7mm mag vs deer
 

Is a 7mm mag like to big of a gun for white tail deer in new york ? im just wondering cause only one person uses one an it looked nice just thinking of geting 1 though

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

7mm Mag is not 'too big' for deer in my opinion. 7mm is truly versatile and flat shooting, it also enables you to pursue Elk and Mule Deer at longer ranges than what you'll likely encounter in NY.

To those who contend you'll "tear up too much meat", ask them which part of the heart and lungs they wish to eat. ;)

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

7mm Mag is perfect for deer. Flat shooting, holds energy at long distances. Use a 140gr. partition and you'll do fine. I am always amazed at how little meat I lose with the 7mm Mag.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I have a Sako 7mm Rem. Mag and its amazing, Company that with a luephold Vari X 3 and Winchest ballistic silvertips in 140 or 150 grains and you'll have deer droppin like never before

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

My bud has one, you can put you fist through the ribs after the shot, just nasty gun at 200 to 500 yards.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I have used the 7mm rem mag faithfully for about 5 years now, taken plenty of whitetail a few elk and bear as well. I have never witnessed the amount of damage on any of my animals as Canadian Bush Wacker has stated. I am running 165 gr, nosler part and have never experienced anything like this. I agree its a great cal, my favorite for deer due to its speed and UMMFFFf. I am not about to compromise knock down power for 3 more pounds of rib meat if that. Find a cal you like and shoot well with and best of luck.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

Good choice

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

Proud 7mm Mag owner since 2003 right here! :)

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

7MM Rem. Mag. is an excellent cartridge for deer hunting. I’ve used it for years and it has always done the job.......

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

7 mag is my favorite caliber. Flat shooting and lots of knockdown power.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

i have a 7mm mag and love it.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I have the 7mm STW I love it BUT I can never get my wife to let me use it ( I think she likes it more!!!!) oh well its just a bonus that she is willing to get involved and come to the woods.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I've had one since 1997 and is my favorite caliber. I shoot 140 noslers and I don't notice anymore damage to the meat that any other caliber. If you shoot a deer in the butt theirs going to be damage but who is shooting deer in the butts. My longest shot with the 7mm mag was a measured 304 yards and I hit within an inch of where I was aiming. I would be confident out to 400 yards on a no or light wind day. You could make longer shots but thats the longest range I have to practice and the bullet is dropping fast at that point.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

The 7mm is fine for deer. I shoot a 140 gr. balistic tip and have little more than a golf ball size exit wound. Late Saturday evening I shot a crippled buck at 200 yards that someone on the next lease had made a bad shot on . I would not have felt confident making this shot with my .243 and a 6 power scope at that distance. The heavy barreled 7 mag I use made the shot easy, and has made me a believer in this versatile caliber.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

The 7mm mag is my favorite rifle. I think the key is bullet selection. I've never hunted whitetail but on muleys once in a while I've seen the 7mm mag do a bit of meat damage but every time a cheaper bullet was used AND bone was hit. The core-lokt's by Remington make a deer as dead as any of the others but when you hit bone the bullet seems to break apart and tear a lot of meat up in my experience. I think if you stick to a 140gr - 150gr bullet and use a bullet that will stay together when you hit bone like a partition you'll love this cartridge.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

shouldnt punch too big of holes..not any more than a .30-06 or anythign else used on deer. hell, the realtree boys shoto 300 win mags, and thats alot more gun than a 7mm. 7mm is very verastile too. great caliber. you dont get any meat off the ribs or front shoulders anyway. dont worry about ruining meat. i'd rather have some ruined meat rather than a wounded deer.

slayer

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

not to big at all.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

Although I shoot the 30-06 and .270 for all my hunting needs I have shot the 7mm and it is a wonderfull calibre. Very flat shooting with a good amount of punch. As far as overkill, I wouldn't worry about it. The 7mag is a fine deer cartridge which is effective on almost all North-American game animals. If you like the gun and calibre go for it!

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

good gun-my son has a 7mm wsm and loves it

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

For whitetails their is a gamit of choices and as such I'd probably look at a few non mags chamberings.

I use a 7mm rem mag & love it, so "yes" it certainly would work JFL but some of my reasons for choosing it was longer shots and bigger game uses not just b/c it was a MAG.

BTW what are using now and why the 7mm rem mag?

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...

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I'm looking to buy one myself. It seems very versatile.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

Too much gun is when the gun does more damage to the shooter than and enraged, whatever could. For example, the 1st gun under the shelf is a 2 gauge single barrel goose gun. Tell me that a goose could hurt me more than shootin' 6 or 7 oz of shot all at once.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

Dang Slam Fire, nice collection! If you load that 2 guage with black powder and round balls you could hunt elephants!

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

I have killed deer with the 7 Mag and with the 250 savage and everything in between. No matter what you use if you put the bullet in the vitals you have a dead animal. I have had five 7MM Mags. Won't ever have another since I got my 280. For deer only The 25-06 is about as good as it gets IMO. 7mm-08, 260, 308, 257 Roberts, they will all do as good on deer as anything else.

RE: 7mm mag vs deer
 

Buck, 7mm Mag is a darn fine caliber. That being said, I am a fellow New Yorker and hunted with a Ruger 7mm Mag for 4 years and was lucky enough to take several deer with it. Of all the deer I shot with it, I never had a fist sized hole that I could put my fist through as Canadian Bush Wacker states. On the Contrary, a few of the deer I shot I really had to look hard to see where the bullet hole was! I think the bullet velocity is so fast it just zips right through without expanding to much. Now I don't know what kind of land you are hunting, but if you are hunting in wooded areas I would recommend another caliber such as a .30-06, .270, .308 or something in that line. I hunt in the Adirondacks and that Magnum with the longer barrel was an inconveniance to lug through the woods. If you are mostly hunting wide open spaces such as fields or power lines where you can take a 200-300 yard shot well then maybe I'd consider the Magnum, but the above calibers can handle that distance too.