Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters FInn Aagaard on the 7mm BR

Thanks. I have a pound or so left of R7, that’ll last a good while as little as it takes in the TCU. But it’s always nice to have options, plus I’m guessing it’s going to start getting more use once my suppressor gets out of jail.

I used a bit of 6BR Lapua brass and it’s wonderful.

The capacity might be a bit higher - can’t recall but quality is superb. I had a big supply of Nickel RP and it did very well. I had cases lasting 15+ loads.

Partial sizing works the cases very little. So easy to load and mild to shoot.

Keith for hunting I’d do a 6.5 in a heartbeat. Sandwiched right between the Grendel and Creedmoor.

A 100 TTSX and 120 BT would be my first to try loads in either. Both should be good to 300 yds or so, the 120 better as you get further out as monos like speed to expand as we know. The 120 should overtake the 100 as ranges grow.

As a side note I kick myself not buying a 6.5 BR MOA carbine a buddy had in the 90’s. Trigger was unreal. Very compact and light rifle. 100 BTs bugholed. Loading the rifle was a bit unusual and slow. But you only need the first accurate shot 😁

Was that a carbine based on the MOA pistol?

Yes, about a 22" sporter barrel. and rifle stock

I still think about an EABCO 97D in 6.5BRM. The only reason I don’t is because I have the 7TCU, .260 and 6.5-06 bolt guns.

I'll be damned, never seen a carbine version but yeah I'd think it would make a nice little package. I used to have a 7BR, very accurate, great trigger, never really warmed up to the feel of it though. For the 22lr versions silhouette shooters use a little loading stick contraption that holds the round so they can reach it into the chamber.

Does anyone know what happened to the ULA 7mm BR rifle?

Finn had a way of going deep into the looney stuff, then bringing you back to what really mattered in the final paragraph.


Okie John

Outstanding article! Thanks for sharing. The final paragraph certainly poignant. Validated what many have been thinking for a while now

Lots of neat little rifles shown here that work well without much fuss and bother. I finagled one for myself a few years ago. An uncle gifted me with a M600 Remington in 222 rem that had been neglected (before he got it) and had a fine coat of rust throughout, inside and outside. I cleaned it up as best I could, but it never shot well. I figured the bore had been compromised by the rust. At the time I was playing around with T/C Contenders in 7mmTCU and thought a caliber conversion would be a good idea, so I had it rebored and rechambered to 7mmTCU. To get it to feed correctly, I had to change the blocking in the rear of the magazine well a little. I now have a 'not-too-pretty' M600 repeater in a cool caliber that shoots light's out with 115 and 120 grain bullets.

Several years back I talked to Mickey Coleman about rebarreling a Rem Model Seven to a 7mm BR. Never did get around to do it.

I've used several smaller cartridges over the years. 6x47 Rem, 6mm TCU, 25-45 Sharps, and all work great on southern Whitetail.

I had surgery on my shooting shoulder last November so I had a Tikka T3X barreled to a .277 Wolverine. I took a 8 point buck about 15 minutes after I took this picture.

I think that the Howa Mini action is the same as their short action and long action in every way EXCEPT length. Same bolt and action diameter, etc.

But I haven't had a chance to compare them side by side.

Bruce

I think you will be very pleasantly surprised with the 125 gr. Ballistic Tip. I loaded those for a friend for years to use in a 308 BLR carbine which he used for his kids.
It worked very well for southern white tails in Mississippi. Also loaded some for another fellow in a 30-30 TC 14” barrel length. He killed hogs and deer with it.
In both cases people were surprised at how well the bullet did.

Excellent thread. I have rifles in 6 BR and 30 BR and own the reamers do my own work.

Reading this has me thinking of rebarreling my model 7 which is currently a 358 win. Could go either way but with more thought the 30 BR might get the nod. My reamer is throated for heavier bullets.

The current 30 BR has a 22" barrel and shoots 168s @ 2490 fps with IMR 8208 XBR. It is a SA Rem and the cartridges fit and feed fantastically. It also shoots 175 gr bullets @ 2385.

Fun to consider the possibilities.

Finn was a friend, and I had the pleasure of participating in the testing of several rifles he later wrote about in the various NRA publications. One of those was the ULA 7mm BR. Lots of rifles passed through his hands in those days and although he purchased a few rather than returning them, I don’t think he coveted more than one or two. One of those was the little ULA, but he didn’t keep it.
Years after Finn’s passing, I met Melvin at an NRA convention and we had a pleasant conversation about Finn and ultimately the rifle Finn tested. Apparently, when the rifle got back to West Virginia, it was adopted by Melvin’s daughter who was still happily using it as her deer rifle. I would like to think that is still the case.

Thank you, I hope that it is still be used also.

I peek in on Steel Chickens on occasion and I saw a Silhouette Rifle in 7BR for sale that made me (non-MS shooter) scratch my chin and think a bit...that BR can drop Rams? ...or maybe not, hence the "for sale". Your post addresses that. I had half a thought to chase that rifle (maybe it was your friend's)...but in the end I passed.