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Why'd they neuter the 7mm Rem Mag??

stanmanstanman Member Posts: 3,052
edited January 2004 in Ask the Experts
In the Aug. 2002 issue of "Shooting Times", there is an article titled "40 years with Remington's 7mm Magnum".
The following are excerpts from author Layne Simpson's article.

"Two loadings were initially available: 150-grain Pointed Core-Lokt at 3260 fps and 175-grain Roundnose Core-Lokt at 3020 fps. ....................................................................... Unfortunately, somewhere down the line it's throttle was backed off considerably and the 7mm Remington Magnum you know today is not exactly the same cartridge we knew back then. Velocity of the 150-grain bullet was eventually reduced to today's 3110 fps while the 175-grain loading has been reined back to 2860 fps."

My question is: HOW COME??
There's no explanation given in the piece.
I also read in another article that the SAAMI chamber pressure of the 7 Rem Mag is held to somewhat lower levels than the other medium magnums.
At first I thought that there might have been a problem with throat erosion due to the cartridge being overbore. But it occurs to me that, if that was the case, why wouldn't that also be the case with the 7mm STW and 7mm RUM?

I would much appreciate any feedback as to what the problem was / is, if any, with the 7 Rem Mag when loaded to it's full potential.


Thanks in advance for any input.

Stan

Comments

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    I.ShuteI.Shute Member Posts: 647
    edited November -1
    I responded to a question about the 7MM RM a while back and brought up this same question.

    I bought a BAR in 1971 because of the impressive performance figures and noticed shortly after that they slowed it down a couple hundred fps.

    When you compare it to the .280 Rem you'll see that there's not too much difference, no real advantage to going with the 7MM RM.
    I've been waiting for 30 years for a story on it and haven't seen it yet.

    We'll see what the experts have to say.
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    bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,694 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Probably so that they could show its full potential and advertise accordingly, then sell something lesser. It has happened time and again.
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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    temblortemblor Member Posts: 2,153 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The 7mm Rem. Mag. is notorious for pressure spikes while testing under ballistic lab conditions with some powders and in some barrels, which makes the corporations very nervous. With equal length barrels and loaded to its potential it is nearly a ballistic twin to the 7mm weatherby. Because of the freebored barrel in front of the weatherby's chamber it does not have this problem. [8D]
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    Iroquois ScoutIroquois Scout Member Posts: 930 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yet another reason to handload.
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    I.ShuteI.Shute Member Posts: 647
    edited November -1
    I. Scout-
    It's not a problem for those of us who load all the stuff we shoot.

    A guy who only shoots a box of ammo every 6 years isn't going to spend $250 for equipment to reload. He may feel bad that his big magnum boomer isn't any hotter than a run-of-the mill standard caliber.

    Back to the original question:
    Why has Remington neutered the 7mm Remington Magnum?
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