Tell it to the Mule Deer I shot in WY this year at 410 yards. Also tell it to dozens of Whitetails/Mule Deer? Antelope I have shot at various ranges with a 25-06 from a few yards away to well over 400 yards. BTW, I shot dozens of Whitetails with the three 7 Mags I have used & parted company with. Nothing wrongwith the 7, I just moved on to the 300, which I like better for bigger animals or animals at longer range, but 400 yards, give me a break! One more time, if we were talking 500-600 yards then the retained energy could help & the extra velocity would cause the 7mm bullet to open up better at those longer ranges. A 130 or 140 gr 270 bullet with a good BC has more than enough vel. to open up well at 500 yards, much less 400 yards & ditto for the 280 & "experience has taught me that instead of hydrostatic shock read out of a Weaherby brochure. When an animal gets a large wound channel through & through & the lungs collaspe, hydrostatic shock conversations are not a very relevant issue.
Anyone who feels that a 7mag is needed to bring down a Whitetail at 400 yards & a 270, 280 or a bunch of other rounds is lacking at that yardage may have 7mag "experience", but he sure doesn't have 280 or 270 experience. If that were true then you could not
hunt Elk with a 280 or 30-06 at all I guess & probably not over 200 yards with a 7mm Mag. Deer hunting with a 6.X55 would have to be under 200 yards I guess & 257 Roberts @ 100 yards or less & no 243 at any range. Elk could only be shot at 400 yards with a 338-378 or bigger I guess.
Nay, I believe it boils down to which one Parts Man wants, What he wants to gun the weigh, barrel length & other issues & make sure he gets an accurate one & good optics. To the 7 mag users out there, I like the round a bunch & the fact I don't use one now is no biggie, I just don't have an application for one that is not covered better by something else. I have thought about getting a 7STW built for 140 grain bullets or a a 7RUM for 160 gr. bullets. I have ruled out the RUM as it is a marginal edge over the 7STW, but I have found some good info from friends shooting the STW with a 160Accubond. This would give me a little that my 300 doesn't & would be something neat to play with. But then again that .277Allen Mag. with a 140Acc @ 3,500-3,600 would be wicked, oh well!!