MM: I'm not into kool aid and I don't get enamored easily
I shoot and load to learn and look at what the numbers tell me.
I have not seen 3170 from a long throat 7 RM without very short brass life.The cartridge was never designed to hit those velocities routinely with a 160 from a 24" barrel....even its designers didn't (Les Bowman) didn't run it that hard.3170 is all it can give with a 150.
I can easily get close to 3300 with a 150 from the Mashburn,over 3200+ with a 160 and close to 3100 with a 175. No 7 RM can do that and last more than 2-3 firings..and with single based powders;not double based which will fool a lot of people with over the top velocities.
Besides, long throating a 7 RM is nothing more that 'wild catting".
The Mashburn is simply a larger cartridge and moves heavy bullets faster....which is what the case is all about. If it were not "good" you would not see so many new designs looking to do nothing more than duplicate its' ballistics with the heavy 7mm bullets.
I love these conversations about it with people who never even have loaded and shot one.
Why shoot a 7 RM when you can shoot a 280AI; why shoot a 280AI when you can shoot a 280? Why shoot a 280 when you can shoot a 7/08? Point is velocity gains usually come incrementally,and the bigger cases always win...and it's up to every one to decide where that balance is for them. But I can't take seriously cartridge comparisons based on inflated figures for smaller cases loaded to redline and then compared to bigger cartridges.....common on here and that's the real kool aid.
