Arguably the most popular of Remington’s beloved family of magnum and ultra-magnum cartridges (338 RUM anyone?), the 7mm Rem Mag remains a do-it-all big game cartridge that’s been reliably knocking down deer, elk and much more since 1962.

But what is “The Big Seven” 7mm Remington Magnum best for? Read on to learn this cartridge’s history, effective range, ballistics, recoil and cost considerations, as well as how this ammo compares to other popular cartridges like 308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield and the Win Mags.

7mm Rem Mag History

Tracing lineage back to the classic 375 H&H Magnum, the belted 7mm Rem Mag was Remington’s improvement on Winchester’s 264 Win Mag, a popular cartridge in the late 1950’s.

Shooting larger and heavier .284 diameter bullets compared to the 264 Win Mag’s lighter .264 bullets, the Big Seven quickly established a place in the gun safe of the American hunter. The concurrent introduction of the Remington Model 700 rifle helped the 7mm Rem Mag’s ascent in popularity.

Today, 7mm cartridges like 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm-08 Remington, 7mm PRC, 280 Ackley Improved, and 28 Nosler are gaining popularity utilizing more advanced, modern propellants and sleek, high sectional density bullets with high ballistic coefficient (BC) that maximize terminal performance at longer ranges.

7mm Remington Magnum Performance

The 7mm Rem Mag is widely known as a do-it-all cartridge for hunting. This ammo can be loaded light with smaller 140gr or 150gr bullets pushing 3,200 FPS muzzle velocity+, perfect for thinner skinned critters like whitetail deer or pronghorns. Or, this cartridge can be loaded with heavier, high BC bullets commonly up to 175gr+ that are still moving around 2,800 FPS out of the muzzle, making the 7mm Rem Mag a great choice for elk, tough African game and more.

With an effective range of 750 yards or more, (loaded with a classic 175gr soft point bullet) the 7mm Rem Mag packs more retained energy at distance than the 30-06 and almost as much velocity and energy as 300 Win Mag, without the accompanying recoil.

See the chart to find out how 7mm Rem Mag compares to 308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield and 300 Winchester Magnum.

Other Considerations for the 7mm Rem Mag

Odds are, shooting your 7mm Rem Mag isn’t as cheap a range day as blowing through your stash of 223 Rem. That said, factory made 7mm Rem Mag ammo remains available and largely affordable. Remington offers multiple Core-Lokt loads, as well as Premier Long Range, and award winning Core-Lokt Tipped and Premier Scirocco.

For the handloaders, this cartridge is loaded with popular .284 diameter bullets, so you’ll have hundreds of choices with multiple styles of projectiles to choose from, including classic soft points, bonded bullets, modern tipped bullets, all-copper bullets, open tipped/match style, hollow points and more.

With 7mm hunting cartridges on the rise, you can’t go wrong with the proven performance of the classic “Big Seven”, 7mm Remington Magnum.