ORIGINAL: schoolcraft
In my search for opinions for my next deer/hog rifle caliber, I've noticed quite a few posts against the "7 MAG".
Just wondering why.
I guess if I owned several calibers ranging from small to very large, I might skip over the 7mm. Rem. Mag., but as a "1 gun for most everything" guy, I cant help but like it's balistics, and I've had good luck with it on a few deer. I realize I would have been just as well off with most any deer hunting caliber in my few situations though.
So, again I'm looking for opinions from some of the more seasoned hunters/shooters.
Even a lot of the articles I've read the past few years seem to lable the 7mm. Rem. Mag as "overrated".
I know there are a few of you that really like the caliber, and quite a few that dont. I would really like to hear everyones thoughts on the "7 MAG"
The 7mm Rem. Mag. is just as good an all-round cartridge as the .30/'06. However, I believe the factories have pretty well "wimp-ized" it, at least in the heavier bullet weights. From a 26" barrel, a good 7mm Mag. is capable of over 3000 FPS with 175-grain bullets. I have used such a load for elk, and it is devastating! My Ruger 1B in 7mm Mag. is capable of 1" groups at 200 yards, so there's nothing wrong with the 7 Mag.'s accuracy potential, either. The only improvement I can think of would be to make the cartridge exactly the same, but leave off the dad-burned belt!!
Is the 7mm Rem. Mag. a whole lot better than a .30/'06? Nope. But it will shoot the heavy bullets a little bit faster/flatter. That's an advantage to some people who like to take the long shots.....