Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 7mm STW - I need opinions

I have the ability to buy a Bansners stocked and barreled Model 700 in 7 STW, flyweight Lilja tube, 26" and coated in ROGUARD.

Priced attractively at a local store.

I'm thinking jump on it, although I don't really have a "need" for one.

Opinions?

Favorite loads?

Don't do it!
Horrible caliber, just horrible!!

If it isn't braked it will probably knock your fillings out. Might not shoot small 5 shot groups but if it puts the first round on target every time it sounds like a winner. I love my STW, it shoots little bitty groups.

neat cartridge...have had a few rifles for it but never actually took one hunting; then again i can say the same about the 7mm rem mag and the 7mm ultra mag..maybe next year I'll do the .284 bore thing just for fun !

What twist does it have?

A slower twist for 140's? If so you can take a
264 win mag with 120's and shoot just as flat with a whole lot less recoil. Just a perspective to look at.

Fast twist? will the magazine be long enough to seat long VLD bullets out?

Remington brass only available? Good luck getting more than 3 loadings.



That's my experience with one.




Don't do it.

My STW weighs close to ten pounds. If it weighed any less, I would not enjoy shooting it.

I shoot moly coated 160's over H1000 at 3200 fps.

Sounds like a sweet rifle, I would just look super close at the first couple inches of rifling to make sure the barrel is in great shape.The 7mm mags are all mild for recoil in my opinion. Nothing like shooting the big 338's with 250's going 3100fps.Some 160 accubonds would be superb.

David sounds like a nice gun. But I'd go for a heavier barrel. My 7MM STW has a 5A contour and it really settled the gun down and is extremely accurate. My gun shoots 160's at 3350 and it will wake you up. Not that the recoil is so heavy but it is very sharp.

David, never owned one so...

They are known as barrel-eaters. I'd be concerned about a used one in that regard.

I prefer the 7RUM by a small margin, but the STW is okay. I would try it before I sent it for a brake. My curent 7RUM is in a spiral fluted no.5 contour and it is not uncomfortable to shoot 160 accubonds at 3200ish from a recoil standpoint.

.17ackleybee 3350 with a 160 is really standing on it in a STW what powder and bullet are you running?

David,
suppose I need to clarify-
I have no experience with the 7 STW, I was just hoping to get a rise out of my buddy here at the 'fire- 7 STW.
He must be out hunting today-with his Sako 7mm STW, I would think.

Mines a hair over 8 pounds loaded.Recoil is on par with a 300 Win mag.But it's a fast sharp kick thats over pretty quick.Myself I'd never brake a STW.

If you heat your barrel up too much,I can imagine toasting the throat pretty fast.Just take care of it.The barrel will last a long time in a hunting rifle.

Ha ha just got in.And yes was packing the STW.

one of my best buds has bagged over 30 deer with his 7stw remington 700 sendero. his latest yesterday 9 am; 480 yards . he taken some at 550 and beyond

Amen, I have done that with mine, but the third loading the primer pocket was loose.

I have load data for the STW in four different manuals. My load, to reach 3200 fps with the 160, is several grains heavier than listed in any of them. But I am using moly coated bullets which necessitates the addition of a bit more powder to make up for the slickness of the bullet.

If you decide not to buy it.......What store is it at?

I have had several 7 STW's and have built quite a few for guys with my reamer. 27-28" barrel will run 168 Bergers at 3300-3350 and still be able to load the cases 5-6 times. Even a rechambering a factory sendero barrel with my reamer we were able to get 3200 easily. The STW can be hard on throats, but it is a laser for sure. I have another barrel to screw onto mine when I get done with everyone elses stuff.

See! I toldja so!!

I love my 7 STW's, customs.

I also bought up 2000 Winchester brass as it was being discontinued.

Rem Brass gets primer pockets loose in a hurry, and the 7 STW's loads in loading manuals are light; the 7 STW shoots best at the accuracy nodes in the Maximum range.

If I were having another reamer ground, I would talk to some of the guys on this board about the 7 Mashburn instead of the 7 STW because of the issue of soft brass. Winchester brass is darn hard stuff and will take the pressure.

For the gusy that are shooting the Rem brass in the 7 STW, R.W. Hart sells a tool that will tighten up primer pockets very well, it is a good tool.

Also, if you start off using Fed 215's and the pockets get loose, the Win mag primer is a little larger the pockets will once again "feel" tight.

Custom 7 Mags with a long barrel will push the 162's to 3200 fps with Retumbo...give it some thought.

I have to say, right here I have a problem.

The primer pockets get loose after two, three, or even five loads; and it is a brass problem???????

Couldn't be excessive pressure???

It seems pretty obvious to me, If you can't get ten reloads out of your brass, you are running your pressure too high.

Does Remington use a different brass when forming their 7 STW cases than when forming any of their other belted mag cases? Different brass for component sales than for factory loads?

I have shot Remington factory STW loads. The Remington factory 140 produced 3364 fps from a 26 inch Sendero. I could not exceed that velocity with my Winchester brass without short case life, flattened primers, and ejector marks.

Nor can I exceed the 3200 fps previously mentioned with the 160's without affecting case life. And All of my brass is W-W.

With 160's in my 26 inch #1, 86 gr of H1000 will make 3350 fps, but the W-W brass is only good for one shot. 98 gr of H870, no that is not a misprint, only does 3250 fps. Which is about the same as it will do with 95 gr of the same powder. Rl25 would get me just over 3250fps, but it is so darned spikey that I refuse to use it in a high pressure load. These are obviously insanely high pressures in my rifle. I'd love to know how a person could get the same velocity in an equivalent barrel length with less pressure.

H1000 is too fast to do 3350 fps. RL25 is too spikey to depend on to do 3350 fps except in near freezing temps and one shot strings. Retumbo and H 870 are too slow to get enough in the case to make that velocity (in my rifle).

I have not tried IMR7828 or Magnum in this application, but doubt they have any magic hidden in the can.

Even Layne Simpson has reneged on his initial load advice in Shooting times for the STW, since he has seen pressure test results for those loads.

There is good reason that the load manuals stop on the shy side of 3200 fps with 160's in this cartridge.