Recommend 7mm-300wm or 7mm Valkyrie

[BigSwede]

Esteemed knowledgable dingers of steel and droppers of beasts way far way.... I'm looking for a wildcat that is 7mm that will get to 1km + --- with energy to possibly kill a deer with a well placed shot. I've keyed on Kiwi Nates writings regarding his 7mm-300 and like Chuckhammers 7mm Valkyrie ideas as well... Can you talk me into one or the other please. Big bullets of at least 168 preferring 180+. 10-12 lb gun expected. Can you build me the hypothetical rifle is your reply post. Need teenie groups at 1000 + please advise. Thanks -Swede

 

[Broz]

Have put together 5 of the 7mm-300 wins now and can tell you I have been impressed with them all. 9 twists, 8.5 twists and an 8 twist. Barrel lengths from 29.5" to as short as 22". velocity was 3000 plus with the 22 and up to 3200 with the 29.5". All with 180 gr Bergers. These would easily take deer at 1000 plus.

When the 195 Bergers are released be ready with at least an 8.5 twist. I am curious to test that combination.

Jeff

 

[BigSwede]

Many apologies to you Jeff. I didnt give due respect to you regarding the 7-300wm. I have followed your builds at least in your posts back and forth with Nate and chuckhammer. If you were to build yet another what would your specs be if you don't mind?? Thank you!!

 

[Broz]

No apologies needed. Oh let me see.... I am kind of waiting for these 195's and then will decide if I want to switch from my 300 win with 215's to a 7mm-300 with 195's for my mid sized magnum. So, if I did that for myself, it would be an 8 twist , sendero contour with either a 26 or 28" tube with a JP tac compensator brake.

Stock would still be my McMillian Lazaroni thumb hole , Defiance action, and a 5.5~22 NXS.

This should weigh in at 11.5 lbs with a 9~13 Harris swivel bipod. and with a 195 and a BC of .79 @ 3100 plus should be something to recon with as far as drift and drop goes. Should take the effective range for deer sized game well over 1200 yards.

But then, I have taken antelope as far at close to 1300 with the 300 win and several over 1000. Only time and testing will tell the true story.

Jeff

 

[stanley52]

I am no expert, and will not pretend to be, but I'm pretty sure a 7mm mag with a 180gr vld will do the trick. Run a ballistic chart with a near max load from any book for an estimation. Might save you the headache of tracking someone down with those reamer's and turning brass and etc.

 

[fmajor]

Tagging in!

If it matters at all..... Nate in New Zealand calls his the 7mm Practical which is very similar to the simple 7mm-300Win.

I'd also inquire of the 7mm Mashburn (or Super Mashburn) mag as well.

 

[BigSwede]

Jeff, what do you think optimum free bore and neck diameter would be for peak accuracy ( I know it's a loaded question) no pun intended ...... And Stanley ..I agree I could do it with a 7mag but would it be as cool? My 280 ack does a good job with the 168vlds so I was looking to rev it up a bit ..

 

[stanley52]

Jeff, what do you think optimum free bore and neck diameter would be for peak accuracy ( I know it's a loaded question) no pun intended ...... And Stanley ..I agree I could do it with a 7mag but would it be as cool? My 280 ack does a good job with the 168vlds so I was looking to rev it up a bit ..

Haha fair enough man. Cool is a legitimate factor when building a gun. 100% serious.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I'm going to do a 6.5x68 Schuler Improved shortly to replace my 6.5-300wm's down the road. I will probably replace my 7-300wm's with a 7mm version as well. The case is 2.65" long and .524 at the base compared to .513 for a magnum. It also has a longer neck than a .300wm. It is only .513 at the case head compared to a magnum of .532 but those using custom actions have no problem using a magnum bolt face. It may require a M-16 extractor install but most doing that to a factory bolt sleeve the bolt anyway. There are several versions that are used for 1000yd shooting in .30cal and there are getting .300AI velocities out of the smaller case. I expect to get near 26 Nosler/6.5STW velocities with the best brass there is (RWS). I'm going to do a 35 degree shoulder to minimize case stretch because I hate trimming. Custom is custom if you get away from a standard 300wm case so I'd rather not have to trim cases or deal with a bulge in from of the belt. Most people say they are getting up to 50 reloads per case when they are annealed and have a sharp shoulder. Just another option.

Then again I've thought about a 6.5 and 7mm on my 30-338 Norma Imp. case. I might just do the 7mm version if Berger ever releases the 195gr 7mm bullets. It should shoot them about as fast as a 7-300wm shoots 180's.

 

[MudRunner2005]

No apologies needed. Oh let me see.... I am kind of waiting for these 195's and then will decide if I want to switch from my 300 win with 215's to a 7mm-300 with 195's for my mid sized magnum. So, if I did that for myself, it would be an 8 twist , sendero contour with either a 26 or 28" tube with a JP tac compensator brake.

Stock would still be my McMillian Lazaroni thumb hole , Defiance action, and a 5.5~22 NXS.

This should weigh in at 11.5 lbs with a 9~13 Harris swivel bipod. and with a 195 and a BC of .79 @ 3100 plus should be something to recon with as far as drift and drop goes. Should take the effective range for deer sized game well over 1200 yards.

But then, I have taken antelope as far at close to 1300 with the 300 win and several over 1000. Only time and testing will tell the true story.

Jeff

And just imagine what the STW will be like with the 195's......

 

[Broz]

And just imagine what the STW will be like with the 195's......

Oh I am aware of the bigger is better mind frame. I went down that road with 30-378's , 300 RUM's, 30 Lapua's, 7 Rums, 7 Lapua'a etc. I tend to shoot midsized magnums quite a bit more than my other rifles. So I need all the barrel life I can get. The ones that need a barrel a year do not fit my shooting regimen. Maybe I just shoot too much, but it takes a while for me to get a rifle to the point where I trust the load and drops to take game at 1000 and beyond. Every time I change barrel I start over. Thus the reason I have went back to the 300 win for the midsized magnum in my safe. If I didn't have a good 338 I would still own a big cased 30, but the 338 will out preform and out last the smaller bore, big case cartridges. Same goes with the 7's, and the reason I limit the .284 bore to the case size of the 7-300 win. The 7-300's are lasting very well for us. We have one that has out lived the 7 STW's I owned by quite a bit. Velocity is always a great thing, and I love big cases, but just like everything it comes at a price. The trick is to get all you can with a life spam you can live with.

Jeff

 

[BigSwede]

What are the case and chamber dimensions that you believe to be optimal ??

 

[Broz]

Jeff, what do you think optimum free bore and neck diameter would be for peak accuracy ( I know it's a loaded question) no pun intended .....

I use a no turn neck at minimum spec. I have not been using any free bore, I just set the throat up to where I want the bullet to reside in the case. I like about .060" or so of bullet bearing surface below the neck / shoulder junction when the bullet is on the lands. This allows a little chasing the throat, if need be. I also like the throat bore tight and at minimum spec also. The only other thing I did was add a little on the reamer to cut the case neck a bit longer. I think I did .040" That is for brass to grow as you will have some to spare after necking down. Adding .040" to neck length may be seen as fruitless, but with the short neck of the 300 win a little longer case trim length can not hurt.

Jeff

 

[Broz]

What are the case and chamber dimensions that you believe to be optimal ??

I did not alter the case at all below the neck / shoulder junction. I want to simply take my Redding Competition 300 win die set and change the neck bushing and have quality dies. Since I load quite a bit for both the 300 win and 7-300 win , this works well for me.

Jeff