What's the best 7mm for LRH?

[AZShooter]

Howdy Mrifleman,

Some detail questions:

Is the Dakota reamer proprietary? I saw that Dakota sells the dies which are pricey, any other sources for the dies? I know they are the only source for brass.

As I understand it the 375 Ruger case is smaller at .535" vs .550" for the Dakota. Did you have any issues with rounds feeding from the magazine?

I appreciate your comments.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Howdy Mrifleman,

Some detail questions:

Is the Dakota reamer proprietary? I saw that Dakota sells the dies which are pricey, any other sources for the dies? I know they are the only source for brass.

As I understand it the 375 Ruger case is smaller at .535" vs .550" for the Dakota. Did you have any issues with rounds feeding from the magazine?

I appreciate your comments.

Ross, I'm not sure how proprietary the reamer is. You might ask one of the smiths in here. I think I read Kirby mentioning something about one but can't remember the thread.

Dakota gets their brass from Hornady and Norma one company makes for the 7mm and 300 and the other for the 330 and 375 Dakota cartridges. Both good makers of brass, but a little spendy. I believe heaper than form firing your own though for the 7/375.

I haven't had the build done yet. Still deciding whether or not I want to do it on my Ruger and then need to get the funds together.

As I said in an earlier post, I like it because it has a clean case, no belt or recessed rim, it's short (2.5") making it available to a greater variety of actions and it has good velocity.

You can try calling Dakota and ask for Ward. He knows more about the Dakota than anyone.

Cheers Mark

 

[AZShooter]

Hi again Mark,

I thought you actually made the Dakota. Necking down the 375 wouldn't be that big a chore. The brass is cheaper than the Dakota.

I am going to have the barrel reamed for 7 rem mag and see how it goes. My smith has the reamer, and I have the dies and brass on hand. At least this way it would be very inexpensive. Can always ream it to one of the larger cases later on.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Hi again Mark,

I thought you actually made the Dakota. Necking down the 375 wouldn't be that big a chore. The brass is cheaper than the Dakota.

I am going to have the barrel reamed for 7 rem mag and see how it goes. My smith has the reamer, and I have the dies and brass on hand. At least this way it would be very inexpensive. Can always ream it to one of the larger cases later on.

Sounds like a good plan, the RM is a good cartridge. I figure if and when I get one built, I will have a reamer made to keep for custom dies and future barrels.

I would be interested to hear how a 7/375 performs if anyone makes one.

Oh yeah... I have about 300 assorted cases of 7mm RM brass of Win Rem and Fed, that have been anywhere from once to five times fired if you're interested

 

[roninflag]

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)

all the of them that hold 60 grains of powder or more will do it. the best rifle is the one with the krieger barrel with a vais ; and a trued remington action and either a shilen or jewel trigger ; mcmillian stock all put together by a good gunsmith. for caliber i would look for one that has either lapua or nosler brass available.

 

[RockZ]

I am building a 7WSM for the same purpose as you. It seems to be ideal as far as efficiency with the 168/180 gr bullets.
The 7/375 is very interesting and would love to hear the progress anyone makes with it.

 

[yobuck]

idealy, a different gun would be better for target, and hunting.

for hunting, why limit yourself with less gun, when it would take years to shoot the barrel out anyway, at least for most of us.
ive owned a 7 r.m. for many years. i think 1000yds. is a stretch for that cartridge for hunting.
ive owned a 7x300 wby. for many years also. mine has a 30" barrel. if you load that to 3350/3400 as i do w/ a 162 hornady, i would go to about 1300 max.
the 7 mm ultramag is superior to all the above. it can be used with heavier bullets up to say 180 w/ excellant results.
if i were to rebarrel thats what id go for.
get a muzzel brake for all the big boomers.
the short 7 mag. would probably be the better choice for target shooting, all things considered.
for hunting it would be close to the 7 r.m.

 

[J E Custom]

JARHEAD.

I used a 7mm rem mag for years for 1000yrd hi power matches and did
very well with it.( I even won a few matches with it at the state level).

It had a 29 3/4" shilen barrel and pushed the 168gr SMK at 3254 (Very hot).

It has now been re chambered in 7 STW and still shoots sub 1/2 moa groups
after 7 to 8000 rds.

This is a very good round for 1000yrd shooting and has good barrel life.

The 7 STW will add over 100ft/sec over the 7 RM and the 7mm RUM will up
that with 168gr SMK to almost 3400ft/sec with a long barrel ( 28 to 30" ).

I Have several 7 WSM's that I hunt with and realy like them but they can't
match the 7 STW or The 7 RUM with big bullets.

I also tried a 30/378 with a 200gr accubond @ over 3200ft/sec using 118gr
50 BMG, But the other shooters protested because of muzzle blast.(No break
just a huge fire ball ).

So with that said ,for what you want to do I would recomend going with,1=factory
cartriges, 2=7 RM 3= 7STW and 4= 7RUM.

J E CUSTOM

 

[AZShooter]

I currently have a 300 RUM set up for our elk hunts which are usually 25 to 300 yds with occasional long shots. That RUM has a 4.5-14 with heavy plex, M1 elevation turret and shoots the non molyed 150 E- tip at 3800 fps. I also have a 8 lb 7 stw, with a 6-18 x 40 VX II and M1 elevation turret shooting the 168s VLDs molyed at 3250 FPS. I had a sendaro 7 RUM which shot 140s well but didn't like VLDs so a friend now owns it. I am not a stranger to the hyper rounds.

I agree the 7 RUM is king but my action doesn't like it. Not interested in altering the feed rails. It does feed well with the 7 STW and 7 Rem mag.

I don't need another STW but wouldn't mind the performance of one so was considering its power twin the 7 Dakota and its close cousin the 7/375 Ruger. I will most likely go with the 7 Rem Mag at first and see what sort of velocities I'll get. I will watch my friend's STW project with the same barrel length and compare. I might not need the extra ommph and could enjoy the mild 7 Rem mag. If I were to use this for hunting it would be for coues wt. We sit and glass from one spot for an entire morning or evening. No hiking except for getting to the spot. A heavy rifle would not be a liability. A large coues buck is just over 100 lbs. So max power is not necessary. Accuracy and minimal wind drift is.....

FYI I have had it with muzzle brakes. I have a nice VAIS on my 300 RUM. It will sit home for any future hunts. Brakes are nice for load development but not in the field. Don't need to contribute to the existing tinnitus.

This has been fun exchanging some ideas. Nice to hear so many shooters have used the 7 Rem mag on long range packages.

 

[yobuck]

whats that you said? tinnin what? certainly its best to wear ear protection. even the ear valves help. there is one major plus in favor of muzzel brakes. especially when shooting off a bipod. it allows you to stay on target, and see your own hits. with heavy recoil rifles, thats a big plus.

 

[royinidaho]

I'm with JD338 on this one. The 280 AI will do the job.

I also think that anything smaller than the 280 AI will not.

I'd pass on the 7mm RM and go with a RUM if ya want something bigger.

 

[elmerdeer]

JARHEAD.

I used a 7mm rem mag for years for 1000yrd hi power matches and did
very well with it.( I even won a few matches with it at the state level).

It had a 29 3/4" shilen barrel and pushed the 168gr SMK at 3254 (Very hot).

It has now been re chambered in 7 STW and still shoots sub 1/2 moa groups
after 7 to 8000 rds.

This is a very good round for 1000yrd shooting and has good barrel life.

The 7 STW will add over 100ft/sec over the 7 RM and the 7mm RUM will up
that with 168gr SMK to almost 3400ft/sec with a long barrel ( 28 to 30" ).

I Have several 7 WSM's that I hunt with and realy like them but they can't
match the 7 STW or The 7 RUM with big bullets.

I also tried a 30/378 with a 200gr accubond @ over 3200ft/sec using 118gr
50 BMG, But the other shooters protested because of muzzle blast.(No break
just a huge fire ball ).

So with that said ,for what you want to do I would recomend going with,1=factory
cartriges, 2=7 RM 3= 7STW and 4= 7RUM.

J E CUSTOM

Is that 7-8000 rounds and still .5 moa?
Because I am building a 7mm dakota and would like to know how much barrel life i would get out of it, If i'm pushing the 180 bergers at 3150 if thats possible out of a Mikerock 26" tube.
Elmer

 

[Fiftydriver]

Do not have alot to add to this conversation. Personally, if I am using a 7mm for long range hunting its my 7mm AM with either a 160 gr Accubond at 3500 fps or a 200 gr ULD RBBT loaded to 3250-3300 fps.

It is extreme and not for everyone but its the most potent 7mm out there.

As far as the 7mm Dakota goes, its been said that its based on the Rigby case. That is not true. Its based on the original 404 jeffery case, basically the same as the RUM case but shortened to roughly 2.5" and with the rim left full diameter instead of rebating it like the RUM rim is.

I know this because I use the 300 Dakota case as the parent case for several of my Allen Xpress wildcats and that case is nearly identical to the 7mm other then shoulder location and a slight case length difference.

It would be so close to the 7mm-375 Ruger that the two would be nearly identical. No reason to go through the trouble of necking down the 375 Ruger.

Old 7mm Dakota cases would not handle 3400 fps with 140 gr bullets more then a couple firings per case. I heard from a little bird that their cases are now being made by Hornday and are not as soft as the old cases so they may get you more velocity.

For all intent and purpose, the 7mm STW and 7mm Dakota are ballistic twins. Only difference is that one is 0.300" shorter with no belt.

 

[yobuck]

Do not have alot to add to this conversation. Personally, if I am using a 7mm for long range hunting its my 7mm AM with either a 160 gr Accubond at 3500 fps or a 200 gr ULD RBBT loaded to 3250-3300 fps.

It is extreme and not for everyone but its the most potent 7mm out there.

As far as the 7mm Dakota goes, its been said that its based on the Rigby case. That is not true. Its based on the original 404 jeffery case, basically the same as the RUM case but shortened to roughly 2.5" and with the rim left full diameter instead of rebating it like the RUM rim is.

I know this because I use the 300 Dakota case as the parent case for several of my Allen Xpress wildcats and that case is nearly identical to the 7mm other then shoulder location and a slight case length difference.

It would be so close to the 7mm-375 Ruger that the two would be nearly identical. No reason to go through the trouble of necking down the 375 Ruger.

Old 7mm Dakota cases would not handle 3400 fps with 140 gr bullets more then a couple firings per case. I heard from a little bird that their cases are now being made by Hornday and are not as soft as the old cases so they may get you more velocity.

For all intent and purpose, the 7mm STW and 7mm Dakota are ballistic twins. Only difference is that one is 0.300" shorter with no belt.

well mr. allen you might not think you added much, but you added enough to get me to ask some questons. what is the case you use for your 7mm am? also action, and barrel legnth? you mention bullet wght, but what powder? ive found that 7828 gives me best velocity, with fair accuracy, in my 7x300. 80 gr is about max, (162 hornady) except on real cold days 81 will work. 82 about locks it up. (rem action) seems to me at least, the ultra mag can do as much as i can without being pushed as hard. your opinion on that. thanks