Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Model 7 Predator 243 Win

I got the chance to shoot my Model 7 Predator today. I bedded the action midweek with Devcon and floated the barrel. The trigger won't go below 4.25lbs but as a hunting gun that's not terrible and it has zero creep. Talley LW lows and a Leupold 3-9x40 vx2.

RP brass sized for another rifle
95 NBT
41.5grs imr4350
CCI200

.0010" off the lands

1st shot from a cold clean barrel hit 3/8" from the next 4. The next 4 shots made a .51" group at just over 100yds.

Looks like you got a great shooting gun there, nice when things come together quickly.

Yes, very nice when things just work out.


I shot the 80 GMX this evening up to 36.0grs of imr4064. 36.0grs gave me 3 shots into 1" exactly 2" high at 100yds. I am going to load 5 at 36.0 and 5 at 36.5 to see how they do.

I had the original Mark trigger in mine...it went from 4 lbs to 16 pounds all by itself overnight! I replaced it with an old style Walker trigger ( horrors!) and have been happy ever since .

They have since replaced their triggers with the Mark Pro trigger, and a bigger piece of schitt never existed...


Sounds like you got it shooting though!!!

I looked in my crystal ball and I see a new trigger in the future. This one is the Mark Pro trigger and so far I'm not real impressed.

Ive had four of those triggers.....One would not adjust, one broke at the screw before it was ever fired, and the other two made a sweet sound hitting the bottom of the trash can before they ever got used...

I can't believe you didn't give the other two a chance...........

The broke ones sounded so good hitting the trash can, I simply couldn't wait to hear the sound again!

Haven't had any trigger issues yet and it is set at 3.5#. It shoots really well with 95 gr NPT's and NBT's. Come the 30th and it will get used on antelope. MB

The 30 th arrived and my date with a nice buck antelope was right on time. I scouted several pieces of public access land and found him 3 times hanging in about the same area. 10 minutes after sunup 1shot at a laser rf range of 396 yds he went down for the count. Load was a 95 gr NPT ahead of a max dose of IMR 7828 in RP brass and RP 9 1/2 lr primer. The M7 Predator is a sweet handling rifle and easy to shoot well. Couple of deer tags in frt of me so it will get some more exercise. MB

Good going Bob!

Nice. How did the 95 Partition do for you? What kind of terminal performance?

DD the 95 NPT is a go to bullet in the 6mm Rem and 243. This is not the first time I've used them. I broke his neck in frt of the shoulders ,exit hole was the size of a quarter with major blood loss, he dropped instantly where he stood. I like this bullet better than the 100 gr NPT but my all time favorite 243 bullet was the 100 gr Hornady SP which they discontinued. 100 gr Corelokts were also very good as component bullets in my own loads, seems to me RP factory loaded 100 gr Corelokts are a little slow but they do kill well. I've got some of the 95 gr NBT's for Prairie deer and going to come up with a Hills load featuring the way old and discontinued 100 grain Hornady Round Nose bullets just to try them. The buck was full sized and sported 13 5/8" x 13 7/8" horns so probably 3.5 year old, ok for public land access in SD but would probably be ignored in Mt or Wyo. All I wanted was a good broadside shot on a mature animal and I did that. The rifle is a little sweety to handle and shoot. The factory trigger worked fine and the bolt handle did not fall off so on the way home I stopped and bought a lottery ticket, MB

Yeah, you should really consider yourself to be lucky. I've got 2 of them, both in 223, nice factory triggers, and both tackdrivers. One of the best factory rifles available today IMO.

If only they would have made the 223 in 8 twist.

Theoretically they made some in a 9 twist, and in the regular 12 twist...


Ive never seen or heard of a 9 twist in reality though.

I know....I've emailed just about everyone who's ever advertised a 223 if it has a 9 twist. No one has ever answered in the affirmative.

The only problem I've had with my M7 Predator has been that the rear action screw broke. The rear action screw is a skinny little bugger. I haven't messed with the rifle for a couple years, was rummaging around in the safe and noticed that screw half in half out. After looking it over I realized the screw had snapped off flush in the receiver tang hole. The only reason I can figure that happened is that maybe I also noticed the recoil lug recess is huge and allows the action to shift back and forth under recoil? Maybe that stressed that skinny little rear screw enough to cause a brittle one to break? I dunno, I cleared the hole, got a new screw, bedded the recoil lug in the recess and we'll see how it goes.

I bought a Predator in 223 when they first came out, 1-12 twist. Started playing around with different bullets and powders, shooting not only for groups, but also chronographing them for speed and consistency too. I settled on the 50 grain VMax and surplus WC846 powder, Winchester brass, and Reimngton7 1/2 Small Rifle Bench Rest primers. This load is running between 3350-3375 fps, less than MOA at a 100 yards, and has killed a bunch of chit. I have no desire to shoot anything else in this rifle, because it's strictly a coyote, bobcat, crow, groundhog, and anything else that needs shooting in the category.

My other Predator in 223 is also a 1-12 twist, and I bought it just in case I ever wear the other one out. It shoots 52 grain Speer HP's into little bitty groups, so I suspect that it will work if needed.

I have a Model 7 stainless 223, 20 inch barrel, with the 1-9 rate of twist. It loves Sierra 60 grain SP's, which is the heaviest bullet I've shoot thru it. I know that a lot of people shoot heavier bullets in their 223's, and use them on game far bigger than I do. I don't have much of a desire to shoot deer with my 223's, mainly because I have rifles in cartridges that I consider better for deer sized game. That's why I don't shoot heavy 223 bullets, and don't have a not of use for a 223 with a faster twist rate.

I'm not here to argue the merits of the 223 as a deer cartridge. If someone likes it, fine with me, go for it. My biggest reason for choosing the 223 is that I like to push a 50-55 grain bullet as fast as I can, while still maintaining accuracy, and use it to kill coyotes. That's why I don't consider a 1-12 rate of twist to be a hindrance for me.

My trigger decided to workout and beef up to 6.75lbs over the past week or so. I pulled everything apart and retuned it down to 3.5lbs.....Timney on order.......


Working with the 80 TTSX right now and I'm getting lots of groups in the 1-1.25" range which is good enough but I'd like mo betta. 45.5grs H4350 and I'm working with seating depth.


I shot the 80 GMX blems I got from midway and they showed promise with 4064 but I shelved them for the TTSX right now. I had my target backer setup against some old 24.5" 18 wheeler tires and I recovered one of the GMX's hanging out of the tread after shooting through 1/2" plywood, top, and bottom of the tire. The slug weighed 74.8grs, which I thought was impressive.