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"

guys tend to either love it, or think its overrated. I think its overrated. though nowadays there are newer 7mm mags which may not be so overrated and Iwould consider.

well one gun for most everythign i thin id rather a .30-06, the 7mm is a Magnum.....therefore often 26" barrel, and loaded to its max with 175gr bullets, though personally i find 160gr to be its more suitable upper end. I just like the .300 win mag more than the 7mm rem mag. I think right now the 7mm STW is one of the best/most popular 7mm's and one I'd consider. The 7mm RUM I beleive is dying if not dead, and came about after the 7mm STW.

btw, i think we read the same "overrated article" some guys like gun nuts/reviewers, some cant stand them, btw a newer 7mm type round would be the .270 WSM, I think i'd choose it over the 7mm mag, also the .300 wsm, though I suspect the .270 wsm with 130s would shoot quite flat, or the 300wsm with 150's as well. I think overrated was stating that the 7mm, doesnt to a whole lot better than the 270 in some cases, nor as good ont he heavy stuff as say a .30-06 or .300 mag. kinda an inbetween round , kinda like a jack of all trades, master of none concept.

So if you really wanted a 7mm I'd consider the 7mm STW, if you want something of similar performance to teh 7mm rem mag, Id take a look at the .270 wsm or .300 wsm at least, the 7mm rem magwill always be popular of course. So if you love that round, get one. Can probably pick up a nice used one as well. There's also the 7mm weatherby.....which isnt overly powerful, kinda a nice round, I think it gives you a tad more velocity than a 7mm rem mag. the .300 weatherby is a step up in case size.

I wonder how many guys grew up with a 7mm or a .300 mag if that is the influence/deciding factor. Sometimes its hard not to like your own stuff the best.....haha. I just prefer the .300 win mag to the 7mm rem mag. course on deer, id use my .270, my .300 is more of a big game gun, so the 7mm may do both better, though you can certainly take deer with a .300.

I prefer to base or form my opinions on real world use..just me though. I grew up like the majority of Saskatchewan kids using .308 cals of one sort or another, since have used a number of calibers and chamberings. Reality isthey killwhen you do your part. Bullet selection is good for both as a handloader or factory mo shooter (availablity is excellent for bothas well). I wouldn't trade my rem mag for another winnieas I see no need. Personally if i want a bigger gun I'll step past the .308 caliber. About the only benefit I see with the rem magvs300 is less recoil which may make it easier to shoot for some. Other then that both are fine cartridges and will handle anything in NA (though I wouldn't want either if hunting the big bears).

As far as the STW it like the RUM's is a reloader cartridge, limited and expensive factory ammo plus downgraded performance level makesthem poor choices for Factoryammo users. They addsome MVsbut still fire the same bullets. If that makes thembetter then the loved 300wmis a second class citzen to the 300RUM and other over boredbig 30's[&:]. In reality adding 200 fps of MV doesn't do much forthe averagehunter that may never take a poke much pasteven 300 yards. What is wrong with a 160 or 180 gr bullet exiting the muzzle in the 3K range?? I say absolutely nothing! Take your pick b/c IMO and experience your just splitting hairs.

Just my nickles worth.

A fine cartridge with good bullets available, to include many with good sectional density and ballistic coeffecients. It can reach out with slightly less recoil than the bigger bore magnums. If I lived in the mountains, I would have one.

I have never in any post called down any cal. Reason being that for the most part it comes down to the preference of the individual shooter and who am I to say what fits another person or that person's hunting situation. With that said, I have a preference for my 7mm mag. It fits the type of deer hunting that I do. 250-300 lb. bucks on the hoof are quite common where I hunt and 200 yard plus shots are alsoquite common. I've been hand loading for my 7mm mag for over 20 years and after a couple of decades harvesting deer with it, it shoulders like another limb (I couldn't begin to count how many rounds I've spent with it at the range). I believe that the confidence I have with it allows me to be a better hunter. I also own 8 other deer hunting cal. and I have harvested deer with all but one of them. There have been times where I have been hunting in thick brush/swamp where my Marlin 30-30 was better suited for the job but for the most part I'm in a tree stand or blind looking down 400-500 yard treelines and I believe for me that the 7mm mag is the best cal. for this type of hunting. It's hard to beat the flat line ballistics and the reach out and touch them factor of the 7mm mag. Those that complain about the recoil most likely have never used the 7mm mag to harvest a deer for I have never felt the recoil of any gun when harvesting a deer and I don't think that many seasoned hunters have either (I never felt the recoil of my 338 mag when harvesting a moose either). At the range I use a recoil pad for, yes it is true, that 20-30 rounds out of the 7mm mag with outa recoil padwould beat you up pretty good (this I know from experience). Some also may complain that the 7mm mag is too loud. I do enjoy the high pitch crack of my.270 but that gutteral growl of the 7mm mag I findawesome (if you are wearing proper ear protection at the range then why would you be complaining about the sound?). And in the field, the deer feels the bullet before the sound anyway (at that point the sound is the least of the deer's concern)so why complain about the sound of the 7mm mag in that shooting situation. When it come down to it, nothing can ever replace lots of practise at the range and shot placement in the field. Why waste your time complaining aboutor contemplating about the over kill of the 7mm mag? If it's not for you then use something else. I have never met anyone that hasharvested a deer with one complain about the 7mm mag's performance.

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.....

That is the only real complaint I have with the 7mm Rem mag or 300win mag or Wby mags, or 350 rem mag, etc... etc... Belts are a useless hinderance on a bottle necked cartridge.

Bottom line is that the 7mm Rem mag is a fantastic do everything cartridge. From antelope to moose it can do it all. I'd step up to a larger cartridge for large NA dangerous game though.

When the 7mm was introduced it was billed as hitting harder than the 06 and shooting flatter than the 270. When looking at available production ammo neitherstatement is actually trueanymore.

If terminal performance is your primary consideration the the 06 has 6 loads that exceed 3300 lbs/KE at the muzzle. This meets or exceeds any 7mm load I have seen.

If flat shooting is your primary consideration the 270 can provide 3200+ fps with a 130 grain interbond bullet.

I would preferr a 30-06 or 270 myself due to the availability of cheaper ammo to practice with. Approx 25% less than a 7mm ammo with equal bullets means more range time developing skills.

In general the 7mmdoes havea slight performance advantage over the 06 however the popularity of the 06 has also resulted in premium ammo lines with KE levels actually higher than the 7mm.Guns chambered in the 06/270 are alsooften lighter due to the shorter action lengths.

On deer sized game the 7 MM with lighter bullets in the 130/140 weights will provide approx 100-150 more FPS than the 06 if long range shooting is important.

But then again if long range shoothing for deer sized gamethe 270can produce3200 + fps with a 130 grain interbond bulletthat still has plenty of KE to kill deer at 500 yards + and there are several 3100 fps 140 grain offerings.

I just think the 7mm does not give a good bang for your buck when compared to the 06 for KE or the 270 when comparing fps.

If I were going for more power/velocity than the 06/270 I would jump up to alarger case than the 7mmRem Mag to get some real separation from them, since the ammo costs about the same once you break in the magnum class ammo.

I'll try to address these issues 1 at a time. While the belt is useless,when reloading you can headspace on shoulder-not belt. Most rifles except browning have 24" barrels in 7mm rem mag-not 26". The 7mm rem mag is NOT overrated-if you and bullet do your jobs,the 7mm rem mag will certainly do any REASONABLE job asked of it. The 7mm rem mag is THE most popular rifle magnum cartridge for a reason-it works! I've built lightweight hunting style rifles that turned out EXCEPTIONAL accuracy-so much so that even I was suprized.

I need to set this record straight

go to www.federalcartridge.com and look and compare the 2 cartridges with sleek aerodynamic bullets and then tell me there is no difference at the various yardages. I compared a 7rem mag witha 160 accubond vs an 06 with a 180 MRX. The fact is7 Rem mags have been underloaded by the factories for years you would know this if you reloaded. You will also note thatthey are comparing both cartridges with 24" barrels.. there are a lot more7 rem mags that have 26" barrels vs manufacturers using24" barrels for the 06. Recoil is exactly the same on both cartridges. Only advantage the 06 has is cheaper ammo prices. Moot point if you reload. It has always been my favorite magnum and I cannot see the difference if any between it and a 300 win/wthby mag except at the shooters shoulder.