I had planned on hunting alternately with my 6.5mm Swede and .300 Blackout this year. However, earlier this spring  bought a really nice Remington 700 in 7mm mag for an elk hunt that never panned out.  I mounted a nice Burris scope, sighted it in at 150 yards and its been gathering dust since.
I'm considering leaving the Swede at home this year and using the 7mm but I have concerns. I have a supply of Federal Premium ammo topped with 150 grain Nosler ballistic tips and while I'm sure these would prove deadly against the medium size white tail I hunt but is there a risk that they could expand too rapidly and damage too much meat?These deer are already on the small side, 125-150 lbs dressed out, and meat is at a premium.

No, 7 mag is not to big for deer. You'll get post saying yes, coming from the same guys who say you need 300 win mag minimum on elk. Instead of a shoulder shot, aim right behind it. Though like I tell most, what do you shoot better, as all 3 are fine.

No. Will it damage slightly more meat than some other rounds? Possibly. I've seen some pretty devastating damage from .223, .243, .308, etc. I personally use a .338 Win. Mag with 200 gr. soft points most of the time. They rarely exit and meat damage isn't much worse than anything else I've used, including 7mm Mag. Any round will pretty much ruin a shoulder if you shoot them there.

Here's your best advice.  Don't hit the shoulder, but aim a little back in the lungs.  Every area I hunt in my home state is shotgun only.  My preferred round is a Hornady 12 gauge, 300 grain FTX slug.  Granted, this doesn't come screaming in like a 7mm mag, but if I shot one of our smallish deer I'm sure it would do a number on the shoulder.  I shoot them slightly back through the lungs.  Sure, they run a little (30ish yards), but the blood trail is easy to track. Virtually zero meat damage.

D-ride is on the money,  put one on the shoulder and it will wreck it. Put it behind the shoulder thru the lungs and miss the offside shoulder. Its what i've used in MT and there is usualy a dead deer on impact, DRT. Usualy any bullet into a shoulder you would lose some meat, The boiler room is just behind the shoulder. Done right and all you will lose is rib meat and that is not much at all.

7 magnum is not too much for deer.  There is no such thing as overkill.

However, there are limits to how much practice shooting your shoulder and wallet will allow you to do.

I used a .300 mag for several years becauses it is all I owned.  I had no problems with meat loss.

Contrary to popular belief, the word "magnum" does not cause animate targets to vaporize.

Only 10mm can vaporize targets.

...and Chuck Norris.

Too much?  No...an M1 Abrams isn't too much either...it'll kill the deer just as dead.

Unnecessary?  Yeah, probably, since a 223 does the job just fine...same with 243 or 7mm-08 if you want to reach out and touch them...

Nope, only rifle a friend of mine in KY has - killed a bunch of deer with it.

This is what I was thinking. I usually target the lungs just because they present a bigger target, and are not as dependent on the animals position.
After thinking it over, I'm gonna leave the 7mm at home for no other purpose than its freaking long, and LOUD. I can shoot my 6.5 and .300 without earpo all day long. The 7mm? I'm not eager to try it out.

It's what I've hunted with for years, mine likes 140gr ballistic tips. I don't eat the ribs, so 1 behind the shoulder and they don't go far.

Aim behind the shoulder in the lungs like they are saying and you will be fine.  If you're confident with your shots you can also aim high on the neck and drop them where they stand.  I wouldn't suggest the neck shot if you are wanting to mount a trophy it might mess up the hide a bit to much.

A friend of mine uses a 7mm Mag to hunt deer. I hunted with that rifle exactly ONCE! Talk about a beast when it comes to recoil. Is it too much? No, it will kill a deer just as dead as most other calibers. Problem is two fold in my opinoin:
1. Practicing with it is near impossible. Impossible recoil and cost of ammo for most. Blast is obnoxious too.
2. It causes some hunters to be overly confident. My buddy takes shots on deer I'd never consider - we butchered a deer (ok, fawn) he shot last year and it was pretty much a gut shot.

It's a great caliber and very versatile. I honestly don't think there is anything in the northern hemisphere that you can't hunt with it, but it's just not for me.

Use a controlled expansion bullet like Barnes TSX/TTSX rather than Ballistic Tips and your meat loss will be minimal.

If you handload, Barnes makes a 120 grain TSX pill that keeps recoil down a bit as well. I've settled on the 140 grain TSX after using a bunch of others in the 7 Mag. when I decide to carry it. Lighter, handier rifles have been seeing more action for me the last few years though.

I've used 165 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips out of a .308 Win for years.  They work  VERY well.  However, my loads are modest, and i'm shooting these out of a 20" Remington Model Seven, which makes for lower velocities.  All things considered, my 308 load has ballistics that are closer to .300 Savage levels than true .308 Win levels.  And the Noslers are working very well, with great expansion, at these modest speeds.  These are penetrating a couple inches, expanding rapidly, vaporizing a volume of tissue equal to a small cantaloupe melon, then tapering back down and punching out the other side with a small exit.  Virtually all the expansion and damage is happening between about 3" and 12 inches deep, which is darned near perfect.

The 7mm Rem Mag is definitely a capable deer rifle.  However, I would be very concerned about those Nosler BT's at 7 RM speeds.  If you are shooting deer at 400 yards it'll work well.  However, if you have a 30 yard shot, that BT will expand far too rapidly for my tastes.  I would expect massive meat loss and would expect that the largest part of the expansion would take place too early.  A Nosler 140 or 150 is great medicine for deer out of a 7x57 or 7mm08 where they have muzzle velocities of 2600 or so.  However, the big 7 can push that same 150 to 3000-3100 and more.  That extra 400-500 fps is HARD on a Ballistic tip.

If you use these Nosler 150's, I'd treat them like an arrow:  Wait for the broadside, and shoot behind the shoulder to double lung them.  It will be messy, but most of what you loose won't be good venison.  Hit the shoulder and its done.  It'll be a bloody, messy, congealed mess of scrapped meat.

Honestly, I'd either hunt with the 6.5 or buy different ammo for the 7mm Rem Mag. I'd consider a slightly tougher bulllet, and increasing weight would lower impact speeds, making for less mess.  By no means is a 175 needed, but a 175 Partition moves along considerably slower, making for less violent expansion.  I load 175 partitions  to about 2700-2750 fps for 7 rem mag (buddy's rifle) and it anchors everything from moose to caribou to deer without issue, and without shredding everything.  Basically, it's a dead ringer for a 180 30-06 load, but with a bullet that has more sectional density and penetrates darned near anything.

The poly tipped rapid expanders like the Ballistic Tips are my favorite deer killers.  Drive a 6.5 mm 120 BT , a 7mm 140, or a .30 cal 150,165, or 180 at modest speeds and they anchor deer fast.  But I really firmly believe that they are most effective when speeds are modest (MV of 2400-2700).  Much faster and they simply come apart too fast.

7Mag's have a sharper recoil impulse than some but you can get used to it, I don't have a problem shooting my friend's Ruger 77 and it has a rep for not having the best trigger. Certainly not as bad as a 338Mag - I'd rather shoot my 375H&H or 416Rigby than the 338Mag; there definitely would be a familiarization period with one for me. What I am trying say is it just depends on what you get used to.

 

the most brutal damage on a whitetail I have seen came from a .270 BT at 30 yards. pure hand grenade. my brother and I looked at the front end of the deer and just stared at each other. (this was 15-16 years ago)

if you reload, load light.  If you don't get this.  Looks like the velocity of a .308.



http://www.midwayusa.com/product/620080/remington-managed-recoil-ammunition-7mm-remington-magnum-140-grain-core-lokt-pointed-soft-point-box-of-20

My .300 win mag says no, a 7 mag is not too much gun.

What kind of deer are you shooting that you don't get an exit with a 200gr 338 win mag?? Lol

It's overkill, but it works. I use 7mm Rem Mag.

I nailed one last Saturday with my 7 mag. I use 160gr sierra gamekings in hand loads.  Lots of power, and the fact that it was only about 10 yards away probably only made it worse.  It walked out behind me and was oblivious to what was about to happen.  I only lost one shoulder, but its lungs were hanging out its ribs on the other side.  Shot placement is everything, doesn't matter on the caliber.  I'm using my 7mag until my 308 build is done, I shot a deer earlier this year with my 300blackout and it didn't even leave a drop of blood to follow.  After an hour of thick briars and circling I found it.  The round never expanded, went right through like a FMJ.

Nothing wrong with the 7mag on deer but dont think I'd use the balistics tips

This. Wtf?

I get exits with 124gr PDX1 out of my G34.

I use Federal Trophy bonded Bear bullets in the 165-175 grain range for Elk.  My brother took the rifle to Africa using the same rounds and shot everything from a warthog, Reed Buck, Thompsons Gazelle, Water Buck, etc.  I love Federal Premium ammo for hunting.  I'd buy the lightest grain round they offer and go with it.

7mm Rem Mag was and really is still my go to hunting gun.  Bought her in a stainless model 70 back when you could get them with the BOSS on it, back in '95.  I can't count the hunting trips for deer, and even elk I've taken that thing on, nor the number of deer it has dropped, never having to track a single one.  Once I got past the increase of recoil of my 30/30, I was lethal accurate with it, getting to be a stand shooter on deer drives.  If it absolutely needed to be dead, they put me in the spot.  My wife loves to shoot it, and I almost have to argue with her to remind her, who's it really is lol.  Recoil wise, its sharper than a 30-06 but that's about it.  The rest is all mental, especially with the limbsaver and decelerator recoil pads, it's a baby to shoot.  I fed mine almost exclusively 160gr nosler partitions, and they have proved effective on deer.  If you wish to shoot it a lot, don't let the barrel get hot(4 shots is usually max) and look into reloading for it.  Like everyone has said, avoid shoulder shots to keep damage to a minimum, instead opt for the lungs.  Is it overkill?  Anything beyond a 30/30 is overkill, but don't let that stop you.  Velocity is probably the largest reason for meat damage.  A 270 will make a mess just as much as a 7mm mag will.  45/70, that's just a hole saw.  Now I did take on shoulder shot on a buck, the first blood I got with my 7mm.  Probably wasn't 50 yards and the scene was wicked.  Chunks of meat, and likely heart, were laying on the snow on the exit side of the buck.  The snow was blood red on the back side for about 10-20ft past the exit in a 120* arc.  One of the deer drivers who came across me first after the kill, saw the blood first, and was like OMG wtf happened?  The next year I practically took the head off a doe at 75yds, sucked her brains right out of her skull!

If you're one of those hunters who never makes a shot past 60 yards the answer is probably yes, If you're a reloader the 7mm Rem Mag can be whatever you need it to be, it is a very versatile cartridge.  

Personally as small as the deer are where I live I'd only use it if I was hunting out 300-600yds, right now I use a 223 <200yds and a 308 for hunts where shots can be >200yds.

YMMV

Agreed. They tend to leave a large hole...I have used the 7mag for years. Hornady 139gr BTSP with 200yd hayfield kills were commom...DRT was the norm. It's a great caliber...several years ago my son started using a Model 70 in 7mm. I can recall one 440 yd shot on his doe in SD that year...same deal dead right there.  

7mm mag is not too much.

With that said, the very vast majority of shooters will shoot more precisely with a rifle that does not produce heavy recoil. Given the choice between a & mag and a 6.5 Swede, I would take the Swede every time, in regards to traditional hunting.

This is one of the reasons why, in spite of owning multiple 300 Winchesters, 338 mags, etc, I do most of my deer and elk killing with a .308. It works quite well and is easy to shoot with precision.

Though recoil is a relative thing, the 7mm rem mag hardly fits in the category of heavy recoil.  You need to step up to the RUM for that.

I had a guy hire me a few years back to clean his deer he and his kids got with a 7mm. The hole ruined a good portion of the deer.

After that, I won't ever use one.

I'd say no but then again I hunt with .300 H&H and 200grn Partitions

+2 I get exits with 250 yard shots using 110gr Barnes Tac-TX in 300BLK!

Same friend called while I was asleep (I work nights, so I sleep in the afternoon). Said he took an offhand shot at a deer late in the day and saw the deer stumble, then run off. So he's worried it is wounded and I have to go help him track it in the morning. Fun times. I've told him many times - it is way more gun than he needs down here and it makes him flinch every single time. Get a .308, 30-30 or even a damn 243 and call it good. I'm sure this is going to be another "8 point" fawn with a gut shot. Damn...
As a side note, my newtome mossberg 12ga (pre 97) is in the shop now getting a rail mounted for a RDS to become my dedicated deer gun. I don't have a single area with a shot past 75 yards, so a slug should do just fine. Trying something different this year

That's not an issue with the caliber, that's an issue with the shooter, and even if he had a 308, he probably would shoot just as bad.  Funny, you mention a 12ga slug gun, and you mention the 7mm mag recoil induced flinch in the same post.  I assume 3" magnum slugs, right?  You do realize which kicks more than the other, right?  SMH

I've shot both side by side. The 12ga with 2 3/4" slugs realm kick a lot less. At least it feels like to me. It's more of a shove than a punch in the shoulder.
I do agree that the bad shooting has a lot to do with the shooter, but the damn thing makes me flinch and I shot a 9.3 for a long time. It's the only 7mm Magnum I've ever shot. Now give me a,7x57 and I'm in heaven

+1 on the 7x57

Seems to me the 7mm Remington magnum is a nice cartridge for somewhat longer shots on big mule deer bucks, nice flat trajectory, and kicks no worse than an '06. Probably not first choice for an elk rifle, but doable.

This is my advice as well.

7mm Rem Mag is great for intermediate to long range hunting with the right bullet.  If you do choose to use it and are concerned about meat damage on small deer, consider the 139gr GMX or a reduced load.

I would personally take the 6.5x55 Mauser between the two, order a few cases of PPU ammo for practice, conduct a rifle checklist including optics/mount checks with proper bedding, thread locker, level, eye relief, and get some regular trigger time with the rifle.

Ammoseek 6.5x55 Mauser  $13.44/box of 20 is hard to beat.

7mm mag with ballistic tips at close range is going to equal a very nasty wound.  If double lunged it won't matter as you won't lose meat but if you catch a shoulder your going to lose meat.  With the big 7 I would use a tougher bullet.  After doing a lot of archery hunting I really hate shooting them with any rifle now.  shot a doe this year with federal 150 grain fusion 308 and double lunged the deer but exit caught the far shoulder thing was a horrible mess totally lost that shoulder pieces of shrapnel all through it.  Bullet did exit with a baseball size opening.  lungs were basically in pieces.  Now the deer only went 10 yards and was done when she hit the dirt but I had forgotten how much damage a high power rifle does.  

7mm RM is a great rifle for most big game species.   If I am not using an AR variant, my rifle of choice is a Rem 700 in 7mmRM.  Mine shoots 168 Bergers VLD Hunting extremely well.

My brother in law leases quite a few lots to hunters(buys and timbers land and if its waiting to be sold he leases it for deer hunting), he also owns a couple lots that are leased/used by family and friends.  He started keeping a record of what was taken and what the hunter was using, both cartridge and bullet.  There are quite a few hunters he surveyed and one of the cartridges that seemed to fair  the worst was the 7mm mag.  Now I am sure its not the cartridge's fault because I know 2 hunters that use the big 7 and never take a second shot, but its likely that the recoil is causing quite a few misses or marginal hits.  Basically if you can shoot it well its great but many don't shoot it well.

I think you hit the nail on the head there. 7mm Mag is a great all rounder. I mean, is there anything in North America that you can't hunt with it? It has oodles of power, penetration and range - problem is that recoil. I'm by no means recoil sensitive, but the one I shot was just plain obnoxious. Could have been that specific rifle, but I never felt comfortable shooting it.

You also have the problem of non hunter, non gun people who think if they buy a "big magnum", it will make up for the fact that they can't shoot.

I've shot a 7mm Rem mag out to 1340 yards, accurately.  Shot it next to a 338 laupa and a 300 win mag, and had less drop and wind deflection than either.  I think it's the best all around cartridge there is, period, and it's what I want if I'm shooting past 300 yards.  I'm not worried at all if it ruins a little meat.

I've found this discussion on the 7mm Remington Magnum interesting.  I wonder if recoil has something to do with the reason why some of my LGS have multiple rifles chambered in 7mm Rem Mag sitting on the consignment shelves?  

As a side note, my current go to deer hunting rifle is chamberd in 6.5x55 Swede, but honestly I sort of want a 7mm Rem Mag rifle now.

I have shot a boatload of deer with that old 7mag.  Ruger...I don't ever remember any animal not falling DRT. Most of the time I used Hornady 139gr. BTSP while posting on a 200 acre hayfield. I can honestly say that particular load was meat friendly...form your own opinion...don't want to get flamed by the head shot nazies...

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Mine doest seem to like the 139's I almost exclusively shoot 175 partitions and hornady interlocks no BS smallest groups I've ever shot(near .25 3 shot @100y) were with this rifle R22 and 175g interlocks