Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Model 7 build ideas

I am putting together a rifle for my 15 year old daughter. She’s recently taken an interest in shooting as well as hunting. The idea for this rifle is I want it pretty light and handy. She shot a 6.5/06 last weekend and was fine with that level of recoil. So what I have so far is an older REM 7 in 223. I’m going to have Douglas do the the barrel work and open the bolt face. I know there’s better barrels out there but this one will be for plinking and hunting and most importantly they are 10 miles from my door and they said 3 weeks to complete the work. I’m going with 6.5x47 because I’ve got buckets of 6.5 bullets. Things I’ll still need some advice on is the bottom metal, mag, follower, etc. who makes a good one for the model 7 ? I’m looking at Manners for the stock unless someone has a better idea. Also where would you guys recommend sending it for Cerakote ?

I would consider putting a 1-7” 223 barrel on it for the activities you mentioned and then if you still want her to have a bigger gun just buy it. I believe both of you would enjoy a 223 rem shooting 75’s or 88’s.

I already have a handful of 223 and a 222. I want something different and i am not a fan of 22 caliber deer rifles.

Unless you want to be really frustrated I’d not mess with a Manners stock

I’d go McMillan or just use a factory stock

I can’t recommend a Cerakote applicator - all mine have been done by the builder

Sounds like a sweet rifle

I’ve got a model seven in the creed I put together for my son. The local smith that did the work also did some stock work on one of the factory mossy oak bottomland stocks. Turned out really well for a factory stock and cost a fraction of the McM

PS - in my opinion no need to do anything other than factory/OEM on the spring and follower. Your existing bottom metal will work fine.

The 6.5 TCU or 7 TCU both work really well for younger shooters in the Model 7

Good luck
Jim

Not trying to deter you, but unless you just *really* want to convert the Model 7, why not go with a Howa 1500 Mini in 6.5 Grendel? You can almost certainly sell the Model 7 for more than what a 1500 Mini would cost, and not have to worry with rebarelling and bolt work. Great thing is, there are some really good stock options for the Howa.

Have to agree.

https://www.brownells.com/gun-parts.../m1500-mini-6.5-grendel-barreled-action/

$417 shipped using code CNGEARS

Don't even understand the need to complicate things for a kid. Have her shoot the barrel off it learning to shoot. Find one in 243 or 6mm rem buy it. When you have to turn the bolt face out for a bigger cart your pissing away money. Just buy a whole gun ready to go.

McMillan hunters edge.
fosnaugh for cerakote.
A timney at minimum or triggertech.
Douglas barrels I’ve had/have are all shooters.

6mm ARC or 6.5 Grendel

I built myself 2 rifles on model 7’s and I wouldn’t recommend it and wouldn’t do it again! A short 700 is so much easier and cheaper to acquire parts and pieces for and you will never see or feel the 1/2” difference. Id sell the model 7 as is and do the howa thing, or better yet, buy her a tikka in 6.5 cm.

IMO the perfect youth chambering is the 358 Win. It can be loaded to a wide range of velocities to suit the younger shooter. You can use rifle bullets or pistol bullets.

Nathan Foster in NZ has done a lot of work on loads and terminal performance on game.

His comments on using .357 pistol bullets in the .358 W. Here is part of what he said and a link to his .358 W report.

His comparison of the XTP and Gold Dot is interesting.

For hunting very light bodied deer species, the .358 can be loaded with .357 Magnum bullets. Hornady’s 180 grain XTP bullet can be loaded to 2700fps; however, this bullet and the 158 grain XTP are better utilized as youth loads, down loaded to between 2200 and 2400fps, so as not to inhibit penetration.

The .357” Speer 158 grain Gold Dot hollow point and 170 grain Gold Dot flat point at .358 Winchester velocities are more reliable than the XTP on light game up to 60kg (132lb). The 170 grain Gold Dot used at close ranges performs well from muzzle velocities of 2400fps up to 2800fps.

https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.358+Winchester.html

Like others, I'd recommend the Howa Mini in either Grendel or ARC.

If you're set on the M7, I understand...sometimes we just want to. If you do go that route I've got a Bansner M7 stock (12.5" LOP, 19 oz) I'll make you a deal on. It has the standard M7 bdl inlet.

You asked about bottom metal. I wouldn't build off a M7 without using Badger Ord M7 AICS bottom metal:

https://www.badgerordnance.com/mode...erguard-model-7-short-action-307-10.html

...but again... I'd go the Howa Mini route in Grendel or ARC.

The 223 isn't going to convert to 6.5x47 Lapua without a whole bunch of BS with opening up the bolt face and farting around with feed rails to get it to feed. You'd be better off selling the rifle and starting with something closer to what you want.
Cerakote is hot garbage, skip it and use a different option.

I'm of the same mind as some of the others, if you have to open the bolt face just buy a different rifle. Plenty of good choices around. If you just want to do it, I understand. You mat want to talk to Travis there at Douglas and have him do it on the side. He is supposed to be the main smith there since Stan passed away and I've been told that he does way better work than Stan did. Shoot me a p.m. if you want his phone number.


Dave.

I don't often discourage a rifle build. But it seems like there is much easier and cheaper ways to get to where you want to be.

Keep It Simple 4 Success.

Spending a lot of money on a parts gun build for a new shooter/hunter was a choice that I made in 2007 and in an exercise of 20/20 hindsight, I wouldn't do it again.

Few teenage girls have much upper body strength, so weight is an important consideration.

The Remington 7 is a fine action, but the equally fine 700 action is much more common, so there are many more after-market parts available for you to choose from when you personalize this rifle for her.

If you're thinking of this as being a rifle that she will use for the rest of her shooting/hunting life, having it chambered for a common factory loaded cartridge would be doing her a favor. When you're gone or no longer a major part of her life, where is she going to get 6.5x47 ammo to shoot?

By incorporating the lessons learned by others may keep you from hitting the potholes that they hit during their similar journeys.

Good luck!

Yep, plus what willicd76 said too. Sell the M7, buy a good factory SS 6.5CM. While I like the 6.5x47L, the CM ammo options will do favors for the kid in the future. If you truly have to do semi-custom, Rem is now doing the SS700 in 6.5CM and there’s the Tikka too. Order her a nice stock and she’ll have a great rifle.

Great points and I agree.

Makes dollars and sense.

And with the 6.5CM, she’ll always have a good supply of great factory ammo if she doesn’t want to reload or have someone reload her ammo.

DF

I think you should do this if you want. I converted an M7 recently from a 308 based catridge to 6.5 CM... it took some fiddling with the mag box to get it to feed a non-tapered cartridge, fiddling with the position of the mag spring to get more heel pressure, and I still can't get it to feed with more than 3 down (it fed with 4 down in various 308-based configurations). And given the feed rail situation on your 223 (which I'm guessing are different from the rails on a .473 case head?), the easy button is probably to go DBM. I know Badger makes one for the M7...not sure who else. But that will add a little weight.

As everyone else has said...you could probably just buy a Kimber in 6.5 CM, sell the 223 M7, and definitely come out ahead in weight.

The lightest I have managed to get an M7 or M700 in a Manners UC (18 ounce) stock is around 5.5 lbs in a BDL setup with a heavily fluted #2 weight (20") barrel (about the same weight as a #1 contour).

DBM will weigh more. A UC-Plus stock will weigh a few ounces more, also...not sure they make the UC for the Model 7.

But heck...life is short. If you want to do it, do it.