7 mm remington mag on elk

[Deleted member 48126]

I grew up in GA and hunted whitetale with the 7mm mag. I know whitetale and elk are two totally different creatures with regard to toughness, but I was always impressed with my buddies 7 mag. It would drop deer dead in their tracks every single time. He was using 140 grain corelokts, so nothing too heavy. I could only imagine how effective it is on elk with the higher grain offerings. Especially, with my max comfortable shooting range being 300 or so yards. These stories are pumping me up. 900+ yard kills are just reassuring me with my decision to have a custom 7 mag built. Good thread topic.

 

[MudRunner2005]

This to me becomes the key to the statement, even with a muzzle break. I am not experienced enough yet to be able to shoot one of those big 338's well in my opinion yet. Maybe someday. I actually just put a brake on my 7 RM the other day. Didn't need it, but if I can make it that much easier of a gun to shoot, why not, right? hahaha

I've owned a .338 before......It was pretty much useless for anything around my neck of the woods, but I was more concerned with the rest of the gun, which was a heck of a deal. So I spent $100 on a new take-off ebay barrel in 7RM and it's now my go-to lightweight deer rifle. Just got it finished up about 1/2 way through Jan, and took it into the woods 4 times and walked out with 2 deer. No complaints from me.

Having owned 7RM rifles for 12+ years, I have zero complaints for whitetail killing power. Mine have only let me down 1 time ever, and it was due to the bullet selection (Hornady 139 SST) and as soon as I swapped to something different and heavier, I never had another issue. But bullet selection was my own fault, and not the gun or caliber's fault.

I say shoot whatever you want, but I can't see myself ever owning another .338 caliber. That makes for one expensive range toy...And I ain't got that kind of money to play with. .30 caliber is big enough for me.

 

[thekyrifleman]

I have owned and shot a rem 700 7 mag going on 49 years!! It has killed everything I have shot at from groundhogs, foxes, (120 gr Sierras ) to white tails (140 gr Sierra Pro Hunter) to caribou (140gr Nosler BT)!!! When first introduced, the sportsmans shows showed it knocking over the big bears....yes I would if that was all I had....get one, whatever the brand, load it up and have fun...you will never regret it..

 

[COBrad]

If I was limited to only one center fire rifle, it would be chambered in 7RM. My current one is a custom long range rifle. Shooting the 180 gr Bergers I wouldn't hesitate to shoot elk with it out to 1200 yards, or more, given the usual favorable conditions that I would require for such a shot using any caliber.
Shot placement trumps everything else.
The comments about recoil are a big part of the attraction of the 7RM. A lower recoiling rifle is easier to shoot accurately than heavy recoil, for most of us.
If I ever go bigger than the 7 mag it will be one of the big .338's. Those super high BC 300 gr Bergers are "slicker" in the wind than the 7mms. My 180's are getting real sensitive to the slightest breeze when the range reaches 3/4 mile and beyond.

 

[mrb1982]

I guess from a long range, non competitive, hunting based long range shooter like myself, I look at this perspective:

I have a Leica 1600 rangefinder, and a kestrel. If I were to decide that I was gonna be serious about doing a lot of shooting over 1400yds, I would probably have to upgrade to a rangefinder and optics to go out longer and I just don't see myself really doing that. Maybe someday but definately not in the near future. Therefore I just feel kinda comfortable with my 7RM I guess. A lot of good guns out there but it works for me. A lot of good opinion on this thread.

 

[10xtacout]

I can tell you the 7 mm Mag is my fav. It will make you proud for elk out to 1200. But it takes a lot of time on the range to make this shot. The only bullet I trust at that range is Berger168VLD. The key here is low drag plus the FPS you can establish with this cartridge. For shorter yards you may get better results with NoslerABLRs but they do not shot well in my Nosler TG48 custom. Also in a whitetail deer I killed the ABLR lost over 70% of bullet weight.
Good shooting!
10X

 

[WildRose]

I can tell you the 7 mm Mag is my fav. It will make you proud for elk out to 1200. But it takes a lot of time on the range to make this shot. The only bullet I trust at that range is Berger168VLD. The key here is low drag plus the FPS you can establish with this cartridge. For shorter yards you may get better results with NoslerABLRs but they do not shot well in my Nosler TG48 custom. Also in a whitetail deer I killed the ABLR lost over 70% of bullet weight.
Good shooting!
10X

Not to derail, but at what range did you shoot that deer? Point of impact and bullet track?

 

[10xtacout]

288 yards. lung shot. Recovery under hide exit side. Peeled apart with a perfect mushroom. Still have bullet 63 grns.
Never again lucky there was snow. Found probably 5-600 yards away.
I shot an Elk 540 yards with Berger recovery 130 grains went maybe 50 yards.
Good shooting!

 

[WildRose]

288 yards. lung shot. Recovery under hide exit side. Peeled apart with a perfect mushroom. Still have bullet 63 grns.
Never again lucky there was snow. Found probably 5-600 yards away.
I shot an Elk 540 yards with Berger recovery 130 grains went maybe 50 yards.
Good shooting!

Weird. At that velocity you'd think it would collapse the lungs and fill them with blood instantly.

Sometimes they just refuse to die easy.

I had similar results with the original NBT's on a hog or two at sub 400yds shooting them from my 7mm Rem. That was the end of that combo. Went to the Hornady Interbond and never had that problem again.

There's one hell of a vacuum in the wake of a bullet and if it doesn't pass all the way through there's just far less damage since the vacuum doesn't cause the necessary implosion of the cells in the soft in it's wake.

 

[10xtacout]

That is exactly what I have been trying to perfect. The perfect bullet! One that conforms and retains weight as the Speer Grand Slam but has the coefficient ballistic we find in the Bergers. I have several in my squad that don't care for the Bergers due to the explosive effects they have when bone contact is applied. Placement and as you say condensed shock will make the difference.
Good subject! Nice original post!
Good shooting!

 

[TomJr]

Love the 7 mm Mag pushing a 168gr Berger around 3000 -3100 fps. Mine is shooting it at 3125 with Retumbo powder. I have killed truck loads of hogs and several deer and three elk with this set up. All bullets were recovered on the offside shoulder just under the hide. Everything I have shot with this gun is dead right there. Ranges from 100 yards to 769 yards on a big bore hog. Elk were anywhere from 200 yards to 450 yards. Deer were at 50 yards to 650 yards. I really love the 7's so much I just had a 284 win built for hunting that I think I can push the 168's to around 2950 without having to use R17 to do it. I know I can push them over 3K with R17 but temp change will give you fits. Just broke the barrel in on the new 284 and starting load work up for it. Things look promising. Need some nicer weather around here snow has been on now for a week and supposed to get another storm tomorrow. Again I dont think you can go wrong with a 7 just pick the right bullet for the job. So far I cannot say anything bad about the Bergers. They are a wonderful bullet with excellent support from the makers.

 

[COBrad]

I guess from a long range, non competitive, hunting based long range shooter like myself, I look at this perspective:

I have a Leica 1600 rangefinder, and a kestrel. If I were to decide that I was gonna be serious about doing a lot of shooting over 1400yds, I would probably have to upgrade to a rangefinder and optics to go out longer and I just don't see myself really doing that. Maybe someday but definately not in the near future. Therefore I just feel kinda comfortable with my 7RM I guess. A lot of good guns out there but it works for me. A lot of good opinion on this thread.

This is where I'm at. After elk, my passion is long range varmints, with Marmots topping the list. As sensitive as my current load is to wind at 1400, I was still shooting out to a mile before cold weather put the marmots down last fall. My goal for next year is a kill at a mile.

If I were serious about shooting a mile regularly I would have a .338 something built, but another 10K or so for a longer range long range rifle is not happening... yet.

 

[Krakkon]

This may be the wrong thread but I have a tikka 7 mag and have been looking for a light weight scope in the 15 ounce or less range... Is there anything out there in the $500 to $600 dollar range besides leupold and sightron that can get me to around 900 yards with out a 20 moa base?

 

[fmajor]

This is where I'm at. After elk, my passion is long range varmints, with Marmots topping the list. As sensitive as my current load is to wind at 1400, I was still shooting out to a mile before cold weather put the marmots down last fall. My goal for next year is a kill at a mile.

If I were serious about shooting a mile regularly I would have a .338 something built, but another 10K or so for a longer range long range rifle is not happening... yet.

Brad, your post really gets at an internal question that's been sorta plaguing me... I, 1st and foremost, really like elk hunting (as I'm also very, very new to it as well!) and then want to try antelope hunting, then possibly mulies (I come from a history of whitetail hunting).

I'm confident my humble 700 ADL in 7RM will manage all these duties with aplomb.

I'm also considering building a new, fully custom 7mm-300WinMag (or similar) - something that I can "hot-rod". Whereas my 700 ADL I'm wanting to keep original as it was my HS graduation present back in '83. I have something like 350 new WW 300 Win brass cases to get the handloading going for the 7mm-300WinMag (or similar) and it would become my new "go-to" hunting stick.

However, for further (say from ~800-900yds on out to my skill level max., which is currently atrophied), I'd want to build a bigger 338. (338 Raptor or thereabouts). The biggest question only I can answer is will I ever really need to shoot that far to justify an additional investment beyond the 7mm-300WinMag. Your post helps bring some clarity for me....

Thanks for the thought-provoking response....

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