Thread: Some 7mm Saum help

A mate of mine has a Rem model 7 he want's to rebarrel to 7mm Saum. His question is what barrel length would you suggest? he was thinking 25"-26". I suggested 24" might be enough as a short fat cartridge as in the 08's are more efficient and can achieve similar results with a faster powder in a shorter barrel. He plans to try 168 VDL's on sambar. He is open to any advise you guy might have for him Cheers Ackley

I run a 23in bbl and get 3050 (warm) with 162s, 2.935 is my oal - I dOnt think you'll fit that into a model seven though?
N570,n560, rl17 be the powders for speed

What is his desired range?

24" had the 162 at 3100fps just before case stretch with RL17

23" gets a 180gr VLD to 2750fps at mag length (my Mod 7 is running a R700 mag so is slightly longer) with V100 (still not hit presure)

24" with 140's doing 3250 from memory

22" gets OK speeds in a mates to get you out to 800 yards from memory

2.820" OAL is about the max that will fit in a M7 mag. The one I had I put a 26" tube on it. Amax's seated to mag length using a case full of N165 gave just on 3,000fps with very good accuracy. I didn't search for more velocity by trying a quicker powder as the accuracy was what I was looking for and 3k fps was good enough. If you wanted to single load, you could run a longer OAL, giving a bit more powder capacity and more velocity. N165 seems to be a very good consistant powder in the 7mmSAUM (and WSM) from what I've experienced and seen...

+1
I have found N165 exceptional
I also have had great success with RE22 and is my current go to load for speed an accuracy

Thanks for all your replies I will forward all the info to him. The answers were what i suspected they would be but nice to be able to confirm my opinion. He is unlikely to go anywhere near 800yds, but good to know that is within the rounds capabilities. Cheers Ackley

Originally Posted by DAF

+1
I have found N165 exceptional
I also have had great success with RE22 and is my current go to load for speed an accuracy

Hey, DAF, what bullet weight are you using? What powder weight for RE22? Magnum primers? Thanks!

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Hey, DAF, what bullet weight are you using? What powder weight for RE22? Magnum primers? Thanks!

I am using 162Gn A-Max and the 145Gn LRX
Load Data:
162 A-Max 63.5gn RE22, Fed GM215M primers
145gn Barnes LRX 64.3 gn RE22 GM215M primers

** warning this load may not be safe in another rifle **

Thanks, DAF. How about 180 grainers ? Thanks.

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Thanks, DAF. How about 180 grainers ? Thanks.

I haven't used the 180's as yet, I recently bought a 7mmSAUM match reamer which suites them but ended up building 7-300wsm instead which I also have a match reamer for.

Is the 7mm-300WSM superior ? My understanding is that is has a bigger powder capacity the the 7mmSAUM which possibly mean more speed? How about accuracy? 180 grainers, I guess?

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Is the 7mm-300WSM superior ? My understanding is that is has a bigger powder capacity the the 7mmSAUM which possibly mean more speed? How about accuracy? 180 grainers, I guess?

There was a few reasons for the 7/300 one was my SAUM reamer had not arrived in time.
I would not say superior just different and I feel the 7mmSAUM is a great choice for a hunting rifle just a real nice balance

I used the 7/300 in my F-Class rifle and I feel the extra capacity and the 32inch barrel worked well together to have a mild load that pushed the 180 hybrid at around 3140 fps that was extremely accurate (so much so it won the nationals this year http://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.n...-trentham-590/)



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That explained it! Thanks and congratulation. Lastly, what is the barrel life span of the 7mm-300WSM ?

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

That explained it! Thanks and congratulation. Lastly, what is the barrel life span of the 7mm-300WSM ?

I think that all depends on how much you shoot and the number rounds get fire in rapid succession, in F-Class I would put 12 rounds through the barrel in around 5 minutes and it gets very hot, so I was hopping for at least 800 rounds life before setting the barrel back. (I have put around about 500-600 rounds through mine and from looks would say its at half barrel life but I set it back anyway for this season)

For hunting I would hope for a much longer life then that and have heard people quoting 1200 plus rounds

hope this helps

Thanks for your help!