I want a legit argument against an old trusted cartridge

[msmith57]

I started off my hunting career with a 7mm Remington Magnum. It never failed me but eventually I was bitten by the "bigger and better" bug. I switched to a 300 win mag which I believed would serve me well with a little more knock down power, if I ever made it to Alaska to hunt big bears.

I shortly realized elk, dear, antalope, and black bear don't know the difference between the 300 and 7mm... it's more about shot placement and the type of bullet being used.

So I went back the the 7mm because of less recoil and better wind fighting capabilities.

Then I was bitten by the "newest shinniest" bug. I picked the next cartridge by going backwards. I wanted the highest BC, highest SD bullet made, which was at the time the 7mm 195 Berger EOL. Then found the cartridge which would push it the fastest and flattest, the 28 Nosler (besides the Allen mags and other wildcats).

After messing with the 28 Nosler for probably 2 rifles, 5 barrels, maybe 2000 rounds within the last year... I don't know it's worth it.

The 7mm Remington Magnum will kill anything. It's cheap. It doesn't kick bad with a muzzle brake. I could hunt around the world and if I lose my hand loads, I can find ammo. I believe it is the best all around, do anything, caliber ever made.

It has better ballistics and more power than all the small target cartridges (6mm, 6.5mm Creedmoor and x47 Lapua, 6.5- 284, the BR range of cartridges, and 308 win). Yet is far cheaper, less recoil, more available and easier on barrels than the "bigger and better" or "new and shiny" cartridges like 26 and 28 Nosler, 300 rum, 6.5-300 weatherby and the like.

I guess I want a valid argument (I hope you win) as to why any caliber out there is better than the 7 mag, because the more I try new things, the more I get pulled back to my 7.

It's tough to argue against a bullet that works good for everything you want. why change it? I have the same feelings about my old 22-250 it's taken down everything from Gophers to Elk both short and LONG range 0 - 1000 yds. A lot has to do with the Shooter, can the shooter shoot or not. yes I have several guns for different things, my old 30-30 is a Great Brush gun but it will still walk out to 200 yds with no problem.

 

[TBell]

I started off my hunting career with a 7mm Remington Magnum. It never failed me but eventually I was bitten by the "bigger and better" bug. I switched to a 300 win mag which I believed would serve me well with a little more knock down power, if I ever made it to Alaska to hunt big bears.

I shortly realized elk, dear, antalope, and black bear don't know the difference between the 300 and 7mm... it's more about shot placement and the type of bullet being used.

So I went back the the 7mm because of less recoil and better wind fighting capabilities.

Then I was bitten by the "newest shinniest" bug. I picked the next cartridge by going backwards. I wanted the highest BC, highest SD bullet made, which was at the time the 7mm 195 Berger EOL. Then found the cartridge which would push it the fastest and flattest, the 28 Nosler (besides the Allen mags and other wildcats).

After messing with the 28 Nosler for probably 2 rifles, 5 barrels, maybe 2000 rounds within the last year... I don't know it's worth it.

The 7mm Remington Magnum will kill anything. It's cheap. It doesn't kick bad with a muzzle brake. I could hunt around the world and if I lose my hand loads, I can find ammo. I believe it is the best all around, do anything, caliber ever made.

It has better ballistics and more power than all the small target cartridges (6mm, 6.5mm Creedmoor and x47 Lapua, 6.5- 284, the BR range of cartridges, and 308 win). Yet is far cheaper, less recoil, more available and easier on barrels than the "bigger and better" or "new and shiny" cartridges like 26 and 28 Nosler, 300 rum, 6.5-300 weatherby and the like.

I guess I want a valid argument (I hope you win) as to why any caliber out there is better than the 7 mag, because the more I try new things, the more I get pulled back to my 7.

Problem solved.

Everyone sale ALL of the rifles you have, and go out and buy a bolt action 7mm mag. The pieces and parts will go way down in price since that is all anyone will be making. Ammo will go way down same reason. Powder except pistol and shot gun powders will go down because industry will concentrate on only a couple of the rifle powders.

Now let's get pistols down to only one cal.

Beside Beto will be happy!

Oh wait Beto happy that ruins the whole deal, STOP don't sell any of your rifles.....LOL

 

[seattleman1969]

I haven't seen a 7 mag in the black rifle form yet. I think that's what all the kids want now a days.....

Nemo Arms made one in their "Omen" rifle for a season or two. Now they've cut it back to just .300 Win.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/957317614/NEMO-OMEN-Match-7mm-Rem-Mag.htm

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/830188381

 

[Bdubose]

I've had my 7 mag for 43 years. I've killed elk, deer, hogs and yotes with it out to 400 yards with 43 year old 3x9 Redfield Widefield glass. It shoots Remington Factory Corelok bullets at .5" at 100 yards all day long.

When I got into LR shooting & hunting I thought about buying a new gun, but then decided to see just how good I could get my old gun to shoot.

This has been much more enjoyable and educational than I ever thought possible!
My profile pic is 1st round hit at 600 yards with 168 grain Nosler ABLR shooting 0.53" MOA at 600 yards. All I changed was trigger and glass.

That said, I personally limit this gun on elk to 750 yards - just a personal choice.
I bought a 300 RUM to extend my range to 1000K though I doubt I would ever take that chance - unless it was a wolf that needed to die! LOL

 

[Kevin87]

My 7 mag has put meat in my freezer for 25 years. It has impressed me more than a few times with knock down power and kill distance on elk. That being said, the tinker bug got the best of me and I'll be using a 300 win mag with 215 bergers this year, not because I need it, but new guns and developing new loads is just too much fun.

 

[Don A Parsons]

I did some poundeting on rifle project 3 in my collection,,, I'm limited to what I shoot since I don't use MB's,,, so soft mid-size cartridges is what I use...

I'm ok with my 30/06,,, it has some recoil with the 180gr boolitz,,, alot more with the 208 grain'ers,,, all of that came to a end when I switched to the 150's to 168's...

A fraction less recoil with the lighter bullets,,, so I built a 6.5 A-square or 6.5/06 to shoot 140 grain'ers,,, no need to fast spin the EOC 156's since I have two 30 caliber rifles that can slow twist those lighter bullets... Ha

To be honest,,, I don't feel any recoil of any rifle I shoot when hunting because I'm hunting and my mind set on burning a hole threw the furry Wrapper... LOL

But,,, when I use my range-hunting guns at the range I don't want to be distracted by recoil,,, I'm fussy that way,,, and yes,,, my range/hunting rifles are heavy,,, all 3 of them... Personally preference to ones self...

I could of kept all 7 of my Magnum rifles,,, but it is not practical for me to have them if I can't use them at the range for shooting sports...

My rifles have to multi task or I won't own it...

After switching to the 6.5,,, I can't see my self going bigger,,, if anything,,, I'll cap things off in the 270 category in standard cartridge,,, just another fail in my hunting and shooting sports world...

I'm actually getting ready to take on a 30/30 lever action this winter for the thick skins... The good old school Marlin 336c of simple and frugal... Less powder recoil idea...

7mm Mag's rock,,, I had 4 of them in my youth,,, they got left behind when I took on the bigger irons... Now it looks like I'm pretty much back to where I stared in my younger years... Ha

Cheers from the North

 

[JAYgs8163]

7mag is a great cartridge and there are numerous great choices of bullets. It's proven over time to be a successful LR cartridge contender among the top choices. This is why most top tier LR Rifle MFGs and Custom shops still offer as one of their top options. 10 years ago it was probably in the top 3 premier offering in a LR cartridge. Over time though other offerings have come along and grabbed the attention. I still have my 7mag which is setup for LR hunting and it's always a contender to make it in my case when I head out the door for my next hunt. Happy Friday all!

 

[memtb]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having one "do it all" cartridge for all of your big game hunting. If varmints, paper, or shooting steel is on the menu.....then perhaps a second or third rifle (cartridge) may be in order!

I'm a firm believer in the one "hunting" rifle concept.....it's worked well for me, for 29 years and counting! It's also been fairly effective on varmints....though, I wouldn't sit on a prairie dog town and burn a few hundred rounds in a day! memtb

 

[Quintus]

It's ok if you like knock-offs. The original 7 mag, Roys version, is actually perfection. Throated for todays high BC bullets, nice long neck, sexy shoulders and by todays magnum standards, pretty efficient. Remington picked a great case to copy.

 

[SlugFester]

No argument from me. My common sense reasoning of NE PA woods and maybe occasional 1000 yard field. Nothing more dangerous than Black Bear or occasional Mountain Lion, Buck In rut.
I'm here to read the stories, the knowledge even though I'm not much interested in anything other than factory loaded Federal ammo in most calibers.
I'm actually way more interested in a newer branch of 3 ballistic sciences of HPA pneumatic sent slugs. Why? Because 500 match grade shots are $18.99 buy 3 tins get one free. My shooting at 200 yards for target groups is a 10-12' drop and a 10mph full 90* could be 2'. When your BC is anywhere from 0.0345 in .22 pellets to 0.212 in .257 slugs, you learn wind at shorter distances. It's cheaper. Legally suppressed with no papers. I prefer my single shot loaders but there's mag fed, semi, and I'm not happy but full R&R is also available now. Most States recognize the ability to hunt with these. It's actually better to dump all energy in small game if shooting up in a tree around these parts.

So your 7mm. I always wanted a 7mm RUM but again common sense from an Archery point of view, placement is key. Only thing I'd demand your 7 or bigger is if I were a trophy hunter. Otherwise whatever is most readily available so if anything, I obviously think going down in size, for my area would make sense.


Picture of 150 grain Federal that quartered through Whitetail at almost 300 yards. Lucky shot on edge of field by Dad, so sometimes you might want more. Or learn holdover, estimating distance & reading wind like I try to.

 

[SlugFester]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having one "do it all" cartridge for all of your big game hunting. If varmints, paper, or shooting steel is on the menu.....then perhaps a second or third rifle (cartridge) may be in order!

I'm a firm believer in the one "hunting" rifle concept.....it's worked well for me, for 29 years and counting! It's also been fairly effective on varmints....though, I wouldn't sit on a prairie dog town and burn a few hundred rounds in a day! memtb

Beware the man with just one rifle.

 

[crazyhorse]

Like you, I've been around the horn playing with newer, faster, supposedly better, etc.

The longer I do it and the more I learn about loading, shooting, and actually seeing the results on game, I came to the same conclusion as you.

Ill start with the fact components are usually available even during hard times and you can usually find everything from green and yellow boxes of Cor-Lokt all the way to Bergers and ADG brass if you know where to look.

Powder burned vs velocity and recoil made a hard to beat combo. Dare I say the 28 Nosler borders on obnoxious requiring ALOT of powder resulting in ALOT of recoil for in most cases what only results in a couple hundred fps gain and the barrel life is awful if you like to shoot.

After trying all the new and better I previously mentioned I've settled back to the 7RM and combined my inability to leave well enough alone by designing my own reamer to shoot the Berger 175 Elite Hunters. Cool thing about this is with this reamer, it allows you to seat the 160 Accubond way out as well. Seeing what the 143 Hammers will do is my next project.

I bought a Sendero the first year they came out in 7RM and 3 barrels, a trigger, action job, and a Manners stock later its still my favorite rifle by a long shot (pun intended).

 

[crazyhorse]

Like you, I've been around the horn playing with newer, faster, supposedly better, etc.

The longer I do it and the more I learn about loading, shooting, and actually seeing the results on game, I came to the same conclusion as you.

Ill start with the fact components are usually available even during hard times and you can usually find everything from green and yellow boxes of Cor-Lokt all the way to Bergers and ADG brass if you know where to look.

Powder burned vs velocity and recoil made a hard to beat combo. Dare I say the 28 Nosler borders on obnoxious requiring ALOT of powder resulting in ALOT of recoil for in most cases what only results in a couple hundred fps gain and the barrel life is awful if you like to shoot.

After trying all the new and better I previously mentioned I've settled back to the 7RM and combined my inability to leave well enough alone by designing my own reamer to shoot the Berger 175 Elite Hunters. Cool thing about this is with this reamer, it allows you to seat the 160 Accubond way out as well. Seeing what the 143 Hammers will do is my next project.

I bought a Sendero the first year they came out in 7RM and 3 barrels, a trigger, action job, and a Manners stock later its still my favorite rifle by a long shot (pun intended).

 

[jshepherd61]

I started off my hunting career with a 7mm Remington Magnum. It never failed me but eventually I was bitten by the "bigger and better" bug. I switched to a 300 win mag which I believed would serve me well with a little more knock down power, if I ever made it to Alaska to hunt big bears.

I shortly realized elk, dear, antalope, and black bear don't know the difference between the 300 and 7mm... it's more about shot placement and the type of bullet being used.

So I went back the the 7mm because of less recoil and better wind fighting capabilities.

Then I was bitten by the "newest shinniest" bug. I picked the next cartridge by going backwards. I wanted the highest BC, highest SD bullet made, which was at the time the 7mm 195 Berger EOL. Then found the cartridge which would push it the fastest and flattest, the 28 Nosler (besides the Allen mags and other wildcats).

After messing with the 28 Nosler for probably 2 rifles, 5 barrels, maybe 2000 rounds within the last year... I don't know it's worth it.

The 7mm Remington Magnum will kill anything. It's cheap. It doesn't kick bad with a muzzle brake. I could hunt around the world and if I lose my hand loads, I can find ammo. I believe it is the best all around, do anything, caliber ever made.

It has better ballistics and more power than all the small target cartridges (6mm, 6.5mm Creedmoor and x47 Lapua, 6.5- 284, the BR range of cartridges, and 308 win). Yet is far cheaper, less recoil, more available and easier on barrels than the "bigger and better" or "new and shiny" cartridges like 26 and 28 Nosler, 300 rum, 6.5-300 weatherby and the like.

I guess I want a valid argument (I hope you win) as to why any caliber out there is better than the 7 mag, because the more I try new things, the more I get pulled back to my 7.

I have no issues with the 7mm Rem Mag it is still one of the most accurate and has the largest variety of bullets! I am a big fan of the 7mm STW over all three of my Nosler 28's. Both the Nosler 26 and 28's are temperamental and require excessive work. My 7 STW out performs my Nos 28 by a good 30%. I'm currently pushing a 168gr ABLR at 3352fps safely at 10,000 ft alt at 30 degrees and below. Of course I do use a 28" Bartlien barrel. I did get both my Noslers to preform after new Bartlien barrels were installed. No sure who Nosler uses for barrels but not a fan! My 26 took 300 rounds to break in and by then it was 3/4 gone!