I did not buy a 7mm Rem Mag (7mag) when it first came out in 1962 because I thought It too loud; the guns too heavy and too long. The first loadings from Remington had a 175gr moving 3075fps, of course few people had a chronograph to verify the velocity back in '62, but Speer verified what the velocity was fairly close out of a (shorter) 24" BBL. I finally bought one 17 years ago and even though it represented all the features I initially didn't like, I found it was exceptionally accurate and it launched 160 and 175 grain bullets at least 200fps faster than a comparable .270 Winchester can launch 150 and 160gr bullets with higher S.D. and B.C. The puzzling thing, to me at least, is how it's been downloaded in recent years by all the ammo manufacturers (?). In most of the reloading manuals loads show it barely ahead of the .280 Remington and hardly the equal of the 7mmUSAM or 7mmWSM. I've even heard explainations that the cartridge seems to exhibit "pressure excursions" or "spikes" uncommon in other calibers. I have trouble believing this since the cartridge uses essentially the same case as the .264 Winchester Mag, .338 Winchester Mag, and .458 Winchester Mag. (Their data has not changed appreciably.)If there is a "design flaw" only effecting the "7mm" of the "lot", why doesn't it also effect other 7mm cartridges? I realize different test guns render different results in velocity and pressure, thus charge weights are affected; however, has the cartridge been out so long that there are weak actions out there that need downloading? It was never a military round (although used by a few "special service" teams), so only commercial rifles were ever used. I've never, to date, had a separated case or blown primer in my 7mag and I've used mostly max loads in my gun because that is what it shoots best. The only data that shows the loads close to its "old benchmark" has been on the various forums as loaded by its users. Some "forum" data goes way over the max in some of the latest manuals (yeh, I know the pressure data today is more up-to-date). Since my first 7mag purchase I have help load and shoot many rifles in this caliber and they don't appear to vary any more than anyother high velocity caliber regardless of brand. It seems the industry "fell out of love" with its marketing "darling" for bigger (not necessarily more efficient) 7mm's. None of the "new" 7mags seem to be making a "marketing splash". What gives?

I don't know.

Keep in mind that Speer was doing some drastic things with most of the calibers it was loading 25 plus years ago. They've dropped the pressure of many of their loads since then. When they finally got really good pressure testing equipment was when they started backing off on many of their loads. Some of their loads in the old manuals were downright crazy.

As for the 7mm being a fussy cartridge or prone to pressure spikes my old hunting partner and I have been loading it for his for over 20 years with no problems and along with that several other short and long magnum cases in other calibers with no problems. He shoots 175 Speer Grand Slams in his for elk at just over 2900 fps and 140's for deer at well over 3100 fps out of two different Savage's.

I've found that some rifles can be loaded a little hotter than book specs, but anytime you exceed maximum loads from a manual you need to carefully work them up looking for pressure signs. From my experience I've found that ten percent under maximum loads usually only gives two percent less velocity and seems to always give better accuracy and I've never seen an animal that could tell the difference.

When I started out hunting here in Idaho my very first magnum was a 308 Norma Magnum. That was before Winchester brought out the 300 Win mag. From there I moved on in 1978 to the 8mm Rem mag that I still shoot today.

My first foray into the .284 caliber was a couple of years ago with a 280 Remington Mountain rifle. It won't shoot as flat as my buddies 7mm Rem, but it's light and easy to carry for an old man. I'm finding that as I get older it kills as well as my partners 7mm Rem at all the distances I can shoot anymore and trajectory favors very closely my 8mm mag.

As for the hot 7mm's Probably the fine discontinued 7mm STW is one of the best, it's velocities are not much slower than the 7mm Ultra-mag with a bunch less powder and the one a friend has is a fine deer and elk rifle for longer ranges.

One of the things I'm seeing is folks are falling out of love with those Ultra long range cartridges. Most are finding that shooting big game animals at ranges much beyond 600 yards may be much more problematic than advertised with these big boomers and loosing animals becomes a problem. Many taken in by the laser like quality of the advertising are going back to shooting at more reasonable ranges that assure better kills and cleaner harvests.

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Bob from Idaho

of all the hunters,, i know only one claims a 600 yd kill.. most say everything is 1 to 2 hundred yds an less..
im good out to 200 anything more than that is guess work on my pt..my soninlaw uses a 7 mag but for quicker ,,surer kills .. according to him..

I have asked myself same question for years, as I have been reloading for 7 Rem Mag for almost 40 years. I hate to sound like a conspiracy buff, but my take on your question is that it is hard for manufacturers to sell new guns because the old ones don't wear out. So they need to create a need. In the case of 7mm cartridges, they created a need by castrating the 7mm rem mag with mild factory loads. That clears the way for all those new short/fat/long/big wonder magnums. The only place I know to get good data for the 7 Rem Mag is the Nosler Reloading Manual. They have a load for 3200 fps with a 150 grain bullet. If you can't do it with that one, you need a bigger caliber.

a crony certainly sorts out the hype.love the 7mm rm.sure you can get some good speed but MOSTLY,accuracy goes out the door. drop around 150fps off full throttle,and they mostly,but not allways shoot tight as at long range.you got to hit them first.used to shoot 160 grainers in my first barrel@around 3100fps.shot good but the barrel went quick.load to 2950 approx,-magic load.the new wonder mags(WSM) cant be given away in oz.we use adi powders which hogdon import to america-single base-n/c,that burns around 300degrees cooler at the throat than double base powders@around 2900degrees.in a 26" barrel.work up to 3100fps using a 175 grainer using ar2225(retumbo).is hot but gives good accuracy in my gun and will definitely give you what you want.factory loads that hammer-no way-every body sues nowadays,and is the only explanation i can think of.

You asked about the downloading of the 7 Mag. It came along when the Browning Auto started using the 7Mag and the lawyers got involved. I use a original Rem 26" Sendero. I've been reloading the 7 Mag since 1975 and understand this round very well. I reload by neck sizing, forget the shoulder, trim to 2.490 max, use Noslers, both BT and Accubonds, 140 Accubonds at 3.365 COL, 140 BT at 3.378, 150 BT at 3.324, 160 Accubonds at 3.362, 160 Sierra Game Kings at 3.252, 120 BT at 3.378. I'm running 5 thousands off the lands which allows for better burn and a lot more speed and accuracy. I generally have a five shot spread never exceeding 5 fps where-the best factory loads can have up to 50 fps in spread depending on the gun and average 100 fps slower than my mild 63 grains 4350 in the 140's are running at 3143~3148 fps. I easily get over 3300 fps running with 65.5 grains of RL19 and a bit faster with 67.5 grains of RL22. They all provide sub half minute MOA's at 100 yards with pressure beginning to get my attention but not anywhere close to loads I use to get years ago before all the newer powders of today. The IMR 7828 SC is something you need to get familiar with too. Senderos are, especially the first run, essentially custom-guns that came from the custom gun room at Remington. They were cut to the closest minimum acceptable tolerances. My bolts are snug and shooting factory loads that are shorter COL do not give me the accuracy I want. I use a Jewel trigger at 1# both hunting and at the range shooting with a 5 minute cool off to save my barrel. Should easily get over 3000 rounds at this pace before any fall off in accuracy. I know this since my previous 1972 Rem 24" ADL went 3000 rounds using these cooling techniques before falling off. Went longer on the reloads and the accuracy came right back. Always weigh each shot to get your consistency in both velocity and accuracy. You may email me if you need more info. I've tried everything for over 35 years with the Big "7" to stay with and outrun 30's consistently and it's all coming together.

I have nearly zero experience with long-guns, but I did briefly own a 7mm Rem Mag Savage. The idea that this cartridge is being neutered isn't surprising. The same has been going on with the Magnum handgun cartridges for years. The only way the latest "wondernine" cartridges (the .357 SIG is the best example) can be advertised as being equal to the .357 Magnum is to first neuter the Magnum by taking away a few hundred feet per second. The same is true with claims that the 10mm is equal to the .41 Mag. The claims of the .327 Federal being equal to the .357 are perhaps the most outrageous of all.

TFet, you are probably correct about the effects of the Browning BAR on later velocities (I had not thought of that!). Your reloading techniques "mirror" some of my own, but I "partial resize" the cases rather than "neck resize" and use the "shoulder" to "headspace" rather than the "belt" (the brass lasts longer). IMR7828 (SC or regular) is my "go to" powder with RL22 next. I appreciate all the comments and information, for it reinforces my suspisions about this excellent cartridge. Thanks and Happy New Year!