Which 7mm to build???

[shortpants]

Thanks for your thoughts Michael as always well said! After reading your post I realized I havent made my desires out of this build clear enough. I am not really to concerned about the elk factor which is what I meant by 5%. I have no immediate plans if even hunting elk with a rifle in the next 5 years but you never know. When it comes to elk hunting I'm mostly a archery guy but as I get older and can afford to venture out of state more then the rifle will come out. If I were building an elk rifle I would go with a 300win or possibly a 338. Like I mentioned earlier if the elk scenario does happen I have no problem getting closer to insure an ethical shot or could develope a load for my 300wsm.
All that being said I'm just trying to cover as much ground with one rifle as possible (aren't we all). Ill probably burn the first barrel out just learning to shoot to it's capabilities anyway while learning the loading game at the same time. This is my first build and I'm excited and just want to feel right about it when it's done. I don't have many resources at my fingertips other than the net and ballistic calculator and I've been all over those for several months now. I'm in no hurry as I think I'll get the reloading going first but this decision is burning a hole in my brain!
Thanks again to all of you!

 

[shortpants]

Hey Michael, why did you go 6.5-284 over a 280ai or 7saum?

 

[Michael Eichele]

Hey Michael, why did you go 6.5-284 over a 280ai or 7saum?

1: A barrel was available for it NOW.

2: The 280 AI needs a long action with a standard boltface, which I dont have. The 7SAUM I would do on my 700LA with the RUM boltface, which I have but I already have a 338Edge barrel and a 300RUM barrel (switch barrel) so having 3 barrels for it at this time is not something I am interested in. My 308 is also set up as switch barrel and I only have one barrel for it.

3: My 308 barrel is cooked. It needs a new something. Since the 7SARUM nor the 280AI would work on that action, the choice was simple.

4: My wife wants a caribou and is recoil sensitive. I need a good mild yet effective caliber for her to use with confidence.

 

[IdahoCTD]

A lot of what Michael said is what I went through deciding what caliber to build. Also because I had 7-300wm dies and have already made one it made my decision easier. My reamer will be throated for 168's instead of 180's though and it will be a sporter barrel primarily for deer hunting to 800yds or so. With 168's seated right it will work in a standard long action magazine, you can get RWS brass for it, and I already have dies. The 7lrm would be good for 180's as it's even shorter as would the 7 Dakota. The Dakota brass is expensive but good and what isn't expensive now days. If you buy it in bulk it is 1.80 each from Dakota. If you have a sako/m-16 style extractor installed it's pretty easy to open the bolt face to the Dakota brass (it's only .0065" bigger per side). If you can wait for the 7lrm then it might be the best option but who knows what brass quality will be like. I've had a bunch of 7 STW's (and still have 2) and it is a great case until you want to run heavy bullets through the magazine. I figure I can give up 100fps or less, in a 26" barrel, to use a factory length magazine with high quality brass.

 

[moombaskier]

Do a 7mm-375Ruger AKA the 7LRM. Have GunWerks smith your parts...you won't regret it! Do a search here,

 

[IDbound]

I too second what Michael said. The key point being "barrel life". Yes I know people say its no big deal but money is money. Especially when my barrel was $300+ and then it needed to be installed and finished in the color I wanted. I for one am doing everything possible to get at least 2K rounds out of mine so I will be retired from shooting before my barrel ever needs replaced.

 

[WildRose]

Thanks for your thoughts Michael as always well said! After reading your post I realized I havent made my desires out of this build clear enough. I am not really to concerned about the elk factor which is what I meant by 5%. I have no immediate plans if even hunting elk with a rifle in the next 5 years but you never know. When it comes to elk hunting I'm mostly a archery guy but as I get older and can afford to venture out of state more then the rifle will come out. If I were building an elk rifle I would go with a 300win or possibly a 338. Like I mentioned earlier if the elk scenario does happen I have no problem getting closer to insure an ethical shot or could develope a load for my 300wsm.
All that being said I'm just trying to cover as much ground with one rifle as possible (aren't we all). Ill probably burn the first barrel out just learning to shoot to it's capabilities anyway while learning the loading game at the same time. This is my first build and I'm excited and just want to feel right about it when it's done. I don't have many resources at my fingertips other than the net and ballistic calculator and I've been all over those for several months now. I'm in no hurry as I think I'll get the reloading going first but this decision is burning a hole in my brain!
Thanks again to all of you!

I know you don't want to hear it again, but the 7mm STW is the perfect caliber for your criteria.

If my sub 100lbs young nieces can shoot mine I'm quite sure your wife can handle it for her caribou hunts.

140gr Interbonds, good muzzle brake, decellerator pad, and she'll be in love.

For you, load up some 168-180vld's or Sciroccos and you have your thousand yard elk killer and sub 1,000yds superb rifle for everything from rabbits to deer.

There are so many options available today it will drive you absolutely nuts sorting between them but having shot thousands of rounds through both the STW and Rem Mag versions I'm still convinced the 7mm STW is the ultimate in high powered 7mm's. You can get more velocity with the 7 Rum but there's quite a price to be paid in powder, muzzle blast, and recoil for very little gain.

 

[shortpants]

Thanks WildRose! Do you have an accurate round count for your rem mag and stw barrels? Do you think a 26" barrel will would do well in an stw. I worry about barrel and case life in a round like the stw but will not argue it is a performer. Also is it possible to head space on the shoulder and would that be a good idea?

 

[shortpants]

Would you guys let the fact that I have 300wsm dies and several hundred rounds of brass make this decision for you and just go 7-300wsm considering also that it might be efficient in a 26" barrel? Not sure it would save much if I had to buy the reamer?

If anybody is running anything .284/7mm of any kind in a 26" tube I'd love to hear some details!

Thanks guys, like I said in my original post let's beat this dead horse.

 

[Stumpm2]

My 7mm Dakota is shooting the 168 grain Bergers at 3,160 fps out of a 26" barrel with 1 in 9" twist. This was a load with no pressure signs and I got up 3,225 fps before I got some slight pressure signs. I am going to start shooting the 180 grain Bergers to see what I like better. My gun has a lot less felt recoil than my brother's 7mm STW and his rifle weighs 2 pounds more. I don't know if it is my stock that makes the difference, but there is significant difference in recoil. Neither gun has a break.

 

[shortpants]

My 7mm Dakota is shooting the 168 grain Bergers at 3,160 fps out of a 26" barrel with 1 in 9" twist. This was a load with no pressure signs and I got up 3,225 fps before I got some slight pressure signs. I am going to start shooting the 180 grain Bergers to see what I like better. My gun has a lot less felt recoil than my brother's 7mm STW and his rifle weighs 2 pounds more. I don't know if it is my stock that makes the difference, but there is significant difference in recoil. Neither gun has a break.

I love details, thankyou!

Keep 'em coming!

 

[Stumpm2]

I love details, thankyou!

Keep 'em coming!

Forgot to mention that my brother is shooting 150 grain Swift Scirrocco's and is unable to use the magazine with them seated out where they shoot the best. He has a standard throat though. My brother in-law has factory Remington 7mm Ultra Mag and I have not been impressed with it at all. He shot facfactory 150 grain ammo through my chrono and was right at 3,000 fps. I sure I could a lot more velocity with some reloads, but the muzzle blast and recoil of his gun is a lot more than the other two.

 

[kiwi3006]

I am shooting a 9lb 10oz 7rem mag with a No5 26" barrel. Load is 168 berger, federal case, federal 215 primer, 71.5gr H1000, getting 3080 fps. No pressure signs. No break, I have spotted my own shots at 300 yds.

Stu.

 

[beacon]

I have a Browning semi auto with the BOSS. A brake you can tune to your round of choice. I added a limb saver and the recoil with 150gn is like my son's .243 with 100gn. My little Asian wife and sons 13 & 14 have no trouble putting a box of rounds through it. My youngest son has taken all 3 of his deer with it. It's a very nice looking rifle, but I bought it after reasearching for an accurate semi auto. My friend with a Rem700 7Mag thought I was making a mistake until it came in and he fired it.