Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters The 7mm stw

I have a 700 VLS in this caliber. Picked it up cheep with very low round count. Found some factory ammo, hornady precision hunters. Just scoped it out as well. All I see is hand load this and hand load that. I have not gotten into hand loading yet, and am wondering how accurate this gun can be with factory ammo. Or should a guy just dump it. At some point in time I think I will get into reloading. Maybe just hold onto it till that time of the factory ammo isn’t good enough for me.🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Lots of people shoot factory ammo just fine. Save your brass for when/if you take the reloading plunge.

You could slow but sure bargain hunt for loading equipment. Also, research load recipes, etc and document.

Like any rifle, you will just have to try as many factory loads out "when you find them". The rifle ( and assuming you are a good shot off the benchrest with a big gun) will show you what it likes. Once you zero it at 100, try it at 200 and 300. Then it will "really tell" you if it likes it. Sometimes, in the magnums, you may find an 1 1/4 to 1 1/2" group will be under 3" at 300yds...the bullet "settled down" by then. They all "yaw" a bit right out of the barrel. Its a good round, not one you plink with really, so ammo price just has to be figured into your enjoyment! ( usually $90 to $100 a box of 20 on Gunbroker for example) If you find you are getting frustrated with it, then sell or trade or rebarrel. Have a ball Pard.

They suck. Dump it.

There is, or was a week or so ago, an unfired Model 700 stainless in 7STW in a pawn shop in Tennessee. I believe it could be had for $8-900. It was tempting, but I have no need for it.

My son and I both have 7 STW. They shoot extremely well. My sons rifle shoots factory ammo that is as accurate as any handloads. The STW is a great round. If you find a factory round that will shoot well stock up with a couple hundred rounds and save the brass for future use.

You were lucky to find any ammo for that one. I just checked four sites and didn’t see any. Maybe that’s why you got it cheaply. Hope it works for you.

I bought a beat up Mark V in 7mm Weatherby some years ago specifically to rechamber for 7mm STW. After doing some research, I found that most factory ammo is loaded to the same velocity as 7mm Weatherby. At the time, Weatherby factory ammo was more available around here, so the Weatherby was not converted. But I still think it would be a fun cartridge to reload.

I had one years ago. Great round. Get a used loading set and you are set..

Kind of an odd post. You Haven't started handloading yet but you are thinking about dumping the rifle if factory loads don't shoot well enough for you and that you have not even tested yet?

Load selection and ammo prices for STW makes it a handloader’s cartridge, IMO.

I’d either load for it or sell it if it was me.

I love my STW. Haven’t shot anything with it in a while, though.

Unless it's sentimental or something, trip it down the road and find a rifle with available factory loads on every corner!

It's dead for a reason!



Mike

I do not hand load. I have not started that adventure yet. Im saying if these factory rounds don’t shoot good enough for me then maybe dump it.

If a guy dumped every rifle he couldn’t find ammo for he would have dumped a lot of rifles this past year.

True but that particular one is never going to be readily available.

Our family members are reloaders, cousins, brothers and I shoot 7 STW's with short freebore.

120g TTSX at 3850-3920 fps with IMR 7828 and fed 215's, same load with the 120g Nosler Solid base lead tip

140g TTSX at 3600 with IMR 7828 and Fed 215's; same load with the 140g Nosler Combined Technology

Cousins in Missouri shoot the 120g Nosler ballistic tips and old Nosler 120g solid base lead tips at 3850

Ours rifles are:

7 Mag sendero barrels that have been set back .300 and re chambered with a short freebore reamer, 25"

Hart 10 Twist-26"

Pac Nor three groove 11 Twist-27"

Krieger 4 Groove 9 Twists-26"

Brux 4 Groove 9 Twists-26"

All on Rem 700 actions except one Savage that is a single shot, all barrels run 25"-26" with the Pac Nor 11 twist being a 27"(140g Combined Tec bullet at 3700)

All barrels shoot clover leafs and smaller. Our long shots are 450-550 yds, deer are dead in their tracks, and I have never shot my rifle more than one shot on a standing deer, no matter what the yardage.

Factory rounds on the 7 STW as a rule are not loaded to the rounds true potential.

The reamer that cut all these barrels has ONLY .020 freebore with load development less than 20 rounds.

Three shot groups with all barrels are SUB 3/8" with the 120g going into a bullet hole

Some interesting stuff there Keith. Thanks..

For me, factory loads are mainly a source of brass - so take what I say with a grain of salt. Besides that a few of my rifles have chambers that no one makes factory ammo for.
I certainly don’t wait until hunting season to go down to the mom and pop store to buy factory ammo. I believe that I have ammo for every rifle I own ready for the next hunt - for some cartridges that may be a few years. Some/many of those cartridges will not be easily found on shelves - maybe difficult to find. Some harder than 7 STW, I think.
That’s what shelves in my gun room are for.
So, respectively I disagree with you regarding dumping a rifle because factory ammo is tough to find.

Thanks for all the input. I’ll see what the rifle does with the factory ammo I got and go from there.

To each there own.

Surely you know some trustworthy friend that has reloading equipment that would help you load a few every now and then. If you do that there is almost no doubt you will buy some equipment and become addicted. It happened to me. I'm guessing IMR 7828 would be a good powder to start with. I don't have any magnum rifles but I have some friends that load 7 STW. I am planning to chrony their rifles out of curiosity. I believe they shoot 160 ABs.