I went back and looked at some of my data. My 264 winchesters shoot easily into the 3200's fps with a 140 grain bullet. My 7mm remingtons top out around 3050 fps with the 168 grain. Basically same BC so put in a 2.5" high at 100 yard zero and there is the difference between the JBM posted and the JBM I got. Both rifles are good for caribou/deer/antelope size animals and the 264 winchester has better ballistics by quite a bit. When you go to a good quality elk bullet the 264 winchester holds a substantial edge over the 7mm remington. Both will kill about anything you care to shoot at under the right circumstances. But considering long range shooting the 264 winchester will outperform the 7mm remington according to JBM.
That is why I have said on here many times to look at the 6.5 STW for a long range terror on deer and antelope. Mine shoots the 140 Berger at over 3400 fps and the 130 scirroco at 3550 fps. And I can do that without a muzzle brake. The 6.5's should always be given serious consideration when you are looking at long range shooting at deer/antelope size critters. I took my STW to Alaska and it was sheer terror on long range caribou. Quite a bit of fun on the tundra with a gun offering those kind of ballistics.
The 7mm gets touted as a long range performer because of the 168 and 180 berger along with the 162 amax bullets primarily. These will work on deer size animals and most of the time you will be fine. They work on elk size game if you have a broad side shot and can make the high shoulder shot. Also if you miss the shoulder entirely and double lung him you may get him. However a bullet that is known to fragment is not a good choice for elk size game because it limits you to those shots for a reliable kill. I like a bullet I can drive through from any angle because I do not like to limit myself. Energy figures quoted using berger bullets are worthless because for energy figures to be accurate the bullet must retain it's integrity and weight. Premium hunting bullets do this but the bergers do not. The ballistic formulas do not take this into consideration since they are based on formulas assuming all bullets are the same. When you go to a top quality premium hunting bullet the 7mm is no longer a good long range choice because of the poor BC's when compared to some other calibers.
Back in the 70's many of us used the 175 SGK with about a .560 BC. To get enough velocity behind it to make it a viable long range hunting option we necked down the 300 wby case and 8mm rem mag case. The little 7mm remington was not big enough to make the big hunting bullets a good option for long range hunting up to 1000 yards. I am not on here to step on the toes of the 7mm rem mag shooters but in my opinion it is not a good long range hunting cartridge for anything other than deer size game for most shooters. I think now we have to many young hunters that have grown up in the age of tv marketing watching long range shots on elk size game with perfect high shoulder shots. It is kinda like all tv, now for the rest of the story.
Yes, they will work in their application with the perfect shot. I know from 35 years of elk hunting things are rarely perfect. In my opinion if your going elk hunting then please get an elk rifle. I have seen untold numbers of elk lost in particular to the 7mm remington and similar cartridges because they were using the wrong bullets for it and/or took a bad angle shot this cartridge will not perform. Will they kill an elk, yes. Will there be a high number of lost animals in these situations, yes. Where if they were equiped with the proper bullet and waited for the shot that best suited their cartridge choice they would have high success.
