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Remington Model Seven Rifle By Ed Turner  When I got my new Model Seven Magnum LS rifle I was immediately impressed with it's feel and balance. The stock is a brown laminate and actually looks quite handsome with the blued metal finish. Model Seven rifles are also available in the new CDL grade with a walnut stock and satin blued carbon steel barreled action and as the basic Model Seven SS, which comes with a synthetic stock and stainless barreled action. Model Seven rifles in standard calibers come with 20" barrels, while magnum calibers come with 22" barrels. I find that I like the checkering on the Model Seven's stock. I plan on using this gun on bad weather days and the checkering might come in handy when handling a wet rifle. The Model Seven turned out to be the shortest in overall length, which is something I appreciate, among the rifles that I considered. It has a short barrel for a magnum and it handles extremely well in close cover. The basic specifications for the Remington Model Seven LS Magnum are as follows:
The compact overall length makes the little Remington magnum very nice to carry on horseback. I went on a 6 day horseback hunting trip last year and carried a Tikka T3 in .300 WSM. That rifle was fully 3 inches longer than the Model Seven. The extra length caused a lot of problems when riding through heavy brush with it slung across my back. The published ballistics for the Remington Express 150 grain Core-Lokt 7mm SAUM show this cartridge to be a virtual ballistic twin to the very popular 7mm Remington Magnum. The overall length, however, of the Model Seven Magnum rifle is about 3" shorter than a typical 7mm Rem. Mag. rifle due to the substantially shorter barrel, shorter action and shorter length of pull. The Model Seven's short barrel, of course, significantly degrades the published ballistics of the 7mm SAUM cartridge. I will mention two things that cause me to not proclaim this rifle the "ultimate" bush country deer whacker. The most bothersome problem was the loading of 3 shells in the magazine and closing the bolt over them, on an empty chamber. This is the preferred carry method of both outfitters that I have used on horseback hunts. They wanted a loaded magazine under an empty chamber, requiring the hunter to chamber a round at the appearance of game. It was always a chore to close the bolt over 3 shells, as the magazine seemed filled to overflowing, and at times I carried it with only 2 in the magazine. Especially after one occasion when, as I went to bolt one into the chamber, the cartridge actually popped completely out of the rifle. [Note: feeding problems are endemic to the short, fat, WSM and SAUM cartridges. -Ed.] The Remington Model Seven does not have controlled feeding like a Winchester Model 70, Kimber 84M, or Ruger M77 Mk. II, which probably aggravates the problem. But again, I wanted a shorter rifle than those types. I should also mention the type of scope that I chose to mount on this rifle. The scope mounting procedure is very similar to my Remington Model 673 (both take the same base) in that there is not room for a scope with an objective larger than about 36mm in low mount rings. This is not a problem for me, as I do not like a large scope for any type of big game hunting. I feel that a 1-4x20mm, 2-7x32mm, or at most a 3-9x40mm is all the scope that you will ever need to kill any big game animal at any reasonable range. In closing, I would recommend the Remington Model Seven rifle for brush country hunting in a heartbeat, as well as for use in tree stands. It really does seem to be a great rifle, carrying nicely and shooting great. Note: A full length review of the Model Seven Magnum LS rifle can be found on the Product Reviews page. |