RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I hunt whitetail in Pennsylvania with .300 Weatherby Mag - very similar energy/ballistics to 7mm Mag. I have friends who love their 7mm's.

I don't think we use "too much gun." A broadside lung shot with a pointed soft point core-lokt will yield a relatively small exit wound, as it would with any other caliber.

A direct hit into the pelvic girdle or entry into spine/shoulder socket will yield more significant damage. The same would be the result with just about any other caliber.

It's a great all-around gun, and you won't have to worry about buying or borrowing something bigger for any hunting trips or bear season. It gives you great range with fantastic conservation of Kinetic Energy (knockdown power).

I've had great luck with my .300, and I wouldn't hesitate to hunt with a 7mm.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I don't think there is really such a thing as too big a gun for a deer. But there is too big a gun for a lot of hunters. Some people can shoot a 7mm or .300 Win. Mag. great. If you can, more power to you. But a lot of people can't sit down at a bench and shoot one very frequently without developing a flinch. So they are much better served by something smaller they can take to the range and get some use out of. Nearly everybody can learn to shoot a .243, .257, or even a .270 well. Take myself, for instance. I doubt I will ever kill anything bigger than a whitetail. 95% of my hunting is coyotes and smaller. So a 7mm is too much gun for me. My purposes are much better served by my .223 and 30-30. So when people say a gun is too big for deer, I think the consideration is more the hunter than the game.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I have shot many deer with .270 using 130 grain failsafe. I get about a 1 inch hole every time. But my last doe - hole the size of a fist. I think I hit her shoulder and it blew bone through her ribs. So I don't think your bud's fist size holes are necessarily due to the caliber.

BTW .270 is enough gun for me, but I don't think that makes 7mm mag "too much gun". I'm with North Texan on this one.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

7MM MAG vs deer deer no chance great gun but i think its a little much for whitetails cant go wrong with it tho a great gun.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I own a .270 and it's almost up there with your 7mm and i have no problems with it being to much power so go with it

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

Excellent deer rifle! Caliber of choice for David Hale of Knight and Hale!

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

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RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

More than you need? Maybe. Too much? Naaaa. The 7 mag is a great caliber. It's the least recoiling of the big magnums and is a caliber you could make a strong case for in one of those arguments that start with "If you could only have one gun for everything"

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I just picked up a used Winchester model 70 in this caliber and love it. :D Broke it in last weekend on a couple of nice hogs, 125 and 175 Lbs. I Hunt the Texas hill country so our Deer here aren't huge. So for the pigs and Deer I shoot a 139gr SPBT. Neck shot both pigs and they both dropped in their tracks. Upon cleaning this round did not tear them up much more than my .270 shooting 130Gr did. Hit both at about 100 yards.

I was hoping to fill my last Doe tag this weekend but the rules are where I hunt, "If you see a pig shoot it"

Had some tasty pork chops Sunday night. . . . .

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

ive been shooting a 7mm rem mag since 1979. i love it and it dont tear up the meat if you hit them in the right spot... i love it...