7mm Rem Mag for big plains game

[buckcurtin]

Thank you all for such knowledgeable input. I can see this is truly a great site, full of courteous people willing to help, and have enjoyed reading everyone's advice and experiences. I have wanted a 338 Win Mag for a while and thought a 250gr Nosler Partition would be great as an all around PG rifle, but perhaps a 375 H and H would be more versatile when paired with my 7mm Rem Mag. I didn't realize so many people use the 375 on the larger plains game species.

Used a 375H&H on everything from Springbok to Cape Buffalo after my first trip which involved a 300WM. Shot of Elephant on a subsequent trip(used a 404). The only gun I would take is a 375H&H. The one caliber which will do everything depending on bullet choice.

 

[Slider]

I took two for myself and Culled the other ones. They were allowed 300 Culls a Year. It use to be 600. They are close to the Desert and have had 1000 Zebra on their property at the same time.

 

[Graham Hunter]

I have a Rem 700 in 7mm Wthby. 2 Zebra 1 Warthog 1 Spotted Hyena 1 Nyala 1 Impala. 150 gr Partitions on all. One made it a 100yds the rest under 75 to DRT.
Biggest and best thing you can do is practice off the sticks and then practice some more.

 

[ActionBob]

I am in the early planning stages for my first African hunt for plains game is the RSA. I only know what I have read, which is probably just enough to get myself into trouble, and do not profess to be an expert by any means, which is why I am reaching out to those of you who are experienced and knowledgeable. I am looking to hunt kudu, blue and black wildebeest and zebra as the larger game on my hunt. I have a Remingotn 700 in 7mm Rem Mag that I like a lot and shoot well, and have loaded with 160gr. Nosler Accubonds at about 3000fps. I also have a good 175gr Nosler Partition load at about 2900fps. Any thoughts on using this caliber for my hunt, with either of the stated handloads? I see a lot of PHs do favor 30 calibers, and am wondering if I would be better off with a 300 Win Mag loaded with 200gr Accubonds to 2800-2900fps? Is the extra recoil worth the benefits, possibly a better chance of an exit on the bigger game such as zebra, and is the 7mm mag possibly marginal? Or would I just be trying to justify buying a 300 and setting it up? LOL Thank you in advance for your advice.

Have you been to well stocked Cabelas with a lot of African game mounted? According to their books, Dick and Mary Cabela took all or most of those with 7mm Rem Mag and a 375 H&H.

After this trip, you will be planning your triumphant return to Africa and will likely be needing and wanting a 375 at that point.

Forgo the 300 mag for now. Spend the money on more practice ammo, range time, set of shooting sticks. A quality set of binos, extra pair of comfortable hiking shoes, small gaiters, permethrin, etc.

If anything on the gun, if you don't already have it, a high quality scope would be a good investment.

Practice shooting off sticks and reloading right after the shot. You should have a goal of racking in a new round before your PH utters "reload". American hunters who are used to taking one shot and waiting for the critter to go fall over like a whitetail seems while tbey stare at it with a spend chamber, seems to be the nemesis of African PH's

Set up targets as spread out as you can like 50, 100, 200 yards, then practice shooting all three reloading, acquiring the next target and getting a quick shot into a kill zone size area as quickly as you can.

BTW, a 375 makes a great bear and moose Caliber. Most any long range shooting you may encounter can likely be handled by the 7mm mag

 

[ActionBob]

Oh and one more important point on buying a different gun.... Spend the money on a red hartebeest Nobody wants one until they get there and see them, then you will have to go after one

 

[Graham Hunter]

Yuuck

 

[mdwest]

Oh and one more important point on buying a different gun.... Spend the money on a red hartebeest Nobody wants one until they get there and see them, then you will have to go after one

I wanted a red BADLY my last trip over.. we chased a nice bull several times over a three different days but could never close the deal.. he slipped us and ran into the thick stuff every time we got within a couple of hundred yards of him..

Red is HIGH on my priority list on my next PG hunt..

 

[Graham Hunter]

Before I went on my Safari last year I started shooting off of sticks and was fighting it all the time. 1st set was a Bog Pod Red Legs. I never felt steady on them so I purchased a set of Primos Gen 3 trigger sticks. Big difference but still not totally confident. So I decided to start a practice pattern. I put up a target at 50 yds and hammered it with my 22. Then I would back of to 100yds and shoot one of my centerfires at it. My shooting improved but this is one tip I learned. Turn your scope down to 4x no more than 6x. You will stop fighting the weebles and woobles. I like high magnification as much as the next guy but that is when I am shooting off a solid rest. When I turned the power down my groups shrank and my accuracy at 200 yds was still great. Maybe that's why when 40 yrs ago I had a 6X I could hit everything out to 400. Also move your sticks up and down with your starting point at shoulder height for the yoke. You will find a sweet spot and that height will work with any sticks. And practice practice practice.

 

[Dr Ray]

I am in the early planning stages for my first African hunt for plains game is the RSA. I only know what I have read, which is probably just enough to get myself into trouble, and do not profess to be an expert by any means, which is why I am reaching out to those of you who are experienced and knowledgeable. I am looking to hunt kudu, blue and black wildebeest and zebra as the larger game on my hunt. I have a Remingotn 700 in 7mm Rem Mag that I like a lot and shoot well, and have loaded with 160gr. Nosler Accubonds at about 3000fps. I also have a good 175gr Nosler Partition load at about 2900fps. Any thoughts on using this caliber for my hunt, with either of the stated handloads? I see a lot of PHs do favor 30 calibers, and am wondering if I would be better off with a 300 Win Mag loaded with 200gr Accubonds to 2800-2900fps? Is the extra recoil worth the benefits, possibly a better chance of an exit on the bigger game such as zebra, and is the 7mm mag possibly marginal? Or would I just be trying to justify buying a 300 and setting it up? LOL Thank you in advance for your advice.

The 7 is near enough to the mighty 300 Winchester magnum. I would suggest that you will be fine with it. I sold my 7 many years ago as I had a 300 w m.
These are too close to keep both from my point of view.
I used somewhere around 174grain bullet hard driven. Mine tended to like the heavy bullets rather than the lighter ones. The new owner said the same.
Your choice but as Ridgewalker says bigger is better. I think, personally, you need to develop confidence in your 7 and suggest you need to practise frequently until you are very confident. Going up to the 300 - you would need the confidence too.
Hope this helps!

 

[Dr Ray]

Gatekeeper, as you can see there is some good advice been given. What ever you decide you should be able to shoot your prefered firearm well. Ask yourself which of your current firearms you have most confidence in and take it to Africa and have a good time. If you want to buy a new calibre for Africa go ahead as we all love new guns and any excuse will do to justify an additional firearm to the safe. Learn to shoot it well and place that first shot in the right place.

I totally agree with Neale. Confidence in shot placement and knowing flight characteristics of your Bullets are so important.

 

[Dr Ray]

Unless you are wanting to hunt dangerous game in Africa, I would get the 338 - especially if you have wanted one. The 375 rifles are built like tanks and are almost as heavy. A lot of the 338's are the same model rifles as standard cartridges. I think the 375 is a great all around large cartridge. The 338 is a great all around large game rifle.

I really like my 338.

 

[Velo Dog]

I took two for myself and Culled the other ones. They were allowed 300 Culls a Year. It use to be 600. They are close to the Desert and have had 1000 Zebra on their property at the same time.

Thanks for the clarification.
A thousand (presumably Hartmann's) zebra, would be something to see.

 

[crudeoildude]

Who makes the oryx bullet and did someone say midway carried them.I would like to find something that compares to tsx orttsx so if they go tits-up I have something to fall back on

 

[stug]

Norma make the oryx projectile. Can't see Barnes going under in the near future so you should be OK with TSX or TTSX.

 

[mdwest]

You can special order the 7mm oryx projectiles from midwayusa.com they don’t keep them in stock from what I can tell

Midway also carries the Norma 156gr oryx factory ammo...

 

[crudeoildude]

I don't see barnes going anywhere either but whenever a outfit changes hand there are always some changes some good some not so good I am a bigtime Barnes fan for elk and deer.

 

[Chago]

Anyone who says a 7mm rem mag is marginal for plains game is on crack lol. The ballistic coefficient or 7mm bullets are the highest of any for the weight. Sectional density on quality bullets in 7mm are incredible. And the kinetic energy the Rem mag can generate is more then enough for a grizzly bear, never mind plains game. I am heading to Africa on my first trip, I am no expert on the animals themselves. But I have a hard time believing 2000lb moose die easier in Canada then 600lb Zebra. Moose are taken every season with 7mm rem mag. I truly don't believe one animal dies easier or harder then any. The truth is yes some animals are tougher and will absorb poor shots better. But heart/lung shots effect a mouse the same way it does a elephant.

I would opt out of the accubonds though. I have had poor results with them. It may just be me, but I have had horrible results. I have shot deer with magnum calibers and I think they were just too fast for this bullet. Not sure what caused the problem, but I watched deer with the same size entrance as exit wound. Very little wound channel and blood. I went on a buddies deer ranch in texas, where we did some culling. I got to shoot a large number of deer that trip, so got a lot of data to compare. And not a single accubond opened as it was supposed to. I shot 6 deer, all in the boiler room from 30-250 yards. Every single one of them ran 100 yards or so. Almost no blood what so ever. I then switched to my ELD X and shot 2 deer in the same spot, both just dropped.

Partitions I have used a ton as well, and are awesome! Never go wrong with Nosler Partitions.

 

[Art Lambart II]

If your going to use your 7 Mag for PG I would recommend your 175 grn NP, if your rifle likes it and you have confidence in it that's the combination to take to Africa. I would avoid the 140's in the 7mm for the following reason, if your first shot is not perfect and additional shots are required you'll need all the knockdown power you can get, 140's are known for their speed not their knockdown power. If more than one shot is required your bullet needs to do three thing, hit hard, penetrate well and expend all of its energy inside the animal.

On my first trip to Africa I shot my zebra with my PH's 270 using a 150 grn Oryx bullet. Without question that is a fine combination for PG. My first shot was low (all my fault) and that same zebra took three more 150 grn Oryx's in the chest before going down.

African game is very tough, if you have to shoot the same animal more than once you'll wish you had something larger that a 7mm to do i with. I prefer a 35 Whelen and a 250 grn NP but your 7 mag will do just fine if you take the advice of experienced PH's and hunters like @IvW and @redleg and use a 170 or 175 grn bullet.

Good Luck, enjoy your safari

 

[markferrigno]

"Anyone who says a 7mm rem mag is marginal for plains game is on crack lol".

Yup. I took all my plains game with a .308 and Barnes 168 grain TSX, Zebra, Kudu, Gemsbock, Red Hartebeest, Black/Blue Wildebeest, Warthog.... The guide and the booking agent I went through told me the same thing;t he biggest issue they have with American hunters is they bring too much gun because they assume they need way more more and they end up making poor shots.

Best advice I got was "Bring your favorite Deer rifle" The guide also told me to bring only Barnes bullets. They worked great, took a few out and perfect expansion, almost no weight loss.

 

[Red Leg]

Anyone who says a 7mm rem mag is marginal for plains game is on crack lol. The ballistic coefficient or 7mm bullets are the highest of any for the weight. Sectional density on quality bullets in 7mm are incredible. And the kinetic energy the Rem mag can generate is more then enough for a grizzly bear, never mind plains game. I am heading to Africa on my first trip, I am no expert on the animals themselves. But I have a hard time believing 2000lb moose die easier in Canada then 600lb Zebra. Moose are taken every season with 7mm rem mag. I truly don't believe one animal dies easier or harder then any. The truth is yes some animals are tougher and will absorb poor shots better. But heart/lung shots effect a mouse the same way it does a elephant.

I would opt out of the accubonds though. I have had poor results with them. It may just be me, but I have had horrible results. I have shot deer with magnum calibers and I think they were just too fast for this bullet. Not sure what caused the problem, but I watched deer with the same size entrance as exit wound. Very little wound channel and blood. I went on a buddies deer ranch in texas, where we did some culling. I got to shoot a large number of deer that trip, so got a lot of data to compare. And not a single accubond opened as it was supposed to. I shot 6 deer, all in the boiler room from 30-250 yards. Every single one of them ran 100 yards or so. Almost no blood what so ever. I then switched to my ELD X and shot 2 deer in the same spot, both just dropped.

Partitions I have used a ton as well, and are awesome! Never go wrong with Nosler Partitions.

Chago I fully agree, with a heavy first quality bullet, a 7mm of almost any persuasion makes a perfectly adequate plains game rifle. Were I heading out tomorrow on a pure PG hunt, I would be perfectly happy with one of my 7x57's and a 170 gr bullet (though I would likely take my .338 firing 250's). However, I am one of those folks whose experiences have sold him on the toughness of African game compared to their North American and European cousins. And I am one of those who has never been impressed with kinetic energy on anything that I have taken much larger than a prairie dog. The sevens work on African game because they drive deep. The 170-175 bullets drive very deep.

I would also note that a lot of long follow-ups are do to poor bullet placement in African game (a situation where a bit more umph can prove helpful). Experienced North American hunters are conditioned to shoot mid-body behind the shoulder. That shrinks the target area on a lot of African game. Rear lung and liver hits result in very long stern chases, and tad high placement grazes a vertebrae, knocking an animal flat before he is up and gone for good. In both of those cases, more bullet simply does more damage. But put those 7mm bullets where they need to go and everyone will have great safari.

Will interested to see how your experiences compare with my own.