7 Mystic 10lbs 1000m BR Rifle with pics

[Mysticplayer]

Attached are pics of my new 7Mystic 10lbs 1000m BR rifle. Set up for local 1000m fun shoots and for LR hunting.
The project was to test a new cartridge design that I discussed earlier and what could be done with a factory Savage on a moderate budget. The rifle specs are as follows:

Action: Stevens 200. Orig in 270. Bolt has been tuned to remove that annoying jump before opening the bolt fully. No work done on action.

Barrel: Shilen SS Select Match, 7mm 9 twist, fluted with integral muzzle brake. Rifled length is 24". Overall just a smidge over 26". Machining on threads is BR tight. Zero slop when installed. Nice machining and almost too tight.

Trigger: Rifle Basix Sav 2 tuned down to about 6ozs. Very crisp with no overtravel. A great match trigger for this platform.

Optics: Base is a 20MOA Farrel. Rings are Burris Sig w/ inserts med height. Just high enough to clear bell. Elite 4000 4X16 - 50 scope set at 10X for the event. Sunshade will come in useful.

Stock: Modified Stevens factory stock with Limbsaver recoil pad. 3" wide forend with flat bottom. Discussed this mod in another post. May mod the rear if it doesn't ride the bags well enough. Texture and colour comes from 'stone' spray paint with a clear top coat. If you ever need to hide a lot of surface defects, this is the paint to use. Very forgiving but not durable so use a clear top coat.

Rifle has already shown the potential to shoot in the 1's at 100yds. Now to see how it works at 1000m. Recoil is mild and hopefully that wide forend will keep it from rolling for better recoil manners.











Jerry

 

[goodgrouper]

Very interesting rifle Jerry. You just can't beat those blue guns. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

What is the current load you are shooting and what is the numbers (sd, av, es, etc.) on it?

 

[bailey1474]

Very interesting. I'm anxious to see some groups from that thing.

 

[Mysticplayer]

Early days in testing as we are still in winter.

Best powder so far has been H4350 lit by Fed 210M primers to launch the 162gr molied Amax bullets at 2950fps. Velocity spreads have been low, around 10fps so far ( I did post my results a month or so back). I feel the Hodgdon powders like running at magnum pressures.

I have also tried H4831SC and CCi BR2 primers but only got to 2850fps. Still accurate though.

Will start moving the distance out further and see what works best. Let you all know.

Jerry

 

[davewilson]

Jerry, you really have the flutting back quite a ways,looks like possibly on top of the chamber. were you pinched for weight that bad? nice looking rig!

 

[Mysticplayer]

Barrel came from another project so the fluting was not so close to the chamber orig. Dispite the fluting, there is still lots of metal around that chamber. In fact, more then some feather weight sporter barrels.

It worked out really well because I am trying to make a 10lbs class. On the bathroom scale, looks like I have made it so the fluting was beneficial.

Will also make a very nice LR hunting rig. Those 162gr Amax will work just fine out as far as I can range with my leica 800.

So I have the both worlds. Except that forend will be interesting out in the field. Oh well, I have another sporter stock I could throw this into...

Jerry

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Jerry

What exactly is the 7 mystic?? Parent case, velocities. Looks very nice. Shoots very well, as you stated. You said the stock is a factory modified, how did you get the stock to be 3" at the forend if it was a factory stevens. I was not aware they were that heavy of a stock. It looks like BR stock, not a hunting stock. I love the looks of the rifle. Since its based on a savage action, the price was probly right. About how much is invested in that particular rifle, sounds like a great idea to build off a savage action.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Sorry, I got the velocity, 2950fps with the 162g amax.

 

[älg]

Jerry, nice rifle.

What´s the load H4350 with the a-max? i´m curious because I am also shooting a batch of moly 162 amax in a 7 rm.

 

[Mysticplayer]

alg, I haven't finalized a load due to shooting in the winter, but it should be around 57 to 59gr of H4350. I have a 7RM and can get this same bullet to 3100fps+. The factory rating of 2950fps with 160gr bullets is quite conservative for the 7RM given new types of powder.

Of course, so much depends on what your barrel likes. I have had awesome results with Re25. Just starting to test Retumbo in the 7RM.

here are pics of how I made the stock. Combo of lumber and plywood epoxied to the Stevens stock. Very easy to do. So far, glue sticks well. Then some sanding, filling and painting. Quite possible to finish project in one day.

In the second pic, that grey brown patch is the bedding (mold release is the brownish stain). Yes, you can bed the Savage in these stocks very well. With a bit of finess, the recoil lug is held solidly. This transforms these stocks into very useable and accurate stocks.

They get a bad rap and certainly will win no beauty contest but they are solid (action and lug area) and can be modified easily for some very interesting uses. That forend is as rigid as any stock on the market after my mods.

Sure beats throwing them away.

The last pic is of the 7 Mystic and the fireforming steps.

rem25-06, The cost for this project is very moderate. You start with a Stevens 200 rifle and swap in the parts listed above (you can get everything from Brownells). You can get an ebay special barrel or you can go to ER Shaw for a prethreaded/prechambered for $135, Brownells for a Shilen for around $250, or PacNor match for somewhere in the $300 to 350 range.

The fluting is up to you. Honestly, I wouldn't bother with it but it does look cool. I would have just got a lighter contoured barrel but I already had the barrel. The muzzle brake again is optional.

For a dirt cheap and superbly effective brake (like them better then the one on here now), I love the Micaluk AR15 brakes. You can open them up to whatever cal you want. Work as well as the Hollands. There will be an install cost here but shouldn't be more then $75.

Due to the nature of the Savage/Stevens action, you can do all the swapping and barrel install yourself. That alone saves quite a lot in the build up budget.

Do your own stock mods on the orig, bed it and again, big saving there.

There is little reason why you can't build something similar for around $500 plus the barrel and optics.

Jerry











The case on the far left is the 30-06, then secondary shoulder formed after running into FL 7RM sizer, fireformed case, Amax seated, Amax next for comparison. Bullet really doesn't take up much room. Still fits in a Savage standard action mag and will feed.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Jerry

Very nice rifle. Its cool how you did your own stock. I woulda never thought of doing something like that. then again, I'm not good with working with my hands. Some like to say I'm mechanically inclined, I'd like to agree with them. Ha ha. I'm almost half tempted to buy a savage later on down the road and do something like that. Pretty cheap custom rifle that will shoot really good. If I understand your case, it seems to be pretty much a 280 AI, right? 30-06 necked down to .284" then blown out. Thats the understanding I get. Pretty efficient cartridge. 162g amax at almost 3000, is still pretty impressive, while not even burning 60g of powder!

 

[Mysticplayer]

The savage/stevens platform is just a hoot to work with and produces some fine shooting rifles for low cost.

That floating head really is the key. You don't need to true up the action or do alot of the blue printing like with a fixed head action. I am not saying that you will be better then a full meal deal BR action. No way, but it will go head to head with a fully blueprinted Rem700 without the cost.

If you don't want to work with the stock, Boyds makes some real nice stocks for cheap too. I have used many and with some bedding, a great stock. Richards also makes them and in many BR styles. Then there are the composite stocks...

Yes, the 7 Mystic is larger then the 280AI but smaller then the Gibbs. Just look at the 7RM case diagram to get a feeling for where that shoulder is.

Effeciency really is a misnomer. There is no free lunch. What we are seeing is increased operating pressures for a given case volume.

Essentially, a 6BR getting close to a 243 in performance. Well, it is not possible if both are run at 243 saami pressures. What has happened with BR actions and well machined rifles is that the tolerances are pretty much zero so brass has no where to grow. It survives the elevated pressures with 'no pressure signs'. Put a pressure meter on that load and head for the hills. Thems toasty...

The 7 Mystic, like many wildcats are run at elevated pressures. Basically, I am at magnum pressures. With a little luck and 'great design', I get very nice performance. You just need to balance the type of powder used and load to 100% density (or slightly compressed). Most cases have enormous amounts of empty space (read load manuals).

I have done this several times with my 6.5 Mystic being one of the best of breed.

Hopefully, this will inspire you and others to get into wildcatting or just looking at your reloading and project rifles a bit differently.

I will not give up performance just for price alone. However, getting both is kinda nice.

Jerry

 

[älg]

Thanks for the info Jerry; interesting pics.

 

[Dan B]

6.5 Mystic...tell me more!

I have a .280AI (Rem 700 w/ 24" tube) that cranks 168gr SMK's to near 3,000fps...using RL-22. 100yd groups are around .5MOA but it will hold sub MOA to 500yards and I get a little better every trip to the range...getting better at reading conditions.

I've got a K98 actoin and stock looking for a barrel...thinking .270 Gibbs but the 6.5 Mystic sounds neat.