7mm Rem. Mag. - Managed Recoil Ammo ???
 

Hey guys... As everyone who reads my posts knows, I've been a .243 shooter for a while, converted from using my .30-06 because I'm really not a fan of recoil.

A while back, I inherited a Remington 700 BDL 7mm Rem Mag with a Leupold 3-9X scope from a good friend who died in a plane crash. I'm curious as to whether any of you have used the Remington's Managed Recoil Ammo in your 7mm Rem. Mag., and what has been your opinion of this ammo. According to the ballistics charts, it appears to be about mid range in performance between the 7X57 and the 7mm-08. I'd like to use my friend's rifle for some deer hunting next fall, but really don't relish the idea of range sessions to make sure the scope is zeroed... He had it sighted in with the 175 gr. PSP's, which I don't really think are needed for our 150 lb. Hill Country whitetails...

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

Honestly, I don't think a 7mm Rem Mag kicks anymore then a 30/06, at least the ones I've shot. You might want to give it a try with regular ammo first, just to see how bad it is. If I see any of the Managed Recoil stuff around I'll pick up a box of it and try it out.

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

I think you should look into a limbsaver recoil pad for the 7mm Mag. I have one on mine and I shot a friends Remington 700 in.270 Win with awoodstock with the factory butt plate on it and it had a worse "felt" recoil than my Browning A-Bolt 7mm Mag with a synthetic stock. I mention the types of stocks because my A-Bolt weighed less than the 700 with the wood stock so recoil should have been worse on my A-Bolt.

I really am a believer in the limbsaver pads and they only cost around $20 and mine was a direct fit and just screwed on.

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P.S. - The 7mm Mag is still loud as hell though! :D

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P.S.S. - The only problem with the recoil pads would be that if you are a short guy the recoil pad increases the length of pull by an inch or so. I'm a gorilla type guy with long arms and torso so this was a good thing for me, but some folks have to have the stock cut down an inch or so to get a really good fit with the recoil pads on.

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

One of the guys I work with recommended the Pachmayr Decelerator. Is the Limbsaver better? What about Remington's R3?

My problem is that my first rifle, when I was 15 (and small for my age), was a .30-06. I developed a flinch that still haunts me (30+ years later) when shooting from the bench. I don't have any problem with my .243, but, with my .30-06, I have to force myself not to flinch. I'd like to use my buddy's rifle for a kind of memorial hunt (we were best men at each other's weddings, and next fall will be 10 years since his plane crash). I know that in large part it's psychological, but... I'm leery of shooting the 7 Mag, and thought that the Managed Recoil Ammo might be a good option.

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Pros and cons with Decelerator and Limbsaver...Decelerator is almost as effective but easier to mount on a rifle by a gunsmith if you don't have the prefit option. Limbsaver is owned by Remington. DO you handload ? If so you can easily make a reduced energy load, If not use a 140 grain bullet and with that pad on it no problem. If the gun is 10 years old or so it probably doesn't have either a Decelerator on it or a Limbsaver and probably the 1" thick hard Remington pad. I wouldn't sweat it with a new pad and 140 grain factory loads it will not even be noticeable. The 7 rem mag and the 270 wsm are the only common magnums that have "Magnum" in the name but not in the recoil.

RE: 7mm Rem. Mag. - Managed Recoil Ammo ???
 

Hi ipsc,
I have a Rem 700 ADL in 7Mag. I have used the Rem Managed Recoil on both target and a deer this year.
The recoil on the range is very similar to that of my 30-30. For another reference, i find my 30-30 has slightly more recoil than my 243.
My point of contact on paper is 2 inches below and 1 inch left on paper (in general) from my full load Rem Coreloks
I shot a deer at around 50 yards through the lungs and it ran 30 yards and fell. Exit hole was about the size of a quarter. This may not give you much info on it's longer range potential but the balistics on the Rem website seem to suggest it would be fin to 200 yards at least.

Hope this helps

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

Danny D: Thank you. I was hoping someone here had used them and could give feedback one way or the other. Where I hunt, I've never had to take a shot at a deer more than 100 yards away. My longest shot has been about 175 yards on a pig. I've looked at the ballistics charts as well. The reduced recoil loads carry over 1000 ft lbs of energy all the way out to 400 yards, so, I should be OK with sub 200 yard shots on our relatively small Texas Hill Country whitetails.

oldelkhunter: The rifle is well over 10 years old. I'd bet it's over 20, so, it doesn't exactly have a soft pad on it... I've shot my .30-06 and a friends .270, both with the Remington pads that were in use prior to the R3, and while I find the recoil bearable, I'm still tend to really have to TRY not to flinch. I don't handload for my rifles. I shoot competitively with my shotguns and my .45's, so I reload for them, but, don't really do enough rifle shooting to justify the investment in equipment. Is the Limbsaver the same as the R3? Sounds like that will be my best option.

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

Ipsc,
Just FYI, I recently put the limbsaver on the 7mag. I, like you, am not a fan of recoil and i have to say that the pad made a huge difference with the full loads. With the limbsaver and the Rem Managed Recoil...WOW it's an easy gun to shoot.
Personally i am fine with the full loads and the pad. In fact I would say that the full loads with the Limbsaver recoil pad is similar to the Managed Recoil loads with the old hard plastic on the butt plate

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

One and the same

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I tried some of the managed recoil in the 270 goofing around and they will definitely stomp a deer. Recoil is very easy....even with the 7 mag the managed recoil and the limb saver/r3 would be a sweet rig. For the record I dont like the 7mag recoil either.

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

I was seriously thinking about getting the managed recoil shells for my older Remington model 742 automatic 30-06.Like Ipscshooter I went to a Browning .243 A-Bolt HunterRifle because of the recoil and flinching I was getting from my 30-06.I have done really great and haven't lost a Deer yet with my .243 Rifle but it would be nice totake the 30-06 automatic on a hunt in case I would need a quick follow up shot or if there's a really BIG Buck where I'm hunting?

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

In terms of pads I find the Sims/R3 does the best job at taming the recoildue to the rubber compound used( word: Cushy;)).The Pachmayr Decelis more durable and doesn't hang up as much on fleece type materials when shouldering (because of the material used. Both are great products and reduce felt recoil noticably.

BTW you should be able to find a pre-fit Sims pad that will for your BDL, just go to: http://www.limbsaver.com/Products/Firearms/Cross_reference.aspx. Find and print off the templates for the BDL Wood Stock version then compare them to your rifle (make sure to uncheck "fit to page" prior to printing so the template remains actual size!).

I reload and have never tried downloading the 7mm rem mag..sorry can't help with that part.

The mind is very powerful and can make things tougher then they need to be. You needto get over the fearof shooting this rifle. Add a recoil pad and give the managed recoil ammo a go to start things off. After that who knows :< )!

Good Luck

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Thanks for all the comments, guys. This is the time of year to get things done at the gunsmith, so, I think I'll take it in and have an R3/Limbsaver installed.

Skeeter: You're absolutely right about psychology and the mind having a powerful effect. One of the lessons we tried to take from our martial arts classes, particularly applicable to breaking boards and bricks. For some reason, I could never convince myself that I could do a reverse punch through 2 1X12" pine boards. Bloodied my knuckles on them, but couldn't break them simply because I "knew" I couldn't... But, no problem with doing a hammer fist through a 2" brick. Go figure. I'll work my way up... 140 gr. Managed Recoil, 140 gr. Magnums, maybe if I can get through a box of 160 gr. Magnums without flinching, I'll treat myself to an elk hunt...

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Here is a crazy idea. take that rifle to the gunsmith, take the barrel off of it, carve out the barrel channel a little bit, and rebarrel it with a heavy barrel 260 Remington. Low recoil, great long range rifle for deer and varmints. Oh I think I just had a QUIMMEE. :eek::eek::eek:Tom.

RE: 7mm Rem. Mag. - Managed Recoil Ammo ???
 

ipscshooter; That's a great idea as far as using the Remington low recoilrounds. In addition you should also install a limbsaver recoil pad. After you get comfortable with the low recoil ammo, you probably jump up to standard loads. I did the same thing on a .30-06.

RE: 7mm Rem. Mag. - Managed Recoil Ammo ???
 

You don't need a 160gr bullet to hunt elk or moose.The 140gr tsx works fine.

RE: 7mm Rem. Mag. - Managed Recoil Ammo ???
 

My BDL now has a Limbsaver recoil pad. I took it to the gunsmith, and he tried to sell me one of the Limbsaver "grind to fit" pads.... For $105... I noticed that they had the Limbsaver prefit pads on the rack and bought it for $30.

Tomorrow, it's off to another store to pick up some Managed Recoil ammo.

HEAD0001: What's a QUIMMEE?

RE: 7mm Rem. Mag. - Managed Recoil Ammo ???
 

You should do good with that Libsaver. My brother had one put on his 338 W.M. and I found a big difference in recoil. Good luck and hopefully you can use that rifle this fall...

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

GTO .... note that the model 742 and managed recoil loads may not fully function. I bought some for a 7400 Carbine 30.06 and it shot like a dream. I mean little more than a light shooting .223 ... hardly noticable. BUT it would not eject the spent cases. The reduction in powder, and energy, does not allow them to fully work the action of ALL semi-autos. It might work in some, but not all.

I tried it when they first came out, and I contacted Remington about it. They said they had not considered that aspect concerning the new ammo. About 2 months later, their ad's had disclaimers, and it was put on the ammo's boxes.

Just a word of warning, so you don't buy it and get mad or anything. But man they do shoot great in that gun....

God Bless

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Thanks for the advice MichaelT...!

I guess I need to give my gun a good cleaning to help it eject themanaged recoil shells.....hopefully it will help it some?

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Managed Recoil Loads?
I think they are a great concept, especially if you hand load and can tone them down without making them flat out anemic. Great solution for a young man needing a rifle, but one that will out grow a rifle in just a few years. 300 RUM is a classic idea, i.e. multiple levels of power: 30-06 level, 300WinMag level, or full 300 RUM level. In any case it don't take much for deer, so the typical factory "managed recoil loads" in 7mmRemMag, 30-06, and 300WinMag are quite sufficient.
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So true.... and so many folks seem to pride themselves on having recoil be as bad as it can be, makes for a "better" story. I always played it down instead of playing it up.
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Just as a opposing counter-view:

Personally, recoil was no big deal ever since I was a kid and skinny as a string bean. I was always chompin' at the bit to get an opportunity totake ontheadult's guns and couldn't wait. Ditched the 410 for a 12 gauge at 10, dropped the 30-30 at 12 to get into a scoped 270 at 14, got a 12 gauge 3" mag autoloaderat 16 (great for geese), shot a friends 458WinMag at 16 (what a rush),got a 10 gauge double at 19 (not so much fun), 10 gauge autoloader at 21 (much, much better)and then jumped into a 338WinMag upon signing up for my first elk hunt at 23.Got coached by an African PH who ran the shooting center in the off season on how to handle the recoil on the big bores and walked right up thru them.No Big Deal.

Recoil, yep.... gotta manage it both mentally and with technique, you don't want to have a"just bend over and take it" attitude when it comes to recoil.

Small or large, I like them all, just match the tool to the job.

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When evaluating the performance of the cartridges, I give a great deal of consideration to the size of the game I'm after. I hunt in the Texas Hill Country, where a big buck is in the 150-170 lb. range, and shots average less than 100 yards. According to the ballistics tables, I don't think that "flat out anemic" is an appropriate description for the 7mm Rem Mag "managed recoil" ammo. Performance is about midway between the 7X57 Mauser and the 7mm-08, both of which have proven to be quite acceptable deer cartridges. The .308, .30-06,7mm-08, .270, and .260managed recoil rounds carry 1100+ ft lbs of energy at 200 yards (significantly more than a .30-30 at that distance). The 140 gr. 7mm Rem Mag has 1600 ft lbs at 200 yards, and still has almost 1100 at 400 yards, nearly as much punch as a standard 130 gr. .270.

By the way, the folks at Gander Mountain are REALLY proud of that Managed Recoil ammo... They wanted $39.95 a box for the stuff! (Even though theirfull load 150 gr. 7mm Rem. Mag.'s were on salefor $19.95 per box. You'd think with less powder, the MR rounds would be cheaper...)Carter's Country, a large local hunting specialty store had them for $35.00 a box. Academy,5 miles down the road from Gander Mountain, had them for $29.87 a box. I bought all four that they had in stock...

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

ipscshooter
I turned 18 in 1977 and one of the first things I did was to go to local gun store and bought a Remington 700 BDLin 7mm. Mag. I still have it and still shoot it. A few years back I bought a new Remington 700SS in 7mm. Mag. The older gun shoots better than my new one. I've shot every brand ammo there is out of it and the best was plain old 150gr. Winchester silver tips. I've taken a number deer with it. I've never considered it to be a punishing round and a day the range usually involvestwo or three boxes. Give it a try. You might be surprised how manageable it really is.
Ken

RE: Managed Recoil Ammo
 

I used the managed-recoil ammo for my .30-06 this year. With decent ammo, the rifle (Rem. 760) shot right at MOA or a little under. With the managed-recoil stuff, it shot 1.25-1.5 MOA. That is totally acceptable since nearly all my shots on game will be well within 100 yards. The terrain here is similar to Deep-East Texas hill country. I didn't shoot a deer with it this year, but shot some coyotes with it and it really tore them up. The recoil was similar to 7.62x39 out of my single-shot.

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the R3 is the limbsaver, just with a different name. Also, in the next year or so, Remington will be expanding its power level ammunition to the 7mm RM chambering. They will have 3 loads that all fit the same chambering. One of them will be approximately equivalent to a 270 win, which would theoretically give less recoil in the same chambering. This ishould befairly reliable info, as it was sent to me by Remington in a response to a specific question about future power level ammo chamberings.