rifle availability?

[azdesertrat]

i have been looking at getting a new rifle, im wanting either 7wsm 7stw or 7rum and around or under a grand, seems like these rifles are all but non existant i know rem700 has 7rum but i heard they put out a bunch of crap barrels in that caliber. id just like to finde one new seems like used rifles the % of lemons goes up sooo help!

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

First off all that you mentioned could have you scratching your head over brass the second you lay your hard earned cash on the counter and the future doesn't exactly look promising either...save your money, get a T/C venture for under $400.00, at that price you can buy two, a 7 rem mag and a .300 wm if you need more power and get a 3x9 Leupold to swap between the two and I guarrentee they both will shoot just as good as that $1000.00 rifle... Remember they all shoot the same bullet, n animal will ever know which gun it came from or miss the 100-200 fps difference..

 

[Barrelnut]

I agree that all the above will always be hard to find brass for, and a couple of them (7WSM and & 7 RUM) may have no support before long. 7STW will probably always be around, but will always have brass availability issues.

If I wanted to get a high performance 7mm cartridge, I would go with the 280 Nosler. I think Nosler will always support this cartridge and they have a good track record of supplying brass for handloaders. They also make some pretty good rifles chambered in it.

Otherwise a 7 Mag is the safe choice. Great cartridge, I shoot it in a sporter rifle for general deer/elk hunting. It's a great round that sets right at the recoil limit most people can shoot accurately.

I would recommend a Savage rifle though. They are known for their accuracy and have one of the very best out of the box triggers (Remington, Ruger, Mossberg, and others now copy the Savage trigger...). I shoot 4 of them right now and am very happy with their accuracy and reliability. I would look at a Savage 116 in stainless steel in 7 Rem Mag.

 

[azdesertrat]

im not trying to go cheap im a firm beliver in you get what you pay for 1000 is just as mutch as i can justify on a bare rifle right now, this is specifically for elk and i want to get some range out of it and i like 7's im not overly worried about brass long as i can get my hands on some this wont be my daily shooter anyway that spot is held down by my 260, those are the calibers that caught my intrest im just having trouble finding rifles and i figured if there was anyone who might know of factory rifles in those calibers would be the pepole on this sight being theres some hard core rifle junkys on hear

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

I wouldn't necessarily agree you get what you pay for, anything could be further from the truth. It seems like all these modern mass produced rifles built for profit rather than quality are all in the same class, grab any bolt action, pump or lever made in the 60's-80's and compared the workmanship, no contest. Of the 3 cartridges you listed, I'm not sure anyone produces much of anything for any of them. I've never seen a mass produced stw and the way these companies drop cartridges today I'm not sure anyone produces a rum or wsm with much choice, maybe one or two from anyone other than cooper but that's a big jump in price. Other than the brass availability now and in the future there's not much in factory shells either and they charge you out the whazoo for them. Once the bullet leaves the crown, no one knows what type of rifle it came from, a $249.00 el cheappo deluxe or a #1000.00 Browning/Remington/Winchester...I've seen many el-cheappo deluxes that shot some amazing groups for under $300.00 ... If you got an extra action laying around or one in Dad's gun cabinet I'd just rebarrel, trigger and stock and get what you want for about the same $1000.00..

 

[StrutNut]

For elk? Why not just bump up to a 300 win mag? I have a Savage Bear Hunter that shoots under 1 inch groups with Factory rounds. If you only have $1000 because money is tight 300 wm is affordable and easy to find. The rifle comes with a brake thats easy on your shoulder. I have added an oversized bolt handle that took me like 5 minutes to install and a cheek rest so I line up evenly with the NXS I have on it. You will be under a grand with the rifle, bolt nob and cheek rest and have a fantastic performing rifle/round for elk from 0-1000 yards. Honestly I spent almost double what I spent on the rifle for the scope, rings, base and level. I honestly feel that the only way I can improve on my setup is going full custom.

 

[MudRunner2005]

im not trying to go cheap im a firm beliver in you get what you pay for 1000 is just as mutch as i can justify on a bare rifle right now, this is specifically for elk and i want to get some range out of it and i like 7's im not overly worried about brass long as i can get my hands on some this wont be my daily shooter anyway that spot is held down by my 260, those are the calibers that caught my intrest im just having trouble finding rifles and i figured if there was anyone who might know of factory rifles in those calibers would be the pepole on this sight being theres some hard core rifle junkys on hear

You don't always get what you pay for... I can promise you that much. I bought a $2000 MSRP Weatherby Accumark and the barrel started caving in at around 75 rounds, and throughout the next 75-100 rounds it progressively got worse and worse. I finally traded it off in late 2014 after having it for 6 years.

The 7mm STW is a great cartridge. I have 2, and got my first in 2002, and I've been obsessed with that cartridge ever since. Nobody really makes a factory offered rifle in STW anymore. Remington made the SPS rifles in a 26" STW a year or two ago, but no longer. Not sure if they are going to bring back production, or not, but the product number is 85585, incase you want to keep a watch on it.

You could always buy a new Rem 700 Long Range in 7mm RemMag and have the chamber opened to 7mm STW by a gunsmith. You would still have under $1000 in the rifle, and you have have a 26" heavy barreled STW. Which is the route I would go, if I were in your shoes.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...olt+7mm+Rem+Mag+26"+4+1+Syn+Stk+BlkGray+Blued

 

[Rich Coyle]

im not trying to go cheap im a firm beliver in you get what you pay for 1000 is just as mutch as i can justify on a bare rifle right now

You have something to learn.

How does one improve on sub-MOA groups with a $400 rifle. Recently I spend about $4,000 and finally sold it. It would not match my Savage. A few years ago I chambered a brand new Savage .220 Swift with my .220 extremist reamer. I also ordered a custom rifle and he used the same reamer. The Savage would always produce 3/8" groups at 100 yards. After four barrels by different manufacturers and different 'smiths I gave up on the customs at that time.

You don't get what you pay for you get what you shop for. Listen to the guys who have the experience.

 

[Rich Coyle]

You don't always get what you pay for...

You could always buy a new Rem 700 Long Range in 7mm RemMag and have the chamber opened to 7mm STW by a gunsmith. You would still have under $1000 in the rifle, and you have have a 26" heavy barreled STW. Which is the route I would go, if I were in your shoes.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...olt+7mm+Rem+Mag+26"+4+1+Syn+Stk+BlkGray+Blued

This is how I got my first STW. You start with a known accurate rifle and can't go wrong when you rechamber it.

 

[MudRunner2005]

This is how I got my first STW. You start with a known accurate rifle and can't go wrong when you rechamber it.

Yep, you are correct.

Also, people were talking about how the 7mmRM factory chambers in the new 700 Long Range rifles were a bit out of spec (too long)....Well, if you have a competent gunsmith punch it out longer to a 7mm STW, and recut a recessed target crown, and while he's got the barrel off, true-up the action, then you solve 3 well-known accuracy causing problems that plague factory rifles, and your odds of having a very accurate rifle have just increased exponentially. You could swap in a Timney trigger, and have the smith bed & float while he's got it, and then you have a exceptional blueprinted rifle for around your $1000 mark.

 

[Rich Coyle]

This conversation reminds me of a Cascade hunt with a new friend. I won't bore you with the details. He saw more game than I did. He moved quicker than I did and was quieter than me. It was humbling since I am used to being the better hunter. Suffice it to say we cut the hunt short and had his 7 Rem Mag rechambered to 7STW since I already had the reamer. But this was before the 7STW was a factory round so the 'smith stamped the barrel "7MM Coyle Wildcat".

I loaded up some Nosler 140 partitions and some Ballistic Tip 120's. For a test he fired three partitions and two Ballistic Tips at 300 meters (327 yards). The group measured 2"! He killed a truck load of game with it. He told me it was like being engaged (the 7 Mag) and then getting married (7STW).