What's a reasonable expectation for barrel life in 7mmSTW? Also, knowing there is no way to look at a rifle and tell how accurate it will be, I'll only ask which of these two would lend itself better to accuracy out of the box by design and ask for experiences from those of you who have had/used both......
1)Model 70 Classic SS/Syn. with 26" tube
2)Model 700 SS Sendero with fluted 26" tube

Thanks for the help neighbors,
Rod

[ 01-19-2003, 04:06: Message edited by: vibrasonic9 ]

NRA 1000 yard any/any rifle shooters usually get between 1500 and 3000 rounds out of their bbls.

I would venture a guess that you might have a better chance to get an out of the box shooter if you went with a Remington SS/fluted. I bought Sendaro SS/fluted 2 years ago in a .300 ultra mag that is a real tac-driver. I read an article by Layne Simpson not long ago (this guy had a big hand in creating the 7STW round) stating he knew people with over 1500 rounds still getting great accuracy out of their rifles. I just can't see what this round offers over a 7Rem Mag though. Enjoy which ever pick. Terry

Just thought I would respond to TC1 statement. Try and get 3250 in the 7mag with a 175gr par. I can with my STW and a little more. I have both 7mag and STW. That my friend is just one difference. I'm not saying that the 7mag is not good since if I'm not using my 356win. I am using either my 7mau or the 7mag, but the STW is a whole different ball game. Just my opinion. fws

I used to use a 7mm rem mag but now the 7mmstw is my cartridge of choice for deer,pronghorn and sheep.A 140gr bullet at 3500fps provides very flat trajectory and quick clean kills.If the barrel is not overheated accuracy should hold up past 1500 rounds and possibly many more.

blaaaaa... what is this post? Toss the barrel when it starts shooting astray 800, 1500, 1200 750, 2000?? who is going to know? Barrels are ment to be thrown out. If you have enough money to shoot it enough to worry about barrel wear, then you will have enough money to replace it.

"If you're getting 3250 out of a 175gr pill, all I can say is be careful. You are WAY over pressure. I already know what your going to tell me about the pressure, JUST BE CAREFUL! Now tell me what game you can take with the STW that you can't take with 7MAG? does it extend the range you can shoot animals at? Inquiring minds would like to know"

TC1,
Essentially the 7STW does what the 7mag does but at 100yds farther. Now tell me what game you can take with the 7mag that you can't take with a 280 Rem?
VH

[ 01-20-2003, 04:00: Message edited by: Varmint Hunter ]

TC1,
Essentially the 7STW does what the 7mag does but at 100yds farther. Now tell me what game you can take with the 7mag that you can't take with a 280 Rem?
VH

VH,
Using the same bullet in a 7mm Remington Mag. and 7mmSTW and adjusting for muzzle velocity, you could expect to extend your MPBR about 15 yards with an STW...not 100. Energy measurements would be of little or no consequence between the two. That would put the .280 at about 20 yards behind the Rem Mag and 35 behind the STW for MPBR.......it really all boils down to how much you feel like adjusting on those long shots.

The .280 has about 2025 FPE at MPBR, the Rem Mag about about 2176 and the STW about 2338......I don't think those differences, with a well placed shot, will make a difference.

The big question I have now is: How did we get here from my original question?

Dangit!! I supposed if I were a better writer I could better convey the humor I was seeking in that last post.......didn't mean to be an ass, just tryin' to be a little funny.

Sorry,
Rod

By the way, Layne didn't have a big hand in the development of the 7mm STW, he WAS the designer of it. I helped build the very first one made when I was at Jarrett's. I've seen an average barrel life of about 1500 rounds.

Vibe: Back to your original question. Assuming you intend to use the rifle for game shooting, the effective life of a 7mm STW barrel is infinite. If, as some project, 1500 rounds is a reasonable expectation, that's probably 30 to 100 years of game shooting. On the other hand, if you intend to use it as a long range varminter, the day that your barrel no longer performs to your expectations could come sooner.

I have a .264 Winchester Magnum (which should be similar in barrel wear to a 7mm STW) that has to have in the area of 3000 or more rounds through it. While it shows a significantly eroded throat, and uses a grain or so more powder than it did originally to achieve the same velocities, its accuracy is every bit as good as when new, and that's very good (this is a 38 year old Sako).

Most will tell you to expect better average accuracy from the Remington out of the box. I would pick the one that I like the best, as either can likely be tuned to do well.

TC1 - I'm sorry if I came across as harsh on my post. I just wanted to make sure Layne got credit. It is a widely accepted cartridge now and it was his brain-child. He worked hard to get the manufacturers to accept ot and deserves the credit.

Also, I should have said 1500 - 2000 rounds, depending on how you shoot it. I have seen several of them worn out in less thatn 1000 rounds.

By the way TC1, I agree with you. I've never seen much of advantage of the 7mm STW over the 7mm Rem Mag

I am curious about the barrel life question.

Assuming the barrel on a 7 mm STW could be "shot out" in under 1000 rounds, I wonder what its performance would be under combat conditions? Maybe that's why there aren't any infantry applications for that load.

But what about the military guns and rounds? How soon is a combat rifle "shot out?" Or does accuracy count less in a military round?

I had uncles on both Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. In the context of shooting hundreds or thousands of rounds a night, clearly with the barrel NOT cooling down, how did those barrels perform?

kk

Shooting out a lot depends on the what the gun is used for the bench rest guns if there guns go from .2s to .5 the barrel is shot out. For varmint hunter I find that anything under .750 is still useful and sometimes anything under a 1 in well still be useful. Fo big game hunter let say out of the box it starts as a .5 rifle 1500 rds later its a 1.0 rifle has it lost is usefulness depends. If you are expecting to make shots over 600 yards most likely yes for normal hunting distance out to 500 it is still very usefull. So what does shot out means for me it is when the rifle does not preform for what I am useing it for.

Hey Rod,

I'm with smallfry all the way on this. I think life is too short to worry yourself about barrel life. Stonecreek's math, 30 to 100 years of hunting about sums it up. Have fun, Man! Don't sweat the small stuff.

Buliwyf