Help me choose a 7mm..

[mxgsfmdpx]

Just keep it simple & get a Christensen Ridgeline 7mm RM. You'll be happy you did

He's planning on building a custom rifle and you recommend a sloppy, clunky Christensen (Remington) action? Gross.

 

[280ack]

280AI, its within spitting distance of the 7mm Mag (rem) and recoil is less considering the rifle and action weight. Melvin Forbes builds very nice custom LW rifles, he started the trend and is the standard in many ways.
The 160 Partition has killed a few bulls for me and does it well. Your choice for deer may be a lower weight bullet, 150 premiums are nothing to sneeze at. The 150 TTSX in 7mm is as close to a "one bullet does it all" load for all but the big bears. Mags are nice but burning the extra powder and dealing with reloading belted cases can be a chore if you reload.
The 280 AI is probably more available in store now than some of the mags mentioned in previous posts. By the way, John Barsness, an extremely smart and capable writer, once stated that the 7mm SAUM did all that the 280AI could do, he is correct they are ballistic equivalents. Look around for ammo and I think you are more likely to find 280 AI on the shelf. I wonder why the SAUM class cartridges are seldom spoken about?

 

[Rob5589]

Anyone care to tell me why the belted case is so disliked?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Who knows? I've loaded into the thousands, never an issue.

 

[JakeSCH]

I have a 280ai, it is an awesome cartridge....but right now I am in the process of getting my custom 7 RM. With your 26" barrel and H4350, you should be to push the 155 grain hammers 3400 FPS and the 169 HH over 3200 fps...possibly more on both.

Barrel's are made to be used and replaced! Lol. Plus you can also drop down your loads to a 7 SAUM or 280ai performance...

 

[Decker9]

Iv been diggin the stuff I read in the 7 saum. Sounds like the xm is the saum’s meow.
I talked to a couple smiths and the fellow who orders my gun parts about the 7 max, basically they put it as, as a shooter, I won’t notice any difference, except in the cost and cool factor. The way I understood it, is paying the guy extra to stamp some ADG brass for you to 7 max, $$ custom dies, and having very limited support on the cartridge, It didn’t take much convincing that it was best to go with the saum. Tho I was very intrigued with the max, I took the smiths advice.
edit…. Now reading nimrod’s post about the mega throwing those big pills! gets the wheels turning again lol, but I’ll stick with my guns and still favour the saum I think.

I also shoot south paw. Have you shouldered and shot many left hand actions? Just want to be sure it’s your cup of tea before jumping in. Personally, I can’t work a left hand action, even being left handed. I’d hate to see you find out down the road that it causes an awkwardness.

Funnest part about all of this is the planning though!! Just a side note, if you go with an anti, be sure to ask about a modified bolt handle to aid in scope clearance. Only downfall I find with my anti, I can’t cycle the bolt if my leupold scope coat is on.

 

[wind gypsy]

Anyone care to tell me why the belted case is so disliked?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Definitely aint a deal breaker but why deal with it if you don't have to?

My experience is limited to 3 wm barrels but there are two things I don't like about them:
1. I've had issues with the case expanding too much above the belt and getting sticky in the chamber. My Redding type S die seems adequately small there but it actually seems to scrape or push brass up against the belt and then I no longer have enough clearance for the case in my chamber. Could probably be addressed by pre-sizing that area with a collet but that's another step.
2. Virgin brass shoulders are notably short of chamber shoulder and stretch quite a bit on the first firing.

 

[snopro176]

Iv been diggin the stuff I read in the 7 saum. Sounds like the xm is the saum’s meow.
I talked to a couple smiths and the fellow who orders my gun parts about the 7 max, basically they put it as, as a shooter, I won’t notice any difference, except in the cost and cool factor. The way I understood it, is paying the guy extra to stamp some ADG brass for you to 7 max, $$ custom dies, and having very limited support on the cartridge, It didn’t take much convincing that it was best to go with the saum. Tho I was very intrigued with the max, I took the smiths advice.
edit…. Now reading nimrod’s post about the mega throwing those big pills! gets the wheels turning again lol, but I’ll stick with my guns and still favour the saum I think.

I also shoot south paw. Have you shouldered and shot many left hand actions? Just want to be sure it’s your cup of tea before jumping in. Personally, I can’t work a left hand action, even being left handed. I’d hate to see you find out down the road that it causes an awkwardness.

Funnest part about all of this is the planning though!! Just a side note, if you go with an anti, be sure to ask about a modified bolt handle to aid in scope clearance. Only downfall I find with my anti, I can’t cycle the bolt if my leupold scope coat is on.

Lots of good points. I actually have not shot any lefty actions but I feel like it wouldn't be too bad to get used to. I've also kicked around getting a ruckus which would allow for a left bolt/right eject option which I think would be tits being able to see the round feeding and such. The XM is pretty damn intriguing to me and with the guaranteed headspace I'll he able to chose from lots of prefits down the road if need be. 7RM is the only round I really care for in the LA world, but there's lots to play with in the future if it's an XM action..

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[snopro176]

If I said I needed lower recoil so the wife would enjoy shooting it was a factor,a shorter say 22" barrel for packability and the 155 absolute hammer being the primary pill, would that change anyone's suggestions?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[JakeSCH]

If I said I needed lower recoil so the wife would enjoy shooting it was a factor and a shorter say 22" barrel for packability, would that change anyone's suggestions?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Yep. I would take a step back and list your realistic maximum range you plan on hunting. Most likely you could get by with a 7mm-08.

If you want more than step up to a 7 saum or 280ai.

 

[Crowmangler]

He's planning on building a custom rifle and you recommend a sloppy, clunky Christensen (Remington) action? Gross.

Ouch... LOL

 

[BluMtn]

If you want something a little different, might I suggest 7x61 S&H. Brass is a bit of an issue, but if you buy the die it can be formed from 7mm Mag. I had pacnor put mine together a few years ago.

My father had a Schultz and Larson Mod 65DL in 7x61 Sharpe and Hart. Hunted with it a couple years then reamed it to 7RM and it killed a ton of deer and elk. My son now has it. It is the sweetest shooting rifle I have ever shot. The stock is designed so when you shoot it, it just pushes you back but the muzzle does not rise. I shoot a lot of pre-64's and newer Mod. 70's and they do not shoot the same way. The only draw back to loading a S&L is you open the floor plate and load from the bottom because the action window is very narrow and hard to get a loaded round in to the magazine.

 

[tradman]

28 Nosler?

 

[snopro176]

28 Nosler?

Although ballistics are tempting and maybe I'm off-base here but many talk about it being a barrel burnerz. I'd like barrel life to be in the range of 1,000 rounds or better if possible. I'm shooting about 3-400 rounds a year at least lately.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Rob5589]

Although ballistics are tempting and maybe I'm off-base here but many talk about it being a barrel burnerz. I'd like barrel life to be in the range of 1,000 rounds or better if possible. I'm shooting about 3-400 rounds a year at least lately.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

It's all in context. Put round after round quickly and you'll fry a chamber quick. 3-400 slow cadence rounds a year and you'll have a rifle for many years. My comp rifle in 7RM would get about 900 when the accuracy and velocity would drop off. My Tikka 7RM hunting gun has an unk round count and still shoots lights out. Like said above, barrels are disposable so don't let that heavily sway your decision.

 

[snopro176]

Thanks everyone for all the awesome input I'm at a fork in the rd a little still bit feeling better about haha. I'll either just make this 7RM and the wife can suck it up if she ever needs it for elk, she will shoot the PRC for deer anyway, or I'll call defiance Monday and order an XM and likely just build a saum.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[LightFoot]

+1 for 28 Nosler (since barrel life and recoil doesn't matter to you)



Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[Runningwater]

280ai, but stamp it 7mm Express Whelan to make it an exotic wildcat!

 

[blacktail sniper]

another vote for the 280ai. have mine and love it shoots HH 143s to 3170fps and 168 LRABs at 2860 and shoots them well. If it wasn't for y 6.5 scum my 280ai would be all I own

 

[minengr]

My father had a Schultz and Larson Mod 65DL in 7x61 Sharpe and Hart. Hunted with it a couple years then reamed it to 7RM and it killed a ton of deer and elk. My son now has it. It is the sweetest shooting rifle I have ever shot. The stock is designed so when you shoot it, it just pushes you back but the muzzle does not rise. I shoot a lot of pre-64's and newer Mod. 70's and they do not shoot the same way. The only draw back to loading a S&L is you open the floor plate and load from the bottom because the action window is very narrow and hard to get a loaded round in to the magazine.

I hope to add a S&L to the collection some day. Amazing rifles, cut rifled barrels, a company rumored to have such good gunsmiths that when occupied in WW2 they sabotaged rifles without the Germans figuring it out. Too bad they are no longer imported to the US.

 

[onetohunt]

Love my 280ai. Shoots lights out. I'm in the process of trying to buy or build one with a carbon fiber barrel. Really like the round and it is fun to shoot.