Do I need a 7mm Mag

[Art Lambart II]

You have a 9.3x62 and are building two 35 Whelens and want to keep the 300WM. Why?

 

[Buffalo1]

A 30.06 & .375 will cover the bases worldwide.
Add a .22 and a 12 ga shotgun and you are totally covered for anything anywhere.

 

[Phil Giordano]

Well, being the 7mmRM a (small) niche between your 270 and 300, you certainly have a good excuse to buy one, if you find a very nice rifle you can't live without...
I do have a 270 and a 300wby (two Sauer 90), and I don't "need" another 90 in 7RM - but you bet, I'd love to find one!

 

[DFritz89]

I own both a 7 RM and a 300 WM and while I really enjoy the 7mm Rem Mag for wt deer hunting here in Texas, the 300WM is more versatile and having a 270 in your collection as well pretty much makes the 7mm RM obsolete imo. If it has sentimental value or is a really nice firearm that you would like to keep in your collection, that is a different story, but if you are deciding purely based on usefulness, i would say no need to keep the 7mm RM.

 

[mdwest]

You have a 9.3x62 and are building two 35 Whelens and want to keep the 300WM. Why?

Im guessing the same reason I have both a 308 and a 35 Whelen in the safe... but just finished building a 358 Winchester...

Addictions are expensive!

 

[TheSayHeyKid]

If you let the .280 Rem go then I'm not sure why you would need to backfill that spot with a 7mm mag, but do what your heart desires. I too have been culling some of my herd. As I've gotten on into my middle years, I have come to appreciate quality over quantity. The 7mm mag hit the bricks and the Cooper .280 Ackley stayed.

 

[Jamie D Van Roekel]

I have some of everything but like you it would be nice to simplify A bit. In my experience there is little you can not hunt with a .300 so go with it.
I have never been a fan of the .22-250. It is too small for me for deer and it tears up furbearing animals. I would just go with the .223. It has the most ammo availability.

A lot of guys around here use the 22-250 for coyotes. It does really puts them down. I feel that the 243 does less damage. Especially if you stay away from the “varmint bullets” I have been using the fed 80gr. powder shok cheap and so far seems to expand and go through without a big hole. Like you said the 223 is cheaper and does ok for most instances.

 

[Jamie D Van Roekel]

You have a 9.3x62 and are building two 35 Whelens and want to keep the 300WM. Why?

The 9.3 is the wife’s but it might leave as she handles the 375 fine. The 35s are for the kids. There’s a new law for deer in Iowa you can use a rifle 35 or over. So if it goes the way I would hope I will give them to the kids some day.

The 300 is light and incredible accurate. Really all I need to hunt big game is a 270 and 375 rum. The 375 can get a bit heavy if I have to go up and down with snow on the ground. Lol

 

[freefall]

That law in Iowa is the stupidest damn thing. It started as straight wall, then shifted to this? You can blaze away at whitetails with your .416 Rigby, but no .30-30? What a bunch of maroons!

 

[sgt_zim]

Wife asks…. “Why do you have so many guns?”

“Well my dear, each is very unique and has a special purpose.”

“Those six over there all look the same, why don’t you sell one?”

“Because then I would only have five.”

My wife says my 280 AI and 404J look the same, why do I need 2 that look like that?

 

[John the Electrician]

A 30.06 & .375 will cover the bases worldwide.
Add a .22 and a 12 ga shotgun and you are totally covered for anything anywhere.

I would add a .204 or a .243 to that list. Prairie dogs should have something between 30-06 and .22LR.

 

[Switup]

A solid long range platform with a brake has barely perceptible recoil in a 7 rem mag. Its my all time favorite do all caliber.

 

[Tommy_Fontaine]

I asked myself the very same question, and I came up with this result. Unless the 300 WM recoils to a point that you don't shoot well, it will out perform the 7 RM. Plus I don't ever recall anyone on this site asking if a 300 WM would be enough for African game (not including dangerous game). I read somewhere where the author called it the "Goldilocks" cartridge, which I thought to be fitting. Not to much but not to little.

 

[Art Lambart II]

After re-readng your OP, I'd recommend parting ways with your 7MM Mag. You have all ready removed your other 7mm rounds, the 7mm-08 and the 280 Rem from your collection so why keep the 7mm Mag. I really like and wanted to buy a new 7mm PRC, whats not to like about a 175 grain bullet moving at 3000 fps. Then I realized that my 300 WM shoots a 180 grain bullet at 3000 fps with a group of less than a 1/2 minute at 100 yards. So do I need the PRC, no, but I still want one. I also want to take my son to Africa so the questin is what do I want more.

In truth I'm not a big fan of the 300WM, at the ranges I prefer to hunt (300 yards or less) my 30-06 is just as effective without the extera recoil, if I need to shoot past 300 yards I'll use my 270. However my prefered round is the 35 Whelen, the Whelen is so effective on game at my prefered hunting distances that my 300WM is just a safe queen.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

A lot of guys around here use the 22-250 for coyotes. It does really puts them down. I feel that the 243 does less damage. Especially if you stay away from the “varmint bullets” I have been using the fed 80gr. powder shok cheap and so far seems to expand and go through without a big hole. Like you said the 223 is cheaper and does ok for most instances.

I’ll just speak of the smaller calibers. You can do most everything with the .243. I really like the 22-250, the Hornaday 55gr V Max will not exit a Badger, should be great for coyotes. It’s a very fun ctg. I’d get one!

 

[SFRanger7GP]

I’m trying to simplify things a bit by getting rid of some stuff. I got rid of my 260, 6.5, 7mm08. I kept my 243s and 308s and thinking about getting a 358. I got rid of my 25/06 and 280, and kept my 270s, 30/06s, 9.3x62s for now, and am building a couple 35 Whelens. I have a 300win I really like do I really need a 7mm mag? I think I could better let them go and get another 300win. Less brass, Less loaded ammo, less dies.

What do you guys think? I know you guys are all about more guns, but I’m sure I won’t have less guns just less calibers.

As long as I’m at it do I need a 22-250 if I have 223s and 243s?

Yes

 

[Waterbuck2008]

The decades-old 7mm Rem Mag vs. .300 Win Mag debate always seems a lot like, or perhaps identical to, the .270 vs. .30-'06 debate.

I'm fortunate enough to get to see elk and deer taken with all four chamberings practically every year. While the magnums have the trajectory edge, the personal preference factor of either debate comes down to rifle and load quality and hunter familiarity/confidence with the rifle and load.

 

[Albert GRANT]

The short answer is no- do you really NEED any chambering? If you were to only have one, you would make it work, whatever it was.
Now if you took a logical approach (who does that with rifles, lol)- it would depend on where you start. It seems like increasing in increments of .04"-.06" works well-
.204 Ruger to .264/ 6.5mm to .30 cal to .35/.36 (35 whelen, 9.3x62) to .416 to .458, OR
.22 (any of the higher powered variants) to .284/7mm to 8mm/338 to .375 to .425 (.404J) to .470

But ultimately we all know there is no logic in choosing chamberings and every (almost) decision is made on a whim and/or desire. Get rid of what you will, likely you will circle back to it years later, lol

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I’m trying to simplify things a bit by getting rid of some stuff. I got rid of my 260, 6.5, 7mm08. I kept my 243s and 308s and thinking about getting a 358. I got rid of my 25/06 and 280, and kept my 270s, 30/06s, 9.3x62s for now, and am building a couple 35 Whelens. I have a 300win I really like do I really need a 7mm mag? I think I could better let them go and get another 300win. Less brass, Less loaded ammo, less dies.

What do you guys think? I know you guys are all about more guns, but I’m sure I won’t have less guns just less calibers.

As long as I’m at it do I need a 22-250 if I have 223s and 243s?

It may depend on what and where you're hunting, but why would you want multiple rifles in the same caliber? I like the 7 mag with 140 gr. Accubonds for long(er) range deer and pronghorns, but a .30-06 and .300 win mag overlap it pretty well and I take one of those as a backup rifle. If you have an 06 why keep a .308? I can't even think of a good reason to own a .243, so why keep that but get rid of the 7-08 which works well inside of 300 yards on most animals. If I said anything nice about the .243 Bob Nelson would never forgive me. The .22-250 is great for coyotes and small varmints that you want to blow up, but I'm not sure I'd buy one if I'd had a .223 at the time. I've only shot one jackal, but he died quite nicely with a .30-06 sized hole punched neatly through him.
So it all depends on which way you want to go, but I like having many rifles in different calibers for different hunting situations. If you have several rifles in one caliber won't you have a favorite and just use up space in the safe for the rest? Of course, if you are outfitting several other people for your hunts, having several rifles using one load would make more sense.

 

[Inline6]

If you're going to get another 7mm (280AI is a great round). Why not looking into something a little more efficient say a 28 Nosler or a 7PRC. Something that will let you take advantage of the heavy 7mm bullets.

If you are looking for a need, you have it cover with what's in your possession. If you have an itch...only one fix.