when talking game animals that can weigh betweeen 700 and 1500 pounds.

Of course, my little sister has done well with her .280 on elk shooting my magnum level loads (150 gr. Sierra's at 3045 FPS).