7mm mag practically

Al Bear said:
There’s no question that the 7RM is a very capable calibre. But there is such a thing as “too much gun” (I know ... dead is dead). Remember, the 7RM was developed ( by necking down the 338 WM) as a long range elk calibre. So if you want to hunt elk at long ranges, buy that gun. If you want to hunt moose at long range, get something like a 338WM. Otherwise, most other popular big game cartridges are adequate . And more fun to shoot . And cheaper.
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Far be it for me to question the suggestions of others, but to suggest a chambering is adequate for elk at long range, but not for moose at the same ranges
tells me the poster has probably not shot many of either species. A moose is much easier to anchor than is an elk.

I certainly am not the ultimate authority, but after shooting 50+ moose and 35+ Elk over the past 60 years, I have a bit of an idea of what these animals will
take and still run.

Moose, for all their size, are wimps when it comes to their reaction to bullet shock. Elk on the other hand, will head for the worst tangle that is available, and
may actually make it there if the shot is anything but properly placed.

All that being said, the 7mm Mag is a very good choice, OP, and loaded with a good 160/162/168 grain bullet, will reliably kill all non-dangerous game, both here
and abroad. Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
Far be it for me to question the suggestions of others, but to suggest a chambering is adequate for elk at long range, but not for moose at the same ranges
tells me the poster has probably not shot many of either species. A moose is much easier to anchor than is an elk.

I certainly am not the ultimate authority, but after shooting 50+ moose and 35+ Elk over the past 60 years, I have a bit of an idea of what these animals will
take and still run.

Moose, for all their size, are wimps when it comes to their reaction to bullet shock. Elk on the other hand, will head for the worst tangle that is available, and
may actually make it there if the shot is anything but properly placed.

All that being said, the 7mm Mag is a very good choice, OP, and loaded with a good 160/162/168 grain bullet, will reliably kill all non-dangerous game, both here
and abroad. Dave.
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^^^Yep^^^ He’s not lying. Not even stretching the truth.
 
I've hunted with a 7mm Rem Magnum.
I shot two deer with it.
Yes, it was a little over-kill, but it did the job!

1st was a large Mule Deer in Fly Hills, just out of Salmon Arm, BC - about 25 yards walking away from me in the middle of the road.
Hit him in the left hip and the bullet ended up in his right front shoulder. Spun him around and got him with a second shot as he left the road - right behind the ear and through the brain. Dropped like a sack of potatoes!

Second one was a small Coastal Deer on Texada Island - about the size of a German Shepard - very close range, shot head on in the front of the chest - instant knock down.

I would not hesitate to use for Moose or Elk hunting with the right load.

Good luck with your purchase!
 
Hahaha elk are far tougher than moose. No comparison what so ever. Anyone who says otherwise has zero experience. You look at a moose wrong and he falls over. Elk you hammer them through the heart and the bolt like scalded cats into deep dark bush.

And yes I have tons of experience. I shoot one of each every year.
 
7mm mag. Is great, will bang-flop NA game where ever, and shoots flat out to 400-500yds.Made around 1962 by Remington when they did good stuff.I think it is a classic.
 
Thanks guys all the stellar advocacy for the cartridge it has me excited to take it out this year. No matter what this cartirage will be able to out preforme what I can do at “long range”. All I can do is shoot with in my limits and if the shot dose not present it’s self time to step up my stalking and calling practices to get the ethical harvest the animal deserves. As for killing power that everyone is always so caught up on I am always reminded of the old pictures of the old days when all they had were black powder rounds run at low pressures and they dropped everything on the face of this planet. Shoot straight and happy hunting.
 
Eagleye said:
Far be it for me to question the suggestions of others, but to suggest a chambering is adequate for elk at long range, but not for moose at the same ranges
tells me the poster has probably not shot many of either species. A moose is much easier to anchor than is an elk.

I certainly am not the ultimate authority, but after shooting 50+ moose and 35+ Elk over the past 60 years, I have a bit of an idea of what these animals will
take and still run.

Moose, for all their size, are wimps when it comes to their reaction to bullet shock. Elk on the other hand, will head for the worst tangle that is available, and
may actually make it there if the shot is anything but properly placed.

All that being said, the 7mm Mag is a very good choice, OP, and loaded with a good 160/162/168 grain bullet, will reliably kill all non-dangerous game, both here
and abroad. Dave.
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You sorta misread my post. But, what the heck, let’s continue:

My books and the prevailing wisdom say you need 2100 ft/lbs of energy for a clean kill on a moose and 1500 ft/lbs for an elk. The magnificent 7rm can deliver 1500 ft/lbs at 500 yards ...but it can’t deliver 2100 ft/lbs. Long range for moose is about 350 yards. So they are not the same.

Beyond this, are you saying you regularly shot moose and elk at long range? If so what do you consider long range? Long range for me is 250 yards ... so in my case I could use a 7RM for both and argue against myself.

Ps. I’m jealous of your hunting experience.
 
Last September I put 2800 ft lbs of 7mm energy through the ribs of a small bull moose. Took about 15 seconds for him to go down, after a second shot. He didn't go far, just walked in a slow circle before wobbling down. Guess he didn't read the same books you got
 
masoncade1992 said:
Hahaha elk are far tougher than moose. No comparison what so ever. Anyone who says otherwise has zero experience. You look at a moose wrong and he falls over. Elk you hammer them through the heart and the bolt like scalded cats into deep dark bush.

And yes I have tons of experience. I shoot one of each every year.
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Elk shot in the heart will just run away? Laughing!
 
I have always read that it was 1000 ft-lbs of energy for deer, 1500 for moose and 2000 for elk. Must have different books and articles from the gun writers. But no matter...
If we are looking at the Alaskan/Yukon moose that can weigh 1800 lbs on the hoof, that is a much different animal than the Canadian moose that typically weighs in between 700 and 1000 lbs on the hoof, there is going to be a substantial difference in the amount of hide, tissue and bone needed to be penetrated by the bullet in order to reach the vitals. More energy on the larger animal is going to be a good thing! LOL
But as stated earlier, there really is a huge difference between a moose and an elk. Moose really are soft and are not overly tenacious like elk. The elk have a will to live second to none of the other ungulates! The elk also has the densest bone of any animal in north america, and requires a heavier projectile with more velocity in order to penetrate through the heavier bone, if encountered, on its way to the vitals.
Based on my 35 years of experience in hunting and guiding for moose and elk in northeastern BC, and having harvested them with rifles chambered in cartridges from the 6.5x55 to the 376 Steyr, I will say that I prefer the energy figures as I have listed here.
All things being equal, proper bullet placement from lesser cartridges will trump bigger and heavier projectiles fired from larger cases that are not placed well.
My grandparents harvested moose on the trapline with a 22LR and a .410 with 2 1/2"slugs, becuse that is what they had when opportunities arose. And neither is going to produce the aforementioned energies! LOL My grandfather's big gun was a Marlin 30-30. He carried guiding for 45 years,and most hunting for over 60 years.
 
todbartell said:
Last September I put 2800 ft lbs of 7mm energy through the ribs of a small bull moose. Took about 15 seconds for him to go down, after a second shot. He didn't go far, just walked in a slow circle before wobbling down. Guess he didn't read the same books you got
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C’mon todbartell, tell the full story! At what range? And you needed 2 shots ... even with the magnificent 7RM? Based on the your own table in another forum (nice job ...I recommend it... especially to the moose population) you weren’t at long range.
 
BlackRam said:
I have always read that it was 1000 ft-lbs of energy for deer, 1500 for moose and 2000 for elk. Must have different books and articles from the gun writers. But no matter...
If we are looking at the Alaskan/Yukon moose that can weigh 1800 lbs on the hoof, that is a much different animal than the Canadian moose that typically weighs in between 700 and 1000 lbs on the hoof, there is going to be a substantial difference in the amount of hide, tissue and bone needed to be penetrated by the bullet in order to reach the vitals. More energy on the larger animal is going to be a good thing! LOL
But as stated earlier, there really is a huge difference between a moose and an elk. Moose really are soft and are not overly tenacious like elk. The elk have a will to live second to none of the other ungulates! The elk also has the densest bone of any animal in north america, and requires a heavier projectile with more velocity in order to penetrate through the heavier bone, if encountered, on its way to the vitals.
Based on my 35 years of experience in hunting and guiding for moose and elk in northeastern BC, and having harvested them with rifles chambered in cartridges from the 6.5x55 to the 376 Steyr, I will say that I prefer the energy figures as I have listed here.
All things being equal, proper bullet placement from lesser cartridges will trump bigger and heavier projectiles fired from larger cases that are not placed well.
My grandparents harvested moose on the trapline with a 22LR and a .410 with 2 1/2"slugs, becuse that is what they had when opportunities arose. And neither is going to produce the aforementioned energies! LOL My grandfather's big gun was a Marlin 30-30. He carried guiding for 45 years,and most hunting for over 60 years.
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Good discussions in this forum.
Buddy of mine took a big eastern bull this past fall with a 50 cal round ball ... at 30 yards. Clearly, you’re right about good shot placement trumping a bad one with a high energy calibre. But despite the testimonials in this forum, let’s not ignore the game that is lost due over confidence in calibre or distance ... or whatever. Guidelines (from whatever source) are usually very practical. The Yukon hunting regs prohibit taking bison with anything less than 30 cal ... with a minimum energy level of (don’t remember). So to those folks wanting to hunt bison in the Yukon, leave yer 7s at home and bring yer 06s.
 
I've shot moose with the 7mm-08 (some at over 400 yards) and it killed them just as quick as my 338 Lapua...so yeppers, the 7 RM will work just fine.

IMHO, shot placement is the biggest factor in cleanly taking any game animal.
 
Al Bear said:
C’mon todbartell, tell the full story! At what range? And you needed 2 shots ... even with the magnificent 7RM? Based on the your own table in another forum (nice job ...I recommend it... especially to the moose population) you weren’t at long range.
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125 yards, from the even more magnificent 280 Ackley. Salvaged most of the heart, made a nice meal
 
I got my PAL last summer and the first gun I purchased was a Remington 700 in 7mm rem mag. The ballistics are slightly better than the 300wm, my thoughts were it would be my big game rifle mostly for moose, elk, bison. When I was getting the scope mounted the employee was admiring my setup, asked what I would be hunting. I told him mainly moose, maybe bison at some point. The employee then pointed out the bison regs which state the minimum standard for Bison hunting rifles to be: at least a .30 cal, 180 grain bullet, and 2800lbs of muzzle energy. I guess what i'm saying is check your regs to see if the 7mm meets you needs, it will in most cases, just not for bison hunting.
 
hawk-i said:
I've shot moose with the 7mm-08 (some at over 400 yards) and it killed them just as quick as my 338 Lapua...so yeppers, the 7 RM will work just fine.

IMHO, shot placement is the biggest factor in cleanly taking any game animal.
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Well ... extrapolating between todbartell’s table (which I highly recommend) and my own ballistics table , your gun delivered between 1360 ft/lbs and 1207 ft/lbs ...which is less than BlackRam’s notion of the required energy fer moose (Thank’s for the input, BR) ... and waaaaay less than the 2100 ft/lbs minimum that I endorse. Let’s here it for shot placement!! Be honest now... do you really put all your stock on shot placement or is there something else? (Prayer perhaps?)
 
Al Bear said:
Well ... extrapolating between todbartell’s table (which I highly recommend) and my own ballistics table , your gun delivered between 1360 ft/lbs and 1207 ft/lbs ...which is less than BlackRam’s notion of the required energy fer moose (Thank’s for the input, BR) ... and waaaaay less than the 2100 ft/lbs minimum that I endorse. Let’s here it for shot placement!! Be honest now... do you really put all your stock on shot placement or is there something else? (Prayer perhaps?)
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Problem as I see it is: An animal has no idea of how much energy was in the bullet that hit it. That minimum energy level to kill an animal is
bullpucky IMHO. What if your 2100 ft lbs of energy is mostly wasted on the real estate behind the moose because the bullet
passed through? Does this mean the moose will not die? I think not. I have quit thinking about
energy figures, and choose dependable bullets placed precisely to do the job. Thousands of moose have fallen to the 30-30,
which does not deliver that much energy at the muzzle, let alone at out there a bit. All that being said, it is comforting to
use an adequate rifle for bigger animals. D.
 
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