Is a 7 Rem Mag overkill for Whitetail Hunting?

No

I like using the lighter 140 grain bullets though

No, you need at least a .340 Weatherby for the really big ones.



It's unnecessary unless you're planning on shooting regularly at ranges over 300 yards, but, like the .30-06, it's a nice option for an all around rifle suitable for larger game like elk.

No, as long as you shoot it well.

Is it more than you need? Absolutely

Is it too much? No

I have a 300 wby and while I have shot white tails with it, it is not my go to white tail gun and I wouldn't buy it for that purpose, but that's just me.

Does it damage the meat more than a .30-06?

Meat damage is largely dependent on what part of the animal you shoot and what bullet design/style you use. A cup and core bullet like a corelock or power point or sierra gameking etc. will tear up a lot more meat than say a barnes x, hornady gmx, or similar. If you shoot them in the shoulder I would count on loosing a good portion of the shoulder, through the ribs you will loose some rib/flank which most don't use any way. Head/neck shot nothing lost but many do not like the shot.

Nope - I have a 7MM REM Ultra Mag that I carry sometimes (it's heavy) but it'll reach out at distance. But 7MM mag too much, not at all.

This. Everything else being equal it will, but it all depends on bullet and placement. A .223 SP can damage a whole lot more meat than a 7mm Mag monometal.

Nope. I still shoot deer with the one I bought when I was 18 (42 years ago). The 7mag is one of the best rounds for all North American game.

No, if one can shoot it well without developing the flinches. Most can't.

I've used a 7mag for years hunting whitetail. Works perfect as long as you can shoot it well.

What do you mean shoot it well?

I have a 7 mag that I used a couple of times with a 150 or 165 grain bullet (cannot remember which grain bullet was a long time ago).
Shot 2 deer with it and switched back to my 270 with a 130 grain. It did to much damage to the meat for me.

Shoot with which ever gun your comfortable with

It actually probably damages meat less than some of the less powerful guns because it punches through really quickly.

I inadvertently loaded mine with some rounds I had bought for Nilgai hunting a couple of years ago. At just shy of 200 yards, I shot a doe and the exit wound was slightly bigger than a pencil eraser. Went right through her.

Don't get me wrong, she was just as dead as any other deer I've killed, but there wasn't much blood. Fortunately, she only went like 10 yards.

I mean shoot it accurately and cleanly kill what you're shooting at. There's a feller down in Charlotte, TX who has arguably the best line of "blood dogs" for wounded deer. He and his son catch about 75%-80% of all deer they go after. He told me many years ago that the number one caliber for deer they trailed was a 7mm Rem. Mag. and by a large margin.

I've lost one deer in 49 years of deer hunting. I was shooting a 7mag, at the time. I shoot a 7mm-08 for whitetails, these days.

Take that for what it's worth.

I believe it, but it's not the fault of the caliber. People think they need one, then they get recoil shy and don't shoot it well. They also run loads that aren't appropriate for whitetails. And some people are just lousy shots to begin with and think they can compensate for poor shot placement by using a larger caliber, which BTW doesn't work. I love my 7 mag and shoot it well, but it's certainly not for everyone.

Do what?

Basically, if you can hit your target consistently at your usual hunting distance. The normal distance from my stand is 100-200 yards max, so that's what I practice.

I prefer the 7mag because it's all I've hunting with for about 10 years and I'm used to shooting it.

Furthest distance I've ever tracked a deer is about 30 yards. Most of the time they are dead right there when hit properly.

Precisely! There is NOTHING wrong with the caliber.

That experience is likely a function of the bullet design used and had nothing to do with how fast it went through the deer. When similar bullet designs are compared more velocity = more expansion = more blood guts and hole. Using a fail save x bullet or similar etc. will do exactly what you describe.

I would say it doesn't work as well as people might want it too, and a bigger gun wont make you hit the deer if you have trouble missing, but I would have much more hope in finding a gut shot deer shot with a 270 30-06 7mag 300 wm than a gut shot deer with a 223 22-250 or 243.

I guess that makes sense. As noted, I used a round designed for penetrating heavier game and it's the only deer I've shot with my 7mag, but it hole-punched through the thing and the exit wound wasn't noticeably bigger than the entrance wound. My experience is probably thus skewed.

I shot a .270 for about 15 years before switching to a 7 mag 2 years ago. I shoot 160 partitions for everything and can't tell that, at least on white tails, that they kill any faster or damage any more meat than the .270 does.

Like Elmer Keith said "It can't be over dead".