Remington's Ultra Seven Magnum

Working around firearms all day is a lot like being a fat kid who works in a candy store. He consumes more than he earns and his motives for employment are believed to be highly suspect. I can live with that.

I’ve worked with the 7mm Ultra Mag previously, a Remington Model XCR II. Great gun, one of the synthetic and stainless models, but not the traditional walnut stocked and blued steel CDL. If you’re like me, and have a fondness for more traditional firearms, it makes a difference in the way a rifle feels, handles and shoots.

Dimensionally, both models are about the same. The synthetic model’s weight, at 6 pounds 13 ounces, is about 13 ounces less than the CDL and the XCR II is pretty much impervious to the elements. The XCR II is also not a bad looking gun and it is colored and patterned to blend into most hunting environments. Lots of great qualities. As soon as they offer it with a walnut stock and blued steel hardware, I’ll buy one.

This CDL’s stock has a lot of personality, the stain is dark, but with nice highlights. The end caps are clean and well shaped, even if made of poly, and the panels of machine cut checkering are excellent. The Super Cell recoil pad is probably the best on the market these days. The Remington Model 700 CDL and the 7mm Ultra Mag are an excellent combination.

We’ve covered the Remington Model 700 CDL numerous times. The last, a 300 Ultra Mag, includes the rifle’s assembly, functional and operational details. Rather than rehash those details, I though I might focus on the cartridge that defines this particular gun’s personality.

All gain, no pain…

There is a great deal of flexibility to be found in 7mm cartridges: 7mm Ultra Mag, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm WSM, 7mm-08 Remington and our little 7mm-30RG wildcat. If a shooter wants to go slow, or moderate or sort of fast, there is a 7mm cartridge for the occasion.

When I began hunting with my 7mm Remington Magnum back in 1972, I was stepping up from the .243 Winchester and taking heat for being magnum crazy and over gunned for… just about everything. Somehow, over the years the 7mm Remington Magnum has become a more moderate cartridge, barely suitable for whitetail deer – gun writers and message board posters are a fickle lot.

In the world of high intensity 7’s, the Remington Ultra Mag rules supreme. Not the 7mm Remington Magnum, or the 7mm WSM, or the 7mm Weatherby Magnum, or the 7mm Shooting Times Westerner. The 7mm Ultra Mag has the highest case capacity and high operating pressure to put all of that powder to work.

A supersonic jet that can also cruise at 60 knots…

Remington offers Power Level I, II, and III ammunition, where velocity and bullet type are scaled to shooting distances and types of game. Level I 140 gain ammo has a muzzle velocity of 3,000 fps which extends the 7mm Ultra Mag into areas normally occupied by the 280 Remington and 270 Winchester, or even the 7mm-08 Remington and 7×57 Mauser. Level III ammunition, where extended reach is a criteria, ups 140 grain velocity to  3,425 fps. For heavier game and flexible ranges, Power Level III 175 grain loads have a muzzle velocity of 3,025 fps and generate 3,555 ft/lbs of kinetic energy. Cor-Bon and Nosler 160 grain loads are rated at 3,200+ fps and Double Tap 3,275 fps.

Handload manual data varies, sometimes opposition to barrel length – Barnes 160 grain loads at 3,211 fps (24″ barrel), Hornady at 3,300 fps (26″ barrel), and Speer at 3,311 fps (24″ barrel). I found the forwards in some of the mainstream manuals to… swim upstream to the laws of physics. I’ve always gotten a kick out of this comparison with the ultra flat shooting 22-250 Remington.

In comparison to a 55 grain .22-250 Remington load, a 140 grain 7mm Ultra Mag load will retain higher velocity beyond 100 yards, shoot flatter beyond 300 yards and deliver a ton of energy at 400 yards. No, I’m not suggesting the 7mm Ultra Mag is the ultimate 1,000 yard varmint rifle, but I am suggesting that any reasonable ranges for anything from antelope to Alaskan moose would be at or near point blank range and relieve a hunter of the pressure and time required for critical range estimating.

The five bullets, left, were selected for handloads as representative of typical bullet weights and design, although jacket constructions vary based on application. While I selected lead core bullets across the board, there are numerous solid material bullets that can be utilized where a greater level of light bullet expansion control is required; Barnes, Berger, GS Custom, Remington, etc. At the top end, 175 grain bullets have very tough jacket construction and hold together well for penetration and mass for large wound channel expansion. They appear on the table below in the order they are pictured here, left to right.

Typical Handloads

Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet material and length will alter net case capacity,  pressure and velocity results. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These data represents maximum loads in our firearms and test equipment and may easily be excessive in other applications. All loads should be reduced by 3%,  and developed following safe handloading practices as represented in established reloading manuals produced by component manufacturers. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.   Cartridge: 7mm Remington Ultra Mag   Firearm: Remington Model 700 CDL   Max COL: 3.600″   Bullet Diameter: 0.284″   Primer: CCI 250   Barrel: 26″   Reloading Dies: RCBS   Max case length: 2.850″ (73.50mm)   Group: Distance 100 yards – Three shots

COL and Capacity   Load Data & Performance Bullet Type Bullet Weight C.O.L. Inches Net Grains Water   Powder Charge Grains Muzzle Velocity FPS Muzzle Energy Ft/Lbs Group Size Inches Sierra SP 120 3.500 108.0   H1000 96.0 3461 3192 1.1 Sierra SP 120 3.500 108.0   Retumbo 100.0 3488 3242 0.9 Sierra SP 120 3.500 108.0   *IMR7828 90.5 3503 3269 1.2 Remington PSP 140 3.600 106.4   MagPro 92.0 3345 3478 1.1 Remington PSP 140 3.600 106.4   Re25 90.0 3285 3355 0.4 Remington PSP 140 3.600 106.4   Retumbo 97.0 3329 3445 0.9 Remington PSP 140 3.600 106.4   IMR7828 88.0 3380 3551 0.7 Nosler CT 150 3.600 103.2   MagPro 88.0 3261 3542 0.9 Nosler CT 150 3.600 103.2   Re25 87.0 3214 3441 0.6 Nosler CT 150 3.600 103.2   Retumbo 93.0 3266 3553 0.8 Nosler CT 150 3.600 103.2   IMR7828 85.0 3274 3569 1.2 Speer Spitzer SP 160 3.600 104.2   MagPro 88.0 3188 3610 0.6 Speer Spitzer SP 160 3.600 104.2   H1000 89.5 3155 3536 0.9 Speer Spitzer SP 160 3.600 104.2   Retumbo 93.0 3204 3646 0.4 Speer Spitzer SP 160 3.600 104.2   IMR7828 84.0 3179 3590 0.6 Hornady SP Interlock 175 3.600 102.9   Re25 84.0 3016 3535 1.1 Hornady SP Interlock 175 3.600 102.9   H1000 87.0 3054 3624 0.7 Hornady SP Interlock 175 3.600 102.9   Retumbo 90.5 3076 3677 1.0 Hornady SP Interlock 175 3.600 102.9   IMR7828 82.0 3045 3603 0.9 All IMR 7828 loads are long granules, not SSC, for the purpose of increased case fill

Accuracy is not a problem with the Remington Model 700 or the 7mm Ultra Mag. Best 175 grain and best 160 grain bullet groups pictured right.

Powder selected came closest to case full loads, or at least high percentage of case capacity loads. Fortunately, I also load a good number of overbore capacity cases so powder supply wasn’t an issue. Retumbo came the closes to being ideal.

Closing comments

There are so many good rifles to chose from these days, and I don’t mean jelly bean production. The quality of assembly, the out of the box accuracy and the ballistics of this cartridge…  most of my life those elements were the signature of a custom and specialized rifle, not a gun that could be purchased from a discount retailer. It’s ironic that in the face of such vocal, minority opposition to firearm ownership, the rest of us are enjoying such a terrific firearms’ renaissance.

I’d guess that the ever evolving quality of manufacturing and process has lead us to unheard of accuracy from factory guns; computer controlled machines and equipment are better, tolerances are held closer and more consistent, alloy steel is more uniform from lot to lot, and designs can be finessed to take advantage of all of the gains. Walnut stocks are still with us, a popular option, not a dying tradition. Good recoil pads allow us to shoot high power cartridges without getting smacked around. Scopes like the 4.5x30x50mm Bushnell are compact and affordable and help extract the potential from rifles like this Remington Model 700 CDL 7mm Ultra Mag. Exceptionally nice gun and an outstanding cartridge.