New stw or go to 7mm rum

[screech]

I have a 7mm stw that is starting to get a little tired. It's starting to get more in the 3/4-1moa rifle instead of being the .3-.5 moa rifle it used to be. Being it's the only firearm I have that I am emotionally attached to it will get to live a life of a safe queen for old times memory sake. So I'm looking at building a new hunting rifle. I have shot/built a lot of 300rums and they all shoot great and I may go that route or another 7stw. My stw was easy to load for and performed flawlessly. But being I enjoyed my stw so much I am wondering if I would like a 7mm rum more. I ran h1000 with a 162 Amax and it was fairly temperature stable didn't foul fast and kept good mv with low Es in the stw. If I wanted to keep using the 162amax do you think the 7rum would work well with it or is it best left for using the big heavy 7mm bullets? Barrel life doesn't matter to me at the rate I shoot even if it only lasts 600rounds that's a couple years for me and it's not a big deal to me to throw on a new barrel. Thanks for any real world life expierence help

 

[MudRunner2005]

It's hard to justify the 15 grains more powder for only 37 fps increase of the RUM, in my opinion. Which is what the Berger manual shows when loaded to max SAAMI pressures of the fastest loads listed for each caliber with 180gr bullets. Not to mention the RUM's barrel life is significantly shorter than the STW from all the extra powder it burns.

The STW's case size is about the largest case for a 7mm bore that will be an efficient size...Once you go bigger than the STW, you get a lot of diminishing returns, like shorter barrel life.

I'd go for another STW, since you already know and like the caliber.

 

[dok7mm]

Right on the money, MudRunner.

 

[Nimrod]

Given the new brass situation right now, I would (did in fact) go with one of the 7mm-.300 wildcats unless I already had a lifetime supply of cases.
I had a 7mmRUM that was a great shooter but as was previously mentioned, not worth the little bit of extra gain I was getting.

 

[screech]

Thanks guys ya I didn't know how much you really gain going to a rum. Some people say 37fps while others have told me as much as 150fps. Probably just depends on barrel and reamer setups.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I would go with the caliber I could get enough brass to wear the barrel out and then some. A 7-300wm really isn't far behind a 7STW and 300wm brass is much easier to find. I'm sure you have some components since you already have a 7STW but do you have enough for another barrel? I shoot 162 Amax's 3240fps through my 27" Schneider barreled 7-300wm and a little faster than that through my 28" barreled gun (3265fps). I have 2 STW's also and have shot the caliber since the early 90's but rarely shoot them now because the brass is getting so much harder to find and I gain almost nothing over a 7-300wm. The STW and RUM really need long mag boxes to get the most out of them where as my 7-300wm's with 162's runs just barely over 3.6" so they work in a standard length Remington mag box (3.68") without alterations.

I would skip the RUM unless you were going to shoot heavy bullets like the 195 Berger. There are some pretty serious diminishing returns going past a 7-300wm or STW. I have a 7-338 Norma Imp reamer on order now but it is throated specifically for the 195's and I have enough brass to last me for probably 20 barrels. I also have a customer that I'm going to build a 7-338 Lapua Imp for to shoot 195's also. I expect 3150-3200fps out of mine and his should go 3300+fps with 195's. If you consider a 7-300wm will shoot 180's 3150fps out of a 28" barrel using roughly 75-78grs of powder and it will take 15+grs more powder to drive the 195 about the same velocity out of a RUM or 7-338 Norma Imp then that tells you they aren't very efficient. That is only about 10fps per grain of powder and even less with the 7-338 Lapua Imp.

 

[WildRose]

I have a 7mm stw that is starting to get a little tired. It's starting to get more in the 3/4-1moa rifle instead of being the .3-.5 moa rifle it used to be. Being it's the only firearm I have that I am emotionally attached to it will get to live a life of a safe queen for old times memory sake. So I'm looking at building a new hunting rifle. I have shot/built a lot of 300rums and they all shoot great and I may go that route or another 7stw. My stw was easy to load for and performed flawlessly. But being I enjoyed my stw so much I am wondering if I would like a 7mm rum more. I ran h1000 with a 162 Amax and it was fairly temperature stable didn't foul fast and kept good mv with low Es in the stw. If I wanted to keep using the 162amax do you think the 7rum would work well with it or is it best left for using the big heavy 7mm bullets? Barrel life doesn't matter to me at the rate I shoot even if it only lasts 600rounds that's a couple years for me and it's not a big deal to me to throw on a new barrel. Thanks for any real world life expierence help

I wouldn't replace an STW with a Rum period.

You are paying so much more in terms of loading expense, increased muzzle blast/noise, and recoil for so little gain in velocity it's simply not worth it in my book.

If I were going to do something besides an STW in my next 7mm I'd go with probably the 28 Nosler and only then because of the cost of components and availability of factory ammo.

 

[screech]

Sounds good I appreciate the info. I do think I may try to build a 7mmx300win I just stumbled onto a screaming deal for brass so I bought enough to wear a barrel out. I don't particularly like 28 inch barrels for hunting so I may run a 26 inch on it but I'll order it long enough to run a 28 if I want at the point of building it. I've had 28-32 inch long barrels and they seem to get caught on everything walking to a vantage point. Again thanks for all the info