7mm Remington mag for deer

I've owned Four

A Weatherby, Remington, and two Winchester 70 Classics. Previous posters are correct about short range (<100yds) shots with standard bullets. Any standard bullet under 150gr with a MV over 3000 is a bomb. They don't run, though. A 150 or 160 Partition will cover deer to elk.
 
One of my favorates. It's a little overkill at close ranges, as mentioned above, but too much is better than to little. Shot an antelope at 25 yards with one, and it turned his vitals into jelly! He didn't even take a step. I load hornady 162 grain interlocks in front of a stiff load of IMR 4831, does the trick on about anything you want to kill. Most of my deer hunting is done with a 25-06, I bought the seven mag just cause I could. The recoil to me is not bad at all. Easy cartridge to load for and ammo is common. Just buy one, and if you don't like it put it in the safe and buy something else. The more the better. :D
 
I have killed a couple dozen deer with my 7 Mag, none required more than one shot, none went more than 50 yards, most dropped dead within 20. Shot placement is paramount, any rifle from .243 up to .35 Whelan will work fine on deer. That 7 and I just happen to get along like honeymooners every year we go out.
 
What?

"7mm mag is just fine for deer. By the way, there is no such thing as overkill, just underkill, so dont let anyone talk you out of it because they dont like it."

<...snarky...>

My opinion on the 7mm mag is that it is too much. My father made a 400 yard shot with my grandfathers one year and decided he wanted one, so he bought a savage model 110 (I believe). Shot two deer with it under 150 yards in the vitals and the both were DRT, unfortunately alot of meat was ruined in the process. That gun has been sitting in the safe since then. You would probably be fine at longer distances, but I would never use one.

As far as no such thing as overkill: If that were true people would be stomping around the woods with 7mm mag's shooting squirrel's and rabbits. You match your need to your weapon and decide the most appopriate to humanely kill your prey.
 
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Most people keep the shoulders, hams, and loins. If you don't put a bullet in any one of them you are not going to have any meat damage. If you do, you are going to have damage with anything, even an arrow.
Try to miss the meat.:)
 
I have shot many antelope that are about 100lbs to a couple Buffalo that were 1400lbs. 1 shot kills. The Buffalo took one shot to the neck and fell on their feet. I have shot Blacktail and Mule deer also. I like my 7mm Remington Mag.
 
robhof

I used a 7mag a few years ago in South Dakota for a deer after trying for a week with a pistol and getting none close enough to shoot. I took the shot at 300+ yds and the deer dropped where it was hit, alot of damaged meat to the shoulder. I would use it again for long shots, but still prefer my pistols for deer.
 
Shot a buck one year one the move. I actually hit it in the front leg knee. 140 gr tipped hornaday bullet at about 40 yards. Something blew the sternum into the heart and ended with a quick kill. Guess I kinda fell in love with the over kill factor.

I am relatively certain a 7-08 would never have pulled that one off. As stated 'shot placement' trumps velocity. Its when I fall short the velocity thing comes through.
 
Youp, with all due respect, you'd been better off not saying a word than to support a position that if you shoot a deer in the knee with a 7mm Mag that part of its body will crush the sternum into the heart...

Although you did bring a chuckle to my morning!
 
After carryiing a 7mag for almost 45 years, Rem 700 BDL with the black stainless barrel, and many, many deer later, it will do all you want. Stick to 130-150 gr bullets and always take the heart/lung shot if you can. Result is meat on the table. shoot them in the hams, etc, and you will have some wasted meat. I used 140 gr Sierra Pro Hunters for a long time, recently switching to Nosler Ballistic tips..Too much damage with BT's, back to the Sierras. Have fun, it's a great caliber.
 
From what I hear, The possible draw back is at close range, the bullet may be going to fast to perform as advertised.
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Not necessarily true. Bullet performance is dependent on the bullet's design. Use a quick expanding bullet and you'll get more meat damage. Use a slower expanding bullet and you'll get more penetration and less meat damage.

Believe it or not, the 7mm mag's velocity with a 145 grain bullet is very similar to a .243 Win with a 100 grain bullet. I've chrono'd both of mine, and they're really close.

In fact, with a more fragile bullet, I get more meat damage on a deer with a .243 at close range than I do with my 7mm mag. Using similarly constructed Speer SPBT's (100 gr in .243, 145 gr in 7mm), I doubt most would be able to tell which I'd used. These aren't even high-dollar bullets, but they work extremely well for me in both cartridges.

I've shot several of our little coues whitetails (they top out at around 100 lbs dressed for a really big one) with the 7mm rem mag, and I've yet to ruin much mean on one. The closest was about 8 yards, another was about 15-20 yards, and the farthest was 472. The bullets all worked very well, with each of the deer dropping immediately upon impact. I've shot antelope, elk, bear, and bison with the same load and got very similar results.

So IMO the 7mm mag is a great choice for deer, just like any one of many other cartridges. Loaded right, there's a big bunch of choices out there; the 7mm mag just happens to be one that fits my style and preferences really well.

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I've used it pretty heavily since about 1986, and in my present rifle since about 1990. I have no complaints about the cartridge at all.
 
I have a couple of 7mm Remington mags. They are my go-to guns for antelope, mule deer, and caribou where the ranges are long and strong winds are often present. Accurate and hard hitting. I can send a 160 grain bullet a long way and still hit the target in a cross wind.

In the category of all around deer gun, I personally think of my 270, 25-06, 7-08, and 260. They kick somewhat less. They are a bit cheaper to load for. The do the job on deer out to 300 yards and a bit beyond.
 
I do not own a 7 mag, and have only fired a couple, after working on them, or
zeroing for friends.

I did belong to a deer lease for 10 years or so that was crossed by r.o.w's and powerlines, and the primary style of hunting was from shooting houses and greenfields situated on same.

By far the most common rifle was a 7 mag, usually w/ lighter bullet weights, and big bell, higher end magnification scopes. There were some long range kills (and plenty of misses) made. The belief was that the 7 mag offered the fastest, flattest trajectory available for the hunting conditions. Inside 100 yds, the fast 7mag bullets were tremendously destructive, the 140 (?) ballistic tips especially so.
 
I just saw Daryl's pictures. If that looks like where you are hunting, go with the 7mm mag.
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LOL! The shots can be long at times, but they don't always have to be.

Here's one I took of my dad getting ready to shoot a javalina. You can see the javalinas in the grass, and dad got one of the two you can see there. I'd already killed mine from the same herd a week before, with a similar stalk.

We stalked them for over a mile, and belly crawled quite a ways before dad waited for their heads to go down and then raised up out of the grass to shoot.

Fond memories for me. Dad and I used to really enjoy bowhunting together for deer and javalinas.

Daryl

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I have mainly used a 30.06 of some sort for over 22 years for deer hunting. In 2009 I got a wild hair and thought I needed a 7 MAG. Bought a Remington Model 700 XCR in 7 MAG. and put a Nikon Titanium scope on it. Shot my first deer with it on December 14, 2009. Doe at 80 yards fell in its tracks like a huge hammer had it it. I think it might just be my main rifle for a few years and maybe in 2010 I can see how it stretchs out its legs on longer shots..:)
 
Hell of a caliber if your man enough to shoot it. Call me a sissy, but I prefer guns that only kill on one end. I also prefer steaks over burger.
 
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