Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 7x61 S&H

Been doing some reading on this round lately, pretty cool old caliber, anyone shooting one? Would it be worth the time, effort and cost to build one?

Nope

I think it is an excellent cartridge. good capacity for the bore, nice case shape, decently long neck. It is really a very close copy of the 275H&H. It is a great choice if you really want something different. Count on forming cases though since brass is available only from Norma which means it is spendy and soft.
If I wanted to build a 7 mag and other than a Remington, I would build a 7mm Weatherby. A better performer than the S&H or the Remington, it is also a nicely designed cartridge. GD

The fun of guns is that we can have pretty much what we want for not too much dough.

As for that oldie I remember when Phil Sharpe was writing about it. It was a lot easier to go with the 300 HH and then the 7mm RM.

"The 7x61 Sharpe & Hart never became very popular in the U.S. However, it has always gotten favorable mention in the firearms press, and remains a potent long range hunting cartridge."

I prefer cartridges that don't headspace on a belt. These days I am making an 06 do and dreaming of a 280.

The 7x61 is great medicine; I DON'T agree w/ poster greydog re Norma brass...it does not cost that much unprimed (see Sinclair International et al for prices) and it is NOT "soft"...in fact, their brass is great in my experience.

Maybe folks want "brittle" brass so it all cracks??

I've been reading about Norma brass being soft so long I want to puke.
No doubt written by those who've never used it.
That's all I buy now, and it is beyond fantastic; no prep required, just prime, load and shoot. You don't even need to neck size it to straighten out necks that are deformed when you get it, as with Rem and Win brass. And, the neck tension(Neck ID) is DEAD on as bought new. I weight sort all of my brass, and Norma is THE most consistent of the bunch. All due respects to Lapua however; I've never used any of it. I'll just stick with Norma.

I have only punched paper with mine, but I like alot!




Jason

I have lot of older Norma 30-06 cases,it's so soft after five firing,it won't fit the shellholder. With hotter loads the Winchesters cases last at least a dozen and half firings.But I didn't pay much for the old Norma either.That old Norma was soft.I don't know about the new stuff,I have enough old stuff,I may never find out.

Hmmmmmm..... Roy Weatherby's early ammo using Norma brass seemed to work OK....... Mine is great, might it be that those 30/06 loads are above book spec's?

Back on topic, 7x61 would be a fine cartridge if one wanted something unique and different and fun. Ballistically not too different from the current crop of 7 MAgs from various places... Don't listen to me of ALL people RE practical cartridges - You should see what I go through to feed my 30 Belted Newton!

No,below,those CCI primers have most of their radius!

Norma fans can bleat all they want about the quality of the brass and, dimensionally, it is great but it IS soft! This might make some posters want to puke, but I have used Norma brass and used a lot of it. I think it is great brass if you don't want to load hot but you will be limited by the brass if you do. On the bright side, tghe brass failing at comparatively low pressures means you won't be over-stressing your rifle action!
The original Weatherby brass?Soft. 308 Norma brass? Soft. Every chambering I've had in which I've tried Norma brass, required lighter loadings than other brass of equal capacity if you wanted the brass to be reloadable. Thousand yard BR shooters who were running 6.5/284's were whining loudly when the loads which worked fine in the inferior Winchester brass, blew the primers right out of Norma brass. The only manufacturer which matches Norma in this regard is Federal. Again, good quality in all respects as long as pressures are kept down a bit.
I know as well as anyone that one should maybe not load to the limts but sometimes, that is where the accuracy is. Rocky Gibbs was of the opinion that the brass case was the weak link in a modern rifle and he had particular lots of GI brass he preferred to get the most out of his line of wildcats. He would not have recommended Norma brass. I don't agree with his line of reasoning entirely but there is certainly a difference in various makes of brass and Norma is seldom the toughest.
By the way, Lapua is tough. I have loaded stuff in the 6 BR which borders on stupid and have yet to loosen a primer pocket. In the 30/06, Lapua may even be tougher than Winchester which has always been my "go to" brass for heavy loads. GD

The 7x61 S&H was supposedly designed to optimize H4350 or probably 4350 Data powder. This was the slowest commonly available powder at the time.

I bet one could do well with R17 in a S&H

I like the nostalgic aspect but there is not much of a niche between the 280 AI and 7RM. If I wanted to get really esoteric I would go for a 280 Newton.

Here is a nice custom 7x61S&H!

Custom Sako 7x61 in McMillan!

Jason

The 7 X 61 was my first rifle. During the mid-70s my family was using them to hunt mule deer and pronghorns in Wyoming. We were shooting 65 grains 4350 with 120 grain bullets out of 1-12 barrels. They killed alot of animals. They shot very well with not too much recoil. I have since rebarreled mine to 300 win mag as I now live in Alaska. Build it if you want it - it is a good round.

I built one on a mauser action with a 26 inch Douglas barrel about 10 years ago.Mine was not freebored and I'm getting unreal velocities with 5 grains under book MINIMUM loadings. Don't know if I have a fast barrel or what.What I like is that the round is very effiecient for the powder charges,and it's just plain different. As to Norma brass, I have two boxes marked For the Sharpe and Hart associates, which is early production and later cases marked super 7 x61. I have got many loadings out of these. If they are soft, it isn't showing.You can also make brass easily out of 7 Rem mag cases