Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm TCU in a rifle article

The new *Handloader* mag has an outstanding article about the 7mm TCU in a rifle. I want one!

I have not read the article, bt own a Contender in that chamber. It is an amazing round that is easilyformed from 223 brass, and gives great accuracy and speed with tiny volumes of powder. I can understand your desire.
Randy

I think any of the TCU cartridges, especially the 7mm, would make a sweet round in a little bolt rifle. I just can't justify the cost to have one built. Not enough water in the well

Yep its a great round I wish I had the cash to spare for the under takening

would this round have enough velocity to open a barnes tsx 120 or would you have to use really lite bullets on deer

It would depend on the distance. I was easily getting 2200 ft/sec out of 140 gr Hornady, So I would think 23-2500 out of a rifle length barrel would be easy to get with a 120 gr. This is memory from 10 years ago so I will confirm from home tonighy or tomorrow

Randy

Well, I'm not interested whatsoever about the 7mm TCU, but I don't understand why the 6mm TCU isn't a factory round for someone......

Kaiser Norton

I have one in an M7. 22" Douglas bbl. Quite accurate. 120gr Nos solid base bullets go a little over 2600fps with a real easy load. May go a little faster if whumped up a bit.
Gun came with 162gr MatchKings loaded up. They shot about 5/8" groups with an old Bushnell 4X. Didn't have a chronograph then, so don't know the speed.
Gun started life as a 223, doesn't feed reliably with the longer, sharper TCU cases.

They list it in the Hodgdon load manual... its listed as a 6x45 or 6mm-223 Rem.

I agree though... some factory ought to pick that one up.

I am very interested in the 7 TCU for my son as a first rifle. While I'm short on water as another said, I think I have it worked out:

I need a 338 RUM so I'll buy a Savage 110 in 7 Mag as donor. I'll get a Stevens 200 in 223 Rem for Samuel, have the 7 Mag take-off shortened (my son is 7 and I want something short and management weight- as well as recoil/blast-wise) and rechambered to 7 TCU and put it on the Stevens action. The POS plastic stock on that'll succomb to a hack saw, marine tex, and bondo, and VOILA! A perfect first-timer's deer rifle!

I have a 7x57 in the works, so I already have the bullets. Haviland's pics showed great results with a 140 and 150 gr Sierra Game King at 100 yards, so we're in business and I have a 338 RUM in the works!

I love it when a plan comes together...

The monometal super premiums were built to because the in-fashion magnums, super-mags, uber-mags, etc, would blow a cup'n'core to peices. This cartridge is anything but a magnum; you don't need a TSX in this any more than you do in a 30-30.

Of course if you wanted to try 'em out I doubt it'd hurt. Might pencil-hole right on through though... better nails out there for this job...

I have a 6.5 TCU single-shot, and I have cogitating on building a bolt gun for either it or the 6.5 Grendel. They are neat little cartridges. I figured I could start with a Rem/Zastava M799.

jim

A friend had a rifle in this chambering.

To duplicate the performance, I loaded the 7/08 with SR 4759, IMR 4198, H 4198, RL 7 and H 322 and duplicated the same velocities with bullet weights from 100 to 140 grains..

and this was from using powder charge weights from 20 to 30 grains depending upon powder used...

plus if I want to boost it up to a little more ommph, then it was no problem.

just food for thought, and not trying to rain on anyone's parade.

Seafire
Thats a great idea. Sometimes I wonder that we all seem to get involved with pushing every cartridge to the max and forget how well low and slow can work. And fun to boot.

I perused that article and thought, why not just get one in 6.8mm SPC? In fact there's a pawnshop in town where someone dropped off a 700 fluted 22-in. 6.8 think it's ss with a coating and one of the tan flecked stocks and some huge scope on it. They are asking about $1,000 more than I'd pay though...

Coldcase-

The reason I'd not get one in 6.8 is because that cartridge has an off-the-wall case head and there aren't readily available cases around from which to form brass.

223 is a somewhat standardized case head (that is, there are many bolts available in that configuration) and 223 Rem brass is all over the place.

Seafire, as usual, has a rather salient and logical answer to the "problem" of finding a light- recoiling & blasting 7mm. Makes so much sense, but is so boring .

I've been kicking around the idea of a mini 14 converted to 7 TCU for years. Not likely to ever get around to it, but I think some light bolt action with a 19 or 20 inch barrel might make a nice rig to play around with

i just got the issue of handloader and it was a good read but i think i will just down load my 284 if i want a lite recoiling load

OP, had a 6TCU in 21" Bullberry, a 7tcu in 10/14", and a 6.5 in 10", since those days, I built a 7BR on an M7 action, shot 120s at 2878 in a 21" bbl.

Fed slick out the mag. The 223 wildcats would occasionally fail at the web in the TC. Perhaps due to the minimal frame stretch you get.

Maybe that is a non-issue on a bolt, but the BR case is a real performer. 2400 w/120s fireformed in the 14" was easy w/7TCU, expect an avg. of around 150 gain using a rifle bbl but 200 as above not out of the question. 2200/140s was had in the 14" super TC. I would run 120s in the 7TCU, but 130s in the BR, and the 139 SST looked really good. The BR ran 2666 w/130s, 2544 w/139 SSTs.

Can you say efficient, deadly accurate, flinch free forever shooting and bbl life, and mild blast? Did I mention easy on the components i.e. powder savings and LONG brass life?

Ok, but if a 223 action is at hand, the TCU is not a bad round to go w/but your throating may be an issue if you use a regular 223 mag box, I don't know, perhaps someone can chime in.

"Seafire, as usual, has a rather salient and logical answer to the "problem" of finding a light- recoiling & blasting 7mm. Makes so much sense, but is so boring smile ."

It may be boring but that is not my motivation. Being practical allows me to be fiscally conservative, and spend more money on bullets etc. There is a method to my madness.

As mentioned by 6.5BR above, I have seen a Mini 30 that was set up and chambered in 6.5 BR and another one in 7 BR.

not that those firearms appeal to me, but chambered in those rounds.. that did!

65BR, Yes, the mag box thing. Evidently M7s in 223 come spaced to shorten them to correct length. My spacer has been removed and a piece of aluminum stock about 3/16" thick has been added to the back end of the box so that it's only a little longer than factory 223 box but not as long as full length M7 box.
My feed issues happen when a loaded round strips from stack and the tip stops against the flat-breech end of chamber. When the tip goes into the chamber opening all is well. When they abruptly stop the cases get bent and boogered.