7mm Rem Mag

robbo'srifle

Active Member
Hi Guys,

I'm contemplating a new rifle in 7 mm rem mag it will be used for mainly stags in scotland with the occasional trip to europe for wild boar. I will be reloading my own ammo, i'm a left hander so will be looking at tikka or sauer.

I have a mate who use's this caliber regulary and swears by it.

I just thought i'd run it past you guys for your opinions and advise.

Thanks

Pete
 
Have been through the same thought process. 7mm Rem Mag is a fast flat shooting calibre and popular the world over and can push a 175 gn bullet at 2850 fps and the lighter 140 at 3100.

I believe recoil and noise is on a par with the 30-06 - ie a definate recoil but not excessive, but will not be soft shooting aka 7mm-08, 7x57 etc.

I have gone down the route of 7x57 as I have found a left handed rifle in this calibre and also view the 7mm Rem Mag as little bit too much for Roe at close range. I do think though the 7x64 is the best compromise - not as fast, nor as noisy or recoil as the Rem Mag, but a bit flatter than 7x57. 7mm-08 is not far behind with 140gn, but will struggle to push big bullets at higher velocities.

I know somebody who has a 7mm Rem Mag up here, polaxes stags and has taken many head of plains game - Kudu, Eland etc with it as well. But also have a colleague who has shot extensively in Africa and whose PH hates them as the bullets can blow up due to the velocity.

For wild boar you would need to use the 175 gn bullet of tough construction (bonded / partition etc).
 
Robbo

I am on my fourth 7mm Rem Mag and would never be without one in my battery.

If I were you I wouldn't hesitate. It is a fantastic cartridge and a common misconception is that it is harsh on recoil - not at all and my brother and I have always said it isn't like a fully fledged magnum really. If you compare the recoil ft/lbs to a 300 win mag lets say, then that is when you get into the realms of stiff recoil.

The other thing about it is that my current 7mm mag is modded with a Jet Z and it is an absolute pussy cat in this config. I use mine for long ranging and the 7mm has fantstic wind bucking capability to boot as all the F Class shooters who seem to consider the 7mm bore size to be in vogue will testify to and it is stealing popularity away from the 6.5mil.

Anyway back to where it excels within the criteria it sounds as if you will be putting it to use for. It performs brilliantly with 140 - 160 grn bullets and is relatively flat shooting and the "knock down" ability is good and if you are pushing heavier for calibre bullets they perform just fine on game. Yes I have had a few blow ups but so have I with other calibres - ballistic performance never seems to follow a consistent path. This is also a mild recoiling cartridge again in relative terms. The recoil with a 7mm mag is very progressive and not a sharp type of recoil.

If you get one you will not look back and you are safe in the knowledge you have the versatility for boar etc. I am pretty sure Nosler now do a 175 grn Partition which would be perfect for boar etc. But they do make a 160 grn Partition for sure and thatperforms briliantly on boar anyway.

If you get one, let us know how you get on.
 
Theres a 7mm rem mag sako finnbear on ukgunroom or some such website (just put search terms in and it should find it) for about £450 with scope and mounts. Thats a hell of a deal.

G
 
Hi Zait .
That is a hell of a good rifle for very little money . I had one from 1976 t0 1993 and killed many beasts with it , mostly Red and Roe .
Below is a pic. of a fine Red Stag with a deformed antler which I shot with the Finnbear 7mm Rem. Mag. many years ago .
It was a few hundred yards from the place where you dragged a Stag out for me in The Lakes some years ago .
I have always regretted not letting you shoot that 6 pointer but at the time you were a newcomer into our local scene .

HWH .

DSC_0125.jpg
 
I know re the rifle and someone should snap that deal up. Its worth it for the action really.

I have the head of that 6 pointer in my office and it never fails to remind me of my time in the lakes. I also have his tushes which were silver mounted.

I've never regretted the trip and equally will never forget it, or your kindness in sharing your knowledge with me.

I can still see that beast plunging down the hill after the shot and reducing my drag by a good few yards.

Totally understood why I didn't shoot that day so no regrets eh?

Will see you in April although the first Border Stalkers shoot I'll be away for. I'll send Ratty to deputise!

Best regards

Gareth
 
Thanks Gareth .
You will be missed at the first shoot on April 19th. [ Mike Newby Decanter and Norwest Shield . ]
Our second shoot is now June 14th. due to a mistake on the fixture cards of my tenants the Clayshooters .[ Chris Batty Memorial Trophy . ]
The third shoot for the Bill Grant Memorial Shield , the Andrew Corney Cup and the Ray Barnes Cup [ standard lightweight rifle ] is on August 21st.

The days Red Deer stalking you won last year and were unable to take up is being held on for you for this season by our benefactor Robert Hasell-McCosh .

Best regards , HWH.
 
I have a tikka 690 in such calibre BRILL.
Shoots 100g hp foxes out to 600yd
120 bal/tip. fallow round
160 sp sika red stags
175 bear claw for pigs,all to same zero.
have a steve kershaw muzzel brake fitted (dont like mods for stalking)and it takes 85%felt recoil and flip off.But bangs like a a small hand grenade!!!!!
Please note im not shooting deer at those extended ranges
 
John Robbo said
have a steve kershaw muzzel brake fitted (dont like mods for stalking)and it takes 85%felt recoil and flip off.But bangs like a a small hand grenade!!!!!
Please note im not shooting deer at those extended ranges

I can vouch for that. WHAT YOU SAY, PARDON SORRY CANT HEAR YOU I'VE GONE A BIT DEAF. :lol: :lol: ;)

HI John :D

 
7mm RM is a fantastic round, knocks roe right off their feet!

Watch bullet choice on small deer at close range, I find the 140 grain Barnes TSX works great
 
Hallo ,
I don't own a 7 mm rem mag myself , but my " stalking friend " uses one for about 20 years . Our Belgian situation is very diffrent from what I see on DVD's from stalking in Scotland .
- As we were not allowed to own military and ex military calibres ( this recently changed in Belgium , but still is the case in France ) we could not buy 6.5x55 , 7x57 , .308 , .30-06 , 8x57 JS , etc .....
So if we wanted a step up from the .270 or 7x64 we had to use 7 RM or 300 WM .
- On my DVD's I have from Scotland you see a deer running 50 / 100 meters before it collapses and still staying in full view . In Belgium most deer/boar "shooting " happens from high seats on clear cuts , with plantations of young fir-trees just next to it . At last light the game annimals leave those plantations and are shot at fairly close distance from these plantations . If this happens in warmer weather and the annimal can run back 50/60 meters in such a plantation , it usealy means that you only find back the annimal in the morning and frequently the meat is ruined due to the warm weather .
So we want a calibre that truely polaxes the annimal in it's tracks .
Just like you switch out the light .
Our shooting ranges frequently are short 50/100 meters.
For this reason I asked the forum members opinion on the .308 for the Scottish hill , as I have no experience with it .

For " our " circumstances the 7 mm rem mag and the 300 win mag truly outshine the 270and the 7x64 .

The 7 RM has the advantage that he's slightly more comfortable than the 300 WM . It 's a tremendous killer wich realy can polaxe game like mentioned by Heym SR20 .
By no means it's a light recoiling rifle , but with a good scope and a bipod attached, the total rifle weight should be sufficient to make it comfortable .
Don't make the mistake of using light bullets in it . He has all the power you need to push a decent bullet flat enough for any shooting circumstances.

For all calibres there is one rule : high velocity , light , fragile bullets means excessive meat dammage and sometimes a lost annimal .

He just needs a strong , hard 160/175 grain bullet to do his job .
I used a 180 grain TUG in my 300 WM and my friend a 177 grain TIG bullet in his 7 mm RM and both had excellent results .
He now uses Norma 170 grain vulcan ammo.
Exit wounds from 2 or 3 times calibre size are normal .
For me a 2 inch exit wound is excessive .
I have seen roe deer with fist size exit wounds from traditional soft points in 243 and 270 . We never had that with our bullets evenafter hitting shoulder bone .

I would try to make a good load with a 160 grain Nosler partition / Swift A frame or even the 177 grain TIG or Nosler bullet .
Maybe the remington Ultra core lokt is good , but no experience .
For bullets like the Barnes TSX a lighter bullet might be suitable .
If you ever need to shoot truly heavy boar there is plenty of excellent factory ammo available with premium bullets.
With a premium bullet you normally have no bullet faillure and no wasted carcasses.
When shooting in herds the penetration might cause a problem . Wounding annimals standing behind your target could be possible .
A canadian friend shot lenghtwise through a huge bull elk ( wapiti ) with the first generation Barnes X ( 7 mm RM / 160 grain )

About rifles : The price diffrence between a Tikka and a Sauer is huge .
Don't forget the Remington 700 . They have a lefthanded version .
There must be a reason that most custom sniper rifle builders in the US use remington actions .
My friend has an old BDL and it shoots like a dream . Accuracy is very good . Both RWS ammo with the Brenneke TIG as the Norma shoot 3 bullets in 1 inch , what could you wish more for hunting ?
It will be a bit heavier than the Tikka if you like that .
A Tikka T3 lite , a Meopta 3-12x50 ( 0, 650 kg ) and a Harris Bipod might make a heavy enough combination to make the recoil acceptable . This is something you should be able to try out .
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for the replys guys, all the imformation i needed. I'll put in a variation and let you know how i get on

Cheers Robbo
 
Hi Robbo

Good luck and you won't regret it.

I was out last weekend with mine. This is a stock Remi 700 which was re-crowned and put into a B&C stock with alu bedding block.

The first photo is my 100 yard zero group. One sighter at the bottom right of target and then used the 1" square grid to get it where I needed it. Next 3 shots virtually clover leafed as you can see and I was good to go.

Next photo is a 3 shot 500 yard group which measured 1.5" (just over) and so I was good to go with 6.5 MOA elevation at that range. My group is the triangular shaped one with 7mm holes :D . The other holes are 6mm from my mates Ackley.

Had my eye on a Roe Buck at about 600 yards but didn't want to take the shot as I hadn't put my shots on paper at that range that day. He never ventured into the 500 yard or less zone and so I left well alone. I know where he is for next time though 8)

My load is 67 grains of RL22 with 150 grn BT only oing out at 3000 feet which is fairly pedstrian for a 7 Rem Mag but none the less as you can see performs well so I left well alone. The rifle is the XCR model. and Scope is a NXS 3.5-15 x 50.

Other pics are the rifle close up and me posing.

WeekndinDumfrieshirewithStu011.jpg


WeekndinDumfrieshirewithStu005.jpg


WeekndinDumfrieshirewithStu010.jpg


WeekndinDumfrieshirewithStu008.jpg


Let us know how you get on with your new aquisition.
 
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