I personally think that the felt recoil is pretty bad when using the premium rounds you probably would not want to shoot more than 20 rounds at the range and 40 rounds of the soft points considering that they do not kick as bad. It is however a great choice for a long range caliber, go with the 160 or 162 grains for everything from antelope, to deer, to Elk, or whatever else that you can think of accept for big bear.

Loaded with 175NP's it will flatten anything in NA, including the big bears... I never felt under gunned stalking big bears with a 7 Rem. Mag. loaded as above...

I'm NOT a big fan of magnums, but if i was to go back to shooting one, it would probably be a 7 RM... It does anything the 300 Win. Mag. does, and with less recoil.

DM

I have been shooting 7mm RM since 1967 when I was living in Alaska. Most of the big game animals I have killed in my lifetime have been taken with the round. My Dall sheep at about 600 yards was the longest shot. Sheep died instantly.

I have a good friend who took his Kodiak bear with his 7MM RM. One shot-- and while I am not recommending this, it is worthy of note.

I plink with 110 gr hollow points. I love the 139 gr Hornady for deer. Not a heavilly structured bullet. I shoot a lot of 140 gr and 160 gr Noslers and Speer BT spitzers.

I don't know any rifle more versatile.

I like the caliber so well that I also shoot .280 Remington and I have a new wildcat 7mm that I designed that shoots 160 gr Speers at 3250 fps.

My .338, .243's .25-06 etc find themselves in their cases most of the time. The 7mm's have it.

I also have been reloading and using the 7 mm mag for over 20 years. My Savage likes the 150 gr. Sierra Game King. I don't maxload so I chrono out at a muz vel of just over 3000ft/sec. At the range I use a recoil pad so the thumping isn't so bad. I guess it's just what you get used to. With a Nilon 3x9x40 scopethe rig I use is not fancy but truly a tack puncher. Where I hunt it is common to have 200-300 yard shots and I'm very comfortable shooting at this distance. Now I'm not calling down the southern deer some hunt but here up North in Canada 225-250 lb field dressed bucks is not out of the ordinary. The down range hitting power of the 7 mm mag makes it the right gun for my application. I can honestly say that I have never felt the recoil when harvesting a deer. I suppose I'm just too pumped.

The Downside is the 7WSM owns it.

Stick with 140 gr nosler ballistic tips for deer and they will usually go down (with correct bullet placement)like the hammer of thor hit em. For bigger game,go with 160-175 gr bullets. You can't go wrong with a 7mm magnum.

What's your wildcat's specs?

I do not use this cartridge, but many, many guys I hunt with do. From what I have seen them experience, I cannot imagine how you could go wrong selecting a 7mm Rem. Mag. In my opinion, hand loading is the way to go for long range shooting. Getting into hand loading is not all that costly. Can be, but you need not go crazy getting a good starter set-up. Advantage, especially for long range, is that you can work up optimum performing loads. At 400-500 yards, that counts !!!

Thanks guys for the votes of confidence; as I have thought long and hard about this decision.

I heardsome "stories" ofdeer running off with two well placedlung shots,never to be found.
One guy I trust/know very well said he lost the bestmulie of his life using his H&R 7MM.
BTW -this guyloves to shoot groung squirrels(aim small, miss small)and is a VERY good shot (andnot a bull****er).

What about that 7MM RM in the new Sako A7 ????

I appreciate it.

Sheridan I would like to have a dime for every hunter who told me they took and made the perfect shot only to never find the deer. Every time I hear that I cringe under my breath. How the **** would you know where you hit a deer if you did not recover the animal!! But theyswear they knowexactly where they hit the deer.

One time a fellow had his hunt on camera. He swore the shot was good. He looked at the shot on camera, and still swore the shot was great. We found the deer two days later--GUT SHOT(BOW).

This pertains to your 7mm question. I have seen several animals hit badly with the 175 grain Sierra bullet from a 7mm mag. DEAD DEER. Tom.