7mm Remington mag for deer

I've been hunting with a 7mm mag for 11 years now and I've never once had to track a deer that was shot with it. I load 150 Nosler BT's over 63 grains of H4831SC. One of those has gone in the boiler room or neck of every deer I've ever shot with the rifle and all have been DRT. Ranges have varied from 70 yards to about 250 and I've never had a problem with bullet expansion or underperformance.

It is a great round! Good luck with it!
 
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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I wonder if you've ever really shot or hunted with a 7mm mag? Your post indicates that you haven't. I stand 5'7", and weigh around 140 lbs, and the recoil doesn't bother me. I have a female friend who loves shooting my 7mm mag. She stands about 5'2", and weighs around 110 lbs soaking wet with her pockets full of rocks. She's dating my best friend, went deer hunting with us, and prefered shooting that over my .243 because it was "more comforable" for her to shoot. She went with us to sight in, and shot it pretty well, so I carried the .243.

She's also used it in the past on a couple of hunts.

Here's a picture of her on the way out from one of our hunts. She rode/ponied a couple of the mules to keep the trailer from dragging in some rough spots. She just ain't that big, but she handles my 7mm mag just fine with full powered loads. This picture was taken at the mouth of Price Canyon, on the east side of the Chiricahua Mtns.

Edited to add: I just talked with her about this thread. She got a giggle out of it, so I sent her a link.

LisaMules-2.jpg
 
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When I got back into hunting I purchased a used 7mm mag because I got a sweet deal on it. It is a bit much for deer but it certainly is a deerslayer. I prefer to use my .270 for most deer hunting. I use the 7mm mag when I hunt hogs at dusk. I do not want to ever have to track a big boar and night and the 7mm Remmy makes sure this does not happen :D. It's not my favorite but it certainly has a place in the safe.
 
If you can afford a different gun for every hunting situation or are only going to hunt deer, there are better calibers to use. But if you can only afford one gun and want to be able to hunt bigger game also, I would go for the 7mm mag.

I personally look to my S&W 7mm mag for most rifle hunting situations. Even though I have other options. Mostly because I have built a lot of personal confidence in the gun. I have killed everything I have ever shot at with it. Can't say the same for any of my other guns.
 
I deer hunt with a 7mm Rem Mag. Great round for deer and a whole lot of other critters in NA. Recoil is a bit more than a 30.06, but if you aren't recoil shy, its not an issue.
 
my dad is the reason i picked a 7mm mag for a hunting rifle (savage 111). he has taken everything from crow to moose with his m77.

tho i admit the recoil was a bit heavy on hot loads, till i bought a limbsaver recoil pad.
 
Got my first 7mm Rem mag about a year ago and shot a buck with it this fall... What a blood trail. No need for recoil pads if your shooting deer. You only need to use a 140 gr bullet. I love my new 7mm the confidence from 10-400 yards is very high
 
I have used a 7mm as my main rifle from when ruger first made the ss plastic stock model . Lots of changes to it but still 7mm and better than ever. I shoot mainly hornady 139gr sst now but for years shoot federal 140gr BT and have no problems with it killing deer in there tracks with either bullet. Great gun .
 
It will work fine on deer. It might not be the best just for deer or the only one for deer, but it will work just fine. I reload for a freinds, and so far every one he shoots at he gets. But he also does not take any shots that are not going to give you good bullet placement. That holds true in my book with any rifle. When you see a pretty nice buck and cant get a good shot, and have to watch it go out of sight it is not a good feeling, but it is right to do, and that makes you a sportsperson in my book. But that is just me.
 
I dont see a thing wrong with using the 7mm mag for deer. It is a good choice. If you are recoil sensitive, then perhaps something in a smaller cartridge would be better. I, personally, dont mind the recoil at all but I prefer the 300WM.

For those who give you a hard time about how it is too much gun, forget it. Your choice of the magnum is fine. It is not a competition. Just make sure you spend a lot of time at the range to keep yourself proficient.
 
7 mmag

there is no such thing as over kill there dead there dead don't matter 7 mag 460 mag to a weatherby mag there all guns we use
 
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The truth is, just about anything will kill a deer. A 7 mag is one of them for sure. I've killed deer with a .22 up to a 45-70. It ain't that hard. And I've killed them with a 7 mag and they were just as dead as my old 30-30 did it. Around here, a lot of times your deer tag will be in the same area and same time as elk season. That's a bit different deal. A 7 mag is a great elk hunting cartridge, so if a deer pops up, you got it covered as well.

As far as a deer being too close for the 7 mag, you have a couple options to avoid meat damage. If it's real close and I have some time, I will either opt to shoot it behind the ear, or else I will pull out whatever handgun I have with me just for fun. But really even if it's just 50 yards away and you have a good hard elk bullet loaded, if you shoot them through the lungs, the bullet hardly even expands and you get a nice little hole on the other side with not any meat damage.

I say, if you shoot it well, then by all means take the 7 mag deer hunting. Or a 243. Or a 30-30. Or a 45-70. Or a 25-20. Or a ..... whatever.
 
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