7mm Remington Magnum Build for hunting

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Odin762

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Hi Guys, I am planning to put together a bolt action hunting rifle and pretty much have my mind set on 7mm Rem Mag and plan to base the build on the Berger 195gr EOL Hybrid projectile. Berger suggests a twist rate of 1:8 to stabilise the projectile. I would like to purchases Canadian as far as possible but as I am new to Canada and a point in the right direction will be appreciated. I plan to use a trued Remington action.
I would like suggestions regarding barrel selection, barrel length, stock selection, scope mounting options ( I am looking at a Vortex PST 6-24x50 ffp) and recommending a smith. Otherwise, if anybody knows of a pre built rifle that fits my criteria please let me know. I am in the Edmonton area. My budget is around $3000 excluding optics.

Thanks
 
There are several options for Canadian barrels, Ron Smith if your tastes run to cut rifled, and Ted Gaillard if button rifled is your preference. These are my top choices, but there are others. PM Guntech. He's been building 700s almost as long as they've been around, his opinions are valuable, and he has a great reputation.

Check out the 7mm Practical, its a step up from the 7 mag, and will give those heavy bullets the velocity to really perform.
 
Norwegian?

There are members from your area that will chime in. There are gunsmiths that do custom rifles based on 700.
 
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Boomer said:
There are several options for Canadian barrels, Ron Smith if your tastes run to cut rifled, and Ted Gaillard if button rifled is your preference. These are my top choices, but there are others. PM Guntech. He's been building 700s almost as long as they've been around, his opinions are valuable, and he has a great reputation.

Check out the 7mm Practical, its a step up from the 7 mag, and will give those heavy bullets the velocity to really perform.
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Great, looks good, I will be sure to check out the 7mm Practical. Thanks for your input, helps alot.
 
NL-Hunter said:
Norwegian?

There are members from your area that will chime in. There are gunsmiths that do custom rifles based on 700. ### is a site sponsor, I am sure there are others.
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South African! I see its likely a better idea to source a used 700 and blueprint the action rather than buy a complete receiver including a bolt.
 
I just traveled this road and here's what I came up with.

Barrels- Quite a few good Canadian makers (listed above, Bob Jury is another). Also check Bighorn Sales, Hirsch Precision, Mystic Precision or many other site sponsors for the big name american makers (Kreiger, Shilen, Benchmark......) There is a few retailers that keep a selection of barrels available in Canada. 26'' was ideal for me but I would keep the contour under a #4 if you want to keep it at all light. My last 2 hunting rifle builds wore a #4 Kreiger and #4 Broughton (around .670'' at the muzzle)and they were both over 10lbs finished.

Stock- I've had both Mcmillan (game scout) and Manners (ultralight). They were both great with my preference going to the McMillan game scout (I like the vertical grip). Wildcat composites are Canadian made and turn around times are way faster than McMillian or Manners. They are nice, high quality stocks but require painting and finish inletting. Hirsch and bighorn sales also keep stocks in inventory

Scope mounting- Hard to beat Talley Lightweights. $70 will get you set up. Make sure you lap them. You'll need a low or medium with that scope. I mounted a 44mm bell in extra lows and it cleared but barely.

Smith- Lots of great smiths around but I've always been happy with Black Art Rifle company. Terry is an excellent smith and each rifle he's done for me has exceeded my expectations. I've also had Alberta Tactical rifle build one for me and they also do excellent work.
 
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PM Guntech. He's been building 700s almost as long as they've been around, his opinions are valuable, and he has a great reputation.

X2 with an add on . . . since snow was white and dirt was clean. A good man to deal with but talk to him first and he is fast.

Leupold dual dovetails
 
hawk-i said:
Why not just go with the standard 7mm STW? Its a step up from the Practical.
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Laughing. I have a friend from Montana who has guided all over the US and Mexico. His favorite cartridge is the 7MM Mashburn and his least favorite is the STW. He doesn't mind the cartridge so much but says to a man their owners are intolerable.
 
chuck nelson said:
Laughing. I have a friend from Montana who has guided all over the US and Mexico. His favorite cartridge is the 7MM Mashburn and his least favorite is the STW. He doesn't mind the cartridge so much but says to a man their owners are intolerable.
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Ya lost me on that one....???the 7mmSTW is good but he doesnt like the owners of it????
 
hawk-i said:
Why not just go with the standard 7mm STW? Its a step up from the Practical.
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My local gun shop has a nice used Rem 700 with a 7mm STW barrel (forget the aftermarket brand) for $900 that I have been trying to ignore....but I keep thinking about it more and more. Already having a nice 7mm RM, it is hard to justify the STW, except that two of my hunting partners shoot STW so we would all have the same ammo if need be....at least that is my 'excuse' in my head.
 
Ok, I have issues with a thread that uses these two terms in the same sentence............Berger bullets and hunting rifle, never mind a desire to specifically build a HUNTING rifle around a BERGER bullet.
The 7mmRM is not a bad cartridge but wouldn't be my choice to push bullets in that weight range.............I have, use and recommend the 7mm RUM, I also have the 7mmRM as well as the 7 Wby and have played with the 7 STW and others. For heavy bullets the 7 RUM is the case to use.
Sounds to me like you intend to build a "Best of the West" rifle.................have fun........not my game, but some folks like it.
 
c-fbmi said:
Ok, I have issues with a thread that uses these two terms in the same sentence............Berger bullets and hunting rifle, never mind a desire to specifically build a HUNTING rifle around a BERGER bullet.
The 7mmRM is not a bad cartridge but wouldn't be my choice to push bullets in that weight range.............I have, use and recommend the 7mm RUM, I also have the 7mmRM as well as the 7 Wby and have played with the 7 STW and others. For heavy bullets the 7 RUM is the case to use.
Sounds to me like you intend to build a "Best of the West" rifle.................have fun........not my game, but some folks like it.
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Perhaps then there is something I don't know about Berger but this projectile interested me. http://www.bergerbullets.com/7mm-195gr-extreme-outer-limits-elite-hunter/
 
For normal hunting a 7mm Rem Mag with a weight under 8 pounds and a 24 inch barrel 9 or 10 twist works extremely well. If you strive for more velocity the STW with a 28 inch barrel will give it to you.
 
I'm sure you already have your mind made up, but the Berger bullets for hunting is a fad and as people try them and watch them fail they will slowly fade out. Berger make great match bullets, and if you really need a super long range hunting bullet then the Berger works as does any other frangible bullet. I've tried the thing where put a couple noslers at the top of the mag for close shots and keep the Bergers under for long shots. Problem is the Berger could completly disintigrate on the hide at 500m and so you need to be zero'd and dialed with the Nosler to make the 500m shot. And well, you can't be zero'd for two bullets so now that plans screwed and you're shooting a nosler.

Having been down the same path here is my advice.
Build the rifle around the 154 hornady, the reason I use these is I can actually find 154 sst on shelves at decent prices (This type of thing requires a LOT of practice). You then use the 154 interbond for hunting as it will zero the same and has the same BC.
 
cdn shooter said:
I'm sure you already have your mind made up, but the Berger bullets for hunting is a fad and as people try them and watch them fail they will slowly fade out. Berger make great match bullets, and if you really need a super long range hunting bullet then the Berger works as does any other frangible bullet. I've tried the thing where put a couple noslers at the top of the mag for close shots and keep the Bergers under for long shots. Problem is the Berger could completly disintigrate on the hide at 500m and so you need to be zero'd and dialed with the Nosler to make the 500m shot. And well, you can't be zero'd for two bullets so now that plans screwed and you're shooting a nosler.

Having been down the same path here is my advice.
Build the rifle around the 154 hornady, the reason I use these is I can actually find 154 sst on shelves at decent prices (This type of thing requires a LOT of practice). You then use the 154 interbond for hunting as it will zero the same and has the same BC.[/QUOTE

Good advice, thanks. I will look into the 154gr sst. Something that I have not considered is availability.
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I also don't think that a scope such as a Vortex PST 6-24x50 is the nearly the right scope for a 7mm Rem Mag or to be on a hunting rifle.

Unless you're sniping stuff from a crazy distance, it's going to take a bit of time to get a sight picture when set at 24x.
 
I have seen the Bergers fail as well, as have many on this sight. I hunt with Nosler ABs and have used and am using more Matrix bullets. Give Marshal a call and talk to him about bullets. I'm more a 30 cal man but have used the big 7s a lot as well, my only issue is with the Berger bullets for hunting. I happen to disagree with cdn shtr as well and don't use Hornady bullets for hunting either.........Nosler Partitions or Accubonds or Matrix and I have shot a lot of animals..........
 
Partitions and accubonds are good choices but they're more than a dollar a piece. I haven't seen an interbond fail yet so I'll continue shooting game with them and keep practicing with 40 cent projectiles.
 
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