Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Big 7....My Way........

Nice work.

A big 7 has been heavy on my mind.

That'll work.

Old wildcat. Been around a long time. Friends built the 7x300 WM back in the 80's.

Similar to the other 7mm's with about the same capacity.

Sweet, enjoyed the work up and look forward to the results on the range.

How's it shoot, Al?

Nice looking rig

Haven't handled the McM Marksman. How do you like it?

I swallowed up the RV contour with ease. Looks like a very nice rig.

Thanks Wayne......range work is done, play time has commenced.....

Thanks Josh......damn good.....

The A-5's stole the forend off the Marksman, more rounded, and beefier (wider) through the butt. I tend to hold the guns in the mag area with the off hand, and the sharper corners of the A-5 aren't kind, especially with more recoil.

I have several......

Nice work aalf. Sharing pics with the new Game Warden on Thursday?

Thanks Mike.

Might be like Santa.....naughty vs nice deal on pics......

Looks great! Here's another bullet pic to add:

195 Hybrid, 180 VLD, 162 AM Moly

Jordan,

I had my finger poised on the buy button for the 195's, but chickened out. I felt it was going to be almost a wash in the performance comparing drop/drift with the Hybrids from a hunting standpoint, which I would most likely limit myself to under 1K in perfect conditions, and realistically under 750, depending.

I was hoping for a good load for the two I bought, the 183's for LR play, and the Hybrids for hunting. My OAL w/ SMK's is a hair over mag length, which was planned as single shot anyway with where I wanted the throating, and the Hybrids shoot fine jumping while fitting the mag....win/win.

The 713 BC for the Sierras is real.....

aalf,

Sounds like a solid plan! Good to know on the MK's. The 0.755 G1 matches up nicely on the 195's also, out to 1420m at least, which is as far as I've shot them so far. I built a rifle around that bullet, so I'm running it well within mag length and kissing the lands, with the bottom of the bullet shank just below the neck/shoulder junction.

That bullet certainly is an animal, and even makes the 162 look silly in the wind. You can definitely tell the difference between the two when they hit steel. When the 195 hits it sounds like somebody hit the plate with a sledge hammer.

Jordan,

I always start load work in the lands .020" or so. Both dummies were set up for that, with the bullet's pressure ring at the n/s junction too. The Bergers were about .020" under box length, the SMK's about .050" over. I've moved my seater out .010" at the 450 round count. Smart move on my part for not adding the third bullet to the mix for testing at this point. Have you tested jumping the 195's?

I just ran another side by side ballistic comparison, the 183 .713 BC vs the 195 .755 BC, with a WAG velocity loss of the 195 at 125 fps. A virtual tie across the board at 2K, except the SMK's 3 MOA less drop.

From a LR plinking standpoint, I think the SMK wins, edging the 195's in drop and cost. But from a hunting standpoint, my 180 Hybrids run about 2 MOA behind the SMKs, so the 195 wins there. However, I pointed my Hybrids, so the true figures are likely worse, as I don't want to shoot pointed bullets for hunting.

I was about to replenish my Sierra stash, maybe I should re-think the 195's.

aalf,

I do the same thing by starting into the lands about 0.020" and working backwards if need be. I have jumped the 195's a little bit, no extensive testing by any means, but the little I did work with the bullet jumping about 0.060" off the lands showed a lot of promise. A starting load produced a few groups of 5 shots into about 0.5-0.75 MOA, from a couple of different rifles. It's been a very easy bullet to work with so far.

In my rifles I usually get about 100 fps more with the 180 Hybrid than the 195, just FWIW. Though you're right about the cost. The Sierra or a Hornady would certainly be more cost effective when burning through thousands of the things, though the 195's wind-cutting performance and impact on target are pretty satisfying

Honestly I'm not sure you'd see much difference between the 3 bullets in all practicality. I'd probably run whichever shot better/was cheaper for plinking, though it wouldn't hurt to try a box of the 195's just to see what it'll do in your barrel. I'm definitely liking the idea of the 195 for LR killing, though ironically the only game animal I've killed with it so far has been a WT buck at 100m *grin*

Very cool, my friend. One of these days you're going to run out of itches to scratch.

Very nicely written, great pictures. You are very handy with doing your own stock work, the bedding looks great. Glad to have been able to help out, Tim.

My 7/300WM works great with RL25 and the 160 NAB. 3225 fps and nice tight groups.

You get tired of that, we can ream it out to the 7mm338RUM!

Ha ha.....doubtful....

One of these days you'll need to get your ass down this way...

Thanks.....and thanks for the "help".


Load stuff coming for mine....been too damn busy.


That's OK, I'm good......

How do you like the Game Warden?

I'm not sure yet. Probably wont give it a ride till fall.

Play time.....





The victims from 550 to 1K.....






Moved back a little to stretch to 1400 or so....





Aftermath.....

That's interesting......geezus which of these damned rangefinders is worth crap?

I need a new one...

You'll like the Sig, as you don't shoot beyond 600, and you're not worried about ranging a coyote laying out in the middle of flat ass nowhere. It's reload speed is amazing, and does damn good to 1K for the most part.

That day it struggled ranging on the jugs as I went further up the hill, and couldn't get the last couple, which was 1K or so. Ranging into a hillside is a piece of cake, the level schitt on small stuff is a problem.

Got it. Will it pick up individual deer?

My Leica flunked that last year in Kansas.

Like most answers....it depends....900, 1200, 1600?

I had the old style 1200 and liked it, but when I built the big 338, I was outshooting it's capability, so I was forced to update to the 1600B. That ended up marginal for my needs, so I updated again.

The sunlight plays a huge role in getting consistent readings too. I haven't had the opportunity to range many deer with the Sig yet, but the small testing so far is favorable.

As inexpensive as they are, you can buy one, give it a good workout, and peddle it w/o losing your shirt if it doesn't meet your needs.

Good. Thanks. Scott said his findings are like yours. I will give one a go.

I was pretty frustrated in Kansas last year...even short readings were tough on the deer.

More play time.....

Filled up some more jugs with colored water:



Backed up a little bit and got set up:







Not really the best day to be out there, as it was cold with the winds huffing & puffing more than predicted. But worse yet, it had rained a little bit, which made spotting impacts sketchy at best. The bullets were just bombing out little divots. Managed one kill for my effort though.

Aalf what do you like about the Nosler brass v the Hornady? What makes groups/shooting with the Nosler brass more consistent?

v/r
Joel

Judging from your other posts Al, I take it the Game Warden wasn't the ticket? Pros/Cons; the good, the bad, the ugly.

I had a 375 Ruger, & I thought the brass was great.

With this brass, the primer pockets were too loose on some right out of the gate. The Nosler brass has some TIGHT pockets. Maybe it was just this lot number, I don't know.

It was the R-33 that seemed more consistent, not the brass. I'm still shooting 60+ Ruger cases.

Dean,

The white Marksman was supposed to be a stopgap measure till the Game Warden came it. After putting all the effort into it, it seemed like a backwards move to schitcan it in favor of the GW.

I thought long & hard on selling the GW, but for what this gun was built for, I much prefer the Marksman for those endeavors.

Any comments on how the comb height of the GW compares to the HTG? Biggest complaint I have with the HTG is the comb is too low for my liking. I've had KMV hardware installed in half of my HTG holdings,to date. Debating on whether to 'dump' the others and go to a chassis - XLR or MDT LSS-XL.

As is most other's complaint.....

I shouldered the HTG, GW, and the Marksman trio a hundred times trying to find an objective favorite. Specs say the GW's comb only has a 1/16th height advantage over the HTG.

Very seldom can I shoot prone where I go long, and I tend to hold lower than most, so my preferences are a bit less critical in that regard.

Don't do a lot of prone shooting either - too damned hard to get back up! That said, off a bench the HTG is shy in the comb height department.

Interestingly, I went through various McM specs on combs and still haven't quite figured out the 16th or two of hate for a HTG vs others:

A-5 - 1/4"

Varmint - 1/2"

Sporter - 1/2"

Mountain - 9/16"

Game Scout - 9/16"

HTG - 5/8"

Classic - 11/16"

But can ya hit anything close, and in a no-wind condition?

Looks like you were still in the same ball park though .

Depends on your definition of close........bigger grin.....

I need to get my sig out and see if I got one of the greatest things ever or one of the good enough for my needs kind. I haven't took a shot over 300 yards all year so it's not been a priority.

I'm not dissing the Sig, just give my experiences and the limitations I have found with it.

Right now, you'd think you have the Superman of rangefinders in your mitts with all the foliage on the trees and brush. I too can range houses, barns, water towers, etc to ungodly ranges, but typically don't find many critters to shoot holed up next to them.

Again, for most people's needs, they are the cat's ass to sane distances, just not the holy grail some state.

It'll be fine for me then. I've never shot past 1000 and don't get to do that anytime I want. I can shoot to 675 when I want and I still have plenty of practice to do there..haha.

Nice shooting!

Lol....sure is. I do good to do that a thousand yards closer

Just damn

You are having waaay to much fun.....

Thanks all, tis a blast, but I can't leave well enough alone.

Stay tuned.....

This, I know.

Looks like you're getting plenty of calcium. *grins*
I'm guessing you're not shooting today.

Understatement there.....if I get under a half gallon I start to panic. Always buy two at a time.


Fuc that......

To fuel your contemplative fire:

7WSM, 30" Brux bbl, 162 A-max, R-25.



Lawton single shot, left port, right bolt, Shehane Tracker stock.

I was more pointing out the nearly 3400fps 162's.

That didn't go unnoticed.....

I knew you wouldn't be able to resist!

Those 195's are fairly wicked. It looks like your dope is pretty spot on- did you base your come-ups off of advertised BC values? They're hammering for me, with published numbers...

I gotta blame you for pushing me over the edge......

I just ran JBM's simplified version with the .754 BC at 3010fps to 2000 yards. It's within a click to 1K so far. I got tangled up last night and never finished my post to show the 1000 yard results.

Guess I'll have to point a few to see what improvement it gives way out there.....

Keep us posted. I'll be interested to see what pointing does for you on those bullets

^^^^^^^