Why not the 7MM MAG?

[kc]

Every time I see TACTICAL RIFLES, they are in .308 or .300MAG and .338 Lapoua.
I have a 7MAG I got from a friend back in 1982 its got a heavy Barrel and sets in a HS Precision
Bench rest stock with a Burris Scope..My plans are to replace the Barrel back to the 7MAG.
I just love what it did when the Barrel was new it needs to be changed(shot well over 5000 rounds)why do they not recognise this calibre? anything at 500 yards is dead(Deer) even woodchucks. I like this better than the .308?

 

[Broz]

The 7mm is a great round .... no doubt. To me , the difference between the 7mm and the 300 comes in with the energy at 1000 yards. That and I have not seen the 7mm take over at the matches yet.

7mm or 308.......hard to choose for sure.

Jeff gun)gun)

 

[ewallace]

The 7mm mag is a outstanding round I have a couple friends that shoot them in 1000 yard bench rest competition and do well with them.

 

[kiwi3006]

I agree! I love my 7mm mag, excellent ballistics in a mild package. Perfect long range deer round.

Stu.

 

[trebark]

7mm is a great caliber. I have a 280Rem that shoots 168grain VLDs at 2850fps and it is awesome! That's enough power to take deer at 1k.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-280-updated-32771/

If you are going to rebarrel your rifle go with the 7mm Ultra Mag. That way you have even more case capacity. So you can load it down to 7Rem Mag velocities or crank it up.

With the 7Ultra you would probably be able to send 180grain VLDs at 3200+....AWESOME!

 

[J E Custom]

When I competed in NRA High power matches I used a 7mm rem mag for the 1000 yard
course and did very well (Even won a few state matches in my class). I used H 4831 and
the 168grain Sierra match king.

With better ballistics than the heaver and slower 30 cals it was very competitive even in bad
weather.

There are probably better calibers now due to bigger cases and better bullets but there is
nothing wrong with the 7mm rem mag and it is a proven performer at long range.

J E CUSTOM

 

[BillR]

I just purchased a 7MM Rem Mag in a Rem 700 Sendero II as it will fit into my group of guns I own now very well. Couple reasons for the purchase was I didn't have a gun in 7MM or even close. Have the .25-06AI, .308 Win, .300 RUM and I also just purchased a .300 WM in a 700 Sendero with a worn out barrel to be used as a .338 Edge but I really wanted something that could handle a heavy 7MM bullet and since Remington is dropping the Sendero I also seen that as a bell ringer to get er done. Now all I need to do is get time to work up a load for it. The recoil should be a bit more comfortable than my .300 RUM and barrel life should be good with it.

 

[Broz]

I just purchased a 7MM Rem Mag in a Rem 700 Sendero

Now all I need to do is get time to work up a load for it. The recoil should be a bit more comfortable than my .300 RUM and barrel life should be good with it.

Bill,

I just finished setting one of these (7mm Ren Sendero) up for a neighbor with 168 gr Bergers. I started with 68 gr of H-1000 and worked up to 71.5 gr.

Then I tweaked the seating depth. Mine didnt like the bullets seated at .005, .010 or .020 off the lands. As I moved out (away from the lands) the groups shrunk. I stopped at .040" off the lands when the rifle produced two conscutive 3 shot groups in the 5/8" range at 175 yards.

Thought you might get some good from this info.

Jeff

 

[Fitch]

Every time I see TACTICAL RIFLES, they are in .308 or .300MAG and .338 Lapoua.
I have a 7MAG I got from a friend back in 1982 its got a heavy Barrel and sets in a HS Precision
Bench rest stock with a Burris Scope..My plans are to replace the Barrel back to the 7MAG.
I just love what it did when the Barrel was new it needs to be changed(shot well over 5000 rounds)why do they not recognise this calibre? anything at 500 yards is dead(Deer) even woodchucks. I like this better than the .308?

Good questions. I've asked myself the same thing. I recently purchased a Savage 112 BVSS in 7MAG to be my long range deer rifle. Heck of a fine cartridge. Very accurate, relatively flat shooting, decent barrel life, tremendous high BC bullet selection, easy to find brass, relatively easy to load for once one understands how to size the brass. Lots of thump for taking down deer to a grand, elk to half that, and I can shoot it just fine with out a muzzle brake.

Lot to like about that cartridge. So I have to agree, I think the 7MAG is a better tactical cartridge than the .300MAG or .308.

Fitch

 

[Limbic]

I personally think the load window for an accurate round with the 7mm is fairly fragile and small. I'm thinking about changing out my barrel to 300 win mag as we speak.

 

[BillR]

Thanks for the load info Fitch. That should be a good bullet and load from what I see. Also most of the Remington rifles I own with stock barrels do seem to like a lot of bullet jump at about the amount you stated. H1000 is the powder I have been looking at as its pretty stable for temps.