7mm Ultra Mag Opinions

cbhester

New member
Ive been looking at some ballistic charts to figure out what caliber rifle tobuy to replace my deer rifle that i sold this past year. I had my eye on the ole stand by .270 winchester but considered 30-06 as well as 7mm-08. I know that the 7mm Ultra Mag must be intended for larger game but i couldnt help but be very impressed with the speed that it obtains. I would imagine that the ultra mag would pack a pretty tuff punch but was hoping to get some info from someone with experience in this caliber to confirm my thoughts, so any advice or opinion is appreciated!
 
My opinion on the 7 Ultra is the same as with every other "big" magnums. Unnecessary. Ammo is expensive and depending on where you live, hard to find local. It sends lead out fast but that translates to a lot more felt recoil for a round that won't kill anything any deader than the .270 you were looking at.
 
Unless you are hunting at really long range, a 7mm Umag would be like having a Ferrari in Suburbia: Expensive to run, and while it is cool as hell to have that kind of capability, you can't appreciate it there- a Mini-van would be more practical. In fact, due to the financial pain of the Ferrari, you will more than likely seldom, if ever, drive it. The mini-van driver will be more experienced!

At under 300 yards, there is no appreciable differerence between the end results of any of the above cartridges when used on deer, with appropriate bullets....assuming good placement. Recoil and the cost of practice rounds would make that placement a more difficult proposition with the Umag.
 
You are going to be asked a gazillion questions so let's get them out of the way:

1. Do you hand load?
2. What type of terrain do you hunt in?
3. Do you hunt any other game besides deer?
4. Do you stand hunt or walk, or both?
5. How much off season shooting do you do?
6. What is your mother's maiden name?

The 270, 30-06, and 7mm 08 will do everything you need to do for deer. Of those 3 I like the 7-08. I have 2 rifles and a handgun chambered for it and like them all. However if you have a burning desire to get the 7mm UM go for it. Depending on your answers to MOST of the above questions, it's probably not a practical choice. But sometimes, who cares about practicallity? I just told you I have three 7-08s.....the chambering is a practical choice but having three of them is probably not.

The rifle I tote more than any lately is a Rem Alaskan Ti in .280 Rem. My hunting is 100% walking.

All that said, I have never owned a 7mm UM. I did have a 7mm STW in a Sendero and really enjoyed it. Only reason I sold it was because somebody wanted it worse than I did and was willing to pay for it. I will have another someday. Why? Just cuz.......
 
Thanks for the replies, im hearing pretty much what i expected to hear.

I do hand load
I hunt primarily deer
I stand hunt, do not walk hunt
I do enjoy range shooting

That being said, i knew going in that the umag was an unnecassary caliber for wha i mainly do i just thought that it would be fun at the range and i will be hand loading ammo. However, if its gonna pound my shoulder much harder than a 30-06 im not gonna want to shoot it repeatidly a the range so ill probably end up going with something a little less hard on my health.
 
A 7mm RUM will definitely kick harder than a 30-06, it launches bullets of comparable weight approximately 25% faster, burning 75% more powder, both of which translate pretty neatly into felt recoil. I don't feel like looking up the numbers, but let's say 25% more recoil than a 30-06 (I have no doubt that someone will come along soon with the actual numbers). This will definitely impact your enjoyment of shooting it. It will also damage considerably more meat on a deer-sized animal, so if you enjoy eating venison it will impact your enjoyment there as well.
 
I have 7mm UM and love it!! I have shot it several times and it does have a stout kick. I took several deer with it and they dont move but it does do quiet a bit more meat damage and takes several mins to get your hearing back. It is by far the most powerfull 7mm cartridge and while you dont need one for most hunting situations its still cool to have one just in case......My main hunting gun is a 30-06 tho........
 
No experience with the 7RUM but I do know that you don't need it. 7mm-08 is a fantastic deer cartridge. Fantastic. Best there is, IMO.
 
No experience with the 7RUM but I do know that you don't need it.

Oh come on peet since when does need fit into our rifle choices? :D

7mm-08 is a fantastic deer cartridge. Fantastic. Best there is, IMO.

However, strictly for deer, THIS ^ is hard to argue....
 
Sometimes you just need that big BOOM from a magnum! :D

But after using a .300 Win Mag for almost 20 years deer hunting this year I got a .270 Win. It seems the .300 hurts me more then it used to. :(
 
Decided on the deer gun, now for the fun gun!

Well thanks for all the good advice and opinion. I think I've narrowed my search down between the .270 win and the 7mm-08 and I'm leaning toward the 7mm-08 because I've never owned one and they look to be a perfect deer gun.

That being said, I still want to get into long range shooting for fun (not competition). I guess I am going to at least entertain the option of making a future purchase of the 6.5mm x 284 which seems to be a common caliber in comp. shooting. I've always wanted to get into 1,000 yrd shooting, however, it seems that I remember pricing some brass and bullets for the 6.5x284 and finding that it was very expensive to shoot, even when hand loading. Any other opinions on a good long range rifle?

Thanks again for all the input!
 
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I have never been to Kentucky, only seen it on TV. Seems to me there are too many trees to shoot 1000 yards! Enlighten me!
 
I have never been to Kentucky, only seen it on TV. Seems to me there are too many trees to shoot 1000 yards! Enlighten me!

Kentucky is pretty good size state. I live in south central Kentucky and there are lots of trees for the most part but there are plenty of farms around here (including one in my family) that have long narrow fields exceeding 1,000 yards, though full of, mostly shallow, rolling hills. I also have a shooting range in near by Park City that has a range that goes up to 1,300 yards (I think).
 
That all depends on where in KY you are hunting. I live in the western part of the state and it's a mix of terrain. On my farm alone I can hunt in dense woods, sit on a small food plot, or take a 6-700 yard shot overlooking a cornfield.

Most places however, are hills, valleys, and woods. Not much call for a big magnum.

Then again, I hunt with a 7mm Rem Mag. :D
 
We have a lot of deer around these parts lol. In the county I currently reside in, you can get permits to kill does during the summer because they've actually become a nuisance.
 
Any other opinions on a good long range rifle?

Next round of questions:

1. Is there a particular class/style of LR shooting you're interested in?
2. How much you wanna spend?
3. What is your mother's maiden name?

The 6.5 x 284 is intriguing to me as well. Savage makes the Long Range Hunter, the Lightweight hunter model, The F Class, and according to their web site 5 other models in this chambering. There must be something to this cartridge as it's becomming quite popular.
 
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