7mm Mag for long range shooting?

J

JasonYuke

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
152   0   0
Location
North Kawartha's
I know the 6.5x284 6.5x55 and 308s along with the Mags 300 wm and 338 lapua rule the roost for long range shooting, however has anyone had experience or seen the 7mm rem mag shooting at this level, or distance?
Its got all the goods along with the velocity to boot, and the diam .284 and B.C seems right, but you do not see many set up for the long shots, or may be i just do not. Is there a reason?
 
It will work just fine assuming that you have a decent gun. The Berger 180g bullets (BC=0.698) will stabilize with 1:9 twist. A lot of guys like to keep the recoil down for long strings of shooting. The 6mmBR is popular for that reason. If you can genuinely handle the recoil just as well, and you don't shoot too many too fast and over heat the barrel, then a 7mm can have an advantage over the 6mm or 6.5.

IF, IF, IF! People will tell you that no matter what you think, you will shoot better with a lower recoiling gun. Me? I'm building a 7mm. If you do try it, also consider the 162 A-max, another good bullet.
 
I own several 7mm's and two 7RM's which I shoot at LR. The bullets are wonderful with performance right up there with the heavies in 30cal and 338.

This cal is becoming very popular in heavy gun classes due to new bullets. All LR choices are based on available bullets. 30cal and 338 always had great representation. The 6.5 came on very strong when lower recoil was needed. The 6mm is now taking over due again to better bullets and the continued need for even lower recoil and increased barrel life. Smaller cased 6.5 are showing great promise too.

Target shooting is about the best score, not the most bruised shoulder. Any form of recoil is a negative to your ability to shoot teeny tiny groups.

The 7RM case is a bit big unless you want to go for a dual role hunting/target rifle. Or are planning ahead to use the 180 to 200gr bullets. The belt does not bother me at all as I use a Lee collet neck die. Guntech has a fantastic reamer if you want to go this route.

The 7WSM/RSAUM are better sized for the 162/168/175/180 gr bullets but may be a bit small if real heavy monsters start being made.

I like this cal so much, I decided to make my own wildcat, the 7 Mystic. Performance is almost identical to the RSAUM and I shoot the 162gr Amax at 2950fps. A very nice option if I may say so (do a bit of digging as full details are a few pages down). Just got back shooting to 1000/1100m in some very gusty winds. Was quite easy to drive thru the gusts to hit the target.

Jerry
 
There is a long range hunting video out that is supposed to be somewhat of and instructional video to the hunting enthusiast interested in becoming more competent at shooting longer distances. It was made by a guy named John Burns that has a series of videos called Best of the West in which he has one video called "How to shoot beyond belief". In this video John Burns swears by this cartridge claiming that for North American game there isn't a better, flatter shooting, more versitile cartridge. He goes into the reasons(and there are many) why this cartridge is better than others but the bottom line is that many points he brings up can't be argued with by the most bitter critics.

Great cartridge
Great bullet selection BC included
Great versitility
Great long range performance


Hard to beat all around great cartridge.

Ivo
 
Okay Mysticplayer, if the 6.5 x 284 loves the Sierra MK 142 gr. VLD bullets, what is the favourite wind beater for the 7mm Rem Mag ?

Here in the ORA, the F Class champions seem to be the 6.5 family hands down. Is it because the 6.5 x 284 drives the 142 gr. VLD bullet better, faster, with less wind drift than ANY bullet outta the 7mm Rem Mag ?

I just like shooting factory rifles and if the Sendero M700 in 7mm can shoot a super tight spinning bullet and that's gotta be cheaper than a new barrel upgrade needed for any 6.5 x 284.

Just being the Devil's Advocate (and trying not to hijack this thread)

Cheers,
Barney
(1000 yard wannabe)
 
7mm Mag a great cal

Hi Jason, the 7mm mag is no slouch for long range, the difference between that and the 6.5-284 is mainly a recoil issue, less recoil more accuracy. If you keep the velocity down to about 2930 or there abouts it will shoot fine (140-142 gr sierras). Some of the problems you will encounter ,the 6.5-284 is a custom rifle with a good barrel, the 7mm Mag with a factory barrel will have a hard time matching that. Sooooooo go to a match barrel and you will do fine. Take care Bill.
 
Hungry said:
Okay Mysticplayer, if the 6.5 x 284 loves the Sierra MK 142 gr. VLD bullets, what is the favourite wind beater for the 7mm Rem Mag ?

Here in the ORA, the F Class champions seem to be the 6.5 family hands down. Is it because the 6.5 x 284 drives the 142 gr. VLD bullet better, faster, with less wind drift than ANY bullet outta the 7mm Rem Mag ?

I just like shooting factory rifles and if the Sendero M700 in 7mm can shoot a super tight spinning bullet and that's gotta be cheaper than a new barrel upgrade needed for any 6.5 x 284.

Just being the Devil's Advocate (and trying not to hijack this thread)

Cheers,
Barney
(1000 yard wannabe)
Click to expand...

I believe the champ is the 180 Berger. Most factory 7mm's are in the 9.5 twist, so they're probably OK out of the box. BC's in the .700 range :)


The only real disadvantage of 7mm's over 6.5's is recoil.
 
Hungry, the 7mm can be equal/better in a heavy rifle. The biggest reason the 6.5 has taken off is simply recoil. In light rifles, an extra 20 to 40 gr matters over the long haul. Look at what is happening with the 6mm's. In a heavy gun, its a wash.

For me, I love the 162gr Amax. printed BC is 0.625 and it flies at least that well in my rifles (better actually). They are available in Canada, dirt cheap for the performance, and you don't need to meplat trim (cause you can't).

Went out shooting today with my 220gr MK 35" barrel 300 RUM and 162gr Amax 7 Mystic. Both shot pretty close to the same drop table. Yeah, those Amax shoot.

The 168gr/175gr MK, and 180gr Bergers are also very good but harder to find and more money. I am not sure how fast a twist you will need for the 175grMK and 180gr Bergers. Don't know if a factory twist is enough.

I like your idea of a Sendero but you might be limited by the factory barrel (some factory tubes shoot every bit as good as a custom one, others, well...).

I personally have had so much success with the Savage models in factory form, that is the brand I would recommend. A 110/112 with a 26" heavy barrel and lam stock (got one if interested) will look similar to the Sendero and may just perform better.

Will certainly cost less. There might still be some FV models for dirt cheap. Replacing the stock and trigger will still be less then a factory Sendero.

You will need to play/replace trigger groups, pillar bed no matter which rifle you choose.

If you really want to know more about LR hunting, www.longrangehunting.com will be of interest.

I have seen clips of that video. I thought they were using STW's (?????). At any rate, distances were moderate and results were impressive.

Jerry
 
The reason I am asking I was looking at a savage 110 Varmint rifle in the 7mm RM with a 26 inch heavy barrel new in the box for 455.00 and I thought Hum just wonder how it would do if I slapped my extra 10x elite mildot on here?
and a set of lee collet, it sound like the poor mans long range gun but hey savages do shoot right out of the box!
Also got a line on a Tikka Varminter new re-barrel from the factory one of the X bad barrel recalls, for 800.00 new never fired?
But the Savage may be the one and for 400, bucks who cares if its not.
 
Last edited:
The Berger 7mm 180 VLD has a super BC. 30cals need to be in the 220+ range to even match it.
Faster twist of 1:8/9 required.

We also stock the 168 VLD Bergers which are another excellent choice if you don't have a super fast twist . 1-10 t will work BC .643! Bergers 210 VLD in 30cal is only .631

Buy a quality bullet....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom