7mm Rem Mag accuracy????

[fieldratsniper]

hey guys,

first off id like to thank all the members here for their info. this is by far the most informative group of guys on any shooting forum ive seen!

enough of that. ive never owned or even shot a 7mm rem mag, but i can get a helluva deal on a brand new Rem 700 police in 7mm from a local shop.

i just got back from colorado elk hunting and i want to get a rifle more suited for large game. i used my rem 700 in 270 for my kill but id like something a little larger. im hard core into varmint shooting but this elk hunt got me thinking about big game a little more.

seeing how im into long range varmint shooting ive of course been thinking about building something to anchor those bigger animals,deer and antelope)at long range. so when i remembered that deal on the 700pss i was thinking maybe that one gun could be a dual purpose gun for elk at medium range and the deer and lopes at longer ranges.

ive had very good success with a couple factory remington and savage rifles with my handloading, so im sure if the 7mm rem mag is a decent cartridge i can get it to shoot. so anyone with experience with the 7mm rem mag please chime in and lemme know what you think.

thanks,
jeremy

 

[M700]

Oh it'll shoot alright...

Been my favorite all-around big game hunting cartridge for a long time. Everything from coyotes to big bull elk. Also had a Rem 700 Sendero in 7mm Rem mag for several years. Very similar to the 700 P you're considering. With good handloads, I had no trouble printing 100 yard 3-shot groups hovering around 1/2" with Sierra 160 and 175 grain Gameking hunting bullets or Sierra's 168 grain HPBT Matchking bullets.

Had best results with either H4831 or Reloader 22, Winchester cases and Federal 215 magnum primers.

At 600 yards, that rifle could shoot honest 3" - 4" groups, from a bipod. I was very pleased. Only problems I had with it were:

1) Factory trigger was rough and gritty. Replaced it.
2) The barrel was rough and fouled easily. Had to clean it often to maintain peak accuracy. This wasn't a problem for me because I was using it as a long-range hunting rifle, not a match rifle, so it didn't need to go 70 - 100 rounds between cleanings.

Mine was a fine shooting rifle and I suspect yours will be.

Regards, Guy

 

[M700]

BTW - a bit more on the 7mm Rem mag. I can't help myself - I like that cartridge!

It did take the 1000 yard Wimbledon cup a long time ago, not long after it was introduced. It's also served as a sniper/counter-sniper weapon. In more recent years it's been used to great success in 1000 yard competition as well. These days there are some real nice high-BC match bullets available, including Sierra's 175 grain Matchking and Berger's 180 grain VLD. With the 700 P's 26" barrel, you'll have no trouble handloading it to over 2900 fps, possibly approaching 3000 fps with some 175 grain loads.

Along with many others, I find the 7mm Rem mag to be a real nice combination of velocity, bullet weight, high ballistic coefficient, and easily tolerable recoil. The 7mm mag is only a bit less powerful than the .300 Win mag,another great hunting & LR cartridge) but I've had several rifles in each caliber, and the 7mm mag has always been easier on me, the shooter! Not easier on the game - critters were just as dead with one as with the other.

This big Wyoming 6x6 bull was brought down quickly with a 175 grain bullet from my beater 7mm Rem mag sporter...

So there ya go - an admittedly very biased endorsement of the 7mm Rem mag! Besides which, when the barrel goes south after 1500 rounds, you can turn it into almost any magnum cartridge you want!

Regards, Guy

 

[JER]

If you are going to go big, go BIG:

338 Winchester Magnum

375 Holland & Holland

9.3X62 Mauser

338-06

35 Whelen

 

[AckleymanII]

I killed two bulls with the 7 mag just south of Flagstaff with my 7 mag, they dropped in their tracks. They were both running when I shot them, and at the bullet's impact, their front legs immediately quit working with their noses plowing the ground...I shot both of them in the lungs.

 

[fieldratsniper]

well the bad news is that they sold the last 700 police they had. i guess i should have expected them to be gone quick at $569.

they did have a winchester model 70 called a coyote lite that caught my attention. it was chambered in 300wsm. i was really surprised at how light it was and i am partial to short action guns.

i do like the sendero sfII and i like the higher bc 7mm bullets so im still thinkin hard about some kind of remington in 7mm.

thanks for the info,
jeremy

 

[fieldratsniper]

BTW M700 - that is a heck of a rack ya got there!!!

 

[AndyW]

A few weeks ago I got my 7RM back from My gunsmith. It started life as a Remington LSS-7mm RUM,waste of time IMHO) I put a 27" lilja barrel on it, had the action trued, pillar bedded, Gretan bolt assembly, jewell trigger and topped it off with a 4.5x14x50 VXIII Leupold. I started load development with the 175 SMK, IMR 4831 and RL 22 were my starting powders. Every 3 shot group was under .75" as I worked up the ladder. I found a great load with the IMR 4831. On a whim I tried a couple of slower powders with the same 175 SMK, RL 25 and Retumbo. Bottom line is this gun just loves the Retumbo with the 175 grain SMK, shoots in the low .3"s for 3 shots and under .5" for 5 shots. So far this year I have killed 3 deer with this gun, a doe at 463 yards, and a good buck at 80 yards. The match bullet was great at both distances. Off to Saskatchewan next week to test it out on a big pig whitetail! Gotta love the 7mm Mag!

 

[AndyW]

Not to hijack the thread, but since we are showing some racks!

Alberta whitetail with the new gun!

 

[Forum Boss]

GREAT photo Andy...

I guess that 7mm does the job.

It's still sunny down here in California. Hard for me to envision all that snow.

 

[fieldratsniper]

wow, that dude has got a thick set on him!!!

what twist barrel does it take to shoot the 175s? isnt a common twist for the 7mm RM a 1-9 1/8" or something like that?

i cant believe you killed big game with the matchking! i shot a few squirrels with the .224 69gr MK and there was no expansion whatsoever. i dont consider using a match bullet for shooting animals anymore. actually i cant say that, i do use the 75gr Amax on squirrels because the ballistic tip does cause some expansion upon impact.

but those are some awesome groups. ive been considering bullets to use and it looks like the nosler 160 grain accubond bullet could be a good choice for a hunting bullet with a .531 BC...

the 162gr hornady amax has a 625 BC but id be reluctant to use that on large game......

jeremy

 

[M700]

The 175's stabilize just fine in a standard 1:9 or 1:9.something twist 7mm mag barrel!

A fellow can even buy factory loaded 175 grain hunting ammo. Generally shoots pretty good, but not up with good handloads in my experience. Most 7mm mags seem to shoot 160 - 175's real well.

I haven't tried Retumbo in mine yet - perhaps I've been missing out on some really good accuracy...

Andy - that is a great looking buck! :thumb:

 

[AndyW]

My barrel is a 9 twist. As far as hunting with match bullets go- I have no problem shooting deer with a match bullet, all of the Long Range guys use the .338 caliber 300 grain SMK and they are killing elk at 1000 yards. I also use match bullets to shoot coyotes with and have not had any problems. Berger also says no problem as to hunting with their match bullet. When I shoot coyotes with the .243 85grain game king I blow the crap out of the coyotes- a big splash wound on the entrance side most times the size of an apple or bigger when the shots are under 150 yards.As far as no expansion goes that is why guys like the Barnes bullets- better penetration. When you poke a hole through the vitals dead is dead!

 

[mysticplayer]

I have taken a strong liking to the 7RM after a moose hunt where an approx 1200lbs live weight critter went down at very long range with a ...... 120gr Nosler BT. Bullet performance was nothing short of excellent with picture perfect expansion.

I now use a Savage 7RM to push 162gr Amax and SST's. The Amax is an amazing bullet and works wonderfully on all manner of large game at extended distance. Easily a 1/2 MOA rifle as far as I can range with my Leica 800.

For a dirt cheap rifle, this thing shoots. Best part is the barrel loves to run going fast. I have shot a few factory Savage/Stevens and more often then not, the barrels shoot their best when loads get toasty.

Downside is the barrel walks badly when it gets hot. Still I can get a full mag off without issue and if I need more then a shot or two, I got bigger problems. Cold barrel consistency has been superb. All in a scoped rifle approx 8.5lbs.

Range, dial up, dope, shoot, hit. I have a muzzle brake on mine so that I can spot my own shots.

Remember bullet performance is about impact velocity NOT muzzle velocity. The Amax still is a pretty stout bullet as match/varmint bullets go. When impact velocity drops below 2500fps, it will work like a normal bullet at 3000fps. Best part, the bullet will still expand very nicely down to 1500fps which is a VERY LONG WAYS out.

Premium bullets tend not to expand all that well when impact velocity drops below 2500fps. Plus they are not always sub MOA accurate.

For up close, I use the 162gr SST which stay together just fine. A very nice surprise is that both bullets share a very similar trajectory out to moderate ranges. I can switch between bullets without much fuss.

I use the Lee collet neck sizer and get great runout. Powder is Re25 but am going to try Retumbo next. Fed 215M primers really do help with long range groups. Rem brass is all I have ever used and it shoots just fine.

I don't really need a heavy barrel in a hunting rig because I don't expect to 'lay' down fire. Just make sure the rifle has consistent cold barrel performance and your scope/rangefinder/drop chart is repeatable. After a lot of practise, you will quickly know your limits depending on conditions, distance and game presentation.

Although geared up for LR hunting, the furthest I have needed to shoot was 335yds. But if the opportunity was right....

All the energy in the world makes little difference if you can't put it where it should go. Once there, it takes surprisingly little to bring down game effectively IF you have adequate bullet expansion.

Jerry

 

[Rtheurer]

There is no doubt the 7RM has my vote for an accurate long range cartridge. One Mile plus steel plate & my freind Travis with my beloved Sendero

 

[fieldratsniper]

what kind of work,if any) has been done to that sendero? i bet all one would need would be a nice trigger,jewell) and it would be a shooter.

my rem 700 in 22-250,basically a SF II in a XR-100 stock) has nothing but a jewell trigger and it shoots as well as any of my buddies custom jobs.



anybody have a opinion on the 7mm wsm???

 

[Rtheurer]

Jeremy

Get this,its a bone stock Sendero! no custom trigger no custom bedding no fast twist special tight neck chamber or anything. I got a good one, I don't think you could pry it our of my hands witha 12 foot cheater bar. The only thing I have done to it is put on a Ken Farrel 25 moa angled base. It has only a 4.5X14 Leupold 30mm scope on it. I put the base on after I found out I needed 65 MOA of elevation from my 300 yard zero to go a mile.
By the way don't be to hesitant, to shoot deer with the 162 grain A-max, that is what Ive been using since I bought this rifle new in 1999. Nothing else has been down this bore & it has killed o ton of critters.
Here is a pic of this years harvest with a 162 gr A-MAX in Wyoming. Not all my shots are long range naturally but I'm ready if that's the only one i have. rifle in this picture is a 280 Ackley custom. bullet did not exit at this short distance dumped all it energy inside of the animal. Like ANY bullet just put it where it needs to go & it will get it done.
Russ