How hard is it to get the 7mm Rem Mag to shoot?

Fox said:
$700 -1000 is not crazy, many rifles are being listed for $2500+, which I think is most likely insane and unnecessary.

Tikka changed to a 1 in 9in but the older rifles can have a 1 in 9.5 or 1 in 10 twist rate, when shooting long bullets that will cause serious stability issues.

I have had bullets hit sideways when pushing twist rate and my 222 does not like anything longer than a boat tail 50gr, 55gr and she starts to open up quite quickly.
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Depends what you're trying to shoot. 1:9.5 will stabilize most standard bullets up to 175gr, and will get you into the 160s with high BC stuff like ELD-X and bergers.

If you're looking to shoot the high BC 175+ stuff 7prc is the easy button, no factory Rem Mag is gonna have the twist you need for those as far as I'm aware (175ELD-X calls for 1:8.5 and I don't know of anyone making a Rem Mag with a twist that fast)
 
had a Ruger M77 in 7mmRemMag, thing would not shoot a group but it was very consistent, cold bore first shot was always 2" high at 100 so was perfectly good for hunting. Eventually was so pissed off at it not shooting a group it went to the back of the vault for about a decade. Went and bought a 300WM, I also got into handloading.

Then one day I took the 7mm out again and first thing I did was replace the stock, wood off and a cheap ramline synthetic went on. Rifle now shoots a 1" group with almost everything I feed it.

I am using a 160grn Nossler and IMR4831.

recoil is easily manageable, and its a fairly flat shooting cartridge.
 
Thunderhog said:
Five shots out of a 7mm Remington Magnum will do two things.

1 - You will heat up the barrel to the point of throat erosion, or you will sit there waiting 20 minutes plus for the barrel to cool down, between shots. (All depending on the outside temperature of course)
2 - Develop a flinch because the recoil can be a spanker if the rifle is too light-weight.

Three shot groups should be able to be obtained without heating her up too bad. Although, I wait in between shots to allow the barrel to cool down a bit.

A 375 Ruger has a worse recoil, but accuracy can easily happen if one takes time between those shots. :)
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The heat issue trying to shoot 'groups' is real unless it's a huge barrel.
woodchopper said:
had a Ruger M77 in 7mmRemMag, thing would not shoot a group but it was very consistent, cold bore first shot was always 2" high at 100 so was perfectly good for hunting. Eventually was so pissed off at it not shooting a group it went to the back of the vault for about a decade. Went and bought a 300WM, I also got into handloading.

Then one day I took the 7mm out again and first thing I did was replace the stock, wood off and a cheap ramline synthetic went on. Rifle now shoots a 1" group with almost everything I feed it.

I am using a 160grn Nossler and IMR4831.

recoil is easily manageable, and its a fairly flat shooting cartridge.
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I've never honestly understood the point of shooting for groups in a hunting rifle.

If you shot yours into a group, barrel full cold between shots, would it make a nice group 2" high at 100? That's what I look for, then what it does with 1 consecutive follower after the first, to see how close shot 2 is to POA.

That's it.

I think by the numbers 7RM 160gr and 30-06 165gr are awfully close in recoil.
 
Silverado said:
I've never honestly understood the point of shooting for groups in a hunting rifle.

If you shot yours into a group, barrel full cold between shots, would it make a nice group 2" high at 100? That's what I look for, then what it does with 1 consecutive follower after the first, to see how close shot 2 is to POA.

That's it.

I think by the numbers 7RM 160gr and 30-06 165gr are awfully close in recoil.
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What if you miss a shot? What if it doesn't go down on the first shot? What if it gets up and takes off?

I shoot groups with my hunting rifles so I'm aware of what it's going to do in a less the ideal situation. 1 shot 1 kill is of course the goal, but I prefer to know where shot 3 and 4 are going just in case. Last years bear took 3 shots. The first would have killed it, but it would have been a ####ty haul back to the truck if I didn't hit it again because it was headed into blowdown.
 
I use 162gr ELD-M's and 171gr Barnes Burners, the cartridge and rifle combo group great, and I've taken it out to 1000m and it was probably the easiest cartridge to dial in I've tried yet. Grouped very well at all range.
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I also had a Ruger 77 in 7mm Rem mag that was a 4-8 " groups from both factory and handloads. Could never get it on target. Same scope on other rifles produced 1/2" groups. I won't take a rifle like that into the bush for moose where 250 yd. shots are expected. I also expect the gun to shoot better than my ability, that requires 5 shot groups in my opinion. When you're hunting swampy tag alders you may need follow up shots, thats just moose hunting to me. It's not the same thing as hunting deer at under 100 yd. I never owned another Ruger or 7mm rem mag because of that. Went back to a 30-06 which was a tried and true mauser that was 1/2 the price and very accurate. I sold the Ruger before I figured out what the problem was and just moved on.
 
140-160 grain conventional bullets and hot loads shoot. Buy a copy of Ken Waters’ Pet Loads as most published 7RM data turns it into a glorified 270 Win. Point of impact is very sensitive to powder changes. Very pleased with Berger classic hunter 150’s.

I avoid the ELD VLD business for it as a) much more finicky and limiting factor is still mag length anyway and b) I wouldn’t shoot that far in an hunting situation. In a light weight hunting rifle this is not something you want to shoot all day at the range.
 
Alex McKr said:
Not hard to make them shoot accurately, at all. Depending on the individual rifle, groups of 1 MOA or better, are achievable. Perfectly adequate for hunting purposes. Some shooters prefer light bullets for this cartridge. But, it's been my experience that the 7mm's full capability comes with bullets in the 160-175-grain range.
For example: My nephew's run-of-the-mill Browning A-Bolt II, routinely delivers 3-shot, sub-MOA 100 meter groups, with handloaded 175-grain bullets and H1000 powder. About the same, with 160's. He does shoot lighter bullets on occasion but, generally finds the 160's to be the most versatile.
As mentioned, if a person is recoil sensitive, the 7mm can be fairly uncomfortable to shoot. Especially, from the bench. Not so much, in hunting conditions. In which case, either install a muzzle brake. Or, other recoil suppression.... Limbsaver, etc.
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I had two 7mm RM's A-Bolt Stainless stalkers in our stable a number of yrs back. I loaded for both of them. Both loved the Nosler 140's and the 160 grainers on top of IMR 4350.near max loads primers just starting to flatten out. Bout half moa @ 100 yds...was great for a hunting load for us ! Took a moose in NFLD with the 160 gr partition at 350 yds. Instant death !
On the Browning's, the recoil wasn't bad at all...surprisingly for a big cartridge ! Very similar to the '06 I'd say.
I DO know, that It was soooo much better than my son's TC single shot 7mmRM !! Man, that thing killed on both ends. He said to me..Dad...how in the hell did you ever get a load worked up for this rifle...lmao
Recoil was sooo bad, that he sold it and continued on with one of my Browning 7mm's. That was short lived tho when I got my 300 WSM Stainless Stalker...that quickly became his and my favorite new gun ! One of mine too...still is !
 
Fox said:
Why are you guys always shooting 3 shot groups and not 5 shot?
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I never shoot five shot groups out of a hunting rifle simply because it's a hunting rifle not a target rifle.
Once I have a load worked up, I normally only shoot one or two rounds at any particular distance with my hunting rifles and never off a bench , I use the positions that I will be hunting from, such as off my walking staff, prone off my pack, kneeling or standing offhand.
I never could see the reason for shooting a hunting rifle off a bench for multiple shots if the gun is zeroed properly.
As far as getting a 7mag to shoot well, I have never had much of an issue as long as the rifle was in good shape.
Cat
 
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Suther said:
How so? They both have a 3.340 OAL don't they?
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Be careful with that OAL when reloading.

The 7mm Rem.Mag. is listed with a max OAL of 3.290".

The barrel contour of the older Remington 700's that I have ( 7mmRM and 300WinMag ) are heavier/longer in the magnum calibers than in my .270 and 3006 models.This extra weight helps reduce the recoil to some extent.
 
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