possible 7mm rem mag rebarrel

[bkillion28]

Im having issues with my 7mm rem mag, going to have it bedded and see if that helps the accuracy but if it's the barrel I might change calibers, this is a hunting rifle 600 yards will be the max range needed, I've been thinking about a 280 AI or 28 nosler, wanting to be around 160-180 grains, but I'm open to suggestions, Thanks. Also I already have a 26 nosler and 264 win mag and my dad has a 7mm stw so we can eliminate those from the suggestions please.

 

[adam32]

280 ai won't work unless you get a new bolt and make mag box modifications.

I would stick with the 7mm mag or a 28 nosler.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Nothing wrong with rebarrelling in the 7RM again. Great round, my go-to carry rifle for elk @ 10.5#. Bartlein #3B fluted @ 26" 1:8.5". Shot my bull elk last year @ 662 pushing a 180 Hybrid @ 2996fps, not the fastest load I had, but ridiculously accurate. Shoots in the .1 to .2s out past 1000.

I also recently built a .280AI strictly for a lighter weight carry rifle (notice I did not say "lightweight"). It weighs in at 8lbs 15oz with scope and sling. It honestly nearly rivals the 7RM in performance. 26" Proof Sendero Light 1:9". I push a 175 Berger Elite Hunter @ a hot 2975fps into the .2s. 2.9" 3 shot @ 921 yards. But to do this, you need a bolt change from .532" to .473" as well. More $$$. I did the opposite, turning a .260Rem into a 6.5 SS.

 

[MudRunner2005]

.280 AI, 7RM, & .28 Nosler are all great cartridges...But like Adam said, you would have to swap bolts and mag boxes and followers to build a .280 AI as it uses the .30-06 (.473" bolt face), and the others use a magnum (.532" bolt face).

Also, like Lance said, there's nothing wrong with rebarreling it back to 7RM, and with a high-quality aftermarket barrel, it will be like night & day difference, even in the same cartridge. Go with a 26" 1:8 twist barrel, and you'll be able to stabilize everything from 140 to 195 grain bullets.

 

[bkillion28]

280 ai won't work unless you get a new bolt and make mag box modifications.

I would stick with the 7mm mag or a 28 nosler.

Yep forgot it's not a magnum

 

[bkillion28]

Thanks for the input guy I appreciate it

 

[Timeee123]

I sent my 7mm to my gunsmith and had him turn it into a 28 nos. I am now sending my other 7mm and having him tun it into (drum rollllll) yep a 28 nos. I am addicted to .284, I think they are king. I have taken my 28 to 1250 yards and put 3 in the size of a pie plate, I handed it to my buddy and his group was tighter. It is an amazing cartridge. The load I worked up is a 175 eldx with 80 gr of H1000, 5 shot average is 3175 at the muzzle. I harvested 4 animals this year, the furthest @ 620 and nothing moved after 1 shot. I am being biased but if I was to recommend I would say 28 nos.

 

[coop2564]

I sent my 7mm to my gunsmith and had him turn it into a 28 nos. I am now sending my other 7mm and having him tun it into (drum rollllll) yep a 28 nos. I am addicted to .284, I think they are king. I have taken my 28 to 1250 yards and put 3 in the size of a pie plate, I handed it to my buddy and his group was tighter. It is an amazing cartridge. The load I worked up is a 175 eldx with 80 gr of H1000, 5 shot average is 3175 at the muzzle. I harvested 4 animals this year, the furthest @ 620 and nothing moved after 1 shot. I am being biased but if I was to recommend I would say 28 nos.

Whats the barrel life est. for the 28 nosler?

 

[MudRunner2005]

Whats the barrel life est. for the 28 nosler?

If I had to guess based on ballistics & case capacity, I'd say it's close to the 7mm STW, so probably around 1,000-1,250. But you know, barrel life is one of those things that's really hard to estimate, because user-interaction determines alot of it. If you strictly hunt with it, and rarely-to-never let the barrel heat up, then it will last alot longer than if you target shoot, and run 5-10 shot strings where the barrel gets pretty hot. Also, heavier bullets have slower velocities, slower velocities creates less friction, which puts less wear & tear on the bore.

 

[jjmp]

save some money keep it 7mag,as stated above 26 inch bbl 1-8 tw conture #3 or 4 ss or chrome moly(blued), have your action piller glass beded, more stable,and have your stock trigger tricked out for a lighter pull weight. in the long run it will be cheaper to shoot ,and it'will repove its worth back to you with it's Performance.

 

[Jerry M]

I had a Remington 7MM RM that shot 8-9 inch groups with 150 gr Remington cor-lock factory ammunition. Groups were reduced to an inch with 160 gr Speer hot-cor reloads. 168 SMKs shot even better. It was a factory sporter, but the difference was dramatic.

Good luck

Jerry

 

[MudRunner2005]

I had a Remington 7MM RM that shot 8-9 inch groups with 150 gr Remington cor-lock factory ammunition. Groups were reduced to an inch with 160 gr Speer hot-cor reloads. 168 SMKs shot even better. It was a factory sporter, but the difference was dramatic.

Good luck

Jerry

Jerry, you hit the nail on the head. That's also alot of the problem, is folks buying a factory 700, shoot cheap crappy factory Remington ammo, and it shoots horribly, and they declare all 700's are a *** with crap barrels and accuracy problems that won't hit the broad-side of a barn. Most of that is from ignorant shooters/hunters, but part of it is also stupidity, and the other part is lack of hand-loading, and if they don't handload, it's from lack of experimentation with different bullets, weights, ammo brands, etc... Some people never even give the rifle a chance, but because it doesn't shoot good groups with the same cheap crap-ammo that they've always grew up shooting and that their grandpappy and daddy always shot with success, it must be a pile.

For the record, I'm NOT referring to the OP's or anyone specific's situation, just stating that at the gun shop, we had a lot of this type of stuff with people bringing guns back for us to test, but they never thoroughly tested their ammo options themselves, to find out if that was their issue. Part of my job was early Saturday morning testing of customer's guns, and sighting in other customer's guns. More often than not, it was their ammo choice that was causing their accuracy issues.

 

[bkillion28]

I had a Remington 7MM RM that shot 8-9 inch groups with 150 gr Remington cor-lock factory ammunition. Groups were reduced to an inch with 160 gr Speer hot-cor reloads. 168 SMKs shot even better. It was a factory sporter, but the difference was dramatic.

Good luck

Jerry

I wish it would have been that simple, but I took it to a guy that does the shooting matches and he pretty much told me it was junk the way it is, I tried a 150 160 162 before I took it to him none even got close to a descent group, I'm not sure what he tried, I know he has one and handloads for it so I don't think it would be as simple as changing to 168gr

 

[bkillion28]

Jerry, you hit the nail on the head. That's also alot of the problem, is folks buying a factory 700, shoot cheap crappy factory Remington ammo, and it shoots horribly, and they declare all 700's are a *** with crap barrels and accuracy problems that won't hit the broad-side of a barn. Most of that is from ignorant shooters/hunters, but part of it is also stupidity, and the other part is lack of hand-loading, and if they don't handload, it's from lack of experimentation with different bullets, weights, ammo brands, etc... Some people never even give the rifle a chance, but because it doesn't shoot good groups with the same cheap crap-ammo that they've always grew up shooting and that their grandpappy and daddy always shot with success, it must be a pile.

I never said it was a Remington 700, it is but I want to point out I never said it was, nor implied all 700s were a ***, I grew up shooting only Remington and wasnt till last year i bought a savage, i dont have a problem with all 700s just this one.