7mm Rem Mag

[Buckeye Scott]

I currently own a Remington 5R in .308. I like it, but am wanting to move up to something better suited for long range. I want something along the same style as my .308 as it is accurate and yet portable enough to hunt with if needed. I have been looking at the 7mm Rem Mag as the 180+ bullets have very high BC; better than 300 win mag. I have several questions about this caliber and was hoping to get some guidance.

All of the factory rifles that I can find have a barrel twist rate of 9.25-9.5. From everything I have read I need to be about 8.5 to optimally shoot the 180+ bullets. Is this correct? And if so is there a factory rifle similar to by Rem 5r that I could get this with?

Is there another 7mm you prefer over the Rem Mag?

 

[Steel head]

1-9 for most 180’s but a 1 -9.5 might be ok.
1-8 is a good idea for 190’s.
There’s a few 7 RM shooters here.
I shoot 7 SAUM

 

[Rocketmandb]

I would do a 7 SAUM before a 7mm Mag.

 

[Rocketmandb]

I shoot 7 SAUM

Boooo... beat me to the punch by seconds.

 

[Steel head]

I would do a 7 SAUM before a 7mm Mag.

Same.
280AI is another uption I’d consider.

 

[Rocketmandb]

Same.
280AI is another uption I’d consider.

Have you looked at the Sherman Max stuff? I'm thinking that when I get my new 300 PRC, I might rebarrel/chamber my existing one into one of the Max cartridges because it's a long action and can handle it without sacrificing seating depth.

 

[Steel head]

Have you looked at the Sherman Max stuff? I'm thinking that when I get my new 300 PRC, I might rebarrel/chamber my existing one into one of the Max cartridges because it's a long action and can handle it without sacrificing seating depth.

Slightly

Honestly considering the performance I get with 7 saum If move Up in caliber or power it would be a 33 or 37XC or possibly bigger.

 

[Steel head]

Op
With the 7 mag a 180 at 2950 and 190’s at 2900 Is pretty easy, in fact with a longer barrel that would be considered Quite mild.
Performance of both at a mile plus Is pretty awesome.

 

[knuckleballz]

I'm running 7rem mag in a tikka action with a carbon 6 shouldered prefit, 8 twist 24 inch carbon light weight profile. I'm running 2950fps with 180 Berger's using rl26 with no pressure signs. That's at 950ft altitude. The only drawback to using the 7rem mag in the tikka action is oal is limited with the stock bottom metal. You have to get an aftermarket long action bottom metal that allows longer magazines. I used a Mount Tactical bottom metal. For a light weight build I would use a rem 700 clone action that you can order a shouldered prefit barrel for with the weight, length, twist, and muzzle thread, and chamber spec. You want. Lots of options for stocks, triggers, bottom metal etc. For 700 style actions.

 

[Buckeye Scott]

Really appreciate the replies. Been trying to read as much as I can. Why would you go with the 7 saum instead? and does that option of any noticeable decrease in barrel life?

 

[Rocketmandb]

Really appreciate the replies. Been trying to read as much as I can. Why would you go with the 7 saum instead? and does that option of any noticeable decrease in barrel life?

I've been doing a little research on barrel life, as I'm going to be rechambering. From the limited info I could collect, it looked like the 7mm Mag and SAUM had similar. IMO the three main things that are nice about the SAUM over the Mag are:

1) Shorter powder column means quicker/more consistent powder burn
2) No belt to worry about
3) You can put it in a short action (not all bullets, though) or you can fire it from a long action and have a lot of latitude with bullet selection and seating depth.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

7mm RM is a great round, but what is your definition of long range and what are you looking to accomplish at that range?

 

[Buckeye Scott]

7mm RM is a great round, but what is your definition of long range and what are you looking to accomplish at that range?

Anything 1000 yards or more. Would like to also have enough power to hunt elk; though not at that distance.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Anything 1000 yards or more. Would like to also have enough power to hunt elk; though not at that distance.

Ok so are you looking at a little over 1000 yards, 2000 yards, 3000 yards? Big difference in what you’ll want for the job.

If most of your shooting will be inside 1200-1400 yards I would stick with a good 6.5 like 6.5 Creed or 6.5x47L. It’s a different ball game from your 308 and you don’t need a magnum to do that or hunt elk. 6.5 Creed with the right bullet in the right spot is easily a 600 yard elk round.

 

[RmeJu]

OP, I shoot 7RM for the same reasons you mentioned. 1:8.5 twist will let you shoot 195s (barely stabilized, maybe a hair under) down to about 160s (getting close to overstabalized). I ultimately ended up getting a new barrel, since the factory gun I had was a 1:9.25.

 

[Buckeye Scott]

OP, I shoot 7RM for the same reasons you mentioned. 1:8.5 twist will let you shoot 195s (barely stabilized, maybe a hair under) down to about 160s (getting close to overstabalized). I ultimately ended up getting a new barrel, since the factory gun I had was a 1:9.25.

Yea, every factory gun I found has between a 1:9-1:9.5 twist. The exception is a few Browning that are listed as out of production. When I get more time I might look into a custom rig as I have never done that. I could scrape the idea and go to 300 win mag; but I really don't want to. What others have said about a 6.5 is good advice; but part of me just wants a bigger gun .

 

[Steel head]

Yea, every factory gun I found has between a 1:9-1:9.5 twist. The exception is a few Browning that are listed as out of production. When I get more time I might look into a custom rig as I have never done that. I could scrape the idea and go to 300 win mag; but I really don't want to. What others have said about a 6.5 is good advice; but part of me just wants a bigger gun .

It’s a good bit easier to spot hits from a 180 grain bullet than a 140.

 

[RmeJu]

That was my exact thinking, and nothing about 7RM has given me any regrets, with two caveats. But first I'll say, I do love the round. Great ballistically, especially for a round as common as this. It's popularity helps, especially if you reload. I also found that most of the things that people cite as negatives about this round are overblown. Is 7RM the latest bleeding edge tech? No. But if you want an excellent long-range performer that has a lot of power, but you don't want a fancy caliber, than this is a really great option.

But not perfect. First, I needed a muzzle device to tame recoil enough to spot my shots. I have a can, and can spot starting at medium range, but even that took practice. A brake would probably work better and, more importantly, be the better option for addressing heat build up. Brakes do have their drawbacks though (esp. concussion).

Second, heat buildup is an issue. Annoying if you want to shoot long strings. If you don't shoot like that, or don't mind taking breaks, this is maybe not a big deal. Part of my range planning these days is thinking about clever ways to reduce heat, so I can keep downtime to a minimum. A brake is better than a can in this respect, because the can builds up heat fast, and cools slow.

Hope that helps!