The 7mm SAUM was released in 2002 based on a shortened version of Remington's Ultra magnum case which is in turn based on the 404 Jeffery’s case. The SAUM was designed to produce 7mm Remington Magnum performance from a much smaller cartridge case and more compact rifle configuration.
In 2002, the same year as the introduction of the 7mm SAUM, Winchester released their own short magnum, the 7mm WSM. The two competing cartridges were presented to the market but only one survived - the 7mm WSM. Not only was the WSM more popular with hunters, the cartridge was soon adopted by several rifle manufacturers, ensuring its continuation.
Case capacity of the SAUM is slightly less than the WSM, as is the factory COAL. Remington adopted these dimensions to enable their short magnum cartridges to fit into the compact Model 7 action. Factory barrel length of the Model 7 is 22" as opposed to Winchester's short magnum barrels at 24”.
The 7mm SAUM currently retains a small following. This cartridge, chambered in the model 7 rifle, is appreciated for its ability to produce high power from a small, ultra-light weight platform.
The 7mm SAUM does not achieve 7mm Remington Magnum velocities or performance. This cartridge duplicates the velocities of the .280 Remington.
Remington loads include the 140 grain Core-Lokt Ultra at 3175fps, the 150 grain Core-Lokt at 3110fps and the 160 grain Core-Lokt Ultra at 2960fps. However, these velocities are taken from a 24" test barrel. Actual velocities in tested Model 7 rifles average around 3150fps with the 140 grain load, 2950fps with the 150 grain and 2850fps with the 160 grain load.
The 140 and 160 grain Core-Lokt ultra bullets produce similar terminal performance to other core bonded designs, delivering high shock and wide wounding at impact velocities above 2600fps and clean but often delayed killing as velocities approach 2400fps. At lower velocities, kills can be very slow. Unfortunately, the Core-Lokt Ultra bullets have very low BC’s of .409 and .414 and even the faster 140 grain bullet is down to 2600fps at just 225 yards.
The standard 150 grain Core-Lokt is an excellent performer on lighter medium game out to 200 yards. Beyond this range, as velocity falls below 2400fps, kills can be very slow due to narrow wounding.
