Hey guys
Hypothetical question here
Ive spent an ok amount of time in Alaska bear country. I also own a Rem. 700 in 7mm mag. in Alaska, I carry a 12 gauge shotgun with 00/0 and slugs, a high power rifle at close range does not suite my situations, so, I dont desire to try this for myself...
However,
Could it be possible to load this cartridge with a heavy enough bullet to make it an effective large/dangerous game gun? I.e. a grizzly gun?
What are the limits of the 7mm mag?
I know the basics of the cartridge, I bought one of a reason......but.... Curious to its max potential. Not asking about should I, but....could I?
I don't know if you're talking about 7mm rem mag or 7mm ultra mag, but either way you shouldn't be worried about your rifle not being able to drop a grizzly. Recently, some outfitter in Alaska killed a grizzly with 147grain 9mm that was trying to attack a fisherman. I assume you have a 7mm Rem Mag. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about bears if I had a 7mm RM rifle on my shoulder.
7mm Rem Mag is a pretty good caliber, it has the same max effective range as 338 Lapua Magnum. There's a company called Alco Bullets, they sell pretty unique bullets that can make underestimated calibers outperform the "combat tested" calibers. They make aluminum and steel tip bullets with high BC. If I'm not mistaken, they make up to 208 grain 7mm bullets with high BC.
By the way, if you're using 12 ga, I'd recommend trying Brenneke Black Magic Magnum slugs, that thing will drop a bear like there's no tomorrow. That's probably the most powerful 12 ga round that you can find on the US market. If you're lucky to find DDupleks Hexolit 32 steel slugs, which are pretty popular in Europe, you can try those as well. They'll both drop any bear in its tracks.