7 rum

[Driggers]

Sorry I know this is and has been we'll beat over, but I've always been a 30cal guy and am having a tough time deciding which 7 to go with. They are all great. I've narrowed down to 7remy, stw, or rum. Really intrigued by the rum. But honestly have kinda always wanted a stw. I live in Nebraska were long range on mule deer is the norm. Also would like to take the gun for elk. Thanks in advance eveyone

 

[MudRunner2005]

Sorry I know this is and has been we'll beat over, but I've always been a 30cal guy and am having a tough time deciding which 7 to go with. They are all great. I've narrowed down to 7remy, stw, or rum. Really intrigued by the rum. But honestly have kinda always wanted a stw. I live in Nebraska were long range on mule deer is the norm. Also would like to take the gun for elk. Thanks in advance eveyone

Get the STW. The RUM has too many diminishing returns. You will get about 30-50 fps more with the RUM, but you'll get half the barrel life. Not worth it in my opinion.

Regardless of what people say, you can almost always find STW brass in one form or another (STW, 8mm RemMag, .300 H&H, .375 H&H). And the only one of those that would require more than a 1-step neck-down is the .375 H&H. All the rest is a single neck-down from 8mm or .30 cal to 7mm and then fire-form. Quick and simple.

But for right now, you can find actual STW brass, so buy as much as you can, if you do go for it, incase we hit another drought.

Nosler Custom Reloading Brass 7mm STW Box of 25

 

[Wachsmann]

Also need to think about the availability of the RUM brass. I would go with the STW or the 28 Nos. One other question is the 7-300 Weatherby the same thing as the 7STW or is it slightly different?

 

[J E Custom]

My take on the three 7 mm cartridges has more to do with bullet weight.

If I intend to shoot 140 to 150 grain bullets the 7 Rem Mag is hard to beat.

If you want to shoot 160 to 170 grain bullets the 7 STW will perform well.

If your intent is to shoot the very heaviest 7mm bullets the big RUM is the way to go because of case capacity (Slower burning powders are needed) for the big 180 Vld's ,183 grain SMk's, or the 195 Bergers, and it excels with these bullets.

I like all three of these and load for all.

decide what you will be hunting and at what range and the choice will be clear.

Just My Opinion

J E CUSTOM

 

[Driggers]

Thanks a bunch for the input! I'm really leaning towards the stw. I guess the thought is still there that the rem mag is still a great option for the great availability of ammo. Also which rifle to go with/ build. To many options.

 

[MudRunner2005]

My take on the three 7 mm cartridges has more to do with bullet weight.

If I intend to shoot 140 to 150 grain bullets the 7 Rem Mag is hard to beat.

If you want to shoot 160 to 170 grain bullets the 7 STW will perform well.

If your intent is to shoot the very heaviest 7mm bullets the big RUM is the way to go because of case capacity (Slower burning powders are needed) for the big 180 Vld's ,183 grain SMk's, or the 195 Bergers, and it excels with these bullets.

I like all three of these and load for all.

decide what you will be hunting and at what range and the choice will be clear.

Just My Opinion

J E CUSTOM

JE, we normally agree on pretty much everything, but I have to disagree with what bullet weights you say are optimal for those cartridges... In my experiences with those 3, and in my opinion based on those experiences, the bullet weights are slightly off.

The 7mmRM also excels with the 160-180gr bullets with a 26" barrel. I'm getting ~3,115 fps MV with a 168 VLD out of one of mine.

Also, I'd say the STW is perfect for the 180-195's. I shoot the 180 Hybrids around 3,000-3,100 fps MV. Which I must say is pretty efficient given that I'm only using around 72 grains of powder.

The RUM would be best with 195+ bullets.

But this is all just my opinion.

 

[Dosh]

Get the STW. The RUM has too many diminishing returns. You will get about 30-50 fps more with the RUM, but you'll get half the barrel life. Not worth it in my opinion.

Regardless of what people say, you can almost always find STW brass in one form or another (STW, 8mm RemMag, .300 H&H, .375 H&H). And the only one of those that would require more than a 1-step neck-down is the .375 H&H. All the rest is a single neck-down from 8mm or .30 cal to 7mm and then fire-form. Quick and simple.

But for right now, you can find actual STW brass, so buy as much as you can, if you do go for it, incase we hit another drought.

Nosler Custom Reloading Brass 7mm STW Box of 25

Exactly.

 

[J E Custom]

JE, we normally agree on pretty much everything, but I have to disagree with what bullet weights you say are optimal for those cartridges... In my experiences with those 3, and in my opinion based on those experiences, the bullet weights are slightly off.

The 7mmRM also excels with the 160-180gr bullets with a 26" barrel. I'm getting ~3,115 fps MV with a 168 VLD out of one of mine.

Also, I'd say the STW is perfect for the 180-195's. I shoot the 180 Hybrids around 3,000-3,100 fps MV. Which I must say is pretty efficient given that I'm only using around 72 grains of powder.

The RUM would be best with 195+ bullets.

But this is all just my opinion.

Actually, I do agree with you. I used a 7 rm for 1000 yard matches and It pushed a 168 grain Match king to 3254 ft/sec with a very hot load and long barrel at the time (30").

There was nothing better at the time. Later the STW came out and I jumped on it. I still shoot a 7 STW and have always liked and been impressed with it. With an average of 24% more velocity than the 7 Rem Mag it was a very large step up, it is a very good 7mm with lots of potential velocity with bigger bullets.

The 7 mm RUM has an average of 12% more velocity than the & STW so I take advantage of that with the bigger bullets without excessive pressures.

My bullet choices are based on many things and not just accuracy and BC. velocity and trajectory are part of my choice and If shooting the 180+ bullets, I feel that that is where the 7 RUM shines.
I feel there is no reason to buy/build a 7 RUM if all you intend to shoot are 140 to 160 grain bullets

Starting with the 7 Rem Mag all of the big 7s are tough on barrels because there is no free lunch.

If I could have only one 7 mm it would be the 7 STW because of its versatility. But if I intended
to shoot only the 180+ bullets, the 7 RUM would be my choice because of the lower pressures required to push them.

I have done my time loading a cartridge to the max just to get a little more velocity and paid the price for it in problems . So I am more conservative on my loads now and have none of the problems
of the past.

Just the reasons for my recommendations of bullet weight to cartridge volume.

J E CUSTOM

 

[coyotezapper]

I've had a 7RM since I was 16 and still occasionally shoot it. I had a 7STW and shot the bbl out and it is now being re-barreled to its twin the 28 Nosler. I had a 7RUM and found that unless I was shooting heavy for caliber bullets I was wasting my time.

My favorite has always been the 7RM but if you want a LR rifle the STW would be my recommendation. The STW will shoot every bullet weight well - 140 and up. The 7RUM is not very versatile but is awesome with 190 Matrix bullets. If you take care of the throat / bore a 7RUM can last you a long time. My Rem700 AWR went north of 1400 rounds but I did keep the throat polished.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

Stick to the standard old 7 mm rm, no animal on the plants heart or lungs will know the difference!!! When we can't find brass for it everything else will be long gone way before it...shooting and reloading will be finished..

 

[MudRunner2005]

Actually, I do agree with you. I used a 7 rm for 1000 yard matches and It pushed a 168 grain Match king to 3254 ft/sec with a very hot load and long barrel at the time (30").

There was nothing better at the time. Later the STW came out and I jumped on it. I still shoot a 7 STW and have always liked and been impressed with it. With an average of 24% more velocity than the 7 Rem Mag it was a very large step up, it is a very good 7mm with lots of potential velocity with bigger bullets.

The 7 mm RUM has an average of 12% more velocity than the & STW so I take advantage of that with the bigger bullets without excessive pressures.

My bullet choices are based on many things and not just accuracy and BC. velocity and trajectory are part of my choice and If shooting the 180+ bullets, I feel that that is where the 7 RUM shines.
I feel there is no reason to buy/build a 7 RUM if all you intend to shoot are 140 to 160 grain bullets

Starting with the 7 Rem Mag all of the big 7s are tough on barrels because there is no free lunch.

If I could have only one 7 mm it would be the 7 STW because of its versatility. But if I intended
to shoot only the 180+ bullets, the 7 RUM would be my choice because of the lower pressures required to push them.

I have done my time loading a cartridge to the max just to get a little more velocity and paid the price for it in problems . So I am more conservative on my loads now and have none of the problems
of the past.

Just the reasons for my recommendations of bullet weight to cartridge volume.

J E CUSTOM

That makes perfect sense now. Being that you are talking about "normal" load volumes without excess pressure, then I agree with your initial bullet weight suggestions.

But being that I am one of those who likes to push the limits, that makes my opinions a bit askew from the norm.

And you are right, if I was forced to only have one 7mm (as tough as that choice would be)...I think I'd also have to go STW as well. It's one of my all-time favorites, but so is the 7mmRM...Hard choice.

 

[DocDoc]

Appreciate JE Custom and his wisdom, but I think he is a little off on his estimates of % increase in 7mm RM to STW to RUM. They are running about 3000 fps so a 20% increase in velocity would be about 600 fps increase. I did not think that was reasonable so I went to the Berger manual. Barrel lengths are all 26 inches. Max should all have pressures about the same.

7 mm RM
168 gr Berger about 3000 fps max
180 gr Berger about 2800 fps max

7mm WBY
168 Berger about 3050 fps max
180 Berger about 2950 fps max

7 mm STW
168 Berger about 3050 fps max
180 Berger about 2950 fps max

7 mm RUM
168 Berger about 3067 fps max
180 Berger about 2988 fps max.

It looks to me like getting much over 7mm RM you are into the area of diminishing returns and not a lot of velocity increase for the powder burned. I do not see even a 10% increase.

 

[coyotezapper]

Appreciate JE Custom and his wisdom, but I think he is a little off on his estimates of % increase in 7mm RM to STW to RUM. They are running about 3000 fps so a 20% increase in velocity would be about 600 fps increase. I did not think that was reasonable so I went to the Berger manual. Barrel lengths are all 26 inches. Max should all have pressures about the same.

7 mm RM
168 gr Berger about 3000 fps max
180 gr Berger about 2800 fps max

7mm WBY
168 Berger about 3050 fps max
180 Berger about 2950 fps max

7 mm STW
168 Berger about 3050 fps max
180 Berger about 2950 fps max

7 mm RUM
168 Berger about 3067 fps max
180 Berger about 2988 fps max.

It looks to me like getting much over 7mm RM you are into the area of diminishing returns and not a lot of velocity increase for the powder burned. I do not see even a 10% increase.

Berger data is not a good example - very conservative. I would stay with what JE Custom said.

 

[DocDoc]

Another Manual Hornady #8

7mm RM - 24 " bbl
162 gr Hndy 3000 fps
175 gr Hndy 2900 fps

7mm STW - 26" bbl
162 Hndy 3150 fps
175 Hndy 3000 fps

7mm RUM - 26" bbl
162 Hndy 3300 fps
175 Hndy 3100 fps

The point was 20% over 7mm RM would be 3600 fps for STW and 162. I think 3300 may be pushing the pressure.