Re-barrel to 7 STW or 300 Win Mag??

DIGGER2

DIGGER2

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Hey fella's, I'm looking to be doing a re-barrel on my 700 Rem. Currently it's a 7mm Rem Mag but was wanting a little more hitting power. It's going to be used for a longer range moose rifle. 7mm 160gr TSX or .30 180gr TSX pills is what I'll be using. Which caliber do you guy's recommend???I know the 300 would work well but I would like to here more about the 7 STW (the good/bad) I haven't heard much about this cartridge but looks like a great long range round. Thanks in advance....:cheers:
 
If you're interested about the STW you can have that remington re-chambered for 150-200$....you should be able to get another 150 fps . Its a great Flat shooting cartridge in my opinion but so is the 300 WM.
 
A friend of mine uses a 7mm STW made by Ted Gaillard, it is accurate and hard hitting but IMHO a 300WM is a bit better for larger game as you can push heavier bullets but the difference is probably more theoretical than real. The 300WM is easier to find ammunition and components for and a bit easier on barrels.
 
I have owned three 7mmstw rifles,and this has become my favorite hunting cartridge.If a person is willing to put in a great deal of time at the range to learn the ballistics of the load,and to practice ,in order to develop and maintain above average shooting skills,the 7mmSTW is a worthwhile cartridge.If however,you are the box or two per year shooter,you won't have the familiarity or maintain the shooting skills required to really gain anything over the 7mmremmag.It is a poor choice for the one gun shooter due to the shorter barrel life,which is around 1500 rounds or so.
 
stubblejumper said:
I have owned three 7mmstw rifles,and this has become my favorite hunting cartridge.If a person is willing to put in a great deal of time at the range to learn the ballistics of the load,and to practice ,in order to develop and maintain above average shooting skills,the 7mmSTW is a worthwhile cartridge.If however,you are the box or two per year shooter,you won't have the familiarity or maintain the shooting skills required to really gain anything over the 7mmremmag.It is a poor choice for the one gun shooter due to the shorter barrel life,which is around 1500 rounds or so.
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So to learn to shoot it well you need to shoot out the barrel. Sounds like a winner to me.:D
 
I've had a 7 STW for about 20-25 years or so. First one was a wildcat, and it really is a good LR cartridge for hunting. I prefer it over the 300 WM (although I have 5 of them laying around at the moment). As Stubble mentions, once you have a good load it allows shooting out to 400 yards or so with a minimum of holdover. I've never shot out a barrel developing a load, although it's certainly a possibility. Yes, you can just rechamber a 7 Rem Mag to 7 STW. A better choice is a new bbl, at least 26" long. But the rechamber is an inexpensive way to try out the caliber, and you will gain over the 7 Rem Mag. I've pushed bullets as heavy as 195 gr (Barnes) up to 3000 fps from the STW, so it will do everything the 300 Mag will, except make as big a hole, and shoot flatter doing it. Higher BC bullets generally. For a moose or such, in the field, not much difference between them. FWIW - dan
 
I like and shoot both calibers. I've had 3 STWs and the last one is on it's second barrel. We started shooting them right around '89, and it's easily been my main cartridge ever since. The only decent rangefinders at that time were unaffordable or quit too early, but the STW let us hold in the middle of a deer's chest til past 400 and top of the back to 500. That was a revelation at the time, and I sold my .300s thinking I'd never want them again. I was a lot skinnier then, and to be honest the STW was all the recoil I needed and the .300 was just past the fun threshold.

Times change, LRFs are everywhere and comparatively cheap. Winchester quit making STW brass, and the tight neck chambering we had migrated to needed turning on 8 mm Rem brass. The benefits of shooting a standard length cartridge in a full length magazine become more apparent after you watch a few throats disappear. 500 yards no longer seems particularily far, recoil thresholds changed big time and the lighter TSXs in the .300 crowd the trajectory of the STW on the under 500 work. Past that, trajectory isn't much of an issue.

This probably isn't much help, but I find myself grabbing a .300 more often than not now. Keeping barrels on the 30 cals is significantly easier, which mattered a lot more after burning out a barrel quit being a badge of honor and started being an annoyance. Across the board I've found the .300 Win to be less finicky about developing loads too.
 
Some great information here.

The STW might floor a whitetail quicker than the plain 7mag (I doubt it), but you will find zero difference in large animals such as moose.

If you really want more horsepower I can't say enough good things about the 340Wby (see MTM's comments).

If recoil is a concern see Dogleg's comments....The 300Win is all that and then some more.

One last consideration is the 8mag.
More power than a 30 and less recoil than a 340Wby.

Good luck!
 
I my oppinion, people tend to make mountians out of mole hills. There is really no difference in performance out of any comparable .284, or .308 cartridge (ie, if you shoot a 160gr bullet out of a 280rem, and a 180gr bullet out of a 30-06, no one is going to see a trajectory difference, and no animal is going to die any less or more). I like .308 diameter cartridges, and because of that, I see no use for the .284 diameter. It not that their bad, I just don't have any use for them when the .308 diameter exists.
Mike
 
There is really no difference in performance out of any comparable .284, or .308 cartridge (ie, if you shoot a 160gr bullet out of a 280rem, and a 180gr bullet out of a 30-06, no one is going to see a trajectory difference, and no animal is going to die any less or more).
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Actually,the biggest benefits of more velocity,are a greater point blank range,and less wind drift.You can afford to err more in range estimation or in wind drift,and still make a clean kill,if you drive the same bullet a few hundred fps faster.The difference isn't huge,but if you hunt the wide open prairies,or the mountains,it can be an advantage.
 
Hey fellas, thanks for all your info so far. There's a lot experience here on CGN ,so that's why I look here for answers. Thank you. I typically shoot 400-500 rounds a year through my hunting rifles and I reload so something a little different would be ok. I have shot up to the 375 Ruger/H&H for recoil levels and was no problem. I am using the rifle for longer range big game so I didn't know if the 7 STW would fit the bill or if something would be better suited. I never thought of the 340 Mag MTM, but how is the recoil on this bad boy?? I've owned 300 & 338 win mags. Anyways I guess I'll keep comparing ballistics and look at a few more cartridges and options that were mentioned. Thanks again gang.....:cheers:
 
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DIGGER2 said:
Hey fellas, thanks for all your info so far. There's a lot experience here on CGN ,so that's why I look here for answers. Thank you. I typically shoot 400-500 rounds a year through my hunting rifles and I reload so something a little different would be ok. I have shot up to the 375 Ruger/H&H for recoil levels and was no problem. I am using the rifle for longer range big game so I didn't know if the 7 STW would fit the bill or if something would be better suited. I never thought of the 340 Mag MTM, but how is the recoil on this bad boy?? I've owned 300 & 338 win mags. Anyways I guess I'll keep comparing ballistics and look at a few more cartridges and options that were mentioned. Thanks again gang.....:cheers:
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I have a rem 700 done up in 340WBY. I put a classic stock on it and it shoots just beautiful. An on top of that it just looks beautiful also. My groups are 5/8 of A inch at 100 for 3 shots. I can switch between 225 or 250 grainers with no change in POI. Recoil is about 20 to 30 percent more off the bench then a 338 but its certainly manageable. I have shot deer coyotes and moose with it and its one shot one kill.You have something that shoots as flat as lots of others out there but hits like a .375 hh
 
If you've run your 7 Rem Mag out to where you think you need the small amount if extra trajectory that another 100-200 fps will give you then go for the STW rechamber, IF your 7 Mag has a 26" barrel...I've run the STW and the 7 Rem Mag side by side...there isn't much difference, and no significant difference in a 24" barrel. Most factory 7 Rem Mags have a pretty short throat....extending the throat to seat the base of a 160 at the bottom of the neck would be a good way to add powder capacity to the 7 Rem Mag...been thinking of trying this myself...but I shoot 140's and 150's in mine lately.
 
My sako AV 7mm rem is shooting 160gr Ab's very accurately at 2950fps. I'm very happy with it and won't be changing a thing with it. BUT I own a 7mm wby and a 7.21 Firebird :D now that's a different story. 160 Ab's at 3500fps but lets not talk about barrel life. STW might work for you but you should have a 26" barrel. To be honest, I'm really enjoying the 7mm rem right now, I think it has the "right" speed and power to do what ever I want it to.
 
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