Custom 7STW ???

[HAMMERHAND]

Hey all. Decided to turn my old Remmy 700 BDL in 8 mag into a custom 7STW. I figured it only made sense since I have over 400 pieces of remington 8 mag brass I saved over the years.

Can the brotherhood answer a few questions for me??

1. What is the best detachable magazine box system made for the 7STW?? I would like specifics please.

2. What is the optimal barrel twist rate and length for all around use from some of the 140's through the heavy bergers or other vld bullets?? The primary purpose for the gun will be 1,000 yards and closer antelope, deer, and the occasional elk.

3. To brake or not to brake??

Thank you everyone!

 

[MudRunner2005]

Hey all. Decided to turn my old Remmy 700 BDL in 8 mag into a custom 7STW. I figured it only made sense since I have over 400 pieces of remington 8 mag brass I saved over the years.

Can the brotherhood answer a few questions for me??

1. What is the best detachable magazine box system made for the 7STW?? I would like specifics please.

2. What is the optimal barrel twist rate and length for all around use from some of the 140's through the heavy bergers or other vld bullets?? The primary purpose for the gun will be 1,000 yards and closer antelope, deer, and the occasional elk.

3. To brake or not to brake??

Thank you everyone!

Welcome to the brotherhood, and world of STW's.

Unfortunately I can't answer #1 as I have not looked into a detachable box mag setup for mine.

2) I would have to say a 1:9"-1:9.5" twist would be perfect. My factory Sendero SF 7mmSTW has a 9.25" twist, and it loves the 140-180gr bullets and stabilizes them very well.

3) Brakes are a personal choice. Mine doesn't have one, so it's never bothered me. But that's up to you. A Vais or other brand of radial brake would be nice on one.

 

[7stw]

Hey all. Decided to turn my old Remmy 700 BDL in 8 mag into a custom 7STW. I figured it only made sense since I have over 400 pieces of remington 8 mag brass I saved over the years.

Can the brotherhood answer a few questions for me??

1. What is the best detachable magazine box system made for the 7STW?? I would like specifics please.

2. What is the optimal barrel twist rate and length for all around use from some of the 140's through the heavy bergers or other vld bullets?? The primary purpose for the gun will be 1,000 yards and closer antelope, deer, and the occasional elk.

3. To brake or not to brake??

Thank you everyone!

HAMMERHEAD, as was stated earlier, Welcome to the Brotherhood!!!!
Manners makes a nice detachable, or maybe I'm thinking of their extended magazine! So don't hold me to that.

As to the twist, to ensure you have enough for ALL weights, I would go a minimum of 9.25, but think that 1-9 might be your best overall. Some of the monolithic bullets are real fussy about twist, due to there length, and if you ever do decide to shoot a heavyweight, in a mono, the 9 twist will keep you out of trouble for the most part.

Brakes are numerous, some are more effective then others, some are UN godly loud, some aren't too bad. The VAIS brake seems to be popular, and I've heard that a company called Brute makes a nice one. I don't own one, but do admit there are times when I wish I did. My STW's seem to be in the tolerabl recoil that I don't feel I need one, but when I shoot heavy bullets in 300 mags, it sometimes makes me think about them.
I feel that if you if you have a well made stock, and a decelerator recoil pad, or a LIMBS pad, those make all the difference in the world. I just built a Custom STW last spring, and I put it in a Bobby Hart LRT stock. The design of the stock, and the pad that it was equipped with, make it very tolerable.
I hope this answers most of your questions, and when you build a custom gun, you always will have questions. Don't be afraid to ask, someone here will help you out!

 

[WildRose]

Hey all. Decided to turn my old Remmy 700 BDL in 8 mag into a custom 7STW. I figured it only made sense since I have over 400 pieces of remington 8 mag brass I saved over the years.

Can the brotherhood answer a few questions for me??

1. What is the best detachable magazine box system made for the 7STW?? I would like specifics please.

2. What is the optimal barrel twist rate and length for all around use from some of the 140's through the heavy bergers or other vld bullets?? The primary purpose for the gun will be 1,000 yards and closer antelope, deer, and the occasional elk.

3. To brake or not to brake??

Thank you everyone!

AICS DBM's have a long and loyal following.

1:9 twist will certainly get it done for you.

It's all but impossible to spin one too fast but with the long/heavy VLD's you will not get good performance without a faster twist.

If you have a particular bullet/bullets in mind the best advice is to go with the mfg's recommendation.

Brakes are not essential to good shooting but they sure do help with a number of things from reducing/eliminating flinching to better and quicker follow up shots because you can actually see your impacts through the scope due to the reduction in recoil and muzzle flip with a good quality brake.

I've tried a dozen different types/brands of brakes and there are lots of good one's out there.

I bought a rifle last year equipped with the Snowy Mountain Rifles Muzzle brake and I like it well enough I'm having all of my magnums refitted with their brake.

Fantastic reduction in both recoil and muzzle flip. It was good enough in fact that with that particular 7mm STW I killed three deer, on three consecutive shots in under 20 seconds this year.

 

[HAMMERHAND]

Thank you everyone!! Keep the advice coming!

 

[SFR292]

I've built 4 STW's in the last 3 months, plus my personal rifle that is still in the works in my shop.

1) AICS, HS Precision, Badger Ord, and CDI are good choice, all but HS use AI Mags, that being said, mags are expensive, bulky, and even the 338 Lapua length mags are a bit short for some of the Berger bullets and other VLDs which are a proven winner and popular bullet for STW. If you can find them (good luck) the older first gen AI 338 Lapua mags are long enough, but finding the bottom metal for anything but a Rem 700 footprint action isn't going to happen. Personally I don't run the detach mags on my rifles, I've had 4 of them, every one of them has hindered me in the field when trying to get a shot on an animal. The stick down too far and end up causing me to find some other shooting position. But, to each their own, and if thats something you want then thats what you want.

2) Twist rate is always a major question. I've ran 1:9 Krieger 5rs on all the builds I've done. Part of the benefit of the STW is speed, and the faster the twist rate, the slower the velocity all things being equal. If you want to base around the 140gr class bullets, 1:10 is what you need and you can get away with the 160s (168 being about the max I would recommend for it, be it not a copper solid/lead free bullet). 1:9 is more of the do all, but with Kriegers 5r and others, you get the benefit of the faster twist rate for the heavier bullet but you gain a bit of speed back you lost by going with the faster twist rate.
The last batch of Hart barrels I did were not impressive. 2 shot well, 4 did OK, not great, but not bad (3/4 MOA at 100). I try not to let a gun I built out of the shop unless it's 1/2 or better. The bigger issue was the Harts would copper foul within 4-8 shots. I don't mean a little copper foul either, I mean I push 10 inch long strings of copper out of the barrel with a patch and jag. I have good luck with Shillen Match and Douglas select match as well. Great "budget" barrel in my opinion.

3) I'm a huge fan of brakes, bigger fan of suppressors but thats a different story. Yes, some designs are LOUD, they all will increase noise but some are worse than others on noise on the driver behind the rifle. I put a Precision Armament M41 on mine ( M41 Muzzle Brake - Precision Armament ) and I've done a lot of the M11 brakes from them. Both work GREAT. I'm also a huge fan of the Holland quick discharge muzzle brakes. Not very loud, but very effective and efficient brake. Being able to watch the round impact is a big benefit for being able to quickly adjust point of aim and taking quick follow up shots. The STW isn't exactly a light recoiling round, so the more recoil management you build into it, the better you will shoot, thats a proven fact.

Any other questions, feel free to call or email us. Enjoy this awesome performing round!