I have a Stainless Win Model 70 (CRF, Ultimate Shadow model) in 7mm Rem Mag that I want to convert to 7mm Wby Mag.

Hoping to get suggestions/tips/advice from others who have had chambers reamed/ done Weatherby conversions.



All metal parts on the rifle have been cerakoted. Is this going to complicate the process?

Will the gunsmith need to remove the barrel, or is this a process that can be done with everything in-tact?
Once the barrel is removed, should I have the gunsmith do any additional work? Lap the lugs, etc? Am I going to be forced to buy a new barrel?

Right now the gun isn't the tightest grouping rifle.... what are the odds my accuracy will improve? I'm not a reloader - plan on using factory ammo.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I originally purchased the rifle because it was the only one available in the state at the time (in Stainless steel), and I wanted the Magnum sized action for future conversions.

Thanks,
Lexington

Welcome

First issue the 7 Wby will not clean up a 7mag chamber. So the barrel would need to be removed setback and rechambered.
If a rifle isn't a great shooter then it is not likely a simply rechamber will make it better. Wbys due to their long throat are not known as tack drivers.

All that aside without reloading you gain maybe 150fps from the Wby. But you go from a cartridge that you can pretty much buy anywhere to something that is no only hard to find but usually more expensive.

If you are looking for velocity a 7stw would clean up the chamber. The spacer in the rear of the mag box would need to be removed as well as the bolt stop and ejector would need to be touched up.

Finally if you are shooting factory ammo I sure wouldn't spend any $$ to have the smith do any work to the lugs etc.

The rifle has already been tinkered with a little bit:

It started off as a Stainless Steel Ultimate Shadow - Win Model 70 7mm Rem mag.

I had a local gunsmith lighten the trigger pull to 2#, cut the barrel back to 25", cerakote all metal parts, then drop it into a D'Arcy Echols McMillan EDGE/glass bedded stock.

I'm a "Bull in the China Shop" kinda guy... discovered really quick (the hard way) that I'm never going to have the attention to detail to be a re-loader.

I tried out 5 different brands of Factory Ammo, and the most accurate I could get on was 168gr Berger VLDs made by HSM Ammo... groupings were never less than 1" at 100yds.

I ran all of the factory loads through my Chrono and they ALL were 200-300fps below advertizement. Seriously - up to 10% slower, I'm sure cutting the barrel back 1" had something to do with this, but really by that much?

I'm itching to re-barrel it to a 358STA, but want to kick around other 7mm options first -

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll do some more research on the 7stw - would the 7RUM also be worth consideration?

Also, just to ask:

- Given the barrel has been already cut back 1", should I be concerned this may have messed up the overall harmonics of the rifle?

- It's a #2 Sporter Factory Barrel - if I ream for the 7mm STW, is this enough steel to handle that kind of round?


Thanks for the insight -

Lexington

Harmonics? No way to tell; how did it shoot before you cut it off?
Yes, enough steel.
You should learn to reload. However, from the "Bulls in china shop" kind of guys I know, I recommend a factory rifle and not anything custom. The guys I know cannot be trusted with anything more complicated than a wheel barrow and would find a way to break an anvil. You might be different.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Harmonics? No way to tell; how did it shoot before you cut it off?
Yes, enough steel.
You should learn to reload. However, from the "Bulls in china shop" kind of guys I know, I recommend a factory rifle and not anything custom. The guys I know cannot be trusted with anything more complicated than a wheel barrow and would find a way to break an anvil. You might be different.

quote:

groupings were never less than 1" at 100yds.

Factory ammo that gets you close to 1moa is nothing to sneeze at. Yep hard to ever get what the factory says the velocity should be. You will more than likely find that with the WBY as well.

STW or the Rum both will be hard to find and both will require alterations to the mag box etc. I seriously doubt that 1" caused any of your issues. As Dwayne said make sure your crown is in good shape since it has been cut off.

Last I checked the STA was a handload only issue.

There are a number of places to have custom ammo loaded for those that don't reload.

I do doubt that you will find any factory ammo that will give you much better accuracy than you currently have.

Paul - you've got my wheels seriously spinning in the 7mm STW.

Several Factory ammo options off MudwayUSA. Might give it a poke.

In addition to the spacer in the rear of the mag box would needing to be removed, what exactly would need to be done to the bolt stop and ejector?
Feeding the 8mm case would be no problem?

Assuming you have the std 70 with the spacer in the rear of the max box it is set up for what I would call a std length magnum. IE 7mag, 264, 300 wmag etc. In that set up the bolt stop and ejector are set to stop the bolt just rear of the front edge of the spacer. The ejector contacts the case just before that.

By far the simplest is to simply find a bolt stop, ejector and mag box for the long magnum. IE the 8mm mag, stw, H&H etc.

If you can't find the factory parts the ones you have can be altered. Remove the spacer from the rear of the box. The shorten the front of the bolt stop and ejector. Easiest way is to copy the factory ones. If you don't have factory ones to copy. Observe the current position of your bolt when it is contact with the stop as well as how much your ejector protrudes. Then alter the stop and ejector to give you the same positions at the rear of the box. The person that recuts your chamber should be able to do that work as well.

I have converted several factory 7mags to stw. I found the 160s to give me the best results.

Pm sent - thanks for all of guidance.