What's the best 7mm for LRH?

[JARHEAD1371]

I'm looking at building a rifle for LRH and some 500-1000 yd matches but I haven't decided which 7mm to shoot. I'd like the MV to be above 3000fps with a 28" barrel and shooting 168gr or 180 gr Berger VLD. I will be using the rife in western SD, among other places, for whitetails, muleys, and pronghorn. Any info/opinions are greatly apperciated.
gun)

 

[Derek M.]

7mm Dakota
7mm Weatherby Magnum

 

[Longshot38]

7mm-300 Weatherby will give you the most velocity of any of the 7mm. However I will say that I've talked to a couple of guys that use the 7 WSM for comp and they are getting 3100 fps out of the 180 grain bergers.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Nothing wrong with the 7mm RM.

I've used 168g vld's at 2950fps from my 7 RM w/ 24" tube, and 180's at 2825fps, both using RL-22. Accuracy has been great out to 800 yards from a rem 700 custom deluxe.

Since you want to go with a 28" tube, I bet the 280 rem, or better yet, 280 AI would reach 3K with 168g vld. You would be using less powder then a 7mm RM and have a little longer barrel life.

Nothing wrong with the bigger 7mm's except your burning more powder then is neccesary and barrel life is considerably shorter.

7mm 168g VLD at 2950-3000fps still has over 1000 ft lbs at 1000 yards and traverling well over 1600fps.

 

[redbone]

You have got to look at 7 MM STW .

 

[chase]

7mm RM 29 kreiger 66gn rl22 168 berger jamed 10 thou 3130 fps for 10 shot average

 

[JD338]

I would say 280 AI. I get 3000 fps with the 160 gr AB from a 24" barrel. With a 28" tube, you should be able to reach 3000 fps + with the 168 gr VLD and the 180 gr VLD would be well into the 2900's.

JD338

 

[tjonh2001]

i have shot a 7mm RM for a few years nothing wrong with that. i just wanted more performace. i rebarreled the RM and made it a WSM and havent looked back. i am shot 168 out of this gun at 3200 and now am shooting the 180 bergers at 3000+. i have heard that the 7mm-300wsm is a great round. i will be rebarrelong again next year. it will eather be a 7mm wsm or 7mm-300wsm. talk to nate from ssg he shoots alot of 7mms and nows them inside and out.

 

[blipelt]

+1 for 7wsm I simply love mine and nate happened to be the one who built mine also. If you go with the 7-300wsm you can get better brass.


Brent

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Look hard at the Dakota. Parent cartridge is the 416 rigby... a very good case. No belts, no recessed rims, top velocity for a 7mm, a lot more donor action possibilities than the RUM (which would be my second choice). Then there's the 7mm AM, an awesome round but very proprietory. A lot of good possibilities out there.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

If you don't want to use a muzzle brake the 7mm JRS will easily get you the velocity you want. It is all you can get out of a blown out 280 case. It will do everything the 7mm rem mag will do with less powder and recoil. Mine is a really sweet shooter. I have got to have a muzzle brake to shoot the big 7mm's accurately. My 7mm-300 wby will shoot faster than my stw's and right with the 7mm ultramag but both require a brake for me to shoot really well at long range in a light rifle.

 

[screech]

probablly better ones out there but i have had good luck with the stw

 

[AZShooter]

This is the perfect thread to add to and ask some questions.

My friend Dan and I are in the middle of a build with 30" Lilja barrels. We also want to shoot the 180 Berger VLDs. Dan had a long talk with Dave Kiff about the specs for a 7 STW reamer. The conversation started with questions regarding Dan's first 7 STW. It is a Chrome moly Krieger that burned out with less than 500 rnds. The original reamer had .250" freebore. Dave said that was why the barrel died so quickly. He suggested that he build a reamer that would allow the 180s to touch the lands which would not only help the VLDs shoot but ALSO give longer barrel life.

I am still wrestling with why that might be true. Gasses getting past the bullet while it is in the freebored section burned out the throat faster?

I have an old Interarms Mark X I will be using. It has a 3.630" magazine and I don't believe it can be lengthened any more. A deep seated VLD will fit and feed with the STW BUT it might not shoot the VLDs accurately plus according to Dave the barrel will have a short life. It will be SS which should help some.

I am considering using the 7 Rem Mag as an alternative with the 180s. Lots of seating depth leeway and can even chase the throat over time. I could have Dave make me a reamer to place the VLD at just the right length and still allow touching the lands and maximizing the powder space.

I am also considering a more costly approach. The 7/375 Ruger. Talked with Redding. They have yet to make any dies! There would be a tooling fee plus another $150 for standard FL and seating dies. Anyone working with this chambering? Where did you find your dies?

I figure a 7/375 Ruger would duplicate the 7 STW but allow seating into the lands in the Mark X mag box.

I would love to hear from more 7 mm shooters on what velocities can be expected with both the 7 STW and the 7 Rem Mag with the Berger 180 VLD and a 30" barrel.

Also any comments on the barrel life and seating depth?

Thanks

Ross

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Ross, I considered the 7/375 a while back when I was considering a build on my old Ruger action. I think it would be a good cartridge, but I decided the Dakota would be better. the Dakota has a little more case capacity. It's like an oversized WSM (416 Rigby). Dakota advertises 3400 fps for a 140 bullet and 3200 fps for 160 gr bullet out of a 25" barrel. That is right there with the RUM in a short 2.5 inch case.