rifles

[biglake-ike]

Is 7mm mag to big for whitetails?

[Scott K]

No

[perchking]

What is your goal when you are hunting? To harvest an animal correct? Yeah it will do the job just fine...

I would rather be over-powered than under-powered any day.

[harvey lee]

I have shot many deer with a 7MM. Does a fine job and is also a good long range rifle.

[Hitman54]

Is there really such a thing as "to much gun"? If you can shoot it properly.

[harvey lee]

I would have to say yes, there is too much gun for a deer. I have used a 300 mag on whitetails and one best make a very good shot or you will have some serious damage. Once I shot at a buck for the vitals and hit it in the shoulder blade and did some heavy damage but, the deer didnt move.

Fun gun though.

[Tripleplay]

Not too big. I've had mine for 3 seasons now and I'm not sure I'll ever shoot my '06 again unless I'm walking a drive where it holds the length and weight advantage.

[BobT]

I'll share a rather silly story along these lines.

About 15 years ago one of my sisters married a young fellow just out of the police academy. This guy was typical of many of these recruits with his attitude. He was going to save the world and he was a tough guy.

Truth is he was about 5'-6" and rather a pudgy guy. Nice guy if you could get past the arrogance. Anyway, the first year he went deer hunting with my sister, my dad, and our hunting party he shows up with a .375 Weatherby. Naturally we had to play into his personality and ask what in the world he was hunting and if he was big enough to handle it. His reply was, "When I shoot at something, it's going down!"

Later that very day we hear the sound of that cannon going off. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have the sense to not tell when something bad happens. Supposedly he got an opportunity to take a doe. He shot at it, it went down, but then as he was walking to it, it got up and ran off. No blood, no hair, nothing! Never did find that critter.

He got dump for years to come. I sometimes wonder if the dump we gave his was part of the reason he divorced my sister.

Bob

[Whoaru99]

IMO, not necessarily too big, but you most certainly don't need a 7mm Mag to take a Whitetail cleanly. Afterall, dead is dead...

Personally, I don't really see much advantage for the not insubstancially more kick and more noise unless you are doing stuff 300+ yards.

Personally, my .270 works wonders on Whitetails, although in hindsight, I wished I'd have bought an 06 just for the much wider selection of loads. However, since it works quite well enough, there really isn't enough reason for me to change.

[harvey lee]

Two of the last three deer I have shot were at 356 & 375 yards. I have and do have the chance at very long range shots every year.

[Whoaru99]

Quote:

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Two of the last three deer I have shot were at 356 & 375 yards. I have and do have the chance at very long range shots every year.

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In those situations, sure a 7mm is a very good choice. However, for me, all the deer I've shot in the last 10 years (except for last year muzzleloader) have been 50-60yd tops, more typically about 1/2 that.

While I don't particularly advocate it, the deer that dropped the very fastest for me was a normal heart/lung shot with a SKS (7.62x39) at about 25 yards. Dropped straight down and didn't move a muscle thereafter. Just some plain old Federal 125gr(??) soft points...

Last few years though it's been a moot point about rifles, been back to the slug zone and will be again this year.

[harvey lee]

I agree. Many times a well placed shot by almost any caliber will get the job done. I use to shoot a 270 and then got a 7mm and a 300 which I won. The 300mag is alot of gun on a whitetail deer. My 7mm is a very good deer gun at long range and maybe overkill at short range shots but, I never know what distance I will shoot when I leave the house in the morning and I hate to be under gunned.

[Blair Nelson]

A 7 Remmy Maggy isn't too much gun for a WTD. More than necessary, maybe, but if someone wants to put up with the weight and recoil, go for it. Truth be told, it is a fine chambering for about anything from 'lopes through moose.

Bullet selection IS important. If real close shots are a possibility consider either premium bullets (TSX, Partitions, etc.) or go heavy for caliber and consider 175 gr cup and core bullets.

When standard bullets are pushed too fast and hit the target at velocities over 3000 fps or so there is a higher liklihood that the bullet will shatter rather than expand and game could be lost as a result. A 175 gr bullet should be going in the 2800 to 2900 range out of a 7 mag at the muzzle. It'll cleanly take deer from point blank to as far as you can hit them.

Making it just as effective as a 7mm08 with a 140 gr class bullet.

It'll do!

[c&amagn]

I just purchased the 7mm and plan on using it this year for deer season, just sort of curious how it handles and all. I've been shooting a .270 for years now and have taken lot's of deer with the .270. I also purchased for the wife this year the .243wssm, man I have to say that was a fun gun to sight in and it shoots great. The ballistics for the .243wssm actually hold up to the .270 and 7mm out to about 250-yards, anxious to try the new rifles this season.

[iffwalleyes]

Quote:

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Two of the last three deer I have shot were at 356 & 375 yards. I have and do have the chance at very long range shots every year.

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I wonder where you hunt . I personally like .270 and have taken several deer with it. That is my personal choice. But a 7MM will work just fine it isn't too big. I have a buddy that runs a .270 WSM now that thing if it hits bone will make a mess. All guns are able to make a mess.

[harvey lee]

You wonder where I hunt.

Not to far from you dude. My son was up last weekend and said the deer herd doesnt look to bad. Hopefully another stellar year.

[Rotwieler]

i think its a good whitetail gun. especially when longer distances come into play. its also a gun you could take out west for elk.

i dont recall for sure but i thought i read in the MN regs that .50 cal BMG are legal. that might be to much gun.

"might be"

[Whoaru99]

Considering a 50 BMG is almost 5x more powerful than a 7mm Mag in standard loadings for both, I'd think there wouldn't be much left of a deer.

Otoh, it probably would be gutted and quartered for ya.

[Rotwieler]

i know. i know a few years back it was illegal, but now its legal. those bullets, mil grade anyways, are ziping down range at 12,000 fps!!! and considering there about 450gr. or more bullets! and a FMJ 30-06 bullet is illegal. kinda goofy huh

[KidWalleye]

c&amagn, my father in law shot 2 deer with a 243. Both pretty good kills. He got rid of it because he didn't think it was enough gun.? Anyways if you look closer at the ballistics, the 243 and the 270 fall farely short of the 7mm rem mag. In my opinion, the 7mm rem mag is the perfect gun. Big enough for elk (if you ever choose) and white tail deer. Also (my opinion) a well placed shot will put down a white tail deer.

[c&amagn]

"KidWalleye" Please look up the ballistics for the .243WSSM, Winchester Super Short Magnum Hense (WSSM)Part, The speed is neck and neck with the .270 130gr and the 7mm-150gr. and the energy is a bit less though, Look up the ballistics for the .243WSSM 95gr. or the 100gr. rounds versus the normal .243 rounds. I think you will be very suprised at what you see. Here is a good link for ballistics

http://www.junkyardgenius.com/firearms/ballistic/supreme.html

But if you place the round in the boiler room and don't just shoot for hair or fur and place your shot's well, it will take a deer down. I have yet to loose any deer yet with 42 so far with rifle/bow combined, believe me I have passed up plenty of shots on does and bucks too just because the shot was just not there for a decent human kill, I think there are tons of hunters that shoot at anything and just shoot at the deer at any spot.

[Rost]

A 7mm is a great caliber for whitetail. The nice part about this caliber is that it can be easily used as your elk gun too.

I used to hunt whitetails with a .300 win mag, but then switched to a 25-06. The only reason I switched was that the .300 simply wasn't very fun to shoot.

[Eye Slayer]

In my opinion, the 7MM is a decent all-around choice for big game hunting. There are a couple of things to consider when choosing a rifle:

1. Your personal tolerance for recoil. A 7mm Rem Mag will have about 10% more felt recoil with a 150gr bullet than a .30-06 will. And a 7MM Ultra Mag with 160gr will have 67% more felt recoil than the 150gr .30-06. Heavy recoil can lead to a healthy fear of the recoil, causing the shooter to flinch as they pull the trigger, and causing poor shot placement and more wounded - not killed - animals.

2. Cartridge size and power should never be used to make up for being a poor shooter or taking risky shots. If 300+yds is outside of your range, the fact that the 7mm can shoot out that far should be a non-issue. Also, the fact that a 7MM can easily shoot through a shoulder bone shouldn't make up for a lack of patience to wait for the 'right' shot.

3. Select a rifle which is appoporiate for what you plan on using it for. As mentioned above, there are much smaller, lighter kicking cartridges that are just as effective on whitetails as a 7mm or .300 such as a .243, .270, 7MM-08, or .30-06. However, if you also plan on using it for moose, elk, or other large game species, perhaps the 7mm Mag is the right choice.

4. Lastly, a couple of guys have alluded to 'knockdown power' above. There is a very interesting article in a well-known outdoor publication. If you do a Google/Yahoo search for "Jim Carmichel Knockdown Power" you can read his take on why the term knockdown "power" is misleading - EXCELLENT ARTICLE!

Good luck choosing the right gun for you and best of luck in the field and woods!

[harvey lee]

Very good read. I agree with the long range shots. If one doesnt practice these shots, one should not attemt to do it afield. End result will be crippled deer.

[Hitman54]

Another thing to consider about recoil is the gun its self. I have two 7mm mags. One in a Win. model 70 classic lite, composite. This gun is very light and accurate but it dose give you a thump when you shoot it. I have another 7mm mag in a Browning BAR. It is a very heavy gun and has a great recoil pad on it. My 10 year old son and also my wife will shoot the Browning but neither will shoot the Winchester any more.