I have a 7mm Rem Mag, that I have been using for a few years. I bought it a few years ago when my hunting areas changed, and we were posted out on a lot of bean fields more than in the woods. That little bit of extra range and flat shooting compared to my .308 helped bag some deer that I would not have shot other wise, and kept the landowners happy.

This past weekend, I shot a nice doe just under 300 yards (laser verified) away. Hit right in the heart/lung area, and she was dead in her tracks.

However, it turned one of the front quarters to jello.

My friend who was with me, said a "7mm is way to much gun for deer!" Now, I agree that I should use a different bullet, but at the ranges we have been seeing, I love the extra reach.

Before it gets said about stalking closer. The land owner wants us to stay out of the beans and corn as much as possible. So that means stalking closer might not be possible.

So, in the interest of stirring the pot a little, is a 7mm Mag to much for deer at 200 to 300 yards?

quote:

Originally posted by NEJack:
is a 7mm Mag to much for deer at 200 to 300 yards?

No. In fact it is just about perfect.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:

quote:

Originally posted by NEJack:
is a 7mm Mag to much for deer at 200 to 300 yards?

No. In fact it is just about perfect.

I'll 2nd that.

Naw I have shot them with 22s thru my 416 any thing that kills them works for me.

No

120 to 150 gr bullet in the 2900-3300 range makes for a good, reliable deer killer.

A 7mm magnum with 145-grain bullets is good for about a 325 yard point-blank-range, which is as good as the 6mm-284 with 85-grain bullets and has less wind drift. I've been pretty happy with mine, it's my go-to gun if there are some uncertainties about the arrangements. Nosler Partition bullets seem to do well.

A 7 mag is more velocity than I personally prefer (because of the meat damage), but it's not too much gun. If you want less meat to be destroyed, I'd suggest either using a heavier bullet, or a harder one that expands less.

However, since you specified 200-300 yards, I'd argue that you don't need the extra velocity or the flatter trajectory the 7 mag offers over a .308 anyway. If you sight both in 1.5" high at 100 yards, the difference in trajectory is only 7 inches or so at 300 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by kjjm4: If you want less meat to be destroyed, I'd suggest either using a heavier bullet, or a harder one that expands less.

I would second that.

Don't shoot a shoulder if you don't want to mess up the meat.




There is so little shoulder meat on our does, I try to destroy their shoulder(s)now. I hate tracking a lung shot doe in the dark. Not worth the hassle or risk of losing her.

I've carried a 7mm Rem Mag since I've been 13. I'm 48 now. Do the math.

I've shot a lot of deer (Mulies, BlackTails and Whitetails) with it. I've shot elk, Mt Goat, Bighorn Sheep, Black Bear, Pronghorn, Wild Boar and a shit load of African Plains game up to Zebra and Wildebeest with it. It has always worked very well. If your buddies say the 7mm Mag is too big for deer, then I'd have to say they don't know what they are talking about.

The lighter bullets can cause some serious damage at 7mm Mag velocities. I settled on using the 160 gr Noslers for everything years ago. They work well and don't seem to do the damage the lighter bullets do. You didn't say which bullets you used. If they were less than 150 Gr then that very well could be the problem. After all, it is the bullet and not the caliber that does the work and causes the damage.

I was using a 150 gr SST. Which is probably the main issue. But I got 300 of them, and with a growing family I may be stuck with that for a bit.

By your hunting partner's definition, I guess a 270 or 243 is too much for deer. If you don't want meat damage, don't shoot it in the meat! Does your setup give you enough precision and confidence to avoid the shoulders and hit the ribs or neck only? If you can hit it, a high neck shot(maybe the white patch) on a deer facing you is a good killing shot that doesn't ruin meat most of us use. I don't know about 300 yard neck shots, though. I'm not that good.

Heck no, the 7mm mag isn't too much for deer. I use 338 and 458 mags, and I doubt a 7mm damages more meat than my 270.

quote:

Originally posted by NEJack:
I was using a 150 gr SST. Which is probably the main issue. But I got 300 of them, and with a growing family I may be stuck with that for a bit.

You could always slow them down a little. They're just as effective in terms of killing deer if they leave the muzzle at 2900 fps as they are at 3100 fps.

For longer distances, it's superb. I've killed 60+ deer with a 7mm Rem Mag and tend to think it's a little much for close shots. I kind of make the analogy that it's like "sticking 'em with an ice pick" they almost don't know they're dead. Stretch the distances out and the bullet does a fine job of expanding and creating enormous wound channels. I prefer .30 calibers in heavy cartridges like .300 Win Mag and 300 Weatherby mag for deeper penetration. However, don't let someone tell you it's too much gun. The deer doesn't know what it's shot with. Use what you have confidence with.

quote:

Originally posted by bja105:
By your hunting partner's definition, I guess a 270 or 243 is too much for deer. If you don't want meat damage, don't shoot it in the meat! Does your setup give you enough precision and confidence to avoid the shoulders and hit the ribs or neck only? If you can hit it, a high neck shot(maybe the white patch) on a deer facing you is a good killing shot that doesn't ruin meat most of us use. I don't know about 300 yard neck shots, though. I'm not that good.

Heck no, the 7mm mag isn't too much for deer. I use 338 and 458 mags, and I doubt a 7mm damages more meat than my 270.

The second deer I shot was just that set up. Hit it high on the neck with my .308.

It wasn't the same set up though. The shot was closer, and I had more time to support my rifle. The prior deer was in a different location without a fence post. I did use a monopod, but with the wind I didn't feel comfortable with a head shot.

And you are right. His deer rounds are .243 and a .25-06.

quote:

My friend who was with me, said a "7mm is way to much gun for deer!"

And my .375H&H will blow a deer up!

As others have noted, you just have to match the bullet to the impact velocity and know what part of the deer you're shooting at. If your shots will be longer ones the you can use a softer bullet because the impact velocity will be much less than the muzzle velocity. But if you may take some closer shots, then you'll need a stouter bullet and/or aim only for the lungs. That's why I prefer Barnes bullets. If I need to put one through the shoulders at 50 yards, I'm good. If want a lung shot at 300 yards, I'm good too.

LWD

LWD

I second what LWD said and I regularly hunt Texas white tails with my 375 using from 210 grain to 250 grain Barnes "X" bullets, and have killed a couple of does with a 458, and it did not tear them up at all.

Use the 7 mag. and go with a 139 or 140 grain Barnes or a Nosler Partition and it will get the job done.

Sounds like a good excuse for a new rifle. How about a 25-06?

The 7mm RM consistently ranks as one of the top 5 rounds here in Maine though most shooting is done at distances which negate the round's true abilities. I'd use it in a western state in a heart beat with good bullets for most anything I think.

No, but I see no reason not to use 160s in a 7mm Mag

um, no

1. A tougher bullet would help
2. Shot placement would help
3. Load them down a little

I use the 160gr Federal Premium factory load with the 160gr Accubond. It shoots 3/8ths in my Blaser, so no need to reload. Used it on Whitetails, Mulies, Gemsbok, Fallow, and a bunch of other stuff.

No its not too much gun. I have used mine to take more deer than I can remember, elk, zebra, kudu, gemsbuck and blesbuck.
A 140 grain .284 diameter bullet is IMHO the perfect medicine for deer. I have pretty much quit using my 7mm RM for deer though,for the same reason as you say. My 280 is my go to deer rifle these days. At the ranges I shoot, out to 300 yds, the 280 does just fine.
If I were to go back to my 7RM for deer, like others have said, I would choose a tougher 160grain bullet and pick my shots.

175 grain in a 7mm rem mag will do the job on any animal you'll encounter in the lower 48 (and probably other places as well!). my dad is a proponent of slower, heavy bullets and used his 7mm rem mag with 175's for the better part of 30 years. i believe he still uses an old hornady bullet, as we have several thousand of them he's bought over the years.

I've never heard a complaint from a deer shot with a 7mm mag.

I used a .375 H&H on my last deer. I am saddend to report a bullet failure: the 300gr. Nosler Partition did not expand.

(On the other hand, I didn't have much of a tracking job to worry about.)

I don't think a 7mm is near enough gun for deer. I shoot all mine with a 375 H & H. Why? Beause that's what I have.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

If you reload, back em down a little. I have used my 375H&H on blacktail with 235gr bullets at over 3000fps and it is too much of a good thing. Same with the 300RUM. Load up something with a MV of about 2750-2900fps and you will be good to go and have something left to BBQ

If you are getting too much meat damage to suit you, then just go to a bonded bullet.

They tend not to fragment and to not tear up as much meat, or say on smaller animals the hide for mounting.

I have shot a lot of animals with my 308 with 165 Gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaws [the older bullet not the newer plastic tipped one, I have not used it], including bobcats inside 20/25 yards and it did not blow them up.

Same thing with my 9,3x74R and 286gr Woodleigh Softs. I shot several smaller game animals in Zim and it did not do a lot of hide or meat damage. Same for a bobcat and several turkeys in Texas.

quote:

If you are getting too much meat damage to suit you, then just go to a bonded bullet.

+1


Steve
www.skymountainoutfitters.com

7mm RM, 175 gr, dead deer, no tracking

quote:

Originally posted by 724wd:
175 grain in a 7mm rem mag will do the job on any animal you'll encounter in the lower 48 (and probably other places as well!). my dad is a proponent of slower, heavy bullets and used his 7mm rem mag with 175's for the better part of 30 years. i believe he still uses an old hornady bullet, as we have several thousand of them he's bought over the years.

Agree, and again, we somehow can't get it here in the US, the 7mm's are designed for 175's at standard velocities. It was never designed for 130-150gr's. Yes, the 139's can be effective, but the 7mm's shoot the 175's more accurately and more effectively. Why do we want to use such small bullets?

quote:

Originally posted by mdstewart:
Yes, the 139's can be effective, but the 7mm's shoot the 175's more accurately and more effectively. Why do we want to use such small bullets?

Point-blank range and lessened recoil.

The 7 mag is a great deer rifle.....stop shooting deer in the shoulder.................

SST is a quick opening bullet & at closer ranges @ mag velocities into shoulder causes major damage. So, as others have said, go to a premium bonded or solid copper bullet. I like the Barnes.

Seven mag not too much gun for deer, IMHO. Not as much criticism of .300Mag as being too much gun, so why would 7RM be too much? I have never owned a 7mag, but that is because I never saw a need for it in my battery. I consider my .270 Win adequate enough; it does not give up much to the 7mag. But, if it floats your boat- use it. Just be careful in your selection of bullets. (This holds true for other rounds as well.)

I jump from the .270 to .308Win to .300Mag to .338WM. Thus, never saw need for 7Mag., or 30-06. Both of the latter are fine cartridges; I just do not find neeed for them in my battery.

If I were going to select a purely WESTERN deer cartridge it would be, not necessarily in this order, .308 Win, .270 Win or 30-06- and then select an appropriate bullet.

Unless you are super expert marksman- avoid neck shots. Yes, they are deadly DRT effective but too iffy, especially for anything other than close up shots. In my over 60 yrs hunting deer only had one neck shot deer; he was close enough to hit with a stick, about 20 yds.

NEJack wrote:

quote:

So, in the interest of stirring the pot a little, is a 7mm Mag to much for deer at 200 to 300 yards?

No, it is certainly not too much. But for those ranges, it is more than is necessary. I usually regard 300 yards as my maximum range but have killed quite a bit of game cleanly with much lesser numbers, including the 6.5 x30-30 AI, 7mm Bullberry, 7-30 Waters and 30-30 AI among others. I've also taken a good bit with the mild 6.5x55 and .308 Win.

Matching the bullet's peak performance window to the impact velocities you are getting is -- to me -- one of the most critical aspect to putting game down quickly and cleanly and ranks right up there with shot placement.

But back to your question: No, the 7mm Rem Mag is certainly not too much for deer at those ranges.

quote:

Originally posted by NEJack:
I was using a 150 gr SST. Which is probably the main issue. But I got 300 of them, and with a growing family I may be stuck with that for a bit.

Slow the 154gr SST down just a little bit or shoot the lungs with them stoked full velocity. Enjoy the fun.

I picked up a bunch of SST's as well, and shot them fine for practice as I din't like them as well as other ones I had available to me. In fact now that I don't have to use solid copper I'm considering selling off my stockpile of Barnes X and XLC's. Of all the bullets available I really have been impressed with the performance of the 175's in my 7mm. Even standard Hornady Interlok and Winchester PP have performed well. Avoid boattails unless your shooting a lot at longer ranges, like over 300 yards. Less than that is a chipshot and no gain of ballistics. Nate

Why would anyone want to load a round down ? My assumption is you load your rounds to the most accurate velocity so down loading would make your accuracy diminish. If a person spends the time developing an accurate load and has practiced at different ranges, it seem counterproductive to mess with the load. I think the 7 mag is an excelent choice for deer and anything bigger with the exception of big bears. Its shining point is it's a fast round.It will kill stuff from right next to you - to as far as most of us want to shoot.

ive killed several whitetail with mine and love it. i shoot 160gr barnes tsx's in it, and have yet to have one make it out of sight. i'm sad to report, however, that i will be leaving it at home when i trek to TN to rifle hunt over thanksgiving this year...

i have a new 375hh that needs some field testing