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7mm
Remington Mag
The 7mm Remington Magnum
rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along
with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the
belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable .375 H&H
Magnum.
The original purpose of
the belted magnum concept taken from the .300 H&H and .375 H&H, was to
provide precise control of the head-space, since the sloping shoulders, while
easing cartridge extraction, provided poor head-spacing. Improved cartridge
extraction reliability is desirable while hunting dangerous game, which would
be of concern when needing a fast follow up shot.
The 7mm Rem is based on
the commercial Winchester .264 Win Mag, .338 Win Mag, and .458 Win Mag, which
were based on the same belted .300 H&H and .375 H&H cases, trimmed to
nearly the same length as the .270 Wby Mag.
On its introduction, the
7mm Rem. Mag. substantially usurped the market share held by the .264
Winchester Magnum, which went into sharp decline in popularity and sales after
1962. Maximum pressure is set by SAAMI at 61,000 PSI. 52,000 CUP
Remington has recently
offered Managed Recoil ammunition for achieving reduced recoil when shooting
and for generating less meat damage when hunting smaller game
Suggested
Use
- Deer (long range)
- Black Bear (long range)
- Sheep / Goat (long range)
- Moose
- Elk
- Buffalo / Bison
Performance
The 7mm Remington Magnum
offers ballistics better than the .30-06 Springfield with bullet weights of 175
grains and less, one of the more popular loads being a 160 grain spitzer loaded
to 3,000 ft/s (910 m/s). This is due both to the higher muzzle velocity of the
magnum compared to the Springfield and that .284 diameter bullets tend to have
better ballistic coefficients than .308 diameter bullets of comparable mass. It
is arguable that the 7 mm Remington Magnum offers marginally better ballistics
with 175 grain bullets, the heaviest bullet commonly used in the caliber. The
.30-06 Springfield can, however, be loaded with heavier bullets up to 220
grains.
Because of its flat
shooting nature and the relatively tolerable recoil, the 7mm Remington Magnum
is especially popular for Western plains use in the United States, as well as
for use on plains game in Africa. It has also been chambered in sniper rifles as
the US Secret Service counter-sniper team has deployed this cartridge in urban
areas. Popular online gun author Chuck Hawks calls the 7mm Remington "one
of the great all-around rifle cartridges.
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