Which 7mm and why???

[CLW]

I have a 300 WBY that is built on a mauser action that I want to have rebarrelled to 7mm. I got it from my grandpa that passed and found that the bore is pitted pretty bad. What I do not know is which 7mm I want to go with. I am thinking either the STW or the Ultra Mag. This will mainly be my first gun that will be pretty much dedicated to long range. Any insight, opinions would be great!

It has a very nice wood stock and I want to keep that since this was handed down to me from my grandpa (action is not bedded yet), also has a good aftermarket trigger already (not sure of the brand but it says "Finland" on the side of it) that breaks very crisp right about 2 lbs. What else would you guys recommend having done to it to make it a decent long range gun? This will be my first venture with a custom gun.....

 

[DanMan]

There is not very much difference between the 2 ballistically. Both are awsome shooters. I have a 7RUM and love it. One thing that might be a slight nod for the ultra is availabilty of factory ammo if you needed some.

 

[dig]

How about keeping some of the rifles nostalga and heritage by sticking with a 7mm Weatherby Mag, by todays standards not a wiz bang but neither is your rifle, its a classic! Wetherby is very efficienty in comparison to todays cartridges, performs just as well. Sure you will hear some complaining about the belt but my Weatherbys have always shot, factory and reloads.

Sounds like a bueatifull Weatherby with history and your should honor the lines. Opinions!

 

[pyroducksx3]

I think you need to figure out what you mean by long range also. I am in the same situation as you. I initially wanted a 7 RUM but after looking at what I really wanted / needed I decided on the 7 Rem Mag. This is for many reasons. First is I plan on working out to longer ranges I hope to get out to 600 yards by next season and shooting at these longer ranges takes practice. If using the RUM and STW you will be burning out barrels learning. These are great calibers but not meant for learning, they are meant to be shot some to confirm dopes/adjustment, minor brush up / familiar practice and just hunting, so maybe a couple dozen rounds or more a year. With the RUM and probably the STW you will want a break, not a bad think but you should consider this. Second do you reload? either way the RUM and STW use more powder and are harder to find factory ammo for. Third for me I plan on hunting animals in the 200-400+/- with the ability and confidence to take longer shots should they present themselves. So with the majority of my shootingwill be inside 500 yards and longer being the exception, with this type of hunting the rem mag or weatherby mag make more sense. So if you plan on setting up and shooting a majority of your shots longer than 600 and you arent using this as a beggining/learning rifle than maybe the RUM or STW would make more sense, otherwise go with the 7 weatherby or rem mag. The weatherby would be more fitting but factory ammo for that is expensive and I think you're limited on brass choices if thats not a problem then that would be my first choice for your rifle, for more factory ammo and reloading supplies the rem mag.

 

[Tbone]

It's pretty hard to beat the 7MM Rem. Mag. Lots of available ammo most places and good bullet weights. If you need more, then the RUM would be the next step up the ladder. Along the way, there is a 7MM wsm, but it may not be as popular as other 7MMs.

I've tried most of these, even the 7MM STW and they are all good hunting calibers!

 

[ubettcha13]

If it came with 300 wby brass (wby brass is very good stuff) make it a 7/300wby this will do everything that the stw will and still have the wby shoulder. Have it throated for the 180 berger or jlk or if you can find them the 200 grn wildcat.
I second the 7mm wby for nostalgia sakes even if the 7rem mag is more practical Pick what is your goals and the answer will be self evident. All of the above mentioned in this and the other posts are valid points with not 1 clearcut answer for us but may have a clear cut answer for you.
Whatever you choose you won't lose out even if you stuck with the 300 wby. Before a detached retina I used this round for high power and hunting for a long time. (1985-1996) It still works well. If elk are on the menu I would seriously consider staying with the 300wby

 

[CLW]

Thanks for the replies! dig, I had at first thought about making it in to a 7mm/300WBY but decided that I didnt want to screw around with a wildcat like that. I have a bunch of 300 wby brass so I guess it wouldnt be that tough and it would kind of keep the gun a little more true to what it was for my grandpa though. The only reason that I am even doing this is that the bore is pitted pretty badly, I would just have a new 300 wby barrel put on it but I have a 300 wsm already and kind of want something in a 7mm caliber to mess around with. I have other rifles I will pack on most hunts as they are much lighter and most shots where I hunt are within a few hundred yards but will hunt with it some obviously. Whatever I end up doing with it as far as caliber, I want to start shooting out to maybe 800 yards or so with it for practice and see how it goes from there..... Mainly just want to do something with it so it gets some use and doesnt become a safe queen, I am sure my grandpa would want it put to use.....

ubettcha13, I was typing this reply as you mentioned the 7/300 wby. That may be a neat route to go for me to kind of keep it a classic. Wont be hunting elk with it most likely, I will use my .340 WBY for that. I am a fan of Weatherbys obviously so keeping it a WBY caliber is def. not out of the question........

 

[loosesniper2000]

I understand your situation as I had a 30-40 Krag handed down to me when my pap passed away. The sights are bent and the barrel has barely any rifling left in it...I wouldn't take a million bucks for it!
If it were me, I'd keep it close to what your granpa had. Just my opinion

 

[436]

In the right barrel length the 7mm RSAUM is incredible..
Good luck
436

 

[yobuck]

ive been using a 7x300 weatherby for almost 40 years. its just a simple matter of running 300 wby. brass thru the 7x300 die. i use standard full legnth rcbs dies. no fire forming involved.
it is a duplicate of 7stw performance.
certainly a 300 weatherby would be a good choice also.
frankly id question the mauser action.
there are mausers, and there are mausers.
if its built on a 98 action, id personaly leave it alone, keep it for posterity, and get another gun.

 

[CLW]

ive been using a 7x300 weatherby for almost 40 years. its just a simple matter of running 300 wby. brass thru the 7x300 die. i use standard full legnth rcbs dies. no fire forming involved.
it is a duplicate of 7stw performance.
certainly a 300 weatherby would be a good choice also.
frankly id question the mauser action.
there are mausers, and there are mausers.
if its built on a 98 action, id personaly leave it alone, keep it for posterity, and get another gun.

I am kind of liking the idea of the 7/300 WBY now that I think more about it just to keep the nostalgia of the gun alive and since I do have a bunch of 300 brass already. It is an FN action and from doing a little more research I think the trigger is a Sako...... I read that they put Sako triggers on their "300 Supreme" actions and the trigger on it says "Finland" right on the side of it. I am not doing this because I really need a gun in a 7mm......I am doing it so the gun will get the use it deserves. It does not deserve to be put up and be a safe queen which it would be if I left the pitted barrel on it. Not sure how this happened as the rest of the metal is in pretty good shape......

 

[dig]

Post some pics, a lot of old Weatherby fans around! Sold an old FN action I still kick myself for! How about just sticking with 300 Wby, hard to beat. Glad t hear you are thinking of sticking with a Weatherby round, the gun and its heritage deserve it!

 

[CLW]

Post some pics, a lot of old Weatherby fans around! Sold an old FN action I still kick myself for! How about just sticking with 300 Wby, hard to beat. Glad t hear you are thinking of sticking with a Weatherby round, the gun and its heritage deserve it!

Here ya go. The stock is at my parents house right now cause my step dad has a wood shop and we are gonna refinish the stock there........ Has a weird muzzle break but it seems to work pretty good. The barrel on it now is a Douglas.....

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