7mm Rem Mag good enough?

[7mmMag]

Hello everyone! I have been lurking on this site for a few weeks trying to gather as much information as I can before I made my first post. I am a newcomer to the sport of Long Range Hunting/Shooting and I have some newbie questions. First, I currently own a Remington Model 700 7mm Mag and was wondering if this was an adequate rifle to start with. From what I have been reading on this forum, it does not seem as though this caliber is very popular for longe range hunting. Is this a fair statement? My rifle is 100% factory, but I would like to have some work done to it. Any suggestions would be great. I did a search on this forum for information on 7mm Mags and did not seem to come up with much. Maybe I did the search wrong! I am hoping you all tell me I can work with this caliber as I would prefer not to have to buy another rifle just yet.
I will be reloading my own rounds, but I will not ask any questions just yet as I have not done a search on that topic yet. I am sure there is plenty of information out there that will answer most of my questions.
Just for your information, this rifle will not be just for punching paper. It will be my deer hunting gun as well. I just wanted to let y'all know in case that had any bearing on modifications you would recommend.
Well, I look forward to hearing from y'all. Thanks in advance for your help and I hope to talk to you often!

Joe

 

[Darryl Cassel]

Hello Joe and welcome

Your 7mm Mag is enough rifle for you to get started. Problem is, the barrel is probably 24" if it's a standard sporter. Some of them however have 26" barrels.
With the shorter barrels you don't have the velocity that mine would have with a 30". The reduced velocity can be overcome by the use of MORE clicks of elevation. Of course I never heard a deer complain as to "How many clicks it took to kill him."

Again, unless you have a factory rifle such as the Sendaros or the 40X, which have a heavier barrel, you will build up heat much faster in the sporter weight barrel when several shots are fired, if needed.
The 7mm will do for you if you don't try to reach out further then you have PRACTICED and know exactly where the bullet will end up. Computer ballistics programs can be of great help to you.

I would suggest you get a good click adjustable scope that has 1/4 min click adjustments. I would recommend the Leupold 6 1/2X to 20X LR with the side wheel focus or the 8 1/2X to 25X in the same scope.
Get a 100 yard zero and go somewhere that you have "known" yardages out to 500 or 600 yards. Start at 100 yards and practice, go to 200, 300, 400, 500 and make your actual fire drop chart (along with a computer program) as to how many clicks it takes to get from the 100 yard zero to each 100 yards after that. Keep practicing in all weather. You must know the clicks to be able to place the bullet downrange safely.

Practice watching the mirage (wind) and setting your windage adjustment. See what a 5 and 10 MPH wind will do to your bullet at the various ranges.

Take your rifle woodchuck hunting. Apply what you have learned in the practice sessions at your range to the chucks.

Get comfortable with the rifle and use the largest Match bullet such as a 168 Gr Sierra MK for the practice and HUNTING. You will be amazed at the outcome.

I have three 7mm Mags here at present and most I have had are custom jobs with heavy 30" barrels.

Try all this and let us know how you are doing with a progress report.

Later
Darryl Cassel

 

[Dave King]

I agree, exactly what Darryl said!

Welcome to the Long Range Hunting forums.

 

[No Fear in Accuracy]

Hello 7mmMag,

I used to own Remington Model 700 BDL 7mm Rem. Mag. with 24" barrel. It was an awesome rifle. It was the most accurate gun I ever had. About 15 years ago, I used 162gr. Hornady Match HP. The bullet was very long and it shoot well. (I'm not sure if Sierra sells 7mm 168gr.MK 15-18 years ago.) I've shot moose with it.
You will be happy with your rifle until you want a bit more challenge, then replace the barrel to a longer one like 30" long.

Enjoy!
-Denny

 

[longrangehunter]

Hi,
Darryl has provided excellent info on how to get started and how to practice.

Besides good optics you will want a trigger job from a trusted gunsmith. My gunsmith only charges $25 to tune a Remington 700 trigger.

You could go ahead and have the action tuned and bedded, etc., but I would wait. First check the accuracy. If you decide the rifle needs work I would start looking at a different rifle and caliber. On a budget pick up a Sendero or similar. Or better yet, if you look around you might be able to get a bargain on a used custom rig. Maybe Darryl has an extra. hehe.

For now be happy with your 7mm and most importantly get in a lot of quality range time.

 

[7mmMag]

Thanks guys for all of the replies! It sounds like I will be able to work with what I currently have. That is what I was hoping to hear! I will keep you all updated. Now all I have to do is get out and practice!!

Good shooting!

 

[Flinch]

I think the 7mm is a great starting or finishing caliber. It will shoot farther and kill better than most can hold it. I shot the barrel out of a 700 BDL on long range rock chucks. I didn't do a thing to it, but adjust the trigger. It shot CONSISTENTLY in the .4's with 140 grain Nosler ballistic tips at 3,226 fps. I killed a ton of deer and elk past 400 yards and several beaver and chucks at 800-900 yards. It is a goodie, but does heat up the barrel fast, which is what killed my barrel (abuse...hee hee). I would frequently shoot 40 rounds in an hour without barrel cooling. Hey, when the chucks are out, you gotta take advantage of it

. Flinch

 

[Flinch]

Oh yeah, and I will be taking posession of a custom 27.5" barreled 7 mag. any day now. It will be a long range hunting/messing around rifle. It is a #4 contour SS Lilja on a 700 stainless action in an HS BDL stock. It will be replaced with a Mcmillan A2 urban cammo stock soon. GREAT caliber in my estimation. Flinch