7mm Rem Mag for Eland

Arty0802 said:
Well you've certainly got some data points to draw from. What was performance like on the ones taken with a .308? THAT would make me feel pretty undergunned.
Click to expand...
I’ve shot some really big bodied bulls and some that weren’t. My 2 biggest would be larger than most Cape buffalo. The 308 was my first eland with a rented rifle. It went down quickly with one shot that actually passed through. It was mature but not particularly huge. My most recent one was with a 300 win with 180 gr TTSX. My first shot was a high lung shot. It stopped it after about a 100 yards, but needed a follow up to actually put it down. My other elands with 300 win also required follow up, but the first bullet would kill them. The 375 hits noticeably different to me.
 
I have taken bull eland successfully with my 7x57mm Mauser and 175Gr bullets (various makes). However, initial shot placement is extremely critical.

For the novice, I highly recommend a minimum caliber of .338 Winchester Magnum loaded with 250Gr bullets.
 
375Fox said:
I’ve shot some really big bodied bulls and some that weren’t. My 2 biggest would be larger than most Cape buffalo. The 308 was my first eland with a rented rifle. It went down quickly with one shot that actually passed through. It was mature but not particularly huge. My most recent one was with a 300 win with 180 gr TTSX. My first shot was a high lung shot. It stopped it after about a 100 yards, but needed a follow up to actually put it down. My other elands with 300 win also required follow up, but the first bullet would kill them. The 375 hits noticeably different to me.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I have been casually browsing for a .375, maybe this will push me a little further in that direction. There's also a gorgeous .340 WBY for sale by a member on here that I have to shield my eyes from.
 
Hunter-Habib said:
I have taken bull eland successfully with my 7x57mm Mauser and 175Gr bullets (various makes). However, initial shot placement is extremely critical.

For the novice, I highly recommend a minimum caliber of .338 Winchester Magnum loaded with 250Gr bullets.
Click to expand...
I'm not convinced there's an animal on earth that hasn't been taken with the 7x57. I agree with you, though, about how decisive something like a .338 would be on game of that size.
 
Arty0802 said:
So what you're saying is... they work haha!
Click to expand...

I try not to “speculate”….

So, if I don’t have first hand experience, I try not to comment.

A heart, heart lung, double lung with a 7MM REM MAG will get it done. Like with most similar calibers a practiced shot and good bullet are necessary.

A larger caliber and more powerful cartridge doesn’t make up for a bad shot… It just doesn’t.
 
NIGHTHAWK said:
I try not to “speculate”….

So, if I don’t have first hand experience, I try not to comment.

A heart, heart lung, double lung with a 7MM REM MAG will get it done. Like with most similar calibers a practiced shot and good bullet are necessary.

A larger caliber and more powerful cartridge doesn’t make up for a bad shot… It just doesn’t.
Click to expand...
Amen to that, sir.
 
7mm Rem with 160gr TSX is fine and works well.
I have taken them with .243, .270. 7mm, 300WM and .375 HH
 
I have zero experience with the 7mm RM and I have zero experience with eland, so this is not intended for the OP. This is simply my thoughts on going light on cartridge selection when going to Africa.

Like the proverbial hunting buffalo with a frozen herring, choosing a purposefully light caliber for Africa is just increasing the chance that you'll have to pay for an expensive plane flight, pay for an expensive animal, and then pay a PH to shoot that animal for you.

Even the best calibers and the best shots end up occasionally having a PH finish an animal for them. Going light just increases the odds of it happening. It increases the odds of a lost animal too.

It doesn't get talked about much but it happens rather frequently that a client only hears about his animal being found after he has left Africa. My PH and tracker found a previous client's kudu while I was hunting. The client will get his horns but, I can only imagine, that the trophy won't be as satisfying as it could have been.

Even when things are perfect, Africa leaves plenty of room for things to go wrong. I think it's incumbent on us as hunters to make the best decisions possible prior to the hunt. Then, if something goes wrong and things need to be sorted out, it adds excitement to the story rather than just adding regret.
 
Hunted plenty of eland with a 7x64 Brenneke using 162 gr Woodleigh PP or Hornady Interlocks and it's enough rifle for an eland even out to 250 yards. Your 7mm will be just fine. Barnes is a good bullet for eland, you don't want too much expansion too early and they penetrate well. The biggest thing with an eland is not too shoot it too low, midway up, on or behind the shoulder. For their size, I don't consider them particularly tough animals. They struggle to carry their weight.
 
Greetings Arty082,

A member of this, the world’s greatest forum once called me a “Fudd”, as in the vintage USA cartoon character, “Elmer Fudd”.
I have forgotten that chap’s screen name but, I wear the descriptor proudly.

In living up to being a “Fudd”, I do not favor extra velocity cartridges, firing light, sharply pointed bullets for the taking of animals approaching a ton in body weight and vaguely resembling some prehistoric ancestor of today’s champion rodeo bulls.

Furthermore, farm raised eland are not the same beast that truly wild eland are.
No matter what caliber we choose, if that all important first shot is not placed properly, a wilderness born truly wild eland bull will lead you on a merry chase for mile after sweaty mile of tracking, often as not, through the most horrid thorn choked areas imaginable.
And oh happy day, that sometimes includes cat’s claw thorn.
(Ask me how I know).

Be that as it may, for the specific niche of long shots, at thin skinned animals and within the “not too huge of body and bone” category, I do like the 7 MM Remington Magnum.
It is in my opinion one of the best cartridges for hunting many species of hoofed game in wide open conditions, IE: flat desert, open grass land, mountain hunting above timberline, cross canyon shots and so forth.
But I repeat, I do not recommend it for large, heavy bodied / thick boned animals.

Having said all that, I’ve only taken 3 eland in 7 trips into 2 African countries so, my opinion is far from expert on rifles and cartridges for eland.
Why only 3 so far ? —> old Elmer Fudd here only likes the wild ones and so, I refuse to shoot an eland or any hoofed critter that trots toward me, expecting myself or the PH to toss it a bundle of sweet tasting hay.

Moving right along…..
Consider my input here as a wee drop of advice, in the gathering of much more advice toward your bucket full of information.
All 3 of the eland I have taken were wild animals and hard won, tracking them on foot, in the sprawling and thorny Namibian bush.

My personal MINIMUM for these magnificent and potentially 1 ton animals would be a .33 caliber tough, bonded core bullet, weighing at least 250 grains, with a muzzle velocity of approximately 2400 fps to around 2600 fps.
Cartridges such as the .338-06 and .318 Westley-Richards at the low end, up through the .35 Whelen, 9.3x62, 9.3x74R and .375 H&H at the upper end, come to mind.

Caliber choice and bullet selection become very important if the only shot your huge quarry allows you is the quartering toward you shot.
Getting through heavy shoulder muscle and bone is more likely accomplished via a large, heavy bullet that will smash through all of that and continue on through to seriously lacerate the heart lung parts and pieces.

If you wound your eland and he gallops straight away, with the enthusiasm of a Kentucky race horse, offering only a split second to anchor him with a 2nd bullet fired into his fast departing caboose, you will sorely wish you had a .375, firing a 300 grain, stoutly constructed bullet.

Also worth mentioning is that, during my longass decades of hunting (beginning in the 1960’s), I have experienced occasional erratic performance from hollow pointed bullets.
Therefore, I never bother with them any more, just no thank you.

Since you are very well experienced in the taking of hoofed animals by means of your 7MM Magnum, I predict that your eland hunt will go well.
Even though my preference for, “small light animal - small light bullet and large heavy animal - large heavy bullet” is my Elmer Fuddly advice, I suspect you will put that first bullet exactly where it should strike the eland and you will enjoy eland tenderloin, grilled on the evening braai soon thereafter.

I shall look forward to your hunting report on this.

Cheers,
Velo Fudd.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2939.png
    IMG_2939.png
    6.3 MB · Views: 58
  • IMG_2941.png
    IMG_2941.png
    2 MB · Views: 60
  • IMG_2943.png
    IMG_2943.png
    5.6 MB · Views: 55
  • IMG_2948.jpeg
    IMG_2948.jpeg
    2.4 MB · Views: 53
Last edited:
I’ve been present for three eland hunts. One was my own with a .300 Wby Mag 180 TTSX. It was a one-shot deal with a dead bull inside of 10 yards. The bullet was recovered tenting the skin on the far side, perfectly expanded.

The second eland was shot with a .340 Wby and was recovered the next day after a long tracking job and two or three additional shots. The shooting on that particular occasion wasn’t very good.

The third was shot with a .308 Win using mediocre bullets and dropped inside of 20 yards.

So, put the bullet where it goes, and the 7mm will be just spectacular, especially with good bullets. :)

All of that said……. for me, ideal is in the .338 range. .375 is not too big. .300 magnums aren’t too small. 7mm isn’t too small, but make a good shot. :)

Eland hunting can be very, very fun.
 
That round has plenty of power out to 300 meters as long as you put where it is supposed to go. They are tough animals so even if you make a good shot don't be surprised if he runs off a little ways.
 
Velo Dog said:
Greetings Arty082,

A member of this, the world’s greatest forum once called me a “Fudd”, as in the vintage USA cartoon character, “Elmer Fudd”.
I have forgotten that chap’s screen name but, I wear the descriptor proudly.

In living up to being a “Fudd”, I do not favor extra velocity cartridges, firing light, sharply pointed bullets for the taking of animals approaching a ton in body weight and vaguely resembling some prehistoric ancestor of today’s champion rodeo bulls.

Furthermore, farm raised eland are not the same beast that truly wild eland are.
No matter what caliber we choose, if that all important first shot is not placed properly, a wilderness born truly wild eland bull will lead you on a merry chase for mile after sweaty mile of tracking, often as not, through the most horrid thorn choked areas imaginable.
And oh happy day, that sometimes includes cat’s claw thorn.
(Ask me how I know).

Be that as it may, for the specific niche of long shots, at thin skinned animals and within the “not too huge of body and bone” category, I do like the 7 MM Remington Magnum.
It is in my opinion one of the best cartridges for hunting many species of hoofed game in wide open conditions, IE: flat desert, open grass land, mountain hunting above timberline, cross canyon shots and so forth.
But I repeat, I do not recommend it for large, heavy bodied / thick boned animals.

Having said all that, I’ve only taken 3 eland in 7 trips into 2 African countries so, my opinion is far from expert on rifles and cartridges for eland.
Why only 3 so far ? —> old Elmer Fudd here only likes the wild ones and so, I refuse to shoot an eland or any hoofed critter that trots toward me, expecting myself or the PH to toss it a bundle of sweet tasting hay.

Moving right along…..
Consider my input here as a wee drop of advice, in the gathering of much more advice toward your bucket full of information.
All 3 of the eland I have taken were wild animals and hard won, tracking them on foot, in the sprawling and thorny Namibian bush.

My personal MINIMUM for these magnificent and potentially 1 ton animals would be a .33 caliber tough, bonded core bullet, weighing at least 250 grains, with a muzzle velocity of approximately 2400 fps to around 2600 fps.
Cartridges such as the .338-06 and .318 Westley-Richards at the low end, up through the .35 Whelen, 9.3x62, 9.3x74R and .375 H&H at the upper end, come to mind.

Caliber choice and bullet selection become very important if the only shot your huge quarry allows you is the quartering toward you shot.
Getting through heavy shoulder muscle and bone is more likely accomplished via a large, heavy bullet that will smash through all of that and continue on through to seriously lacerate the heart lung parts and pieces.

If you wound your eland and he gallops straight away, with the enthusiasm of a Kentucky race horse, offering only a split second to anchor him with a 2nd bullet fired into his fast departing caboose, you will sorely wish you had a .375, firing a 300 grain, stoutly constructed bullet.

Also worth mentioning is that, during my longass decades of hunting (beginning in the 1960’s), I have experienced occasional erratic performance from hollow pointed bullets.
Therefore, I never bother with them any more, just no thank you.

Since you are very well experienced in the taking of hoofed animals by means of your 7MM Magnum, I predict that your eland hunt will go well.
Even though my preference for, “small light animal - small light bullet and large heavy animal - large heavy bullet” is my Elmer Fuddly advice, I suspect you will put that first bullet exactly where it should strike the eland and you will enjoy eland tenderloin, grilled on the evening braai soon thereafter.

I shall look forward to your hunting report on this.

Cheers,
Velo Fudd.
Click to expand...
That's an outstanding and well-nuanced response, sir. I agree with you that heavy-bodied animals deserve the appropriate medicine, I don't think that makes you a Fudd at all. You can never make something too dead.
I certainly don't fall into the camp of thinking true light calibers (I'm looking at all you 6.5 C*******r fans out there) are appropriate for big game. That being said, I would not group 7mm Rem Mag into that category, at least by American standards. I know in Africa the preference is usually "more gun", and for good reason. I think your take is absolutely valid.
 
JG26Irish_2 said:
I have not yet shot an Eland but have it on my hit list. I do have a nice 7mm RM but to date have only used it to take a whitetail deer a couple of years ago. That was with a 150g Fed Fusion bonded bullet and it hammered the deer at 125y. I am considering using this rifle in the fall to hunt Moose which is in the same size class as Eland but likely not nearly as hard to kill.

With all that said - my PH in RSA told me that when his clients want to use a rental rifle for Eland his go to is the 308 loaded with 180g bullets. Mind you that in Limpopo the shots are usually not terribly far so the impacts are pretty fast. If the 308 can do the job then the 7mm RM is only going to do it that much better as it does indeed hit hard. My only other choice would be the 338wm. I have one of them also and it has been one of the most effective hunting rifles I own. It does not have as flat a trajectory as the 7mm Mag and mine is not nearly as accurate as the one I gave my sone last year but it is accurate enough out to about 300y and I do not like shooting live big game much past that distance.

I am a big fan of the 160g TTSX bullet in the 7mm. I also like the 150g Swift Scirocco and the Federal Fusion. All shoot well in my rifle. While I like to nerd out on bullets and cartridges for hunting, the reality is this. Get as close as you can, even if the shot is already within your shooting range and then place a quality bullet exactly where you need it and the result will be good every time. That good first shot is far more important than the caliber or the bullet type. Both variables matter but not nearly as much. As long as it is heavy enough to penetrate to the vitals it will work. By getting closer, the penetration will be better regardless of caliber or bullet type and weight. Using more gun can help one to overcome short comings in stalking or shooting skill but can cause other issues. I tolerate recoil pretty well but that is not true of everyone. Your 7mm can do the job. The Barnes bullet is a great choice. Good hunting.
Click to expand...
I've never hunted moose, but hopefully one day. If and when that time comes, I would have no reservations about using my trusty 7mag just based on how I've seen it perform thus far. I think one of the reasons I like it so much (and shoot it so well) is that it's a sub-7lb rifle when naked, but still recoils about like a .243 - .308 due to a quality suppressor and cushy recoil pad. It makes one feel very confident in putting a highly capable bullet in exactly the right spot.
 
BryceM said:
I’ve been present for three eland hunts. One was my own with a .300 Wby Mag 180 TTSX. It was a one-shot deal with a dead bull inside of 10 yards. The bullet was recovered tenting the skin on the far side, perfectly expanded.

The second eland was shot with a .340 Wby and was recovered the next day after a long tracking job and two or three additional shots. The shooting on that particular occasion wasn’t very good.

The third was shot with a .308 Win using mediocre bullets and dropped inside of 20 yards.

So, put the bullet where it goes, and the 7mm will be just spectacular, especially with good bullets. :)

All of that said……. for me, ideal is in the .338 range. .375 is not too big. .300 magnums aren’t too small. 7mm isn’t too small, but make a good shot. :)

Eland hunting can be very, very fun.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

... and 1187 more.
Total: 337,792 (members: 1,237, guests: 336,555)

Forum statistics

Threads
68,506
Messages
1,523,498
Members
153,879
Latest member
ColletteSc
 

 

 

Proudly sponsored by

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Redfishga1
Redfishga1 wrote on Steve D's profile.
ill take both of the 375 woodleigh hydros
•••
A
AfricaRob wrote on Luminous Ham's profile.
See you are from Denmark - see quite a few Danes where I stalk in Scotland - great hunters.
The Harkilia stuff works well in Africa - I have a bit for use here in UK.
•••
Kdouglas3
Kdouglas3
I am again looking for 600 Nitro dies preferably RCBS 1 inch. The set I purchased previously are 1 1/2 inch and do not fit my die. Another member has graciously taken them off my hands. If anyone happens to have a set of 600 Nitro Dies that will fit my Rockchucker Supreme RCBS press, please shoot me a message and thanks in advance for any assistance you may have to offer!
•••
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
HENRY GRIFFITHS SAFARIS
•••
cgdemakis
cgdemakis
I have not posted any items for sale on this forum and will not every put anything for sale. My account was hacked and I've worked with the admin to get things shut down.
•••

Share this page

 
Top