OK, here I go again.

My gunsmith does not have any Rem 7mm mag take-off barrels to rebarrel the Rem 721, but he has a boatload of Rem 7mm Ultra Mag barrels.

I checked out the ballistics of this bad boy and it looks like a real smoker. Any input on this caliber? Experiences?

All comments pro or con will help.
Thanks in advance.

Pretty much an STW, a little hotter but not much.
A hatfull of powder, a longer barrel to make it work, depends on what kind of boomer you think you might want.
If your are wanting the mostest then it is the mostest in a 7mm.
But in my opinion if you are going to go that route go with an even bigger caliber and gain true wind bucking and smack advantage.
Personally I see no use for it whatsoever.

If you really want to shoot a long ways, think 338 and 250 grains.
If you want the best 7mm out there, have a little patience and wait for a 7 rem mag and then throat it long, stuff it full of slow powder and have fun.
Over achiever it is.. and it makes sense in my book, the STW and the Ultra don't in my book.

There are a bunch of 7mm Mag take offs on GunBroker.com. Take him one and leave the Ultra Mags to those that thump the ballistics charts too hard.

Rc
I've got a SS Rem.7mm Mag takeoff that has no rounds down it.. PM me if your interested..
AK

I have owned both 7mag and ultra mag.I shot one deer with the ultra.The only deer i ever took that i felt sorry for.You dont have to do that to an animal to kill it.Never again.The 7mag is the best choice.It is a long time till november.Hold out for the 7mag.

It seems many shooters hate certain cartridges for whatever reason. Some hate WSM's, some SAUM's, some RUM'S, some Ruger Magnum's, some hate all magnums and some just hate 7mm's. I don't fall into any of those categories.

I load for, shoot and hunt with 7 WSM, 7 Rem, 7 STW and 7 RUM. My RUM is at least 150 fps faster with 150gr and heavier bullets than my STW, and is one of the most accurate rifles I own. My STW is a 26" Lilja barreled Sako.

All magnums are inefficient calibers, and the 7 RUM I'm sure, is one of the most inefficient. But if you want a magnum and you hand load there's isn't a reason not to pick the RUM over the other mag's.

quote:

I checked out the ballistics of this bad boy and it looks like a real smoker. Any input on this caliber? Experiences?

There are reasonable offers right here. I'd stick with the 7 Rem Mag as it's all you'll ever need. More isn't always better.

AA
How much 700 X does it take to push a 140 gr. to MAX Velocity in the 7mm RUM..
AK

quote:

Originally posted by akrange:
AA
How much 700 X does it take to push a 140 gr. to MAX Velocity in the 7mm RUM..
AK

Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt while you're trying to make a sale.

I took me a long time to rationalize a 7mm RM, when I have a perfectly good 280, but I got one because the deal was too good to pass up. Now, I'm anxious to shoot it, and really see for myself what the fuss is about. I'm sure it's a good cartridge, but I always figured it was a meat mangler. Oh well, one should pick his shots carefully anyway. The 280 will mess up deer shoulders if hit wrong too.

But there is one thing I'm close to certain about, which is I'm never going to own a 7mm with a bigger case capacity than the 7mm Rem Mag has. I see no reason for it.

Personally, I like the 7x57, but what the heck, might as well be open minded about it, and give the 7 mag a shot.

KB

KB, the last deer I shot with my 7RM was shootign a 140 grain barnes at well over 3300fps, it came out through the middle of the left front shoulder and I lost almost no meat.
I was amazed, I cut away maybe an inch around the exit and that was it, period.

bucko,
I think I discovered something recently that changes things a lot - at least for me. It's too early to tell for certain but it looks promising. I tried some of the new foam bore cleaner, and I think there are other non-amonia brands available now. That stuff seems to really work. I hate scrubbing a barrel that's fouled with copper. I really think I ruined my 30-06 with sweets.

Anyway, if this new bore cleaning stuff works as well as it seems to with a few uses, I am ready to give the Barnes a thorough go for it. Seems like a perfect match - the 150 gr Barnes BT in the 7 mag. Uh Huh.

Thanks for the input guys. Now I have some deciding to do.

1. I like to shoot bullets fast

2. My 'smith has plenty of these barrels

3. He's not gonna charge me except to do the
bedding so I won't need to punch a 7 mag
barrel to STW

4. The 7 RUM is faster than the STW

I think I'm going to go with the RUM on basis of cost and simplicity (He has the barrels)

I'll just make sure to shoot tough bullets like the Barnes at game.

AA
How about I ask the Question another way.. How many grains of a certain powder does it take to push a 140 gr. bullet to Max. Velocity in the RUM.. STW takes a boat load..
AK

7mm RUM:

140 GR. BAR XBT Hodgdon Retumbo .284" 3.560" 90.0 3142 55,200 PSI 96.5C 3353fps

7mm STW:

139 GR. HDY SPBT Hodgdon Retumbo .284" 3.585" 83.0 3165 47,700 CUP 88.0C 3347

I see your point.

Lot's more powder burnt to get the velocity in the RUM

RC
With all Respect to AA I do see a benefit in the RUM's.. You got to be think'in Long Long Shots .. Think about what your going to be hunting and the distances these animals will be taken at.. The RUM's the STW and such are extra clubs their not always the best to use but if the shots are long and the Wind is Blow'in they are at their best..
AK

quote:

Originally posted by akrange:
RC
With all Respect to AA I do see a benefit in the RUM's.. You got to be think'in Long Long Shots .. Think about what your going to be hunting and the distances these animals will be taken at.. The RUM's the STW and such are extra clubs their not always the best to use but if the shots are long and the Wind is Blow'in they are at their best..
AK

The real advantage tw/ the 7RUM is you can push heavy bullets much faster than 7RM. If you want to use 160-175gr bullets, then the RUM males sense. if you want to use 140gr bullets, the 7STW is plenty. ANother option is have the chamber shortened & go 7mmDakota. I get 3200fps w/ a 160grNP in mine.

quote:

but he has a boatload of Rem 7mm Ultra Mag barrels.

Hmmm I guess I would ask myself why he has a "boatload" of 7RUM barrels. That would make me wonder why he has pulled that many.

To each is own. My STW carries a 2" longer barrel burns 16% more powder to give me a 2-3% velocity gain over my 7mag. Yes there is a gain but very small. I can see no reason to burn even more powder. That is just me. Last thing I would do is force what factory take off barrel a smith has on hand to dictate what I was going to build. Really can't see spending $$ to put on a factory unknown barrel someone took off. The cost of a new barrel in the caliber I wanted is small in the life of installation cost, dies, and the life of the project.

I haven't loaded a lot for the RUM yet. I actually traded for the rifle two years ago and just started shooting it.

I haven't shot 140gr bullets in any 7 mag, but I have shot the 154, 160 and 162 gr bullets in the RUM. I don't know how fast you can push these, but the 154's and the 162's will shoot into groups the size of a dime. The 154 clocked @ just under 3400 fps. I've only used RL 25 so far, but I've ordered some TTSX's and have some H 1000 and Retumbo sitting on the bench.

The 140 gr bullets and the 280 seem to be a good match. I shoot with someone that gets over 3100 fps with this combination with good accuracy and no pressure signs.

My Sako started off as a 23.5" 7 RM. I couldn't get a load for that rifle that would give a combination of velocity and accuracy to make shooting and carrying a magnum worthwhile, so I rebarreled it to a 26" STW.

My opinion, and just my opinion, is that powder's cheap. But if the most important thing to the next guy is using the most efficient round or the lightest legal round or one that carries a metric name, or a wildcat, that's fine too.

Thanks Ramrod340,

I think he has a boatload of 7mm RUM barrels because he is only a custom gun builder. They build all of their rifles on Remington actions. I bet that they buy right from Remington any guns that they can get on a deal. The word on the 7mm RUM is that it is kinda like the .264 Win Mag....not very popular. Not too much factory ammo available etc....

I bet Remington had a bunch they needed to move and Briley bought them to take off the barrels and build custom stuff on.

The only reason I'm going with that caliber is that he has the barrel and it's different than the chambering of the gun I sent. It was a .300 Win and I already have one in an A-Bolt.

The barrel will be nominal in cost; basically the cost to pillar bed it.



Hey Double AA...........isn't that redundant?

Anyway, what is your load in the RUM with the 154gr bullet that gives you 3400fps?

If you have your heart set on the ultra mag try imr 7828.91grswith 140gr bullets or 88grs with a 160.Both shot great in my 700.

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by Kabluewy:
I'm sure it's a good cartridge, but I always figured it was a meat mangler.

Classifying a caliber as a meat mangler or not is nearly 100% dependant on the bullet used.

Shoot an animal with a Ballistic Tip or VLD bullets and you are going to have a large wound channel.

Shoot the same gun with a Barnes copper bullet and the damage will be no different with a 7mm Rem. Magnum than with a 7 X 57. Chances are both are going to pass completely through, and both are going to make the same sized hole in the animal.

It is time for people to change there thinking with the new bullets available today.

i was going thru the same thing you was in the hunt for the 7 mag.after i checked it all out i went with the 7wsm.
i can lose the lil velocity and hitting power.
longer barrel life.plus this lil rifle is so sweet to shoot,less recoil then my 280 rem.
but this is just my input.

Thanks tuffteddyb,

I love all the wssm's and, even having no experience with the wsm's, I haven't heard one bad word about them!

The 7 RUM is gonna be great I've decided after talking to all of you and research on the net.