Gun Dog Forum

So far I am about 95% sold on this rifle, but I do have a question for those of you that have one or who are familiar with its abilities, is it capable of dropping the majority of large game? I know the old stories of how if you are a good enough shot you can kill anything with a 22, but I am not that good of a shot lol. I would just like some feedback to make sure I purchase the correct thing. Thanks for the help its much appreciated!

Corry

As someone who sells guns, I can tell you that the 770 is an awsome gun. As far as the 7mm ultra mag, if you can hit it, it should die!! The thing to know about the ultra mag is that because there are such high pressures when you shoot, the barrel will not last as long as a normal 7mm. I have been told that they are only good for about 750 shots before you should start seriusly looking into replacing it. If you never plan on shooting that much then you would be fine. No facts to back that up, just lots of info passed along from some serious gun guys. You might also want to consider the lbs of pressure each gun kicks. A 300 or 338 would also be a good round. 338 has a lot more force behind it at 500 yards than the 300. I guess it all really depends on what you are hunting. If just deer, elk and species like that then the 7mm or 300 would be fine. If you ever want to hunt brown bear or bison, then I would suggest the 338. Hope this helps. I can tell you everyone has their own opinions and favorites. Sorry if I gave you more to think about.

John

I had one in the 700, that round is a good one. But to utilize it best you need to load your own. That round will do it all depending on what recipie you use. Fast and flat. The factory loaded ammo is over 50$ a box of 20. Save your empties and buy a press. There's plenty of custom loads you can find with a little google searching. Coyote to bison. I have always bought the 700 model. I have never looked at the 770. I don't know if they are better or worse. The 700 has been around since way before I was born so I stick with that one.

I am sitting here writing about this and it's all just to deep. The 770 is just a rifle, it will probably be accurate enough for a hunting rifle. The 7mm ultra mag doesn't fit any where other than it will cost a lot more to buy ammo and will deliver equal size bullet's at greater velocity at any range than a smaller case. Greater velocity can be your enemy! The question is do you need all that power? The answer is I don't believe so unless you are shooting at extraordinary ranges. By your own admission, you lack the ability to do that. The smallest case 7mm is the 7mm-08 just smaller than the 7x57. Either are more than adequate for any animal in North America excepting the grizzly/brown bear. And it would not bother me at all to hunt grizzly with either if it was all I had. The normal range that animals are shot at is under 300yds, more likely well under. You don't need a 500yd rifle to kill anything at 300yds and less. The power of the cartridge is not going to make up for a short coming in ability. The opposite is true. If you don't shoot enough to be very very proficient with a cartridge, going to a bigger case is not going to help you. It will probably hurt you as recoil goes up. Recoil goes up and shooting falls off.

Cost of ammo is a consideration unless you handload. Someone said 7mm ultra mags are $50 a box. 7mm-08, 280, 308 30-06 are a lot cheaper than that and will do as well a job at normal ranges. There is no magic in a cartridge or a bullet. A properly constructed bullet adequate for the game hunted place so that the vitals are greatly disrupted will kill the animal. Any lesser bullet can be placed in such a way to make the animal appear to have been hit by lighting, that's where the 22LR comes in.

I've shot a lot of animals with a 7mm Rem Mag. None of them died any quicker than had they been shot with my old 7x57. In fact, none of them died any faster and had I shot them with my 6.5x55. There is no magic! From what you said about yourself, I'd suggest any rifle you liked in something like a 7mm-08, 30-06 or 308.

DonF wrote:I am sitting here writing about this and it's all just to deep. The 770 is just a rifle, it will probably be accurate enough for a hunting rifle. The 7mm ultra mag doesn't fit any where other than it will cost a lot more to buy ammo and will deliver equal size bullet's at greater velocity at any range than a smaller case. Greater velocity can be your enemy! The question is do you need all that power? The answer is I don't believe so unless you are shooting at extraordinary ranges. By your own admission, you lack the ability to do that. The smallest case 7mm is the 7mm-08 just smaller than the 7x57. Either are more than adequate for any animal in North America excepting the grizzly/brown bear. And it would not bother me at all to hunt grizzly with either if it was all I had. The normal range that animals are shot at is under 300yds, more likely well under. You don't need a 500yd rifle to kill anything at 300yds and less. The power of the cartridge is not going to make up for a short coming in ability. The opposite is true. If you don't shoot enough to be very very proficient with a cartridge, going to a bigger case is not going to help you. It will probably hurt you as recoil goes up. Recoil goes up and shooting falls off.

Cost of ammo is a consideration unless you handload. Someone said 7mm ultra mags are $50 a box. 7mm-08, 280, 308 30-06 are a lot cheaper than that and will do as well a job at normal ranges. There is no magic in a cartridge or a bullet. A properly constructed bullet adequate for the game hunted place so that the vitals are greatly disrupted will kill the animal. Any lesser bullet can be placed in such a way to make the animal appear to have been hit by lighting, that's where the 22LR comes in.

I've shot a lot of animals with a 7mm Rem Mag. None of them died any quicker than had they been shot with my old 7x57. In fact, none of them died any faster and had I shot them with my 6.5x55. There is no magic! From what you said about yourself, I'd suggest any rifle you liked in something like a 7mm-08, 30-06 or 308.

This is very good advice! I own a 7 ultra and do love it for schwacking steel at 1000 yds but fact of the matter is that there are not a whole lot of people that have the skill to take advantage of the cartridges capabilities on game,since the majority of shots are going to be taken under 300 yds. You are much better off buying something that you can afford to shoot enough to get good. Start off with a smaller cartridge and learn to shoot.

I own a 7mm mag and I cant think of anything in the US I wouldn't hunt with it. It is spendy to shoot but if your not going to go plinking with it it's not a big deal. between sighting in and hunting a box a year is all you would most likely use.

If you expect to become proficient with any cartridge, you need to shoot more than one box a year.

Wow, thank you guys so much for the fast and very informative feedback, I really appreciate it!

Corry

The 7mm bore is too small to get the full potential of that cartidge. The .300 RUM offers considerably better performance.

For big game, I'm primarily an elk hunter, have harvested many and seen many more killed. I'm not a big fan of the 7mm mag or anything hotter. Lots of noise for almost no gain in performance. 26" barrels are another disadvantage.

Buy it and have fun with it. If you really intend to hunt deer and antelope, there's better choices but it will do the job.