7mm Magnum

[krsmith58]

hello, hope all are well today. i have a dilemma. there is a rifle for sale on one of the auction sites i visit. great price, nice leupold scope in what appears to be great condition. my problem is i don't reload and have never been fond of the sub .30 caliber hotrod rounds for deer hunting. the rifle is chambered in 7 mag. i like heavy and slower projectiles for deer. have seen more tissue damage from a .243 than a 45-70. now question. are their any ammo companies that make a heavier, slower round for the 7mag. thanks, kenny oh, the rifle is a beautiful Ruger number 1. looks like may sell south of $700

 

[brucev]

The 7mm Mag. is a fine thumper, suitable for any and all game in North America. W/ lighter projectiles, it is a fine bean field/western plains round. W/ the long heavy 178 gr. projectiles, it will penetrate straight and deep on heavy game. For deer at say under 200 yds., you'll probably fine it to be a bit much for run of the mill bucks/does. For big mule deer, it's just what the doctor ordered! If you handload, you can throttle it back a bit to avoid meat damage. JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[krsmith58]

thanks for the reply Bruce. it appears there are a couple other bidders that have run the price up to closer to what i would expect to see. kenny

 

[cmj8591]

I have killed several deer with a 7mm magnum. With all of them, the bullet passed completely through the animal. I didn't notice any real difference in meat destruction from deer I killed with a 3006 or a 3030 for that matter. Just use the same principals that you would apply with any other caliber when deciding where on the animal to aim. I would also stick to the proven bullets, such as the Remington Core Loked or Winchester Power Point. I would shy away from the plastic tipped stuff unless you are sure that the ranges will be far. They can blow up on a deer at high velocity. I am a hand loader and used 140 grain Nosler Partitions with great success.

 

[armadillo]

I have been using my Ruger 77 - 7mm Rem Mag since 1973. I have shot several white tail and mule deer with it. I have also shot deer with 223, 243, 6mm Rem, 270, 280, 7mm Mauser, 30-30 and 30-06. The 7mm Rem Mag is by far the flatest shooting and hardest hitting of all of these.

The only time the 7mm Rem Mag didn't drop one in its tracks was when I shot it with a 175 grain round nose bullet. I recommend 150-160 grain bullets on deer sized game.

 

[brucev]

Re: 175 gr. RN bullet. Can say that I once saw a fellow w/ a Browning BAR in 7mm head out for a deer hunt from a stand. IIRC, he had three extra clips w/ him. Later that morning it sounded like a small war had started. Little later I got over to his stand. He hadn't shot any deer, but he had massacred a covey of coyotes. They had come out on the field, with was long and narrow. He had been in the stand at the end of the field. He killed five which were all nice looking healthy animals. He fired a total of 13 shots. Guess those animals got confused b/c he really blasted them good. When he could hear better we got to talking. He said he had worked that heavy bullet load up for hunting elk out west. One things for sure ... it sure put the kabash on those coyotes. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[Valmet]

A nice No. 1 for that price sounds pretty good and to echo other posters here, the heavier 160 and 175-grain loads are what you'll be looking for as opposed to the lighter 140s.

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

Keep in mind that the heavier 7mm projectiles for the 7mm Magnum are designed for heavier game and may not expand well in a deer. I once put a 175 grain Hornady through a big buck and there was no noticeable expansion at the exit wound.

I found that the 154 grain Hornady spitzer was a good bullet back then for open country mule deer. That was back in the late 60s to the mid 70s, so I have no idea if that bullet is available anymore.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Another option is a old 7mm Mauser rifle that can stay stock or get a face lift and some have a small price tag for a starter weapon.

Lots of bullet weights and it will work for deer and larger game, like Moose.

 

[Mike 139]

The 7MM Magnum with a 3x9 Scope was a top choice in a survey done by Outfitters of what Rifle their Clients used out West....

My Rifle is a 700 BDL w/ Leupold 3.5 X10 .... The 7 pt. was shot in Alabama ..I was in a Tree platform just as daylight was breaking....I saw movement and tried using the Binoculars I had, a Simmons 10x28....They were great for watching people doing dope deals a block away at night, but not at distance...I grabbed the Rifle and saw 3 Deer Running...Largest in the front, than this one, and the smaller one last...Cranked up the magnification and.Held on his Shoulder and swung and fired..Saw him somersault thru the Scope and he didn't move.

The Landowner came by a little while later and asked where the Deer was....We walked out a little over 200 yds.and found I had hit him in the right hindquarter blowing out the Femoral artery...

The load was 154 Hornady over a charge of IMR4350...a load I had worked up ,checking case expansion just ahead of the belt with a micrometer...and over the Chrony..This Rifle will put 3 into a half inch@ 100 yds off the bench.

Also bought a Leica 10x42.... No more mistakes in estimating distance. Really like this Binocular.

 

[IAM Rand]

I have a S&W model 1500 in 7mm. Love it Love it and oh yea, did I say I love it. I reload my own. Barnes 145gr LRX. I took a Pronghorn at 300 +/- and another at 460ish. 1st was a double lung through and through. I would not hesitate in getting the Ruger if it is a good price.

You said you don't reload, I would start. It is kinda Zen like reloading and you get great rounds. I have always felt that every rifle is unique not only by make/model but, also every rifle in that model. Something gets cut a little different, maybe polished a little more and that will effect the rifle. If you spend a little time, you can fine tune the round to your specific rifle.

I am not sure I have ever been in the lighter/more damage to the meat or heaver is better camps. I grew up on a 270 with 130 grain spitzers and have since moved on to 7mm and now a 300 WM with 175 LRX. I still to this day believe that above all else, shot placement is the key no matter what you are using. Location, Location, Location!

 

[df06]

I'm a fan of the 7mm magnum. You might buy some loads with solid copper expanding bullets to reduce meat damage. FWIW I've owned four Ruger #1s. They had big game hunting accuracy, but sure were not very accurate rifles. Sold all of them.

 

[MP-5]

I prefer a 264 Win Mag in this weight class but you can't argue with this performance!

 

[rockquarry]

I have a 7mm Remington Magnum and a 7x61 Sharpe & Hart Magnum that is ballistically about the same as the Remington cartridge. Our wants, needs, and intrigue for different rifle chamberings are often not predicated on anything really practical, but that's okay since this is a hobby. While I may prefer a 7mm magnum for elk hunting, there is so little actual "in the field" difference, a .270 or .30-06 would work equally as well. There's not much to recommend one of these cartridges over the others. Enjoy them all.

 

[tominboise]

As another data point, i have and use a Winnie M70 Classic Stainless in 7RM, since about 1995. Two of many experience regarding light bullets:

1) The second biggest Mulie buck I have bagged was shot with the Big 7 at about 30 yards, using Noslet 140gr Ballistic Tips, a bullet usually thought of as "soft". It passed through (lung shot) and the deer dropped where it stood. I also shot a coyote at 300+ yards on that trip with the same ammo and had "complete expansion of the bullet and the dog". Very handy to have a versatile load.
2) I shot a Shiras bull moose here in Idaho (once in a lifetime draw tag), using the same M70 and factory Hornady Superformance ammo with the 139gr GMX copper bullet. Range was 80 yards, broadside. I hit it right behind the near shoulder and the bullet penetrated the entire chest cavity and ended up breaking up the opposite shoulder. Moose went about 50 yards (downhill!!!) and expired.

So don't be afraid to use lighter bullets. In my everyday load for it, I use Sierra 160gr BTSP bullets over RL25, but also use 140gr bullets (Nosler or Barnes).

 

[Dave from Pa]

20 years ago I walked into a friends shop looking for a foul weather deer rifle after an unusually cold wet Pa.deer season.On his rack was a filthy 700 Remington Stainless 7 mag with fiberglass stock for a very fair price.I have used this rifle every year taking one or two deer(buck/doe) with it each season on our property.I can`t recall the last time I had one go more than a few steps.This caliber has served me well.I loaded up a couple hundred rounds of Remington 150 gr core lokt and a dose of 4350.I tell the guys that hunt the property we don`t chase them and don`t drag them since we are all older now.We always try to break the front shoulder and they go straight down.I have taken shots from 50 to 300 yds and have the utmost confidence in the 7mm Remington Magnum.

 

[Drm50]

7mm mag with heavy bullets, like Sierra 175gr is ok for deer without any more destruction than 30/06. When you are shooting 150gr at 3400fps there will be major meat damage. I had a custom 98 and loaded Hornady 154gr bullets for varmits. Even on critters soft as fox it would blow them apart.