Anyone have a 7mm Dakota?

03 May 2002, 17:20

<centerpunch>

Love the Dakota ctgs, have a 300 and 330.

Brass is/was made by several firms, Mast and others. All are pricey.

Three and out on the 300. Have 4 loadings on some 330 that are not firewalled. Necks getting a little hard, re-anneal perhaps.

1000 BRï¿½ 6.5-284 is hot, any of the big thirtys work. Danged expensive sport, that 1000 yard business, special bases, rings, $900 rifle scopes, barrels (xtra long) Powder seems to disappear of your shelf rather quickly.

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Why not go out on a limb, isnï¿½t that where the fruit is ?

03 May 2002, 20:33

fredj338

LDO,
I have a Ruger #1S rechambered to 7mm Dakota. I am very pleased w/ the performance of the round & rifle. The #1 is a hunting gun obviously, but I get 1" groups w/ 160gr NPs @ 3250fps (26" bbl.). I have had them to 3350fps but accuracy falls off a bit. Some time in the future I'll have to try some match bullets just to see what it can do. I imagine in a bolt gun w/ Sierra MKs you would have a good long range rig.
The last I heard from Dakota, they were having Norma make their brass. I am up to (6) firings w/ a box of 20 & they are still in good shape.

04 May 2002, 03:01

Zero Drift

LDO - I'm another satisfied 7mm Dakota owner. The extra case capacity and lack of belt makes for a great performer over the 7mm Rem design. The parent case is the .404 Jeffery. Centerpunch is on target with the MAST brass situation. About 5 years ago MAST had a problem with their dies and the Dakota brass was less than spectacular. All new Dakota brass is premium grade. I neck size only and I anneal every 5 to 7 reloads so my cases last a long time. I am achieving 3200 fps with a 160gr Partition Gold with 75gr of RL-22 from a 24" tube. Case capacity and pressure is no problem.

The Dakota cartridges in either the 7mm or .300 would make a suitable 1,000 yard cartridge. However, I have one 6.5mm-.284 long throat LR target gun as well as a .30 Lapua LR target gun. As centerpunch stated - the 6.5mm-.284 is the hot 1,000 yard cartridge for the moment.

04 May 2002, 12:19

LongDistanceOperator

quote:
Originally posted by centerpunch:

1000 BRï¿½ 6.5-284 is hot, any of the big thirtys work. Danged expensive sport, that 1000 yard business, special bases, rings, $900 rifle scopes, barrels (xtra long) Powder seems to disappear of your shelf rather quickly.
rs

Yeah, it ain't cheap, but I have a decent job and I'm single. I also drive an old POS car which frees up some cash. There is some 1,000yd competition nearby, but it's F-Class and not too frequent. I don't shoot a whole lot. I don't really want what everyone else is using........which I understand doesn't make too much sense. I mean, they're using it FOR A REASON.

I wanna try something different. I was thinking of getting a barrel set up for Lost River machined solid bullets. They ain't cheap either, but it would take me a couple of years (at least) to run 1,000 rounds through it. I think the shortened .404 Jefferey case would make a great 6.5 or 7mm bullet launcher.

Anyone have a worn-out case they can part with?

Here's me with a my Light Gun in 6.5 Gibbs.

The photo is "posed"; the front rest has a top on it for Heavy Gun. This was at Williamsport, PA last November.

Thanks for the info, Lee

14 May 2002, 18:51

<Tigar>

I have a 300 Dakota - like the cartridge a lot, hate the brass. Here is what I've heard talking with Dakota a few times - last time was a few weeks ago. Bell/Mast used to make there brass, then they had Norma make some for the 7mm and 330 (no 300

). The main problem with Norma etc, is they require such large orders that Dakota was reluctant to buy so much plus the prices fluctuate. Latest I heard was that a company that moved in across the street from them from CA (I think) called Jameson (sp) was making it.

I've been reluctant to try it - hoping someone else will spend their $ first and give a report. I spoke with Mr Jameson and he said something to the effect of "we're trying to make it as hard as the Norma brass". I'd rather by it from "the standard" than someone trying to reach the standard. I don't need a lot of brass and don't mind the cost too much, but it really irritates me how quickly the old stuff needed tossed and how much different it was in weight (10-20 grains). At that rate it takes probably 40 or more cases to get the life and consistency of 10 of Lapua quality. Hopefully this new stuff is decent.