That was one thing I looked at, how there were a few different rounds with a higher BC than some 30 cals. This was appealing to me. I looked at the 300wsm and 270wsm after talking to a few gents about accuracy over the parent cartridge. I was told accuracy may be a little better with the short mags. I just keep coming back to the 7mm, the only problem now is selecting the right platform. I have looked at remington 700, a few different models of savage and a tikka t3. I am going to have a budget of about $750-850 just for the rifle. Any suggestions of a quality rifle? what to stay away from?
7mm rem mag
- Thread starter coyote1664
- Start date
That was one thing I looked at, how there were a few different rounds with a higher BC than some 30 cals. This was appealing to me. I looked at the 300wsm and 270wsm after talking to a few gents about accuracy over the parent cartridge. I was told accuracy may be a little better with the short mags. I just keep coming back to the 7mm, the only problem now is selecting the right platform. I have looked at remington 700, a few different models of savage and a tikka t3. I am going to have a budget of about $750-850 just for the rifle. Any suggestions of a quality rifle? what to stay away from?
07blackwater
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Port Coquitlam, BC
Can't go wrong with a savage. I paid $699 for my 116fcss 7 mag from one of the site sponsors a few years ago and I love it.
Savage weather warrior in 7 mm reg mag are hard to beat. Tikka t3 hunter or lite are nice guns. Just lite. All in your price range. I would pick up a t3 hunter or savage weather warrior if I was looking to buy a 7 mm reg mag. Savage is cheaper and will do the job.
I think of it with the 30 06 and the 300 win as being an all round North American rifle that you can buy ammo anywhere for, But I think I would choose the rifle I like first and have a short list of calibres that you like. My hunting partner has only ever owned one rifle for moose and deer, a BAR he bought from another friend and he has shot as many as I have. You did have coyotes on your list so 7mm would be the better choice of the three.
I have owned Vanguards, Browning, Winchester, Ruger, Savage and a few others, my most accurate rifles are a Browning A bolt in 300wm and a Savage in 257Weatherby with a Shilen barrel, the Winchester and the Weatherby are close behind the Ruger 1.5 moa on a good day. I personally will probably not buy another Savage. My son owns a Tikka in 270wsm and he really likes it, we looked at many rifles together and he fell in love with the Tikka as soon as he shouldered it.
I remember reading somewhere that the minum barrel length should be 26" as anything shorter you are not getting the maximum velocity out of the round. Is there any truth to this? Does a <22" barrel vary that much in velocity over a 26"? Does it really matter?
22" is pretty short for a magnum cartridge. Usually 24" is used for a compact barrel length, with 26" being standard. Velocity loss can be affected by the burn rate of the powder in the case. In general the rule of thumb is about 50-75fps lost for every inch. This is very general as people apply it to all cartridges. So you could lose around 200-300 fps with a 22" barrel. This is not a lot, but since most people buy a 700 Rem Mag for the high velocity then it kind of defeats the purpose of the large round, If you've lost 200-300 fps then you could have just got a 280
I have shot the following with the 7mm RM (from smallest to biggest): racoon, coyote, sitka blacktail, columbia blacktail, mule deer, elk and moose. It is one of the best combinations of flat trajectory, acceptable recoil and enough jam to comfortably take all North American big game. I really like the 175gr Partition in the +2900 fps range. My rifle will shoot those big Partitions into tiny little groups - under 1/2" at 100 yards. On the other hand I worked up a load for my wife using IMR4064 and 150gr Partitions at just under 2700fps that also shoot right around 1/2" groups at 100 yards. That is pretty much what one would expect out of a 7x57.
My friend - an experienced hunter - is just having a rifle put together as his "all-arounder", and he chose the 7mm RM.
It is a good chambering.
My friend - an experienced hunter - is just having a rifle put together as his "all-arounder", and he chose the 7mm RM.
It is a good chambering.
Yes it will ... the 180 Berger VLD needs a 1-9 twist ... but with that twist it probably wont like the the 168's ... you get into " over stablization " my custom is a 1-9 and it does not like 168's but thats ok. Laser beams with the 180 VLDs, i should add.. this info ive only applied to VLD's
Personally for me and members on here will debate me i would spend a little extra cash or try and get a deal on a 700 CDL but you wont get 1-9 twist they come with 1-10, so you will be running 168's if you want to shoot VLD's. Again i will be chased with pitch forks and torches but i would run from Browning. For a little better deal and im not sure the pricing ... i would never buy one because im strickley a Rem guy as far as fatory actions go, but im starting to have a soft spot for Tikka
Oh ... i fellow member just put me onto a gun store in New Brunswick ... Might want to look at his online sale rack
" The Gun Dealer " check them out ... might find a great clearance deal. I was impressed with some of there pricing
http://www.thegundealer.net/
http://www.thegundealer.net/
This second link has a savage " which i would never buy but have built a good reputation over the years " in 7 rem for $500 and there's a Tikka T3 for $700 in " standard caliburs " might be 7mm in there, also a Rem SPS DM in 7 rem mag for $500 steal of a deal ! ... have a gander ! check all the flyers
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Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
Good post, but it needs a couple of little tweaks 
The bullet they're introducing is a 195gr bullet that has a recommended minimum twist rate of 8.5".
It's not the highest BC hunting bullet ever produced, but it's right up there.
The bullet they're introducing is a 195gr bullet that has a recommended minimum twist rate of 8.5".
It's not the highest BC hunting bullet ever produced, but it's right up there.
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
OP,
You typically see about 25-30fps of velocity loss per inch of barrel length. Phil Shoemaker has done some extensive tests with this, and the results are consistent with the rule of thumb, although it varies a little depending on cartridge, powder burn rate, and bullet weight.
A 1:9 or 9.5" twist will stabilize any 7mm bullet of 180gr and under. The new 195 EOL and the Matrix 190 might benefit from an 8.5" twist. Berger has said the a 9" twist will usually stabilize the 195, but to be safe an 8.5" twist will do it under any conditions. Don't worry about "over stabilization" with a 9" twist. Your rifle may or may not like bullets ranging from 120gr to 180gr, but stabilization issues won't be the cause. There has also been a lot of testing done with various calibres and twist rates, and one particular example is the .224" 8" twist vs 12" twist. The 8" twist barrels seem to shoot everything from 40gr up to 75gr bullets well, while the 12" twist barrels top out at about 55gr bullets.
Long story short- I'd be watching for a Rem 700 XCR, Ruger Hawkeye, or Win 70 EW in 7RM, and I'd run the 140gr TTSX at 3300fps for normal hunting ranges, and then the 162gr A-Max or 168 or 180gr VLD for practice out to as far as you care to shoot.
You typically see about 25-30fps of velocity loss per inch of barrel length. Phil Shoemaker has done some extensive tests with this, and the results are consistent with the rule of thumb, although it varies a little depending on cartridge, powder burn rate, and bullet weight.
A 1:9 or 9.5" twist will stabilize any 7mm bullet of 180gr and under. The new 195 EOL and the Matrix 190 might benefit from an 8.5" twist. Berger has said the a 9" twist will usually stabilize the 195, but to be safe an 8.5" twist will do it under any conditions. Don't worry about "over stabilization" with a 9" twist. Your rifle may or may not like bullets ranging from 120gr to 180gr, but stabilization issues won't be the cause. There has also been a lot of testing done with various calibres and twist rates, and one particular example is the .224" 8" twist vs 12" twist. The 8" twist barrels seem to shoot everything from 40gr up to 75gr bullets well, while the 12" twist barrels top out at about 55gr bullets.
Long story short- I'd be watching for a Rem 700 XCR, Ruger Hawkeye, or Win 70 EW in 7RM, and I'd run the 140gr TTSX at 3300fps for normal hunting ranges, and then the 162gr A-Max or 168 or 180gr VLD for practice out to as far as you care to shoot.
Have shot bear,moose,elk,and deer with 7mm. Really is very versatile and good for pretty long range. A little much IMO for deer though as there is a lot of bullet shock with this very fast round it can damage a lot of meat. I stick to head shots with deer.
Steyr-Mannlicher uses a 1:8.6 twist and mine shoots 150 Partitions in 1/2" at 100 and 175 Partitions into even smaller groups.
Jordan - where does Berger talk about the 195? I haven't seen much on it outside of the Long Range Hunting forum - and there, according to Bryan Litz, the +1.6" long 195gr will need at least a 1:8.5 twist. I suspect it will depend on barrel length too, and on whether a fellow is using it for hunting or target shooting.
Jordan - where does Berger talk about the 195? I haven't seen much on it outside of the Long Range Hunting forum - and there, according to Bryan Litz, the +1.6" long 195gr will need at least a 1:8.5 twist. I suspect it will depend on barrel length too, and on whether a fellow is using it for hunting or target shooting.
Good post, but it needs a couple of little tweaks
The bullet they're introducing is a 195gr bullet that has a recommended minimum twist rate of 8.5".
It's not the highest BC hunting bullet ever produced, but it's right up there.
Ahh thanks bin a while since i read up on the new bereger 7mm bullet , i Know Berger has built a 300gr 338 that has a BC up around .850 i think,
couldnt remeber the exsact grain of the new 7mm so i googled it while writing and thats the number i found. But ya the new 7mm is gonna gonna be a slippery one.
