7mm Rem Mag

[RowdyGSP]

For the longest time I always figured myself a .308 guy when it came to rifle calibers. It's an all-around very effective and versatile round. I like my rifle cartridges like I like my bird dogs... versatile. Well, a few weeks back I bought a Savage Model 110 7mm Rem Mag. Wow, what a great cartridge that will fill a niche for me on elk, moose, or long distance mule deer, antelope and sheep.

[orhunter]

You know that old saying.... Elk cartridges start at .30 cal and go up. The big 7 is in my opinion the most versatile of all the sub .30 cal cartridges. I just never considered owning one and never considered owning just one rifle. I really like the .308 too but never owned one of those either. The US Army loaned me one for a while.......

[J D Patrick]

I like the 308,, have shot a lot of them and still own one,,,

but I also have a Savage 110 in 7mm Mag,,

the 110 is "betsy",,, she get's used a LOT,,,

[AverageGuy]

I have taken a lot of whitetails with a .308. At 300 yards and in, it is highly capable of taking all those animals.

I have a .270WSM and .300WM and have taken one western Canadian moose with each. Can't say I noticed any difference in the performance on those moose but the .300WM kicked a lot more, and was heavier and bulkier to carry through the woods.

The .270WSM shot completely through the first bull moose lengthwise from it's right front shoulder exiting out it's left hip, using a barnes copper bullet, but the distance was 130 yards. The first shot on the second bull was through the lungs and fatal with the .300WM at 300 yards, but he absorbed 2 more before he went completely down. Only reason I used the .300WM was because the scope reticles were heavier and showed up better on a black bull moose in low light.

Modern bullets make a wide variety of calibers highly capable of taking big game at what I would call reasonable distances. I am not a long range shooter.

Took my first bull elk with the .300WM as well. Hunted with my bow every since but if I went with a rifle again I would use the .270WSM as it is lighter, shorter and completely capable of clean kills at the distances I am willing to shoot.

Hunted with a Rancher in MT who hunted everything with 175 grain bullets in his 7mm Mag and he did quite well with it.

Calibers are invented to sell us new rifles and it works! Have Fun with your new one!

[Willie T]

Congrats on the new 7RM Rowdy. I load for and have taken a lot of big game animals with the 7RM. You will like it. I think pushing a 160 at the same speed as a 130 out of a 270 is a proven sweet spot. You should enjoy working up some new loads and stretching it’s legs. Once you fire-form your brass, forget about the belt and headspace off the shoulder. Brass life will be better. Good luck finding dies and components in today’s world.... PM if you want to talk about powder’s or loads.

AG, the 270 WSM is a performer.

[Dmog]

When I lived in Montana and UT the 7mm Rem Mag was pretty popular as well as the 300 win mag. I felt out gunned using my 270 but I knew my limits and stayed away from shooting elk and deer in the brush and that 270 was a hell of a Pronghorn rifle in Browning A-bolt. Never hunted anything bigger than elk. Moved up to a 308 for big game when I moved back to KS cause I wanted a semi auto(lol). I know why the military switched to the 556 after lugging some mags around. Don't do much big game hunting any more. Now the Savage rifles I have have been tack drivers. The only one I have left is the short action model 11 with the accu-stock and accu-trigger in 204r light barrel. This is a very nice varmint bolt gun that's not too heavy for me and still shoots key holes.

Enjoy that 7mm Rem Mag and hopefully you don't develop mini strokes from shooting it too much...

[orhunter]

I don’t own any rifle chambered for what would be considered a modern cartridge. Here’s the list.

.250 Savage, 1915
.257 Roberts, 1934
.22 Hornet, 1930
Super .30, 1925. AKA, .300 H&H
.338-‘06AI, late 50’s
.35 Whelen, 1922

I shot a friends big 7 when the first hit the market. My impression was, although it was head stamped Mag., it was very pleasant to shoot. Everyone jumped on the cartridge for elk with mixed results. The problem wasn’t the cartridge, it was the bullets. That’s been fixed which allows the 7 to shine.

If I were to get down to two rifles, the .250 and .300 would be my picks to keep.

What makes some of these cartridges unpopular is factory ammo. The .250 was developed for the Model 99. Had it been developed around a good bolt action first, it would have made the .257 obsolete before it hit the market. Had the .257 been developed with good powders and bullets which weren’t in existence at the time, it would have made the .25-‘06 obsolete. Not that anyone needs 3200 fps with a good .25 cal. 100 gr. deer bullet, the .250 does it with ease. As does the .257 to 3400 fps with same (deer) bullets. I built the .250 to shoot 110 gr. Accubonds which come out @ 3100 fps. The .257 for the 115 gr. Partition but I haven’t completed chronograph testing so don’t know what I’ll get. I’ll be happy with 3150 fps.

[Bigearl]

My dad and uncle both purchased a Remington model 700 chamber in 7mm mag back in the early 80’s. That’s the only rifle either of them has hunted with since. Outside of my dad carrying a 243 on occasion. Easy to get by with smaller cartridges down here though. Whitetails are the biggest game we have to hunt, besides the damn hogs!