7 SAUM

[loonie]

The 180s should run 3000 and the 168 3100. Lonnie, have you guys used the 180 hyb or only the vld??? You had more issues this year with the 195 too?

Alex, Have not tried hyb, but yes 180 VLD. .200 FB puts them at 3.10 oal just off. I use single shot action. Cody and Leo both used 195 this month in there wsm's and they are done with them. I've been satisfied with the 180 eldm. 3 deer, one antelope with great results and one elk, but not a good hit on the elk, so needed a follow up shot. All 600 to 850 yards. Only shooting eld at 2940. Got vertical at 1000 yd when run over 3000 fps. Can push vld 3050 with rl 26, but don't use them under 400 yards to avoid the Berger blood shot mess. The Nosler 175 LR accubonds have actually worked well for the closer shots under 500, which surprised us !!
Lonnie

 

[L.Sherm]

Alex it appears in your pic that the 180's will have more bullet seated past the neck shoulder junction than I like compared to the 168 to get under 3.0" Thought's?

 

[elkaholic]

This is exactly why the ss does both! I don't like the bullet using up my capacity. I just need Bertram to come through on the brass now!

 

[Tikkashooter]

Wiserbucks I am also building a long action 7 saum on a tikka action, throated for the hornady 180 eldm! 22.5" barrel though. Can wait to get it back and start testing, hoping to get 2850 fps out of it, will be a long range hammer on animals

 

[WeiserBucks]

The Tikka is a great platform, good luck with your venture!

 

[L.Sherm]

I just don't like using up case capacity seems for me around that 90-95% case fill works the best.

 

[atl5029]

The bottom bullet is the 180 Berger hybrid . I'm getting ready to start testing my new custom 7 SAUM , Tikka T3 set up as a long action, 23" Hardy 1/8 C.F. barrel in a C.F. McMillan A3 edge fill. Weighs under 6 lbs without scope and mag . Based on prior results, I'm going straight to the 180's in this one, might even try the 195's for pure speculation.

Hey I'd like to know a little more about your rifle. I'm also considering building light weight carry rifle for steep country hunting for animals as big as elk/moose and I'm also thinking 7 SAUM, but with a 20" barrel to make it a little more handy walking through thick cover. I'm hoping to build a rifle that is 7.5 lbs max fully loaded. Do you know what all your individual components weigh (action, barrel, stock, rings, scope)? I plan on shooting the 168 Barnes LRX or one of the heavier Hammer bullets (I like monos). What kind of velocity do you think I can get from a 20" tube? Thanks!

 

[Tikkashooter]

your rifle set up sounded really awesome until you mentioned you are going to use barnes lrx

 

[WeiserBucks]

I can't provide a ready to shoot weight, I'm still waiting for my scope and magazine to arrive , I'm thinking it will come in around 7.75 lbs with a Hensoldt 3-15 . One thing I can say is a 22" 7 SAUM works pretty well, I have no idea how a 20" would perform.

 

[jrock]

Good post. I did the same thing in a drafting program for the 6.5 SAUM and the 7 SAUM to match magazine lengths. I figured the 168 grain 7mm would be the ticket for the SAUM over the 180. The 180s in the SAUM seem to be a poor trade when compared to my 338 NM shooting 300 grains at 2750 fps. Of course yours being a lightweight, 338 is not an option. I have 100 pieces of 7 SAUM left over from my 6.5 SAUM project that I might use as designed some day. Bye bye 7 RM.

 

[Tikkashooter]

Good post. I did the same thing in a drafting program for the 6.5 SAUM and the 7 SAUM to match magazine lengths. I figured the 168 grain 7mm would be the ticket for the SAUM over the 180. The 180s in the SAUM seem to be a poor trade when compared to my 338 NM shooting 300 grains at 2750 fps. Of course yours being a lightweight, 338 is not an option. I have 100 pieces of 7 SAUM left over from my 6.5 SAUM project that I might use as designed some day. Bye bye 7 RM.

A 7 shooting a 180 is a poor mans 338!

 

[letrbuck]

Dang. Really interested in how your rifle turns out. I've been hunting with a (Heavy) 280 Remington for quite a while and love it other than it's weight. I've had a wild hair to build a custom 280AI, but have been interested in the SAUM too.

They're pretty much ballistic twins from what I can tell, but am I correct in assuming that the SAUM would perform better than the AI in a shorter (22-23") barrel? From what I can tell the AI is best with a 25+" barrel....

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Chambered the barrel today. Went with a .050" freebore as I want to try the 180s first. That puts them .010 off the lands at an oal of 2.950" If quickloads is right I should be able to hit 3000 fps with rl26 in a 26" barrel. I may end up with 4831sc because it will probably be more tolerant to temp changes. It will cost me 100 fps though. May even break her in this weekend.

 

[Shooter264]

Interested in what you find for temp stability in the RE26 powder. I've heard mixed reviews