Which 7mm for a long range rifle?

[backwoods83]

The STW will have a shorter barrel life, not due to throat erosion, that can be cured with a slight setback, the problem is the amount of powder being burned causing the rifle to slightly pit and crack 4-8" after the throat and that makes accuracy fall off quicker, the reason I mentioned the weatherby is it has all the good things the STW has and none of the 7mm rem mag downfalls plus it has a superior shoulder design than the STW or Rem Mag. With factory loadings Nosler loads the 160 accubond to 3225, Weatherby loads the same bullet to 3250 for about the same price. Then when you do start reloading Weatherby/Norma brass is much better than the Nosler or Remington available for the STW. If I were choosing between the STW and Rem Mag I would take the Rem Mag just because of available components.

 

[INTJ1]

Well see there I go learning something again. But how about barrel life then it should be no argument that barrel life is longer with the 7 rm

Throat wear is the biggest factor in barrel life. In most situations the larger the case capacity for a given bore size the shorter the barrel life. The 7 STW and 6mm Rem are rare exceptions.

 

[INTJ1]

The STW will have a shorter barrel life, not due to throat erosion, that can be cured with a slight setback, the problem is the amount of powder being burned causing the rifle to slightly pit and crack 4-8" after the throat and that makes accuracy fall off quicker, the reason I mentioned the weatherby is it has all the good things the STW has and none of the 7mm rem mag downfalls plus it has a superior shoulder design than the STW or Rem Mag. With factory loadings Nosler loads the 160 accubond to 3225, Weatherby loads the same bullet to 3250 for about the same price. Then when you do start reloading Weatherby/Norma brass is much better than the Nosler or Remington available for the STW. If I were choosing between the STW and Rem Mag I would take the Rem Mag just because of available components.

Setting back and rechambering can sometimes be done once, but it isn't the beat idea for top accuracy. Many BR shooters refuse to rechamber a barrel once the throat goes for this very reason.

The biggest issue with the 7mm Wby is the .375" of freebore. That much freebore is not what one does when looking for the ultimate in accuracy. Yes, we all have had a freebored rifle or two that shot well and in most hunting applications freebore isn't an issue. However, an 800 yd rifle needs every advantage and freebore isn't optimum for accuracy.

 

[backwoods83]

My weatherbys are short throat match chambers in most cases, however I have a 257wby with .355" freebore that will shoot 1/2 moa any day. With common tangent ogive hunting bullets (not berger vlds even though they sometimes work with a pile of freebore) you will not notice any difference in accuracy. I shoot benchrest and if I get a one hole wonder and have run out of room to chase the throat in, the barrel is likely to end up 3-4" shorter. I have yet to see any chambers, even custom ones with less than .045" freebore, most saami chambers have atleast .100" freebore, I have a factory ruger m77 all weather ultra 300wm that is factory and has .215" freebore, so unless you have side by side proof with two identical rifles with factory length identical rounds, and the only difference is one has .100" freebore and the other has .350" and a seasoned shooter operates both and I can witness the difference in accuracy, I call BS on freebore hindering accuracy unless your to good to shoot anything but bergers!

 

[WildRose]

The STW will have a shorter barrel life, not due to throat erosion, that can be cured with a slight setback, the problem is the amount of powder being burned causing the rifle to slightly pit and crack 4-8" after the throat and that makes accuracy fall off quicker, the reason I mentioned the weatherby is it has all the good things the STW has and none of the 7mm rem mag downfalls plus it has a superior shoulder design than the STW or Rem Mag. With factory loadings Nosler loads the 160 accubond to 3225, Weatherby loads the same bullet to 3250 for about the same price. Then when you do start reloading Weatherby/Norma brass is much better than the Nosler or Remington available for the STW. If I were choosing between the STW and Rem Mag I would take the Rem Mag just because of available components.

How you shoot, how much you shoot, and particularly how fast you shoot at any give time has a far greater impact on throat erosion than anything else.

The only component difference between the STW, WBY, and 7Rem is the bass and there has never been any shortage of brass available for 20 plus years.

Also a slower burning powder like H-1000 makes a bid difference in how much heat gets applied to the first few inches of the bore.

I've been shooting the same barrel in my 7mm STW since 1990 and I'm just now to the point of considering rebarreling and not because it doesn't shoot well any more, but because I'm thinking of turning it into a dedicated long range only rig with a longer barrel.

Barrel life simply isn't a major issue for most hunters because they'll never shoot one enough in a lifetime to burn one out.

 

[LazzInc]

20 years ago I built a 7mm/300 WBY wildcat with off the shelf RCBS reloading dies, a reamer with fairly short throat from JGS precision tool and just ran 300wby brass thru the resize die to neck it down ,,, then trim and walla, a real nice and fast 7mag ,,,,,,

IMR-7828 was the preferred powder, with fed 215 primer, 140gr B/tip was very accurate, 11-twist barrel ,,,

 

[Len Backus]

WildRose

I've been shooting the same barrel in my 7mm STW since 1990 and I'm just now to the point of considering rebarreling

How many rounds and can you quantify the decrease in accuracy.

 

[WildRose]

WildRose



How many rounds and can you quantify the decrease in accuracy.

Right at 2,000 rounds. I found a factory load I liked right after I bought it and bought the whole lot. Winchester Supreme 140gr Ballistic Silvertip. I'm down to the last two boxes.

It's always shot between .5-.7MOA out to 1,000yds and that has opened up to right at 1-1.5 MOA or a little more depending on the conditions.

Of course since I bought it, I have only one time shot it enough to get it hot and that day I put 14 rounds through it very quickly on a "hog eradication job".

Of course had I been loading it with max weight bullets and pushing them at maximum velocities and shooting it a lot it would not have lasted anywhere near this long.

 

[bkondeff]

As many can attest to, I have shot 3 elk and a dozen mule deer(up to 300lbs), with my 7mm RM with 160 accubonds and 168 bergers. Only ones with more than one round in them were because the first shot in the lungs were not bang-flops so I put the second high shoulder. My farthest shot's were both this year at 575 on my buck and 490 on my elk. My load is only at 2875fps on the Bergers and I have plenty of power.

 

[WildRose]

As many can attest to, I have shot 3 elk and a dozen mule deer(up to 300lbs), with my 7mm RM with 160 accubonds and 168 bergers. Only ones with more than one round in them were because the first shot in the lungs were not bang-flops so I put the second high shoulder. My farthest shot's were both this year at 575 on my buck and 490 on my elk. My load is only at 2875fps on the Bergers and I have plenty of power.

All completely doable with the 7 rem mag.

Out to about 750yds there's nothing in N. America I'd be afraid to use one on.

The problem is that beyond that range it lacks the velocity and therefore energy to make a great long range hunting rifle, which is what the OP is asking about.

 

[TMR]

A 7RM will work fine as long as its setup properly. Most are setup with short throats and it hampers performance. Set them up for 180's to still fit in the factory mag, and wonderful things happen. 3050-3100 with 180's in 26"-28" barrels is achieveable without ruining cases. The STW is nice, but I was changing barrels every year, sometimes 2x in a year. Granted, I was pushing things a little, but barrels lasted around 1000-1200 rounds and they were done. I build ALOT of 7 Mags for guys and it seems to work out well for them. I wouldn't hesitate using mine on elk out to 800 at all. Past that, my Edge comes out.

 

[brandon327]

700 to 800 yards will probally the max i will ever shoot. If i decided to eventually extend my range i could rebarrel it to a 300 RUM. I think i am gonna go with the 7mm Rem Mag.

 

[WildRose]

700 to 800 yards will probally the max i will ever shoot. If i decided to eventually extend my range i could rebarrel it to a 300 RUM. I think i am gonna go with the 7mm Rem Mag.

Good choice. That's my all time favorite "do all" caliber.

 

[pyroducksx3]

A 7RM will work fine as long as its setup properly. Most are setup with short throats and it hampers performance. Set them up for 180's to still fit in the factory mag, and wonderful things happen. 3050-3100 with 180's in 26"-28" barrels is achieveable without ruining cases. The STW is nice, but I was changing barrels every year, sometimes 2x in a year. Granted, I was pushing things a little, but barrels lasted around 1000-1200 rounds and they were done. I build ALOT of 7 Mags for guys and it seems to work out well for them. I wouldn't hesitate using mine on elk out to 800 at all. Past that, my Edge comes out.

Funny I didnt realize this was Travis from RBROS till I happen to catch your signature. He has convinced me that the 7 RM is the way to go glad he will be building my rifle, hopefully soon just need to get a barrel and a couple OT shifts