7mm STW Brotherhood - For those who shoot the 7mm Shooting Times Westerner

[etisll40]

Sometimes I wonder if the Berger's are worth the effort. I guess it depends on the distance and what you are shooting at. The accubonds and the partition are easier to load typically, and are proven in the field too.

 

[Dano1]

Sometimes I wonder if the Berger's are worth the effort. I guess it depends on the distance and what you are shooting at. The accubonds and the partition are easier to load typically, and are proven in the field too.

Ed,

This load is more geared towards a 600-700yd shot. I am fine with shooting this one single shot, but anything closer I'm leaning towards an accubond or Hornady interbond in a lighter weight bullet.

As far as the Bergers go I have taken 3 Muleys and a cow elk with 3 other cows being taken with my .30-06AI shooting a 168g Berger VLD. None went more than 30 yds before falling some were instant kills. They work if placed properly just like anything else. Just my experiences, so far so good.

Later,

Dan

 

[Gnas]

GNAS, your level is (LED) not a bubble? I was thinking that would be easier to read while over the scope. Where did you get it? Nice rifle, what kind of scope and reticle do you have? Do you like the setup?

Thanks,
Ed

This level is LED.

It's easy to see him staying on target

I am a metalworker, my son an electronic
Sometimes we can play together

Scope is Schmidt & bender 4-16 x 50 Reticle A8 Varmint

I like to customize the Setup, if you look also the rings are handcrafted

 

[Bear 9362]

If you are after just the one all round projectile for anything up close and out wide I was wondering if anyone has used the 150gn Swift sirroccos ?
I personally like using 160gn Accubond for my mag load and 162gn A-max for my long range work. Anything I jump gets a 160accubond out to 250 - 300yds and anything out past that gets a 162 A-max. works for me.

 

[etisll40]

Thanks guys, I'm playing with bullets and the Bergers shoot pretty good but I haven't taken any bullets out far enough to see what they do. Soon though.

 

[7stw]

It seems that I have to be content with shooting the 180g Bergers seated way out. I shot 2 seperate groups this morning both seated to fit the magazine and 1 of them with slight crimp to see if that changed anything. The crimped group still shot better than the non crimped group but both groups were 2" or bigger at 100yds.

Seated out to .003" off the lands, the groups are about 3/4" So I'll Crimp those and it may help tighten those loads up. (Butterbean's idea)

In the meantime. I'll start looking for another load more suited to being magazine length.

Dan

Dano, I see that our partner in crime " Butterbean" got to ya about the crimping set up! Well, he's got me thinking about it in my set ups. The concept makes sense, and it all has to do with the crimp setting, and neck tension uniformity. I think I will be contacting Lee , as in " LEE" dies, and get a die for my STW. I have a set for my 300 win mag, and 308.
It getting to be a little cooler here, and I will be doing some catch up shooting here pretty soon. Labor day is just around the corner, and deer season will shortly follow.
Can't wait. Take care, and good shooting.

 

[7stw]

Guys my Rem 700 7 STW anti cant device led.
are left-handers with both eyes open I see the led in scope
the led is calibrated +-1°
My 2 cents.

View attachment 12329

Gnas, great looking rifle, and actually the whole set up. I really like the the embellished receiver. I had a 25-06 a few years ago, that was absolutely beautiful. That one was blued, but I wish that I had kept it. Good luck in your shooting, and welcome to the " club".
P/ S, I really like those " fancy" rings/ bases. Nice job!

 

[7stw]

Sometimes I wonder if the Berger's are worth the effort. I guess it depends on the distance and what you are shooting at. The accubonds and the partition are easier to load typically, and are proven in the field too.

Ed, I have gone through a transition since last deer season. I was shooting them in four rifles, which represented three calibers. I had a " experience" with 7mm, and another " experience " with three o eight diameter as well. Neither were good. Now, depending who you talk to, and what caliber and SPEED they are shooting, you may get another story. I have heard of amazing kills with .270, and 6 mm, but I really think it has to be the speed factor. I must say, I had no accuracy issues. Some of the best groups ever, but I will never shoot another deer with one. These are just my experiences, and I feel that others have had the same, but some are also having great luck with them. I went back to what I know , and to what I have had no issues with in the past. No repeats of last deer season for me, NO thank you!! Good luck in your search.

 

[Monzola]

Pushing the 168gr Berger VLD past 3200 with the Sako and the factory 26" barrel is pushing them pretty hard. It all depends on what you are doing with the rifle, if you are paper punching, no problem. The issue 7stw spoke of was that at or above 3200 fps he experienced penetration problems on game. Maybe he will chime in and clarify if the problem was likely the impact velocity was too high, or is pushing them that fast had some effect on the structural integrity of the bullet. The bullet will loose approx. 200fps by the time it reaches 200yards, thus the impact speed wouldn't be too high. My luck though, that's when that buck or bull of a lifetime strolls out at 75 yards. That's why I wanted to stay at or just under 3200.
It's strange how different loads can be in different rifles. A friend of mine has a custom built STW that he had built for him not long after Layne wrote about it in Shooting Times. I don't remember the specs of his rifle except that it to has a 26" barrel. His go to load is 80gr of H1000 pushing 160gr Nosler Accubonds at 3300fps. The same load in my Sako 26" barrel barely breaks 3000fps.
That's the fun part of rifles and reloading. Trying to find that magical load for each rifle.

Sounds like i may have some of the same issues Fire306. If i might ask what did you get to shoot in it? I'm getting some pressure issues well below some of the suggested loads that i have tried. Thanks

 

[Monzola]

OK Brothers, I'm new to both the site and my STW, but am working with a gunsmith developing some loads for my new piece and to be REAL honest with yall i'm pretty depressed with my gun thus far "not the caliber itself, just my gun." Its one of the Rem 700 26" sps's broke down and put in a B&C stock with a trigger job and floated from the folks at Red Hawk Rifles. Each time I've spoke with them they've been very good to accomadate me with my questions, but I value yours as well so here goes...

My guy has built several of these but says he's never ran into a problem like mine yet so maybe yall can solve it. I'm getting pretty bad pressure issues at some what we feel is low end powder charges resulting in low mv's. First thing I switched was primers, same brand, but dif lot#. No change. I've got bad cratering on each of them. Here's what i've tried thus far:

75 gr. RL22
140 accubond
3.665 oal
3096 (with pressure issues)

85.5 gr. H1000
150 barnes ttsx
3.60 oal
3246 (with major pressure issues)

My gunsmith has an stw shooting a 140 corelock and 82.5gr of rl22 and getting 3450mv with 0 presssure issues. He says his best guess so far is that its just tight and may not be capable of these loads, but I surely don't want to settle for a 140gr at less than 3000. My ol' 308 will get me nearly there man. I'm just stumped and hopefully you guys can help me. Thanks and God Bless

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

OK Brothers, I'm new to both the site and my STW, but am working with a gunsmith developing some loads for my new piece and to be REAL honest with yall i'm pretty depressed with my gun thus far "not the caliber itself, just my gun." Its one of the Rem 700 26" sps's broke down and put in a B&C stock with a trigger job and floated from the folks at Red Hawk Rifles. Each time I've spoke with them they've been very good to accomadate me with my questions, but I value yours as well so here goes...

My guy has built several of these but says he's never ran into a problem like mine yet so maybe yall can solve it. I'm getting pretty bad pressure issues at some what we feel is low end powder charges resulting in low mv's. First thing I switched was primers, same brand, but dif lot#. No change. I've got bad cratering on each of them. Here's what i've tried thus far:

75 gr. RL22
140 accubond
3.665 oal
3096 (with pressure issues)

85.5 gr. H1000
150 barnes ttsx
3.60 oal
3246 (with major pressure issues)

My gunsmith has an stw shooting a 140 corelock and 82.5gr of rl22 and getting 3450mv with 0 presssure issues. He says his best guess so far is that its just tight and may not be capable of these loads, but I surely don't want to settle for a 140gr at less than 3000. My ol' 308 will get me nearly there man. I'm just stumped and hopefully you guys can help me. Thanks and God Bless

Same issues with my m700 lh in 7stw with rl22 and the accubond. I tried 75, 77, and 79, and all were rather hot, even 75. Go to rl25 or retumbo and it'll cure your ills. My last rifle loved rl25 and the 140 accubond. I started ld with a couple hundred old loads on the shelf. I got peeved that the new rifle wasn't doing so well and went to the old stuff; one load(the accubond with rl25) worked and another got pulled down. I had a sendero that would go to 77 or 78 gr rl22 with no issues. My father's 7stw will do 79 grains rl22 with a 140 (loafing)-- not this one. 75 with a nos is hot and 77 with a sierra is topped out in the new rifle.
I'm running 82 grains rl25 in win brass with the 140 a-bond. I suspect I'll have to drop to 81 grains if going to rem brass when the win stuff goes to brass heaven.

 

[Dano1]

OK Brothers, I'm new to both the site and my STW, but am working with a gunsmith developing some loads for my new piece and to be REAL honest with yall i'm pretty depressed with my gun thus far "not the caliber itself, just my gun." Its one of the Rem 700 26" sps's broke down and put in a B&C stock with a trigger job and floated from the folks at Red Hawk Rifles. Each time I've spoke with them they've been very good to accomadate me with my questions, but I value yours as well so here goes...

My guy has built several of these but says he's never ran into a problem like mine yet so maybe yall can solve it. I'm getting pretty bad pressure issues at some what we feel is low end powder charges resulting in low mv's. First thing I switched was primers, same brand, but dif lot#. No change. I've got bad cratering on each of them. Here's what i've tried thus far:

75 gr. RL22
140 accubond
3.665 oal
3096 (with pressure issues)

85.5 gr. H1000
150 barnes ttsx
3.60 oal
3246 (with major pressure issues)

My gunsmith has an stw shooting a 140 corelock and 82.5gr of rl22 and getting 3450mv with 0 presssure issues. He says his best guess so far is that its just tight and may not be capable of these loads, but I surely don't want to settle for a 140gr at less than 3000. My ol' 308 will get me nearly there man. I'm just stumped and hopefully you guys can help me. Thanks and God Bless

This to me sounds like a tight barrel that a few Thousandths off. This is similar to a remington 700 Sendero that i had in a 7mm Rem mag and I was running into this exact problem.

Is the barrel a factory remington Barrel? If not, what make is it and what is the twist??? Sounds like a rebarrel is in order. Using a slower problem will help out, but you're not going to get the velocitys that you are expecting.

Dan

 

[Fire306]

Monzola, this is just a thought, I had a similar problem let when trying to develops loads for my stw. I couldn't get near the velocity I wanted. Then after ordering anew chrony, because I thought for sure it was the problem I came across a write up somewhere on the Internet that a chrony can pick up a muzzle blast. So my next trip to the range, I moved it further away. Out to about 30 feet, and my velocities jumped up 2-300 fps. I have read that if the screens on your chronograph shake from the muzzle blast, it is too close.
Like I say, just a thought.

 

[7stw]

Monzola, is to his one of the limited production guns that Remington put out recently? If so, I have been hearing from others , and as a matter of fact, one of the guys on this thread that are having similar issues. I am told that the barrels are rougher than a plowed field, and need a awful lot of lapping. Also, it could also be a headspace issue. As a example, in my rifles, a typical load of 79-rl22 and a 140 bullet, will get nearly or over 3400, and also typically, no pressure. If you are getting pressure at 3000 fps, either with RL22, or H1000, I would certainly have that thing checked. As was mentioned, you may very well have a tight bore, and slugging it will tell you the answer. I wish you all the best in searching for the answer, and cure. It must be frustrating. This is a wonderful caliber, once you have a gun that is fit to shoot it. Best drug I ever shot!! Keep us posted, there is a very good brain trust here.