7 SAUM Input

[deadwolf]

For those saying medium action, which one do you recommend or have?

Lone peak Fuzion Ti


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[ID_Matt]

Some things to consider with a SAUM.

Short action may limit you a little bit on performance if that means anything to you. You'd probably be fine with 175's or 162 ELDMS. It is a lot of case to fit in to a short action.

Medium action may limit you on mags and chassis options, though that is optimal size for that case I think.

Long gives you flexibility to swap to other magnums if you change your mind later down the road BUT a long will struggle in a chassis with AICS mags. I could never get mine to feed 100% no matter how many different mags I tried. Best option was Hawkins Hunter mags with a spacer and that had to be in a standard M5 inlet stock.

 

[wind gypsy]

If your action is cut for it I'd use a Wyatt's 3.100 Baney magazine box or maybe talk to the guys at UM about using one of their DBM setups because I believe they have a SA setup that'll allow up to a 3.150 OAL which should be plenty of length, even in a SA, for even the very long 180 ELD-M's. I'm seriously considering using their DBM setup for my 25 SAUM build or at the least talking to them about it to make sure it'll work like I "think" it will.

Some good points here if you want to maximize the short action - neither works with a HNT26 which isn't a negative to me but might be to OP.

SA can still do well as stated by others. Tikka is a pretty sweet option to, that's what i chose.

 

[pbroski]

Does anybody know how many 7mm SAUM rounds will fit in the Tikka long magnum magazine?

 

[david2duck]

Go 18-20” inches if you’re wanting to run suppressed. My tikka with a 18” carbon 6 shoots really well. Don’t have my load off the top of my head but Berger 180’s and N560 shoot really well for me.

 

[Mark at EXO]

It is super common for folks to recommend XM/Long actions and say that a Short action is handicapped for a 7 SAUM, but it is really important to realize that is only relevant for certain bullets. I had an XM and hated the limited magazine availability. (Stock/chassis options are more limited as well.) And keep in mind that the extra XL/Long length will only be maximized if you're also doing a custom chamber.

I built my second 7 SAUM on a Short action with a SAAMI chamber and I much prefer it for a hunting rifle — shooting 175 ELD-X, 160 ABs, 168 VLDs, and numerous monos.

For barrel length, I'd say 18-20" if you're suppressing, or 20-22" if you're not suppressed but still want something packable as a hunting rifle.

 

[deadwolf]

It is super common for folks to recommend XM/Long actions and say that a Short action is handicapped for a 7 SAUM, but it is really important to realize that is only relevant for certain bullets. I had an XM and hated the limited magazine availability. (Stock/chassis options are more limited as well.) And keep in mind that the extra XL/Long length will only be maximized if you're also doing a custom chamber.

I built my second 7 SAUM on a Short action with a SAAMI chamber and I much prefer it for a hunting rifle — shooting 175 ELD-X, 160 ABs, 168 VLDs, and numerous monos.

For barrel length, I'd say 18-20" if you're suppressing, or 20-22" if you're not suppressed but still want something packable as a hunting rifle.

Correct, 7saum works fine in a short action and saami chamber, given that’s how it came to life to begin with. A ton of 7saum were built on the model 7 action. And you are also correct in terms of chassis options with an xm.

But you aren’t really hindered in any way in stock options, most of the best stocks out there can inlet for a medium all day long. And in terms of your point about custom chambers, there isn’t any factory ammo to speak of for the 7 saum, so you’re going to have to make your own ammo anyway. So why does it matter if your gunsmith uses a saami spec reamer or a custom reamer? Might as well chamber it to shoot the heavies at 175, 180gr with a custom chamber and take advantage of optimal case space and better ballistics. Almost every reputable gunsmith has a reamer to do exactly this.

If a guy is dead set on a short action and only wants to shoot up to a 168 and a chassis, go for it. But you 100% are handicapping it and missing the best version of the 7 saum.

Edit: Came back to add, if this conversation was about the 300wsm, it makes so much sense if you don’t hand load to just shoot factory ammo which can be had up to 200gr. (Most is up to 180gr in factory offerings) But if you were going to custom build one, I’d absolutely want to build on a medium action and shoot a 215 Berger or similar eldm/x offering which is going to SMOKE any factory load.

But, as stated above, the 7 saum has no factory offerings anymore so, don’t hold it back in a short action unless that’s really what you want.


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[Mark at EXO]

@deadwolf, I am not arguing for/against a Short, Med, or Long action. Just sharing some additional clarification, perspective, and experience.

I have seen guys go XM and realize they have terrible options for magazines (if they're not using BDL).

I have seen guys go XM but use a SAAMI chamber, not realizing they aren't reaping the benefit of XM.

I have seen guys go XM even though they are planning on shooting bullets that don't benefit from a custom chamber or longer action.

My post was just an attempt to add context to so many blanket statements on forums where guys effectively say that a Short action is pointless and you "have to" use something longer or your 7 SAUM is severely handicapped.

And in terms of being handicapped, one of the things that is so great about the 7 SAUM is the efficiency. My "handicapped" short-action, short-barrel rifle, with a 175g bullet has had no issues killing a pile of animals out to distances where I (the shooter) am the limiting factor, not the action/barrel length.

Again, I don't care what people do, as long as they are making an informed decision.

 

[deadwolf]

Mark, I agree with the bulk of what you’ve said in your two posts, and you’re right that people often make decisions without all pertinent info! And you built the 7 saum which was right for you, because you wanted to run a chassis if I remember correctly. And that’s what I was getting at as well. But I know without a doubt, that IF you built your saum with a 175 on a medium, you’d squeeze out a little more velocity with added case capacity having the bullet seated out further. And for me, I wanted to shoot a 180 to take advantage of one of the highest BCs available for the 7mm, and prefer a Manners EH1 over a chassis.

So, similar to you, I’m just trying to help guys make an informed decision as well. Because yes you can kill a pile of animals with both : )


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[ssgjpd]

Great information, lots to think about especially since I want to stay on a chassis.

 

[wyosam]

Correct, 7saum works fine in a short action and saami chamber, given that’s how it came to life to begin with. A ton of 7saum were built on the model 7 action. And you are also correct in terms of chassis options with an xm.

But you aren’t really hindered in any way in stock options, most of the best stocks out there can inlet for a medium all day long. And in terms of your point about custom chambers, there isn’t any factory ammo to speak of for the 7 saum, so you’re going to have to make your own ammo anyway. So why does it matter if your gunsmith uses a saami spec reamer or a custom reamer? Might as well chamber it to shoot the heavies at 175, 180gr with a custom chamber and take advantage of optimal case space and better ballistics. Almost every reputable gunsmith has a reamer to do exactly this.

If a guy is dead set on a short action and only wants to shoot up to a 168 and a chassis, go for it. But you 100% are handicapping it and missing the best version of the 7 saum.

Edit: Came back to add, if this conversation was about the 300wsm, it makes so much sense if you don’t hand load to just shoot factory ammo which can be had up to 200gr. (Most is up to 180gr in factory offerings) But if you were going to custom build one, I’d absolutely want to build on a medium action and shoot a 215 Berger or similar eldm/x offering which is going to SMOKE any factory load.

But, as stated above, the 7 saum has no factory offerings anymore so, don’t hold it back in a short action unless that’s really what you want.


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Maybe the cartridge should be renamed the 7 MAUM?


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[deadwolf]

Maybe the cartridge should be renamed the 7 MAUM?


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That’s funny!

Like a lot of older calibers, we’ve discovered that their initial design can be improved upon and benefit from a different chamber. That all seemed to come to light with the advent of VLDs. 300win, 300wsm, 7mm mag, and 300 rum for example. All very useful in the past and have been very popular. But I don’t think one can argue that they all are better ballisticly with a long and heavy pill seated at the neck shoulder junction in a custom chamber vs. their classic short and fat pill smushed down into the neck.

Not trying to start a war here, I already have one of those ongoing with a buddy who insists that a saami spec RUM is the end all be all of calibers : )


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[wyosam]

That’s funny!

Like a lot of older calibers, we’ve discovered that their initial design can be improved upon and benefit from a different chamber. That all seemed to come to light with the advent of VLDs. 300win, 300wsm, 7mm mag, and 300 rum for example. All very useful in the past and have been very popular. But I don’t think one can argue that they all are better ballisticly with a long and heavy pill seated at the neck shoulder junction in a custom chamber vs. their classic short and fat pill smushed down into the neck.

Not trying to start a war here, I already have one of those ongoing with a buddy who insists that a saami spec RUM is the end all be all of calibers : )


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Oh absolutely- lots of short action cartridges that have a new level of potential in a longer action, especially if throated appropriately as well. I also think the benefit of a short action are often exaggerated. I’m a Tikka guy so everything is longish anyway, but I throat them to take advantage of it in my 7-08ai and 338-284. Even my Dasher has a long action bolt stop, since it occasionally gets a 6.5-284 barrel screwed on and I don’t care enough about the difference in bolt cycle length to spend 30 seconds changing the bolt stop.


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[deadwolf]

Oh absolutely- lots of short action cartridges that have a new level of potential in a longer action, especially if throated appropriately as well. I also think the benefit of a short action are often exaggerated. I’m a Tikka guy so everything is longish anyway, but I throat them to take advantage of it in my 7-08ai and 338-284. Even my Dasher has a long action bolt stop, since it occasionally gets a 6.5-284 barrel screwed on and I don’t care enough about the difference in bolt cycle length to spend 30 seconds changing the bolt stop.


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Exactly, and that is how all the PRC cartridges came about


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[wyosam]

Maybe the cartridge should be renamed the 7 MAUM?


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And now after typing 7 MAUM, I’m suddenly intrigued by the idea of building some sort of a wildcat on the SAUM case just so I can name it the whatever bore size MAUM.


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[StopMakingSense]

With regards to options for magazines check UnknownMunitions, that’s what we run for an XLR medium.

 

[Tralle]

Does anybody know how many 7mm SAUM rounds will fit in the Tikka long magnum magazine?

If I recall correctly, you can fit 2 in a standard magnum 3 rnd mag, and 3 in the 5 rnd mag.

The tikka magnum mags are a little narrow for the saum, a little work with a Dremel fixes it.
Never had any feed issues with them after the Dremel work.

The short action magnum magazines runs smooth, they limit coal too much though.

 

[msstate56]

If running a SA with magazines, what is the preferred hunting bullet for LR? I’m looking at 175 elite hunter, 162 ELD m, 180 hybrid or 180 ELD m. I’ve got a lot of experience with ELD m in 6.5, but 7mm is new to me. I have very limited experience hunting with Bergers. 20” barrel.

 

[wind gypsy]

If running a SA with magazines, what is the preferred hunting bullet for LR? I’m looking at 175 elite hunter, 162 ELD m, 180 hybrid or 180 ELD m. I’ve got a lot of experience with ELD m in 6.5, but 7mm is new to me. I have very limited experience hunting with Bergers. 20” barrel.

Sounds like a good application for 162s to me.

 

[msstate56]

Sounds like a good application for 162s to me.

ELDm or ELD X?

Does anyone load 180 ELDm to 2.950” mag length, and how does it perform? I have 2.958” to work with in an Accurate Mag AICS.