Alright guys i am looking for a caliber for my newest rifle, i am going to buy a rem. sendero and then get the action blueprinted and possibly rechambered, im thinking 7mm stw, but there is also 257wby, 300win mag, 300wby. this rifle will be used for treestand hunting, no walking, want a good flat shooting round with plenty of down range energy for any deer i happen to run into but im thinking something in the 284 or 30cal range in case i wanted to shoot elk or plains game in africa. i already have a 7mm wsm, thats a tad over 7lbs and great for carring and hiking,

If you want to include elk in the picture I'd go at least 7mm. The STW is one of the best high velocity 7mm rifles.

I'm partial to the 7mmRm. I gives the knock down of the 3006 and the trajectory of the 270 good all round cal.

sorry guys had a problem with my name so i got a new one but, i am thinking 7mm too, cant seem to find a 7mm stw in sendero, but im thinking of just picking up a good ole 7mag then getting it rechambered to stw, i know i will only pick up 100 to 200 fps but i just want the stw, what about recoil a 10lb stw cant kick worse than a 7lb wsm can it?

The 7mm STW is based on a full length 375 H&H case whereas the 7mm Rem Mag is based on the H&H case cut down quite a bit. The 7mm WSM is slightly shorter than the Rem Mag so I would imagine they would recoil about the same, if the WSM did not recoil ever so slightly less. As for the STW, it holds a hell of a lot more powder so I would imagine YES it would kick quite a bit more than a WSM, assuming same rifle weight. I would not want to light off such a big'un out of a tree stand, but that's just my opinion.

Tex

The Sendero has been dropped from production, so grab one fast.

i think 7 STW, .300 Win or .300 RUM would all work just fine.

any idea where i can find one, i want the stainless in 7mm mag or stw, but the 7mag is going to be alot easier to find

If I were thinking of a rifle for elk and plains game in the future as well long range deer I would definitely go with a 300 mag of some sort. The 300's are just more versatile.

Regards,

Mark

I would have to disagree with mark. the 7 mag can do anything the 300 can and better with less kick. It is actually a 338 win mag necked down. so before I would go with the 300 I would go to the 338.

quote:

Originally posted by ShootOne:
any idea where i can find one, i want the stainless in 7mm mag or stw, but the 7mag is going to be alot easier to find

http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976542613.htm

But crap they think it's made of gold or something.

LPK/SHOOT1, you might take a few minutes and look at some drop charts. Pick Remington or Winchester and look at the drop and drift at 500 yards for similar bullets in various calibers (7RM, 140 NBT vs. 300WM, 180NBT, for example).

You will find, really quick, that there are not many inches difference at ranges that matter, and beyond some point, which is usually not much different between the calibers you mention, you have to estimate drop/drift anyways.

So....to me it boils down to what you WANT. All the ones you mention will do the job. Keep in mind the rules of diminishing returns kick in hard as you approach the upper performance limit! But, if you aren't really happy when you buy it, you will not use it, so get the one that floats your boat.

For me, in similar circumstances a while back, the answer was a 300WSM. You got a 7WSM, and that will do what you want with alarming reliability...but that logic doesn't get you a new rifle either! Have fun!

.280 Rem

There is a reason the 7mm Rem Mag is so popular. I have resisted it for years but if you look at the velocity,trajectory and retained energy, it is hard to beat. You can get fancier and more recoil and pay more and a little of this and a little of that but it is a really great cartridge.
Remember the feeding problems of the "short mags".

quote:

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

I've learned where it comes to rifle cartridges there is no such thing as reason or common sense. If there were either , we wouldn't have so many cartridges and have them reinvented every 40 years or so.

Buy yourself a new rifle if it feels good to you.

LPK, I was looking for a SenderoSF in 300RUM but the shop I went to only had a 338RUM, I went ahead and bought it anyway and I wouldn't trade it for any other caliber! It will shoot a 200 grain bullet at 3100 ft/sec loaded at well under published max load with tack driving accuracy. If I need to load for heavier game it will handle the 250 grain slugs as well.

With the 7mm WSM already in hand, and considering the Elk possibility you should step on up to one of the .300's. Good shooting.

I own a couple rice/soybean farms, and when I gun hunt, I hunt from stands overlooking bean fields. Several years ago I had a Sendero in 300winmag. The gun was most accurate with 180 Win Supreme BTs, and would easily take a deer at 400-500 yards if I did my part. Recoil wasn't a big deal because the gun WEIGHED SO MUCH. The 10lbs and 26" barrel wasn't a problem in a large box stand, but it would be a significant issue if I had to carry that gun all day while chasing an animal (as in elk hunting). I sold the Sendero and got a M70 Classic Stainless in 300WSM. It kills just like the Sendero, but as I age, weight is more of an issue.

Well

7mm rem and 7mm wby are good for long range stuff. 175 grain bullet in 7mm launched around 3000 fps will not bounce off anything, a good 160 grain bullet in 3100-3200 fps will also be fine.

If you want more performance 8mm rem, 8X68S or 338 would be the ticket

Cheers
/JOHAN

7 STW. Check out the HOG section on page 5. There's a picture of my daughter with her hog taken with a 7 STW. It's a stainless/synthetic 7 Mag that't been rechambered. She doesn't mind the recoil.

Perhaps more important than you choice of chamberings is your choice of bullets. Virtually any cartridge in the 6.5 caliber and larger will reach far given adequate BC, but what's important is the terminal performance. Some bullets such as the Barnes X and offspring do not expand much after velocity decays below 2000 fps, others which are prone to blow up at close range might do very well on the far side of a beanfield. My .02 worth.

.270 .280 7 rem mag, 30-06, 300 win mag, 270 wsm, 300 wsm, etc.

thanks guys but im going to go with the stw, i think i have found a used 7mag sendero that will be rechambered. that will give me a pair of 284s one lighter and a heavy one for soybean fields and clear cuts. seems like the perfect pair for my hunting, really dont see the need for a 300mag for deer where i hunt ga, sc fl and tx just want a flat shooting round and the stw will be more than enough in fact probably too much but im not against a little over kill and for the occasionaly elk hunt, the 7wsm did just fine last fall on a colorado bull

I think that a 7mm stw is one of the best beanfield rifles there is but however that is JMO.

Everything counts at long range. The Sendero might be a good start but keep in mind that one wants the first shot to be right on. Start there with the rifle selection and specifications.

One member emailed me pictures of his 7mm wildcat on the RUM case. Velocities were way up there with 140's. I would use my 264 WM but I really don't look forward to long shots on big game.

I would not think elk on this at all. Don't compromise and make a rifle that will lay them in there from your stand. You will need a laser, a suitable scope, practice and good data as well

Spend your money on ammo and possibly a laser and some good optics like S99 mentioned and learn how to shoot that WSM.. More powder makes not a marksman..

I use the 7mmstw myself and have been very satisfied with the performance of the cartridge.

I bought a 7STW in a Ruger #1BSS. After my cousin and shooting-hunting partner shot it a few times, he decided that he really did not want to shoot that 338 Lapua he had been fantasizing about, as a matter of fact he no longer wanted to experience the recoil of a 30 mag. He promptly purchased a Sendero in 7STW.

After some tuning and bedding, my Ruger shoots tighter groups than the Sendero does stock, much to my cousins chagrin.

I really like shooting the STW, but honestly its performance is not enough better than the 7WSM or 7Rem mag to justify another rifle, and keeping track of the two trajectory curves.

Were it me, and I realize it is not, and elk were in the plans, and I already owned a 7 mag, and I just had to have another rifle, It would be the STW's daddy.

I have always felt that the 8mm Rem mag would be one of the best choices for a serious elk hunter.

Hmmm, I wonder if my cousin might be willing to turn loose of that Sendero yet. I could slap a nice 8mm barrel on it and.......

Granted this is a small sample but, working in a gun shop for a few years, we saw more than a few 7mm rifles traded in for .30s or 338s after every elk season.

JMHO,

JohnTheGreek

A rem 700 pss .300 RUM.......if I lived in the states that owuld be my bean field gun

guys, i am mainly a deer hunter i went elk hunting for the 1st time last fall and i wont be going for probably 2 more years. so i see no point in the 30cal or bigger just for the occasional elk hunt every couple of yrs. my wsm shoots just fine, only reason i am buying a new rifle is i have to money right now and since rem quit making the sendero last year i figured now is the time to get one. it will only be used for treestanid hunting in sc over soybean fields, fl and alabama stand hunting then for up in the tripods that we hunt in texas, there is noting wrong with my 7wsm as i have said before, i just want to buy another rifle i enjoy them and eventually when the time comes i will buy a 300 mag of some sort, maybe a 340 wby or something similar if needed, then probably end up building another 7wsm this time a custom job based on the 700titanium. all in all i just got out of college and am doing good, so i have extra money now to hunt and build up a nice rifle collection and i want a sendero with a 4.5-14-50 vx3 with the 30mm tube, just wasnt sure on the cal. i already have a varix3 4.5-14-40 on the wsm, and the nikon 800 laser rangefinder. so i think i have the optics covered

It's just an observation, but hitting things at long range requires an accurate rifle and an experienced, practised marksman.

The cartridge really matters very little in the equation.

I'd set up a 308 with a custom stock and barrel, and shoot the bejeebers out of it until you can hit whatever you are shooting at.

Learning to shoot a 7STW will cost you more than one barrel. JMO, Dutch.

There are so many great cartridges to choose from for this type of use you can spin the wheel, pick one, and not go wrong with whatever you come up with.

Personally, I'd just stick to my 300 Win. Mag.........

AD

good advice Dutch

if you want the fastest and don't mind reloading to get the most performance possible, go with the 7 rum. adds 100 fps to stw performance. shoot slowly and let the barrel cool after every couple shots and it will last plenty long enough. Practice at the distances you plan on shooting. Use 160 gr accubonds; great B.C. and shoots flat as a laser. Well, real damn flat for a rifle anyway. 3400 fps with a 160 gr bullet is acheivable usually. Look at retumbo, aa8700, RL25, WC872,H870, and the like for top performance powders for the 140,150,160, and 175 gr bullet class. deer elk and the like will die if you hit where your aiming. Cant go wrong with 300 rum either. if your shooting a long ways off might as well get the fastest and flattest shooters. practice and good luck.