Thinking of buying rifle that is best for the 180-195grs

[SRHeer]

I have been thinking and looking at hunting rifles for hunting elk.
I like the 7mm Wby Mag because it is an efficient round - can purchase ready loaded ammo - and if I reload it appears to have enough to give the 180-195grs a run for their money. But can I find a factory rifle with the recommended rate of twist for such?

I have been looking at the Weatherby Mark Vs in 7mmWM and have yet to be able to locate information on their barrel's twist rate.

Can anyone show me where I can find that? Its not in the online info of Weatherby's site - that I can see.

Maybe I would have to make such a rifle with proper barrel to handle the 180-195 7mm bullets?

Or maybe I should just buy a Savage LRH in the 338 Lapua and call it good?

That would be a heavier rifle to toot around but when its all said and done I would imagine it's 250 and 300gr bullets would work in the field ever bit as well as the 7mm 180-195s - any information - ideas - suggestions - comments or testimonials appreciated - thanks

 

[Jokostel]

You are over complicating the hell out of things.
Elk don't take THAT much to kill....
Set yourself up with a 7 Rem/ 7 WBY /28 Nosler....
If you hand load, great... if not, choose ammo that's 150 Grain or above.
If you plan on engagements past 1/4 mile on Elk... 338 or larger Id recommend for a cleaner kill... that is in and of itself a debate oh ethical kill distance/vs ability.... (another thread for that one...lol)
As far as the 338 world.... your are REALLY going to pay to play if you don't handload, and even then.
338 Win is the bottom end of the spectrum... unless your tree stand hunting black bear, then a 388 Federal is the ticket. Top end (production/non custom) would be a 338 RUM or Lapua. Do to the brass strength/availability Id choose Lapua... cost be damned.

 

[MudRunner2005]

The short answer is.....No. You will not find any currently offered factory rifles wtih anything faster than a 1:9 twist. The 195's require a minimum of 8.5" twist, preferably a 1:8.

That being said, any rifle with a 1:9 twist should stabilize the 180's.

 

[Jokostel]

As far as I can recall, 90 % of production weapons a 1-9.25, the remainder are 1-9.
As Mud noted, the 195s take an awful lot to stabilize.... and without an STW/RUM/Nosler case there is simply not enough boiler room to make it worth your time...
175/180s will be the TOP of the spectrum. I'm finalizing a load I have for my 280 AI that I just finished build on... the 175 ABLR doing about 28-2850. My M48 Patriot in 280AI is running 140s at about 3250..

 

[SRHeer]

Does any one manufacture a 280AI?
I just checked on GunBroker and none available there.
I would imagine the recoil from a 280AI would be - how much less than a 7RemMag?
Jokostel - was your barrel build a 1-9 twist rate?

 

[adam32]

The short answer is.....No. You will not find any currently offered factory rifles wtih anything faster than a 1:9 twist. The 195's require a minimum of 8.5" twist, preferably a 1:8.

That being said, any rifle with a 1:9 twist should stabilize the 180's.

A 1/9 will stabilize a 200gr RBBT Wildcat, I would imagine a 195 Berger isn't much longer to require a faster twist...

 

[MudRunner2005]

A 1/9 will stabilize a 200gr RBBT Wildcat, I would imagine a 195 Berger isn't much longer to require a faster twist...

Bullet length is not the only thing that matters. Bearing surface length, ogive design, bullet overall length, and all kinds of things factor into it. Elevation will play into the factor big time. At my elevation, a 1:8 twist would be best, since I'm at around 250' ASL. If Bryan Litz says it's best to use a certain twist for a particular bullet to achieve proper stabilization, that he helped design and test, I believe him.

 

[Jokostel]

Does any one manufacture a 280AI?
I just checked on GunBroker and none available there.
I would imagine the recoil from a 280AI would be - how much less than a 7RemMag?
Jokostel - was your barrel build a 1-9 twist rate?

Both of my ackleys are 1-9.... the 28 Nosler I'm building is a 1-8

The recoil from a 280ai is a touch less than a 7 mag... to me, it's negligible at best... It will be less regardless, because it takes less propellant to get there...
However it doesn't "equal" it, just approximates it.
I have been lucky however, as mine bbl length being equal, the velocities are on par with the 7 mag.

 

[Jokostel]

Custom barrel manufacturers are chambering it, as it's NOW saami, thanks to Nosler.
Kimber and Nosler are the mainstream companies that are pushing the round.

Think of it as a "reboot" on a 7 mag. similar specs, but an extra round in the spout.
As a handloader it's nice too.... as its design is not nearly as prone to stretching, as it's father, the 280 Remington is.

 

[adam32]

Bullet length is not the only thing that matters. Bearing surface length, ogive design, bullet overall length, and all kinds of things factor into it. Elevation will play into the factor big time. At my elevation, a 1:8 twist would be best, since I'm at around 250' ASL. If Bryan Litz says it's best to use a certain twist for a particular bullet to achieve proper stabilization, that he helped design and test, I believe him.

They also say a 1/7 is needed for a 6mm 115gr but a 1/8 shoots them just fine. gun)

Have you tried the 195gr in a 1/9 yet?

 

[MudRunner2005]

They also say a 1/7 is needed for a 6mm 115gr but a 1/8 shoots them just fine. gun)

Have you tried the 195gr in a 1/9 yet?

No, I have 3 boxes of 195's from the prototype run (before the official release), but have not tried them yet, as work and other things have kept me busy.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

They also say a 1/7 is needed for a 6mm 115gr but a 1/8 shoots them just fine. gun)

Have you tried the 195gr in a 1/9 yet?

they are tough enough to get shooting well in a 1:8 twist... my shilen bbl'd rem 700 7stw is a 8" twist 27"bbl. and I've had a tough time getting below .6 to .75 moa with them... this out of a barrel that will toss 140ab's to .5 moa or less on a bad day. I had a load doing .5 to .6 moa with them using rl33 but the uniformity went to heck when it got cold. 7828 is better when cold but I need to work with rl25 and rl26 to see if I can get the 195's past 2920 fps accurately...l 7828 is pushing hard to get there and I suspect a bit less pressure may help accuracy a bit.

 

[MudRunner2005]

they are tough enough to get shooting well in a 1:8 twist... my shilen bbl'd rem 700 7stw is a 8" twist 27"bbl. and I've had a tough time getting below .6 to .75 moa with them... this out of a barrel that will toss 140ab's to .5 moa or less on a bad day. I had a load doing .5 to .6 moa with them using rl33 but the uniformity went to heck when it got cold. 7828 is better when cold but I need to work with rl25 and rl26 to see if I can get the 195's past 2920 fps accurately...l 7828 is pushing hard to get there and I suspect a bit less pressure may help accuracy a bit.

Give 7977 a try...

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Give 7977 a try...

I'd give retumbo a try first as I have some, but I'd rather stay with double base powders in this rifle.... I want to ditch the 7828 too for that reason...