7mm Remington Mag good or bad?

d_hoffman

Handloader wrote:

The guy with the most powerful rifle in ft/lbs, of course.

d_hoffman: in which state do you live?

Unfortunatly, Ohio. No center fire rifle deer hunting here. Only shotgun, smoke sticks and straight walled pistol, however you can hunt 'yotes and hogs with any center fire as well. They are talking about bringing back straight walled center fires though.

I'm originally from Michigan. Above a certain line you can hunt with any type of center fire.

gobbuster · Member Joined: Dec 20, 2007 Posts: 51

Hi Guys,
Here are some facts taken dirrectly out of my Speer reloading manual: The most effective round for the 06 is a 150 grain bullet which is rated at 3059 fps the max. powder charge. The 7 mag. with its 140 grain bullet and its max powder performance charge is getting 3340 fps. Now lets look at ft lbs. of energy produced. The 30-06 shooting a 150 grain bullet at the above velocity will produce 3097 foot lbs. of energy. the 7 mag. shooting a lighter 140 grain bullet at its velocity will produce 3497 foot lbs. of energy. Thats 400 ft. lbs. more energy than the 06. Another fact is ballistic coefficient properties, these facts determin how much resistence that bullet produces which is how we knowwhat the velocity will be at 50 yds. 100 yds. 500 yds. and so on. The more drag on the bullet, the more drop it will have down range. the 30-06 with a 150 grain projectile will have slowed down to 1616 fps and dropped 49.4 inches. the 7 mag. on the other hand will be at 2378 fps and drop only 22.7 inches at 500 yds. This is why the 06 is not a good long range big game rifle.
Gobbuster

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

Welcome to the forums Gobbuster. Howdy

Dimitri

diesel

I hand load for the 7 mag and 30.06 for white tail. 139 Hornady in the 7 at 3100 fps and 130 SP hornady at 3200 fps. in the .06. deer at under 200 yds. don't know the difference. beyond 2 or 300 yds. the 7 strarts to shine. diesel

SAHUNTER

Hi there folks, been rather quiet for a will. I own both a 30-06 and a 7mmRem. I have taken on average 30 Springuck and 20 Blesbuck a year on the plains with the 7mmRem. These shots always in excess of 200 meters-Kalahari and Eastern Cape. I reload 140gr Accubonds for the 7mmRem. If I am hunting bigger game like Blue Wildebeest, Gemsbuck and Eland I use my 338 Win loaded with 180 gr Accubonds. I use the 30-06 in the areas north where the ranges are shorter and will take down all of the above animls with it its loaded with 180gr Speers.

So I appreciated both calibres in their respective fields and just feel that the 7mmRem has a little more reach on the smaller antelope than the 30-06 but the 30-06 does not have what i want in a rifle for the bigger game at distance.

Vince

Welcome back aboard mate. Reading your post makes me green with envy...and the further I read the GREENER I became. What to you is a normal hunting trip, to me is a dream. You are a lucky guy mate.

I don't own either of these calibres, and realistically we only have a couple of game animals that they would be needed for...buffalo and maybe camel.
Still it is good reading and learning about the capabilities of both calibres.

Cheers, Vince

K.W.

Moi! Maybe I am stupid, don´t like rimmed cases because I am reloader. Embarassed

gobbuster · Member Joined: Dec 20, 2007 Posts: 51

Hello again fellow hunting and gun lover's,
I want to be a little more specific as to my motive in my analogy of high power rifles. I don't hate the 06 or any other firearm. I was only trying to show the effectiveness of the 06 v.s. its rivals, the 7 mag. and .270. They wouldn't be rivals if they didn't compare to one another. Frankly I wouldn't want to be a deer or other game animal being shot by any one of them. But in terms of flat shootng or better ballistic performance the .270 and 7 mag. have it on the 06 by a pretty good comparison factor. Most of this is due to the .308 projectile and air resistence it creates in flight. At what rate it slows down compared to other caliber projectiles determines its ballistic coeificiency. Foot lbs. of energy is determined by weight of bullet and velocity and has absolutly nothing to do with caliber, casing design, or any other physical factors. At the muzzle 2 projectiles, regardles of caliber, will produce the same foot lbs. of energy if traveling at the same velocity and, the same weight projectile. Down range is when things begin to change due to physical characteristics of that projectile, ie; boat tail, round nose, diameter, length, weight, and so on. I like to hunt with a 7 mag. with a 120 grain boat tail. I get a very high velocity round down range delivering far more ft. lbs. of energy than a heavier bullet would at the same distance. This concept will work with most cartridges. Think about the difference between a 120 grain bullet and a 150 grain bullet, not a noticable difference if you hold one in one hand and one in the other, so how is a 150 going to give you better penetration than the 120? It won't, and especially so if the 120 is traveling at 500 feet per second faster than the 150. I've blown through 1/2 inch plate steel with a 100 grain bullet in my .270 at 150 yards. But the heavier 180 grain bullet from an 06(.308)won't do more than barely dent the steel. Why? because of obtainable velocity for that catridge design won't accomodate a powder charge capable of delivering enough velocity. So by choosing a lightter projectile you can achieve higher down range velocities that deliver a greater degree of foot lbs. of energy and penetration. Try reloading a varmit bullet (110 grain) for your 06 and try this out on a piece of 1/2 inch steel at 150 yards v.s. the 160 or 180 grain bullet. Use a load of 56 to 58 grains of IMR4064. Well thats it for todays lesson on ballistics.

SAHUNTER

Hi Vince

My reloading and in particular my hunting is quite sacred to me. These are very special times that I share with the missus as well as a few mates that feel the same way I do.

We are very spoilt, we have outstanding hunting in SA but all the guys I hunt with apprecaite it to the fullest extent. When any of you see your way clear to come out and visit us you are more than welcome to lean on me for contacts etc. I know alot of game farmers all over the country and it would be an honour to assist any of you guys in setting up a hunt.

Back to the calibres, I also have a 243, 7X57, 9.3X62 and a 460, all of these with different applications, I do not compare my calibres, simply use them in their relevant applications. My feeling is that there is no good or bad calibre, they all have their place in the hutning grounds and with their respective hunters.

roklok

WHOA, HOLD ON A MINUTE !! In no way shape or form can you compare penetration on a steel plate with penetration on a game animal. I have shot plenty of steel plate in my time with various calibers and bullet weights, lots of fun and an eye opening experience but it certainly means nothing when it comes to performance on big game. A 30-06 accelerator round ( 55 grain saboted projectile at 4000 plus FPS) will cut right through a 1/2 inch steel plate where a .308 shooting a 180 grain will not. Which would you rather have in your hands when hunting elk, moose or bears,hell even deer. Common sense would mandate choosing the .308. Steel plates are penetrated mainly by velocity where game is penetrated by bullet weight and construction. In a lot of cases, velocity past a certain point actually works against penetration. My favorite big game load throws a 250 grain 35 caliber bullet at 2542 FPS. While I have not tried shooting through half inch plate with this load, i seriously doubt whether it would penetrate it judging from similar loads tried. However this load shot through a rather large grizzly lengthwise after smashing through the shoulder for me this year.

Pumpkinslinger

SAHUNTER wrote:

Back to the calibres, I also have a 243, 7X57, 9.3X62 and a 460, all of these with different applications, I do not compare my calibres, simply use them in their relevant applications. My feeling is that there is no good or bad calibre, they all have their place in the hutning grounds and with their respective hunters.

Well said SA! I keep telling folks that there are NO magic guns, cartridges or bullets. You just gotta use the right one for the job at hand.

Bushmaster

Yup...SAHUNTER is a wise man...The two calibres that I use are (IMnotsoHO) are about the most versitile of them all. Not sure if there isn't anything I can't put down that I plan to hunt with a .30-30 and a .30-06. I might like to get a rifle in .35 calibre one of these days if I wasn't so poor (cheap)...But....30-06 is about the limit of recoil I wish to deal with anymore...

gobbuster · Member Joined: Dec 20, 2007 Posts: 51

Sorry! I meant no mal intent towards any cartridge, as SAHUNTER stated, they all have their perspective place in the relevant application. All I was really meaning to discuss was that the 30-06 is not tipically a 500 to 1000 yard weapon weapon. retained velocity is greater with a .284 projectile v.s. the .308. But for the .308 projectile comes an amazing sellection of bullets for each application that circumfrences a nice range of uses. Truelly the most popular and versatile caliber on the planet. My apology for being so arrogant. I think reloading for over 25 yars has allowed me to see the potential for many diffeent catridge types, making me some what partial to a limited few. On another note, I shot my 7 mag today in 25 mph winds and came up with a way to minimize the effect. I shot both with my back to and facing the wind and found those two methods nealy completely eliminated any ballistic distortion from the wind. Don't know if you've tried or know anything to make windy shots easier.
Gobbuster

vint2

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!! Very Happy

glockman55 · Last edited by glockman55 on Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:50 pm; edited 1 time in total

Crackshot wrote:

Great Rifle cartridge. the only thing I don't like about mine is the muzzle break some one had put on it........LOUD! Wow, it'll break your ear drums with plugs in and muffs on...

I hear ya, I have one on mine. I open it for range shooting only! For hunting I made the mistake of having it open and it damn ner blew me off my seat. Way too loud. But it's nice for practice, takes about 50% of the recoil off. If it can be closed keep it closed when hunting.