Speaking of magnums--7 STW

kell2784

kell2784

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How many people around here shoot this magnum cartridge? How do you find barrel life, accuracy, bullet performance, etc. etc. Ballistics look impressive coupled with the accurate 7 mm projectile.
If magnums aren't your thing, what 7mm cartridge do most prefer? The reason I'm asking, I'm either building a 280 or 7 STW for long range target shooting.
 
STW is awesome, have had one for years. Accuracy and velocity and recoil all rolled into a flat shooting ultra accurate hammer. Shot a moose beside a guy with an 3006, third party watching said when I hit it with the STW it looked like someone was hitting it with a sledge hammer. Took 2 hits form the 06 and guy watching could not tell it was being shot.
If you are going to shoot prone better make it heavy, barrel life will be less than the 280. For a 160 gr. I load 93 gr. H870. Should add I shot that moose 3 times with Partitions and had complete bullet failure all 3 times, shed the nose in the first 2" and the core pushed through like a fmj, was driving them too fast, for hunting carefull bullet selection is required.

Andy
 
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I have one with a 30" gaillard barrel built by himself and I love it. I have been shooting the 180 bergers with a BC of .684 and now I am shooting the 200gr wildcat bullets. It is a bit much though if targets are your only game.
 
Kell2784,
The 7mm STW is one of my true cartridge enthusiasms, and has been for a long time. Barrel life is usually between 1000 and 1500 rounds, depending on how picky you are, and how good it was in the first place. Gimme a 22/250, a STW and a .375 H&H and I'll take on the world with them, cheerfully. I've got a couple around if you want to try it out.
Bullet selection should be geared toward "Hard" bullets, 140 TSXs are my current choice. Soft bullets are a disaster waiting to happen!
 
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Gatehouse said:
Doesn'rt interest me much, and I already have a 7RM, I boughtthe 7STW as a donor rifle...

Plus, i hate Layne Simpson:dancingbanana:
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I don't have a lot of use for any gunwriter, now that Seigfried isn't doing much. Simpson sure isn't the first guy to think of necking down a full length case to 7mm, but you'd think so the way it got written up. They're all pimps that can be bought for a free rifle or box of shells.Word salesmen.:rolleyes:
A 7 Rem mag has a lot more in common with a 30-06 than an STW. Thats not all bad though.:dancingbanana:
 
"For a sheep on a distant ridge or an unapproachable antelope far out on a sagebrush flat, the 7mm Shooting Times Westerner is the cartridge of choice..." Swift Reloading Manual #1. I have owned a couple over the past few years and they have worked well for me...my current one is a Sako finnlight...destined for the mountains. :)
 
For some reason the big 7s haven't been good sellers. Aside from Remington's 7mmMag, the STW, the RUM, the Weatherby, and even the smaller 280 never really stuck.


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If you choose the STW then shoot the heavy bullets- 175 grain, or the 180 grain Berger would be the bullet of choice for this big powder burner.
If you choose the lighter bullets then stay with a 7mm RM, or even the 7mm-08 with 140's. I have never understood the point of a big gun with little bullets. :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
The point of a big gun with little bullets is velocity. Less eleavation less windage. Plain and simple higher velocity = less elavation and windage and more on target energy. With an x bullet this rifle will kill anything that walks.

Andy
 
7stw

I had my first 7stw in 1993, it would do lots of damage on deer ,moose , bear and anything else you dropped with it.:eek: I found it accurate to shoot but very messy on game due to high velocity bullets.:eek: Nosler Partition's came apart in a spectacular fashion leaving only small fragments of lead and very small pieces of jacket.
I shot deer in the head and at 100 yards it would literally blow head and horns clean off the critter. The shot if placed in the neck would cause bloodshot meat all through the edible parts. I found the .338 was better rifle for me and killed as fast or faster than either one of the stw's I owned.
The first was a rechambered Remington 700 7mm mag fitted with a 26 inch McGowan stainless barrel topped off with Nikon 3x9 optics. The second was a standard Remington 700 7mm mag that I had rechambered to 7stw with a 3x9 Leupold.
Would I get another one???....no
The 7mm mag is a better choice as far as I'm concerned and for Island deer, the 7x57 in a Mountain Rifle suits me just fine. If you wnt high velocity and have the need to tenderize your deer before it hits the ground then get a 7mm stw.:D
 
762nato said:
The point of a big gun with little bullets is velocity. Less eleavation less windage. Plain and simple higher velocity = less elavation and windage and more on target energy. With an x bullet this rifle will kill anything that walks.

Andy
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Run the numbers. The 180 Berger with it's high BC (.684) is the bullet you want to shoot with this caliber. I don't own an STW, but I did have a 7mmRUM. Soon as you start to play at long range (what this caliber was developed for) this becomes apparent.
 
LongDraw said:
Run the numbers. The 180 Berger with it's high BC (.684) is the bullet you want to shoot with this caliber. I don't own an STW, but I did have a 7mmRUM. Soon as you start to play at long range (what this caliber was developed for) this becomes apparent.
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I was actually looking at this bullet's b.c. too, and really got me interested. I'm a little concerned with barrel life, but there has be a downside to a cartridge this fun. Do many 7 STW's utilize brakes, or do many not even bother? Does anyone know of a reamer for sale/rent, or a reputable gunsmith that has one?
 
kell2784 said:
I was actually looking at this bullet's b.c. too, and really got me interested. I'm a little concerned with barrel life, but there has be a downside to a cartridge this fun. Do many 7 STW's utilize brakes, or do many not even bother? Does anyone know of a reamer for sale/rent, or a reputable gunsmith that has one?
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Kell,
I went through the whole idea of wanting one of the big, overbore 7's and ended up with the 7mm RUM, I know its not the STW, but very similar ballistics. I gave it an honest go with load development, but ended up re-barreling/chambering to a 7mm RM. I thought that I was not recoil sensitive until I shot the RUM without a brake. With the same powder/bullet combo I am within 150 FPS of the 7mm RUM with the 7RM and the recoil is not that bad. (no brake and I can shoot 50 shots in an afternoon and still feel my shoulder) I am getting 3000 FPS with a 175 sierra out of the 7mm RM. Hey, dont get me wrong if you want to burn close to 90+ grains of powder per trigger pull- go for it! For me the extra 150 FPS is not worth the recoil and the near 30% more powder. As a bonus the 7mag shoots in the high .3's to low .4's for 5 shots! :D
 
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