I deer hunted with mine for twenty years and if I did it over again I would not use it on deer. Between lost deer and destroyed meet it's not worth it. I had more deer run farther after shooting them with it than any other caliber.

It kicks enough to easily develops a solid flinch even in medium weight rifles in a lot of people.

This whole statement is an oxymoron. I don't know how you can complain about meat damage and then say it doesn't put a deer down.

I have a Ruger 7 Rem Mag. I also have a Marlin 45-70. IMO, both are overkill on Texas Whitetails but I have used both to do the deed. For me, they both have uncomfortable recoil, but one shot kills make up for the inconvenience. If the 7 Mag was my ONLY rifle, you can bet that I would use it for Whitetail hunting.
My choice for whitetail deer is a .257 Roberts and on occasion a scoped Marlin 30-30.
The name of the game is clean kills, whatever you happen to use for that purpose.

If you don't want to tear up meat then don't shoot them in the meat! If you don't want them to run then don't hit them in an area that will allow it. While I like the 7 mag I don't hunt with one anymore and it's not because of any problems stated in the above comment. I went to Weatherby's and never looked back. What you described is not a caliber problem but a shooter problem, don't blame poor shooting abilities on a gun.

I have one of the older Winchester 7mm with the BOSS, which really reduces the felt recoil imo, does make her a hell of a lot louder though on my end. I have used it for WT MD and elk through most of the 90's and never lost an animal, generally DRT, or only steps. I wouldn't hesitate to use one again one bit.

Actually iirc, I used 180 grn for all around use, I go for the double lung 99.9% of the time, so a little lost rib meat doesn't bother me. Very versatile caliber imo for short to long range.

Wouldn't use one for quail hunting though

Been shooting a 7mag for over 30 years.

Get accustomed to the recoil, and it's a Killer. In all of the years hunting, I have only lost one deer. I originally bought that caliber thinking some day I would go elk hunting,.....still waiting on that day.

This quote says it all. It's operator error. A 223 can cause major meat damage. It's all about the bullet. I throw accubonds out of my 7 mag and have always had quick and clean kills. No more damage then a 243 with core locks. It's a penetrating bullet. It doesn't expand like a hollow point will. It's made to hold together and mushroom. I like it cause it has a great ballistic coefficient so it makes a good long range bullet. I prefer pass throughs over extream expansion.

So that being said this is what it comes down to....
If you are not hunting and don't plan on hunting places where long shots are common it's unnecessary. It will work but so will a 243. Inside 200 yards there are better caliber choices. Outside 200 man it's hard to beat. Really hard to beat.

I shoot a Savage model 10 that they custom made for me in 7 mag. It's got the muzzle brake on a bull barrel. Doesn't kick more then a 243. It is long and fairly heavy. It's not balanced well either. I shoot by a Harris bipod tough and it's a great gun.

Right on. Just introducing the mere thought that a 7mm Rem Mag is insufficient or inadequate, etc is laughable.

Guess really depends on where our hunting? use 7 for long shots past 250 and up and. I know that animal won't be getting near me! Hornady BBT in 150 been a solid winner for me, we handload.

Otherwise most hunting for meat, short shots Rem ADL 223, custom trigger, 24" pipe with hornady 55grn ballistic tips put meat in our freezer last 11 or so years.

Plenty of cheap brass to load.



hunt safe all...

When someone makes a bad shot the first thing they do is blame it on the gear

Until they're at a zero line with an instructor sitting next to them.

"Was that miss equipment fault, or shooter fault?"

-I think it was me, I'll try again.

he has tracked a few for us and I can't say if any were shot with a 7mm mag. One was a 6mm Ackley improved, I know that.



he also hates bowhunters.



imo, if your a bad shot with a 7mm you are a bad shot period. I don't know anyone who is proficient with a smaller hunting caliber turn terrible when given a caliber like a 7mm or .300

Don't hit the deer directly in the shoulder with the 7mag. Hit the deer behind the shoulder.

most the meat is in the hams and back straps anyways. If you lose a shoulder your not losing a ton of meat anyways.

7 mag is a great caliber, I have harvested several with mine.

No, it isn't...the only way was to take the shoulders out...destroy both, or heart/lung shot and they ran forever. I actually shot one and blew out the front shoulder and yet it ran close to 300 yards. I used factory Hornady ammo, 139 grains. Frankly in retrospect I think I'd done better with a heavier bullet. And I'm not complaining...I'm simply stating a fact as it relates to my experience. I still have the rifle and it is a flat tack driver and I love the rifle. Its going to one of my grandsons. But I simply believe for deer hunting in Texas here are better options. Sorry I didn't explain it better.

Have you ever hunted with one?

I have the whole gamut of 7's. 7-08, 280, 7rem mag, 28 Nosler and 7.21 Firebird. It's a proven round right in the sweet spot for 7's. What do you shoot now? I'm guessing a short action with less recoil.
It's probably slower and works better with the fast expanding bullets you're using. Some of those bullets aren't supposed to be shot over 3000 fps. This is more than likely your problem.

Interesting. The lease next door brought in a dog to find a deer that us and other neighbors could not find. The dog handler said the same thing, with a 300 mag close 2nd.

...and we wonder why the old 7x57 is so well thought of as a big game killer of the 1st kind shooting 160 & 175gr bullets in the 2500-2700's MV's out of a 22" barrel

I backed into a M70 7x57 last year and am just now doing the final research on bullets. I also did a trade for some 260 brass, about 300 pc's of new RP 260's and dies for about 700+ 284 bullets...and most of them are 150-154's & 160's that the guy had been killing Elk and Mule deer with in far northern Montana...and thought I'd gotten screwed with not very many 139 gr'ers & nothing smaller smaller. The SST's will not get shot at over 27-2800 at anything I want to eat...

Seems the guy in Montana was downsizing for a young teen in the family into a 260 to hunt Mule Deer & occasionaly Elk with....then I went out and found a NIB WBY VG II SS 7Rmg that'll get loaded at the very bottom of a given powder's load list at about 28-2900 fps 'cause accuracy is king over MV's, and only at Texas WTails and hogs and depend on slippery'er BC'd bullets for more reach raher than recoil. Just Sayin
Ron

7 rem mag is more than you need for most instances, but not too much. When you step up the horsepower, bullet selection needs to match. I think it's at it best on deer, shooting a 160 grain cup and core bullet, at speeds matching a 270 with 130's. That is a very effective combination. The 7 rem mag is up near the top of the heap if you are discussing the most capable deer cartridges, and my personal favorite. Never had or witnessed an issue of it being a crippler. Felt recoil is a little above a 30-06 ,so if you are a little bit recoil shy, a light sporter may not be your cup of tea.

That's not the fault of the cartridges. That's poor marksmanship.

My 7 Rem Mag is loaded with 180's. It bothers me none to shoot a mag through it. I've been shooting lots lately, just because it is precise and hits like a truck. But, I quit taking it on whitetail foe hunts. Why burn up 70 gr of H-Retumbo and a 180 gr bullet, when I can burn 40.0 gr of H-Varget and a 162 gr bullet out of the 7mm-08. It don't take much rifle to sever a brain stem.

But if all I had to hunt with was the 7 Rem Mag, that would be alright with me. I know things die quickly at the other end of it.

I suspect recoil shy is the major player though most won't admit it.

I hunt with 270 and 7mm mag, love them both. Flat shooting and with just a little range practice, good optics and factory ammo you can confidently shoot from 100-400yds. I used to live and die by the 270 but the 7mag is right there with it. I used load for both, but HSM makes some great ammo. Their 140 grain trophy hunter ammo is really good!

I probably did more reloading for my 7-mags than any other cartridge, I really like the lighter bullets in the 115 to 120 grain for whitetails. I now see where there's a 100 grain available. I could push the 115's and 120's around 3500 fps. 3600 to 3700 might be possible with the little 100.