The Big 7's

For 20+ years I was stuck on the .284 bore, 7RM and 280Rem. Today 30 caliber gets my attention mainly because of the stock rifles there chambered in. Serious long range competitors rarely use the 7Mag due to the odd unexplained flyers they get, a flyer will ruin an otherwise tight group. For hunting a 30-06 and a 200gr Accubond will do anything any of the 7's will do, flat shooter's are negated by my Leica range finder, and there I'm only concerned at distances beyond 300yds and not more than 550yds. My ultimate range toy is the Tikka/Tac in 300WM. It has a TRG brake on it and is a joy to shoot, actually addictive to shoot, hoping to get a couple years out of the barrel. Over winter I have to plan on another barrel and have thought of going 7mm Practical to shoot the 180gr Bergers but research has shown that a 300WM barrel in 1:9 twist would be better with 215 and 230gr Bergers, the Tikka is hobbled with the 1:11 twist bbl, although it has enough precision to bang that 13.5" disc at 1140yds with 208gr A-maxes if I get on the wind correctly.
Anyway, consider a fast twist 300WM bbl. with the provision for an effective tactical brake, looking at ~$1000 or by a slightly used Tikka/Tac for ~$1500.
 
I like the .300, and have owned and shot a few. If I were going .30 I would probably get a Remington 5R, although it is a touch on the heavy side for me. If I were simply plinking I'd probably look at one of the fast twist 6mm or 6.5mm in order to tame things right down - without a muzzle brake. Here is a very interesting read by Bryan Litz on "What's Wrong With .30 Caliber?"

http://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/30-caliber-1.php

In some ways - 215gr Begrer and 230gr Berger - the article is outdated, but it is still a good read.
 
Keep in mind if an normal throat exists now and you have worked a maximum load up and have good accuracy... that accuracy and velocity can be maintained as the throat wears by seating the bullet to maintain the short 'jump' to reach the rifling.

Long throats are not necessarily the answer to higher velocities.

If you choose to cut the throat long and seat your bullet out to fit this new throat length, pressure and velocity will drop considerably... and you will have to load more powder to increase the pressure to get the same velocity you started with... and when the accuracy starts to drop off with throat wear you will not be able to chase the rifling much farther... as you removed it with the throating reamer.

This is why Weatherby stopped free boring their throats many years ago. (When they went from Germany to Japan for production) With shorter more normal throat they still obtain high velocities with less powder and longer accuracy. At that time Weatherby warned against using the older factory ammo in the new rifles as it was loaded too hot for the shorter throated chambers.

Free boring was an idea Roy had many years ago... and with the extremely long throat he could load more powder than similar sized cases... but it was advertizing hype. The high velocities he did achieve were due to the large case capacities. Blowing the 300 H & H case out to the 300 Wby was his big success. Developing other large cases was a natural. The radius shoulders were his trademark and more advertising hype. Cases with similar capacity and sharp shoulders perform the same...

Every barrel can be an individual and velocities can vary considerably just from that.
 
1899 said:
I like the .300, and have owned and shot a few. If I were going .30 I would probably get a Remington 5R, although it is a touch on the heavy side for me. If I were simply plinking I'd probably look at one of the fast twist 6mm or 6.5mm in order to tame things right down - without a muzzle brake. Here is a very interesting read by Bryan Litz on "What's Wrong With .30 Caliber?"

http://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/30-caliber-1.php

In some ways - 215gr Begrer and 230gr Berger - the article is outdated, but it is still a good read.
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Ya, I have a 1:8 twist 260Rem in a Savage LRP its ~15Lbs ready to go. Kicks like a 223 Rem. I use for plinking but with a 75gr A-max theoretically reach 1000yds but real good to 600yds. The Tikka weighs <11 lbs with a 4x16 PST on it.
 
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My STWs are out running my 26" barrelled 7mm Rem by 250 to 300 fps with 160 Accubonds. Occasionally it does occur to me that shooting the same bullet in 4 rifles might be a bit redundant, but I ignore it and the feeling goes away. Heck, three of them are even using the same powder just 10-12 grains more of it.

Like most people my loads are a combination of accuracy, speed, perceived pressure signs and brass life and not just picking the fastest one; but typically they are loaded right up there.
 
Dogleg said:
My STWs are out running my 26" barrelled 7mm Rem by 250 to 300 fps with 160 Accubonds. Occasionally it does occur to me that shooting the same bullet in 4 rifles might be a bit redundant, but I ignore it and the feeling goes away. Heck, three of them are even using the same powder just 10-12 grains more of it.

Like most people my loads are a combination of accuracy, speed, perceived pressure signs and brass life and not just picking the fastest one; but typically they are loaded right up there.
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I'd be satisfied with good accuracy and an extra 250fps. Are you using 7828, RL25 or Retumbo?
 
I ran several 7mm STW's over the past few years. I was able to achieve close to 3300 with the 160 in a 26" Pac-Nor, 1-9" twist tube.

I used old H5010 and Retumbo for the best results.

Never was able to quite reach 3100 with the standard 7mm Rem Mag with the same bullets.

Regards, Dave.
 
1899 said:
I'd be satisfied with good accuracy and an extra 250fps. Are you using 7828, RL25 or Retumbo?
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Right now 7828 in two and and H1000 in two. I got the fourth one in a trade and it came with some ammo loaded with 7828 and the data. While I was playing with it I thought I may as well try the powder in another rifle that the loads weren't finalized for. That one took another couple grains more and shot better than the H1000 I was using. Since I have a ton of 7828 it doesn't hurt my feelings any.
 
I have owned six 7mmstw rifles, and still own two. Using IMR 7828 , my rifles have on average produced 3500fps with 140gr bullets, and 3400fps with 150 gr bullets.
 
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