7mm Rem Mag for 1 Mile......

W

Wildernesshunter

New member
I ran the ballistics for 7mm Rem Mag and at 6,000 feet elevation and comparable atmospheric conditions for Colorado, the 162gr is still at 1,200 fps at 2,000 yards on a nice hand load.

In a 12lb rifle the 7 mag will have reasonable recoil.....maybe fun for the bench.


Why do I never hear of a 7mag in long range shooting?

The bullet choices are pretty darn good in 7mm.

Thoughts?
 
Plenty of LR shooters use the 7 mag. There are those that prefer the SA mags, but for pure performance, pushing heavies, the 7 mag would be the one.
The "issue" becomes one of recoil, for a lot of shooters they prefer the 6's and 6.5's for higher BC and less recoil. Comes down to the same old discussion...lighter, faster...or heavier, slower...

I am a big fan of the 7mm, and use the 162 Amax (bought MANY boxes of them when Hornady made them ;)) at 1000 yards in my 7-08 with good results. Pushing them faster from a magnum would only help.
 
It wasn't made here.

But the 7mm Remington magnum is a kick butt caliber, the 162 Amax at 3000 feet/sec (actually a MILD load), will trash all the .308 caliber rifles unless they shoot something real heavy.

My Sendero did exceptionally well at 1000 yards with 62 grains of RL22 and the 162 Amax.

My calculator shows 1100 feet/sec at 2000 with my load.
 
"...never hear of a 7 Mag..." Because it's a magnum. Hurts to shoot all day unless the rifle is really heavy. Twelve pounds is light too.
I really don't get this current fascination for excessively long shots. "Because I can." I guess.
 
I really don't get this current fascination for excessively long shots.
The skill level involved. Do you not "get it", because you think it's easy?
Unlike shorter ranges which are point and dial/hold and shoot, long-range requires the ability to read and compensate for external factors all the way to the target. Read mirage, and know the optimal time to squeeze the shot based on what you (if you're lucky- a spotter to assist) see.

Then there's the ammunition, which must be precisely made and absolutely consistent for acceptable results.

Up to somewhere around 600 yards with most common chamberings it's pretty much point and shoot because the bullet hasn't lost enough velocity to be "kicked around". Further out to 1k and beyond velocity starts to drop exponentially and the lightest variations in wind have greater effect.

There are comp shooters at the range we frequent that can put five shots into 4" at 1000 yards...when most don't even own hardware that's capable of that level of accuracy at one-tenth the distance. Hitting a 24" gong isn't that difficult most days...But 8"....'nother story, at least for me.

There's also something very cool about watching the arc of the bullet trace through the spotting scope when conditions are right...
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A 215 gr Berger fired from a 300 mag at 2900 fps is almost 100 fps faster at 2000, drops almost 3' less and in a 10mph wind moves about 2' less.

In a lightweight sporter the 300 load's recoil would be stout. But if both rifles are 12 lbs the 7 Mag would have recoil comparable to a sporter weight 308, the 300 Mag would have recoil comparable to a sporter weight 30-06. Neither would be objectionable.

I think the 7 mags are an excellent choice for hunters wanting to shoot longer range from a sporter weight rifle with manageable recoil. But for truly long range work the big 30's still work better.
 
I really don't get this current fascination for excessively long shots. "Because I can." I guess.
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It's like any competition I guess. Why does anyone need to squat 900lbs, run a 3:43 mile? Because it's heavier and faster than the last person did it.
 
Wilderness,

For one, would you want to lug a 12 pound rifle miles through the woods, especially at your 6000 ft. elevation???

My Savage 111 doesn't weigh any where near the 12 pounds you mentioned.

Some of the other reasons, that haven't been mentioned yet is heat, and wearing out the barrel too quickly.

The 7mm Rem Mag burns a good bit of powder, which creates a lot of heat. Do a string of 20 rounds, and the barrel is pretty well north of good and hot.

Also shooting that many rounds, with that much powder is going to lead to throat erosion fairly quickly. A serious target shooter may "shoot out" several barrels a year. This with the 308 and other such rounds that are known to be gentle to barrels, aka 2500 rounds or so before being replaced. With the Rem Mag your looking more towards 800-1000 rounds.

If you watch hunting videos on Youtube, you'll probably run into the videos from Gunwerks. These guys think nothing about shooting an Elk at 800+ yards. But they practice a lot on the range, and have specialized equipment.

For the average hunter, ranges are going to be much shorter. Here in Central PA, distances are usually 20-250 yards.
 
Tobnpr, are you saying .4inches @ 100yds or 4 inches @ 100 yards? And are these primarily benchrest rifles like Fclass rifles?
 
Guys, I have a wonderful Remington Model 721 in a 30'06 that is my game hunter. I have no intentions of hauling around a 14lb gun to hunt.

But good news!!!!!

I ordered and the gun and it arrived on Saturday. Remington Model 700 Long Range in a 7mm Rem Mag. It now has a Vortex Viper 6.5-20x44 and a 20MOA base.

Sunday, I went to the range. I shot 6 rounds, getting the gun close at 25 yards. I then moved out to 200 yds and shot 14 more rounds, cleaning the barrel every two shots (simply for good break-in). I was amazed that my 'out of the box' 700 with 'off the shelf' hunting rounds would do as good as they did. I shot a hole out of the target at 200 yards 1.5" in diameter. Can't wait to see what hand loads will do and am eager to find some 1k yard steel with some lead!!!
 
Tobnpr, are you saying .4inches @ 100yds or 4 inches @ 100 yards? And are these primarily benchrest rifles like Fclass rifles?
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He said 4" at 1000 yards, and "comp shooters" which I take to mean "competition". That would suggest they aren't using typical hunting rifles.
 
My next rifle will be a 7 mag unless I build a 7-08 just for "fun". I have gotten bit by the long range bug and I'm having a great time. It's the learning curve that I enjoy and it has made me a better hunter. I routinely shoot my hunting rifles to 600-700 yards and I'm really surprised at the accuracy. But I limit my hunting range to 300 yards for ethical reasons. Now if I see a deer at 300 yards or less I am totally comfortable in taking the shot. I've shot hundreds of rounds at 300 yards and know exactly where my bullet is going. I find it really amazing that most "hunters" rarely shoot more than a box of ammo a year. Maybe that is why I'm always hearing stories of how great some "hunters" are at tracking wounded game. I guess so, the morons can't shoot. :rolleyes:

My go-to hunting rifles are a 6.5 CM and 30-06 in Wby Vanguards and a .300 Wby Mag Mark V. I routinely shoot them out to 600 yards at steel targets. All will shoot less than 1 MOA with my handloads. I shoot these "hunting" rifles every month of the year.

I may have mentioned it in previous threads but we have a 6 inch (3 MOA) round plate hung at 200 yards. You have to hit it 3 times in a row to hunt on our lands. If you can't do that then you are either not a competent shooter or your equipment is not up to the task. Either way, you are not hunting until you "ring the bell" 3 times. :)
 
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