7mm Rem Mag VS 7mm Rem Ultra Mag

[Prieto9000]

Hey guys.
I'm buying a new rifle, the question is if I should stick with the old proven 7mm Rem Mag or if I should upgrade to the Ultra Mag. I've had 7mm rem mags in the past and have no complaints.
Are those extra 200fps worth the extra recoil and 20gr of powder??

 

[7stw]

Hey guys.
I'm buying a new rifle, the question is if I should stick with the old proven 7mm Rem Mag or if I should upgrade to the Ultra Mag. I've had 7mm rem mags in the past and have no complaints.
Are those extra 200fps worth the extra recoil and 20gr of powder??

IMHO, I would stick with the trusty 7 mag. In some ways, the rum is dead. It will eat a barrel so fast, that by the time you get it to shoot, it is already substantially worn in the throat area. I find them to be finicky to load for, and are waaaay to much over bore. As my screen name implies, I am a 7 STW fan, which is about as much overbore that I think is practical AND SHOOTABLE. Brass is another issue. It is harder to find these days.
Now, the 7 mag, is very underrated. It is exceptionally accurate, is not hard to load for, and guns and brass are everywhere. The seven mag will never go away, but I fear a different fate for the 7 RUM.

 

[Varminator 911]

The 7 RUM is too overbore for any bullet below 180 IMO. I'd only consider it for something like the new 195 gn Berger. Even there I'd move up to 300 or 338 RUM for shots way out yonder.

 

[AZShooter]

There is something to like with both 7mms. The two 7 RUMs I had shot bullets more than 200 fps over the 7 Rem mag.

Maybe if you were to look at the two chamberings based on where it will be used, size and weight could become the deciding factor. The 7 RUM will come with a 26" barrel which IMO really doesn't wring out its full potential. 7 Rem mags perform well with 24" barrels. Go really light with the 7 RUM and it will be a handfull while the 7 Rem Mag won't. You get the idea of where I am going.

Now that I have begun chambering and installing my own barrels the 7 RUM is more appealing to me. It is a barrel burner but not having to deal with a gunsmith with time delays and all that extra money I have been considering making a longer barreled one in the future. With the 195 Berger coming out soon this would be an awesome LR rig.

 

[Fred Ea]

9000,
These guys are spot on, don't get a 7UM, not worth the trouble. The7RM is the better choice between the two. You can get ammo for it easily and brass is more plentiful if you hand load. I personally am a 7stw man, it is a bit overbore also and you pretty much have to hand load it to get the best performance out of it.
On the other hand, I have shot a 7RM for years and it will do more than you think it will with hand loads and will last forever. I use 160gr. Bullets in mine and it is accurate too.
FE

 

[Prieto9000]

The 2 rifles I'm considering are:
1.- 7mm Rem Mag Browning X-Bolt Stainless Stalker
2.- 7mm Rem Ultra Mag Remington 700 XCR RMEF

I'm considering changing the barrel on the Remington700 for a .338 Broughton 5C so instead of having a 7mm Rem Ultra Mag maybe a .338 EDGE would be a nice addition to my collection.
I'm buying the 7mm Rem Mag X-Bolt any way because I already own a .243win and want to have the pair. The thing is a friend wants to trade me his Rem 700 7mm Rem Ultra for my CZ-550 Varmint Laminated in 22-250 Rem which is my current Coyote Rifle. I think there is nothing that the 22-250 can do that the .243 doesn't do better. But I'm not sure if I want to have a 7mm ultra if I already have a 7mm Rem.

 

[Prieto9000]

9000,
These guys are spot on, don't get a 7UM, not worth the trouble. The7RM is the better choice between the two. You can get ammo for it easily and brass is more plentiful if you hand load. I personally am a 7stw man, it is a bit overbore also and you pretty much have to hand load it to get the best performance out of it.
On the other hand, I have shot a 7RM for years and it will do more than you think it will with hand loads and will last forever. I use 160gr. Bullets in mine and it is accurate too.
FE

I've been loading for my old 7RM and had great results with 150Gr Swift SiroccoII and 154Gr Hornady IB and SST's.

Maybe I'll just trade it and get the .338 barrel.

 

[jehu]

I have a 7MM Rem. Sako Grey Wolf on order due in around the 1rst of May.I had a Browning A Bolt XTR but could not get it to group under 2"-1 1/2" so traded it.

 

[Prieto9000]

I have a 7MM Rem. Sako Grey Wolf on order due in around the 1rst of May.I had a Browning A Bolt XTR but could not get it to group under 2"-1 1/2" so traded it.

My old 7mm RM X-Bolt was really accurate, and my .243 Win X-Bolt gets .5 MOA groups with hand loaded ammo. So no complaints in this department with the X-bolts so far

 

[baldhunter]

The 7mag in my opinion the better choice.Sure,you can load the Ultra up a little higher velocity,but like you say,a lot more recoil and powder.If most of your shots are inside 300-400yds,the 7mag is really all one needs.The sad thing these days is,the modern manuals have really loaded down the 7mag.This began when the 7STW first came out.When the 7 Ultra mag came out,they loaded the 7STW down too to make the Ultra mag shine.I started shooting the 7mag before the other two came out.Even though it's older,unlike us,it doesn't slow down with age.In fact,with the powders we have today,it is probably an even better cartridge than it was nearly fifty years ago.

 

[Max Heat]

I am currently transitioning from the RM to the RUM (barrel not arrived yet). But since MY objective is HEAT, I will continue to use NBT 120's, unless I decide to take shots at significantly longer ranges than I currently do . The fps increase, from RM to RUM, should be in the range of 300 to 350, for the 120 grainers. With heavier pills, it will be less. But it will still be approximately a 10% increase. Some don't seem to think that is all that much. But a 10% increase in heat results in 25% more energy being delivered to the target.
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[baldhunter]

Today I was looking over the 7mm Weatherby Magnum data in my Hornady manual.The book data showed it to nearly match the velocities shown for each bullet weight for the 7 Ultra Mag.I know Weatherbys are freebored so you can load them a little hotter,but dang,is the 7mm Weatherby that much better than the other 7mags.That is one cartridge you just don't hear too much about and it's been around for a long time.

 

[Iron Worker]

Hey don't forget about the 7MM WSM ! I can push 162 gr A-Maxs at nearly 3200 out of 26" bbl.

 

[proload]

The 2 rifles I'm considering are:
1.- 7mm Rem Mag Browning X-Bolt Stainless Stalker
2.- 7mm Rem Ultra Mag Remington 700 XCR RMEF

I too looked at both these rifles recently, although for me I was sold on 7mm Rem Mag, so it was a straight rifle comparison (with no caliber variation).

In the end, I went with the XCR, and I have to say that I am very very happy with it.

The decision took me over 2 months to make though ...