7mm "The Most Over Rated Caliber"?

chuckscap, you may be right. i think most 375 hunters think the mere fact that they are hunting small game with a 375 is enough. they dont consider the ammo at all.
 
The 7mm mag maybe over rated, but it does what it was designed for. These are really silly discussions. Everyone has their favorite calibers/rounds for their own personal reasons. We could easily do away with every round out there, expect for 4 and would cover everything that is out there.

I think my best all around would probably be......
.22 (for pinking or varmit), .243 (for recoil conscious), 30-06 (for all around north America), 458 magnum (for all dangerous game that walks)
(just examples)

That being said..
My main rifle is a Weatherby Stainless Mark V in 7rem mag with a Leupold 4.5x 14 scope. I love the heavy weight and feel of the rifle.
I shot a 30-06 for many years before and can not tell a recoil difference, but I was using a light weight Sako at the time.
 
IMO, the 7mmRM is a fine cartridge; it does what it's supposed to: Punch out 140- to 160-grain bullets at around 3,300 ft/sec.

The hype or exaggeration comes in from folks not knowing that even that performance is not laser-like.

"Over-hyped by some" is probably a better term than just "over-rated".
 
My guess is that even soft 375 H&H bullets are too tough for antelope, so they don't expand, and penetrate fully doing most of their damage on the landscape behind the animal. Shoot a 350g Woodleigh at 2400 fps out of a 375 H&H at bison, elk, grizzly bear and you'll see a different outcome.
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When my father was preparing for his trip to Africa, he took his .375 H&H everywhere. He shot everything from bumble bees, to squirrels, to prarie dogs, to antelope. (Mule Deer, Elk, Antelope, and an angry badger were also taken in previous years.)

A light-for-caliber, soft bullet will kill anything properly hit. The antelope were especially interesting. Brutal penetration (know what is behind your target), bone-smashing energy, and DRT each time. The cartridge is defitiely over-kill, even for Elk sometimes, but it sure does get the job done.



The 7mm Mags (any of them)... I really don't see the point. A 7mm-08 or 7x57mm will do the same thing, in a more efficient package. I know the Mags are flatter shooting, and carry more energy (usually). However, fear of recoil turns most of those rifle owners into less-than-accurate shooters. If the shooter can't handle the cartridge, the rifle is an over-rated waste.
 
I hunt wt deer with a savager 7mm rem mag and let me tell you every one that I shoot went strait to the ground no matter were it was hit, have used other calibers and did not have the same effect
 
IMO 30.06 and .270 are the best for whitetail. Doesn't destroy the surrounding area of entry/exit like some overpowered and unecessary rounds that some people use.

p.s. One side note... These cartridges are what I would consider the best standard factory load cartridges that your average Joe can pick up from your local Wally World that work the best in my experience for North Atlantic deer.
 
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I have a 7RM. It is my only hunting caliber and I think it IS over rated. I could not pass this deal up so I bought the thing (stupid impulse). Even with a scope, my comfort level is about 400 meters. At that distance a 30.06 is almost at the same level. The 06 will do what a 7RM will do for half the price.
 
A Field & Stream article states that when the 7 Rem Mag is chronographed it has velocities very close to those of the .270, .280, and 30-06, using similair bullet weights.

In other words, velocities published by manufacturers (and reloading manuals?) are "optimistic", for the 7 RM.

If you have ever chronied a 7 mag, WHAT SAY YOU?
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I say it depends on the powder and load used. With each of them pushed to the limits, the 7mm mag shoots faster and flatter, but some rifles won't handle top loads. I know of one Ruger 77 in 7mm mag that will only handle medium loads without sticking cases in the chamber (I found that out the hard way when a buddy used one of my handloads for my rifle. We got it out by tapping it with a ramrod).

Even so, the differences are fairly minimal. The 30-06 is closer to the 7mm mag with heavier bullets in each, but the .30 cal bullet loses velocity quicker with lighter bullets. The .270 Win doesn't do as well with heavier bullets, and the .280 uses the same bullets, but with less powder behind it (sorta like comparing the 30-06 to the .300 Win mag)

That said, gunwriters (ptooey!) have to find something to write about, and dogging on someone's favorite cartridge is sure to get a response.

Daryl
 
Nothing wrong with a 7mmRM, nor a .280, 7x57, or 7/08 for that matter. But, I'm kinda partial to my .284 and 7mmSAUM myself. Different strokes, as they say.

I'd also say none of the above are any "better" than the venerable '06 or what my favorite rifle is chambered in..... .270 Win.:D
 
My old 700 had a tight throat, so my Oehler 33 gave the following readings:

145gr Speer - 3130 with a 30fps ES. Primers and head measures maximum.
154gr Hornady - 2997 with a 26fps ES. Primers and head measures normal.
162gr Hornady - 3021 with a 87fps ES. (Tested H870 on this one- awful accuracy) Primers and head measures normal.

I've got a new 70 with a longer throat that I'll post later.

I have also chono'd my 280 with 140 Noslers that are within 4fps of the Nosler #6 listings in a 26" barrel. Maximum load is 3149, but 2 gr. less gave 3024 with 24fps ES.

I've found the biggest difference between the "Sevens" is the barrel length with light bullets. At 154, the 7mmRM pushes to 3100, 160 to 3050, and 175 to 2900.

Hope this helps
 
Winchester Model 70 Featherweight
Sierra HPBT 135 Gr Matchking .277
Hodgdon H4831 58.5 Gr
Velocity 3110
2 MOA @ 200 yds

This is all I will ever need to hunt with in North America.....except for bear.
 
There is nothing new about these arguments or the cartridges in question as they were all wildcats 40 or 50 years ago. The gun manufacturers will whip out a new batch every now and then to help sales. The writers beat the same dead horse and use loads that support whatever they are arguing this go round.

Fact is that there is a handful of cartridges for any job that do basically the same thing.

However, if you are shooting at something three or four hundred yards away the faster bullet will be more forgiving if you under estimate the yardage, one inch could be the difference between a bad wound or a clean kill.
 
Really......I'm Trying To Be Nice, But............

I've been just hanging back, biting my tongue, wondering when this thread was going to be closed since the OP was obviously phishing for a fistfight. In Gomer's words, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" Instead, this thread is humming right along, foolishness and all-and a lot longer than some of my threads I might add.

If you really think a .270 or .30-06 will push a 160 gr. bullet over 3,000 fps with any length barrel, then you're dreaming. Why do you think they make magnums, anyway?:confused: I don't read books or listen to gunwriters to tell me what my gun is doing. Some people obviously never shot any of these calibers side by side, much less through a chrony. And what of terminal performance? I guess it's the same, too? Hardly. If you really want my opinion, you're welcome to look up some of my previous posts. A good place to start is where I chronoed two .270's @ 2800+ fps with 130 gr. loads, then maybe move to my post on three different length 7 mags that each shot their own bullet weight well--and at around 2900 fps in each rifle, despite having different barrel lengths. BTW, the '06 will certainly duplicate a 150 gr. factory load velocity of 2900 in a 22" barrel, but can you get it to hit anything?

Like I said, I'm trying to be nice. So, I'll just sit here and wait for the overmoderators to end this thing as per TFL standard.:cool:

-7-
 
Federal Premium Hi Energy for the '06 in a 26" barrel has been chronographed at 3,150 ft/sec with the Sierra 165-grain HPBT--which is what Mr. Federal advertises.

Based on trajectory at my 500-yard range here at the house, I'm getting somewhere toward 3,100 ft/sec with the Sierra 150-grain SPBT from my 26" '06.

The poorest '06 accuracy I ever got was from a Rem 742K with a K4 on it. 1.5 MOA. Probably good enough for deer hunting...
 
So F&S says that a cartridge is overrated.

My question is...

So what?

Does it kill game? Yes.

Is it accurate? Yes.

Does it have both the accuracy and power to handle a wide range of American hunting conditions? Yes.

For decades published velocities from the manufacturers were generally quite optimistic to downright bullflop. That's a bit better now, but you'll still find manufacturer reported velocities that are quite high compared to what most people can get at home.

My thought is, who gives a damn what Field and Stream thinks as long as those individuals who have a 7mm Mag. are happy with it?
 
I don't need a magnum to get the job done....simple. A 270 is capable of killing any animal a 7 Mag can with a good shooter. If I wanted more bang I would get a 300 Win Mag over the 7 Mag anyway. I dont even understand the point of a 7 Mag.
 
Well, said 7MMNut. I've also chrony'd '06 (150Horn)at 3000 in a 24" barrel, but the load was not accurate and the Extreme Spread was over 100fps. Backing the load down gave 2900, with an ES of 26 and 5/8" groups. As I approached 2900fps with 165 Nosler and Speer, accuracy plummeted.
 
I dont even understand the point of a 7 Mag.
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7mm Rem. Mag.=Federal 165 Gameking BTSP@2900fps, BC of .616-.620

Same velocity for the Matchking 168 gr. BTHP, BC of .636 (2700fps+)

To best those numbers, you'll have to be be launching the 220 gr. .30 cal. Matchking-class bullet in a bigger, longer, harder-kicking magnum to get better flight and accuracy at extreme ranges. Maybe that's why the 7mm Rem. Mag. has won the Wimbledon Cup and the .270 hasn't? The 6.5 actually has a higher BC than the .270, and has also won at Camp Perry in magnum cases.

-7-
 
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"I dont even understand the point of a 7 Mag."

Personally, I don't even understand the point of 99.9% of the cartridges that are out there.

Virtually every hunter in the United States would be well served by a .22, a .30-06, and a 12 gauge.

Yet, the choices are so much more diverse.

Why?

Because it's a competitive market and different companies are trying to come up with the next new, hot, thing.
 
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