7mm shooting times westerner

[samuel]

I honestly believe the larger powder capacity cases like the RUM,s and STW,s were designed for the target range,as what we had would pretty well cover hunting anything at any decent hunting range.It seems to me that after trying these big boomers on the range,many decide that it isnt fun to beat yourself up and go back to the .308win. and such.The big ones do make good hunting rifles if you dont mind carrying a little extra weight. sam.

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by Magnumsrule

I am seriously thinking that the 7mmrum is the way to go. Articles i have read list it as a contender for the flattest shooting factory cartridge ever made.

I didn't do a thorough search and you may be correct. My guess is that the .264 WM could give it a bit of a run for the money, depending on the bullet weight, and how hot you load it. Here are some 500 yard total drop from the muzzle numbers for a couple of loads in each. I had to do some estimating for velocity. All bullets are Sierra Match HPBT's, which have the best BC for long range.

264 WM, 123 gr., 3400 fps, 46.49"
7mm RUM, 130 gr., 3500 fps, 46.75"
264 WM, 142 gr., 3200 fps, 50.86"
7mm RUM, 150 gr., 3300 fps, 51.61"

Because of the smaller bore size the 264 has better BC's which make up for the shortfall in velocity at longer ranges. If you went out to 1000 yards, both 264 loads will be flatter than either 7mm RUM. The 123 gr. 264 will be about 3' above the 7mm 130 gr. at that range.

[baltimorelaw]

I think your decision should be based on your intended use. I might have overlooked it in the post, but what is your intended use? If you are just looking for a flat shooting cartridge, then you can do that with a 7mm RUM or the 300 RUM by adjusting bullet weights to optimize your ballistic coefficient. But if you intend on long range hunting you have to consider bullet weight, retained energy, penetration, and wound channel. All of these (I think) lean towards the heavier bullets offered in the 300 size. I know they have come a long, long way with bullet technology, but I think at 500 yds the 300 caliber is going to have an advantage because of its size/weight.

Either way, I would make sure and get a muzzle break that has some forward angle in its porting to direct some of the noise away from you. I haven't experienced significant changes in accuracy due to muzzle breaks but it may change the point of impact marginally.

[samuel]

As someone said,if you have a muzzle break,you have a broken gun.If you have a muzzle brake,how the he&& can you direct the gasses away from you?Wouldnt that increase the recoil?I've been around muzzle brakes for a while but I never heard of or saw that done. sam.

[baltimorelaw]

You can direct the gases away from you by purchasing and installing a muzzle break which has the first set of holes set forward on a slight angle. The majority of the gas expels out the first holes, away from the shooter. It doesn't "increase" recoil, but rather gives you less of a decrease. I wish i could offer percentages, but i don't have that information available (probably a good experiment though!). Even with a 5-10 degree forward angle, you still get significant recoil reduction without the blast effect in your face. Usually these types of brakes have significant flats further down the brake which uses the gas that is left as effectively as possible to reduce felt recoil. You don't see many of these types of brakes around though- i have bought them through brownells in the past.

[MOD 70]

Originally Posted by Magnumsrule

I am seriously thinking that the 7mmrum is the way to go. Articles i have read list it as a contender for the flattest shooting factory cartridge ever made. It has 700-900 foot pounds of energy over the 7mm rem depending on the source. I have heard that the lapua is a good long range rifle but that will be even harder to find rifles and ammo for. The 7mmrum has rifles and ammo that is fairly available. I am thinking that getting a muzzle break will be necessary but i would shoot it a couple times first to see how hard it actually recoils. Shooting off a bench will require some serious ear protection. I didnt know that muzzle breaks affected accuracy?

After some input from knowledgeable shooters that I know, that own rifles in this cartridge and have used them on deer sized game. it is without a doubt that it is probably one of the finest deer rounds out there for longer ranges. I`ve been told that it is close to the 300 Wea on deer with less recoil. That is saying a lot. If 7mm is your thing you can`t go wrong with the7mm STW. P.S. All use 160`s or so - none use 195`s.

[Magnumsrule]

Ya thanks for the input. I was looking in rems and others ballistsics catolauge and the 7mm rum shoots flatter than all the 7mms and 6.5s so i dont know where Ron AKA got his data. Thanks for showing an interest and coming up with numbers though. Im still not sure about the cartridge though. Barrle life will prob be limited to about 1500 rounds. Without a muzzle break the recoil will be intense. My 7mm mag is nice to shoot. My dads 300 win mag is ok to shoot. Im just not sure how much of an increase in recoil there is. I was also looking in the new rem catolouge and found that they have made the 7mm rum + 300 rum cartridges into different classes of power. Is this to tell people how much the cartridge is going to recoil based on the type of powder and bullet weight they put on the round?
+ 400 yards 7mm rum -11.4" 140 gr, 264 win mag -18" 140 gr This comes from gun digest 2008, i may look up other manufacturesers litings.

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by Magnumsrule

Ya thanks for the input. I was looking in rems and others ballistsics catolauge and the 7mm rum shoots flatter than all the 7mms and 6.5s so i dont know where Ron AKA got his data. Thanks for showing an interest and coming up with numbers though. Im still not sure about the cartridge though. Barrle life will prob be limited to about 1500 rounds. Without a muzzle break the recoil will be intense. My 7mm mag is nice to shoot. My dads 300 win mag is ok to shoot. Im just not sure how much of an increase in recoil there is. I was also looking in the new rem catolouge and found that they have made the 7mm rum + 300 rum cartridges into different classes of power. Is this to tell people how much the cartridge is going to recoil based on the type of powder and bullet weight they put on the round?
+ 400 yards 7mm rum -11.4" 140 gr, 264 win mag -18" 140 gr This comes from gun digest 2008, i may look up other manufacturesers litings.

Ballistics came from a program called PointBlank which is free to download and I highly recommend. Bit rough in some areas but works once you catch on to the quirks. See this link if you wish to download it. It calculates recoil as well.

http://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?...=article&sid=3

The data came from Sierra (BC's) and Hodgson (Muzzle Velocities):

http://www.sierrabullets.com/bullets...ient-rifle.pdf

Cartridge Loads - Hodgdon Reloading Data Center - data.hodgdon.com

Incidentally I cheated a bit as another pointed out, by using Match bullets. They drop less than hunting loads due to the higher BC's. But at least I cheated the same for both calibers!

The RUM may be closer to 1000 rounds per barrel. That is the typical life of the 300 WM. On the loads Remington essentially offer light, medium, and heavy loads. Probably only difference is powder weight, although they may be changing powder type as well.

Ron

[mtm1]

Morning all, this is my first post here. I'm on my 3rd STW. This is a very fine long range round. To give you an idea of the performance gain over the 7Rem, my current gun started out as a Stainless Classic with 24" barrel. I could get 3050 fps. with 160s. No more without pressure signs. I rechambered to STW and now launch 160 TSXs at just shy of 3300 fps. Took a decent Mulie at quite long range with it this year and had very devistateing performance even way out there.

[samuel]

Thanks for your post on your actual experiences.Please post more. sam.

[Magnumsrule]

Thanks all, and thanks Ron AKA for the program im going to download it when i feel more awake lol.