Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 7 Rem mag as good as it gets

How many rounds does it take to wear out a 7 mag barrel?

A lot...

I've only shot 180s and 195s in my current 7mm Remington. Recoil is at the upper end of what I will deal with anymore. With a long throat and faster twisted barrel, it will perform well with the heavies. RL26, Retumbo and H1000 have all worked well.

7RM with 160 NAB's in action. I never get tired of this one; photography is outstanding.

www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8855404/1

JG seems to be moving towards the 7-08 and I'm in that camp. I have a great Brux MkV 7RM. Since I got this Bobby Hart 7-08, I find myself reaching for it more than any other; 120 NBT, my go to ammo.

DF

2 boxes is what it takes...

What load you end up using in that 7-08?

Might want to check the load data before assuming.


Nosler Load Data

.280 AI will run pretty close to a 7RM.

If I didn't already have a nice 7RM, I'd be looking for a .280 AI.

More efficient round with nearly the performance of the 7RM.

DF

I have two 280AI now, and I like them a lot.

I have owned a number of 7RM too. It is another favorite round of mine.

If I found a rifle I liked in either one I would buy it without thinking twice..

I haven't totally decided yet , but pharmsellers load of 46 grains of big game with 150gr. Hornady ELDX, looks pretty promising. I need to try some magnum primers next time out. With CCI 200's, I was shooting a hair over 1 moa 5 shot groups. Good enough for any critter around here.

What matches you shooting up there? I know there are some matches around the state, just not familiar with whats around.

7 mag last 800 rounds or so is what I generally heard, about like any mag type round and just about what the 243 can die on at times too.

I imagine barrels up there are a bit harder to come by. Easy down here. Sure wished I had time to let Nez teach me how before I move, but I wouldn't have the tools anyway...

26" barrel helps

I have about 1100 rounds though my 7mm RM.. With 140's at 3400fps, it is all I want in a nice flat shooting rifle..

28 - How much does your Wby weigh ?

How much does your 280AI weigh ?

This Tikka T 3X Lite SS 7 RM with 4-12X40 weighs 7 lbs 09 oz. (1 oz over 1/2 lb.)




I don't own and Will NOT own a 9 or 10 lb rifle, because I don't have to tote that much weight unnecessarily.
My T 3 Lite SS 270 with 4-12X40 weighs 7 lbs 6 oz.
My point is that you don't have to have a 7 Mag that is heavy.

I haven't done that much load development YET. So far I have 139 HBTSP going 3215 with one powder. There are other powders I haven't tried yet, that will beat that.

Jerry

No idea about the popularity of the 7mm Magnum in the lower-48 States, but in Alaska it's popular enough. Not as much as the .30-06, .300WM, and .338WM, but somewhat behind these tree calibers. It's a good choice for hunting moose to caribou, but most hunters choose a heavier bullet somewhere around 170-grains on the heavy end. Then 150 to perhaps 170 grains for the .30-06 and .300WM, while heavier bullet weights from 225-250 grains for the .338 Magnum. I imagine that hunters use lighter weight bullets in the lower-48, but not as much in Alaska. For example 210-grains for the .338WM are always talked about in these forums.

By the way, a belt or not on the brass has never steered me away from any of the Magnum calibers above. The belt is nothing i think about when reloading, nor when hunting. I reload my .338's ammo to fit the individual rifle's chamber and bump the shoulder back around .002". On the turret I have a Redding gage to measure the fired cases, then bump the shoulder with a set of competition shell holders. For hunting ammo that I must depend on, I don't reload more than 5 firings, anyway. Lets face it: why would anybody want to fire a 7mm Magnum all the way to a .375H&H held against your shoulder day in and day out? Use a lead-sled to develop loads, and then your shoulder when hunting

Yep, 50-75 fps.

3200 with a 140 is completely doable.

IF it is accurate as well.

I use a lead sled too. Usually when I go check zero each year, I take 8 rifles. I have 7 now that have new scopes. I go to lease #1 in east Texas. I hate gun ranges. I get the rifle on with sled, double check with bags. I have long arms so the sled isn’t awkward to me!

"26" barrel helps"


Not only a 26" bbl, but a 26" pressure test bbl with tight tolerences - a factory rifle bbl that makes those listed velocities would be a rare occurance........

Guess I got extremely lucky with my two

[/quote]

my 280 AI is 2.25 lbs lighter. With 140’s a 3200, there’s not much it won’t do.[/quote]

Maybe ? at insane pressures !


Jerry
[/quote]



My 25" barreled 280 AI overlaps my 23" barrel 7RM until you use 175s or heavier. The 280AI out runs my 7RM with 160s. Maybe a slow vs a fast barrel but more likely 7RM at 62,000 psi and the 280 AI at 65,000 psi. I like the 175s and 180s in the 7RM so it is not obsolete by any means. My 280AI has a 1 in 10 twist barrel I got for a bargain so I stop with 160s in it. My 7RM has a tight chamber and long throat so I run it at near 7 Weatherby speeds pretty easily. With older powders I was leaning on the 7RM to get 3200 fps. But with several powders like R22, MRP, 7828, H1000, R26 and others it is not hard to achieve in both cartridges. One gun writer wrote that just because you can't slam dunk a basketball it doesn't mean other can't. The "Happy" 270 can get 3200 fps with a 130 so not out of bounds at all for the 280AI to do this with 140s. In fact the 270 works so well with some of the newer powders it is chomping on the heels of my 270 WSM and my 7RM.