Tim1 has just brought us a roe buck shot with what he believes to be the first one shot in the uk with a 7mm rem mag using an accubond bullet.
Bullet entered just behind the shoulder turned left through the gut and exited through a haunch. Damage was minimal apart from the gut contamination,no fragments of either bullet or bone, or bloodshot,bullet not recovered.Buck was shot at about 200yds and weighed 35lbs.
Is this a first for the UK.

on behalf of Tim1

griff

Firstly Congrats to Tim on his roebuck,
But I cant help wondering..and it doesn't matter if this is a first, wether the 7mm Mag is just a bit too much gun for a 35 Lb (17 KG) Roe? but everyone has their Favourite Calibres.
was that dressed weight btw..ie no head, fully gralloched and legs off at the 1st knee joint.
Glad it never ruined too much meat,game dealers dont give much for badly shot beasts and the price is bad enough as it is �1 /kg in our area north of Inverness..very poor price was due in part to all the new EU countries joining he reckoned...ah well friends, family, and neighbours to feed I suppose.

Roebuck222

Roebuck,
35lbs dressed out!
Tim has a habit of shooting at long distances, quite successful I might add!
Taking into account the numerous red deer on his beat,and the distances involved, "perfect round"
As for being over gunned, the 300 winnie was left at home!!
Some would consider the 222 a little "under gunned" but in the right environment, and the right hands I might add,"ideal".
What would you choose given the 300yds+ shot on red and roe?

Griff

roebuck
perhaps we can debate this at Scone

Griff

Hi griff,
I've actually never been to Scone game fair,but I hear it is quite good,I usually go (work permitting) to the game Fair at Moy just south of Inverness.

Ok what to use on Roe and Red at 300+ metres??...well I gotta say right of that,regarding roe,of which I shoot most of,the furthest shot I have done under ideal conditions was about 250M using a 243 with winchester super X's I believe (the gun wasn't mine) the roe ran 10 yards and collapsed,but I have to say it is unlikely for me to be presented with such long shots often,I also prefer to be much closer,providing there is cover,its part of the fun for me putting the sneak on a beast.
I haven't shot many red deer 5 to date and 1 sika,again from <200 metres using a 7mm mannlicher (iron sights)dated 1908 as I recall 2 hinds that time and my mates 243 for the others 1 red stag and 1 sika stag included, so my long range shooting is quite limited,and to be honest,its not my thing.however given any rifle with enough punch at that range,know what the drop is going to be,and....imagine james Bond (sean connery) accent here..."it's no shignificant problem Mish Money penny".

Good luck with your season.
Roebuck

Hi Gents

The 7mm Rem Mag is a much underated calibre in the UK and in my opinion isn't really a true magnum. I feel it could more accurately be described as a .270+P. The 'proper' magnums start with the .300 Win Mag. Overall I'd prefer to be over gunned than under gunned.

Although it's renowned for a flat trajectory in practical terms the difference between the 7mm Rem Mag and most other common calibres is negligable and recently I have reverted to a .308 for most purposes. However, I fancied trying a new load I've developed using the Accubond in preparation for a trophy stag hunt on Islay in the autumn.

I'm not generally a proponent of long range shots and try to keep ranges to within 200 yds. However, if a longer shot presents itself then the 7mm Rem Mag does give you the extra confidence to have a go providing a solid rest is available. This particular shot was possibly my longest to date and was in the region of 230 yds taken from a solid position using a bipod. I'll laser it next time I'm up on the ground.

Regards to all

Very well observed that there are little difference between the "flat" magnums and the more normal cartridges. I'd say you've made an excellent choice in the .308, it's a small efficient cartridge that provides plenty punch, excellent accuracy and little recoil.

The magmums doesn't really give you anything (other than a more punch at both ends) before you go past 400 meters. It's only when you pass about 600 meters that you'll really see any difference.

Let's look at the old venerable 6,5x55 and the powerhouse 6,5-284. The former will give you about 8000rds pr barrel, the latter something like 1500rds. We'll put a 300m zero on both and use a target bullet at suitable speed with wind working at full effect.

6,5x55: Bullet never rises more than 17 cm above l.o.s. out to 300m, winddrift is 4 cm pr m/sec (18cm at 600m), energy ca 1850J.

6,5x284: Bullet never rises more than 15 cm above l.o.s. out to 300m, winddrift is 3,3 cm pr m/sec (15cm at 600m), energy ca 2650J.

That's 2cm/1" worth of trajectory and 7mm/ 0,25" worth of winddrift at hunting distances, both with sufficient energy to kill cleanly. You'll find about same differences between other magnum/standard cartridges.