7mm Rem Mag best for FClass & Hunting?

[Punisher]

I think it's you will do just fine with a 7mm mag. I spanked everyone else on the line, but the drawbacks of the cartridge have nothing to do with the way it performs. A 7 mag uses lots of powder and flings twice the amount of lead that a dasher does.

When the wind picks up, the small 6 mm cartridges can't come close. But it's an expensive toy to play with and you won't get to practice very much.

I have taken 5 whitetail and an antelope with my 7mm that I built last year. The closest was over 300 for sure and most were over 400 yards with almost all of the kills being a bang-flop.

Keep in mind that the U.S. F class team all shoot 7mm with 180 gr Berger VLD's.

 

[sevenmm]

Thanks guys - I have heard that the short fat cases tend to burn more uniformly however I do love the grunt of the magnums.
Out on the firing line a few months ago, one of the guys on the range was using a 300 win mag and was putting all the rounds in a thumbnail hole in the X ring - it was quite a windy day and we were shooting at 700m. Whilst the shooter didn't score much better than most of us with 308's he did seem to have an advantage with the wind. In fact he wasn't really paying much attention to it all and was just shooting through the conditions. I was very impressed, as we 308 shooters really have to read the wind with a lot more intensity.

Punisher, are the US FClass team shooting 7mm Rem Mags or some of the shorter fatter 7mm rounds ?

 

[Punisher]

They were using a 7mm Rem Mag. I think this is because the RM is kind of the more efficient choice. If you go with a 7mm STW or an ultra mag, you will burn up to 35% more powder to gain 150-200 fps of velocity. Yes, that velocity can make a difference, but you sacrifice barrel life.

 

[nosualc]

Thanks guys - I have heard that the short fat cases tend to burn more uniformly however I do love the grunt of the magnums.
Out on the firing line a few months ago, one of the guys on the range was using a 300 win mag and was putting all the rounds in a thumbnail hole in the X ring - it was quite a windy day and we were shooting at 700m. Whilst the shooter didn't score much better than most of us with 308's he did seem to have an advantage with the wind. In fact he wasn't really paying much attention to it all and was just shooting through the conditions. I was very impressed, as we 308 shooters really have to read the wind with a lot more intensity.

Punisher, are the US FClass team shooting 7mm Rem Mags or some of the shorter fatter 7mm rounds ?

In 2013, they were all using 7 SAUMs or 7 WSMs.

U.S. F-Open Team Gets Ready for Upcoming Championships « Daily Bulletin

They standardized to make it easier on the wind coaches (all team members shooting the same bullet at roughly the same speed). AFAIK, they did not even consider using the 7mm Remington Magnum.

According to the tryout invitation for the next team (2014-2017), the cartridge hasn't been decided on, although it was advised not to show up with anything smaller than a .284 w/180s.

-nosualc

 

[Deleted member 46119]

7RM is a great hunting round
...
You can certainly shoot a 7RM in F-Open, but it'd be hard to be competitive.

-nosualc

Not everyone on the line is trying to win the national championship. Sometimes, it's just for the enjoyment of being there and doing it.

To the OP, yes, you can use a 7RM in one rifle for both. A sendero or palma profile barrel won't be too heavy to carry and will hold up to the heat of a long string well enough.

 

[Punisher]

I believe the reason that no one is using the 7mm RM in really competitive circles is because of the change in rules about 3 to 5 years ago when the NRA ruled that muzzle brakes were no longer allowed in NRA sanctioned matches.

If you read deeply, you may run across an article about the JP eliminator brake which used to be mounted on every F class rifle I shot against (and my own) but shooters began dropping points due to recoil fatigue without a brake.

So they started going with short action calibes like 6BR and 6XC, 7mm SAUM, 7mm-08 and such. But all of these variants are not really significantly "better" than the 7mm mag or even the 243 Winchester for those 6mm calibes.

I think this is starting to boil down to a popular method of thinking that if it is not the latest, it CANNOT be the greatest.

I have seen these calibes, shot them, shot against them; but I have not noticed a significant difference in performance to older, more widespread cartridges.

The most important thing about shooting to hunt or shooting to win, is to make your rifle shoot great, and know it through and through.

The rest of that stuff really doesn't matter.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I believe the reason that no one is using the 7mm RM in really competitive circles is because of the change in rules about 3 to 5 years ago when the NRA ruled that muzzle brakes were no longer allowed in NRA sanctioned matches.

If you read deeply, you may run across an article about the JP eliminator brake which used to be mounted on every F class rifle I shot against (and my own) but shooters began dropping points due to recoil fatigue without a brake.

So they started going with short action calibes like 6BR and 6XC, 7mm SAUM, 7mm-08 and such. But all of these variants are not really significantly "better" than the 7mm mag or even the 243 Winchester for those 6mm calibes.

I think this is starting to boil down to a popular method of thinking that if it is not the latest, it CANNOT be the greatest.

I have seen these calibes, shot them, shot against them; but I have not noticed a significant difference in performance to older, more widespread cartridges.

The most important thing about shooting to hunt or shooting to win, is to make your rifle shoot great, and know it through and through.

The rest of that stuff really doesn't matter.

You are 110% correct. Just like the "I need a .338 (or larger)" fad for hunting anything bigger than a jack rabbit...

 

[nosualc]

F-Class was first officially recognized by the NRA in 2007. Muzzle brakes were prohibited from the beginning.

I'm sure at a local club level this rule could have been relaxed especially when F-Class was new, but brakes have always been disallowed officially in NRA F-Class.

Of course, F-Class was being shot in Canada for a while before it caught on here. Not sure if brakes were allowed there.

-nosualc

 

[tim_w]

You are 110% correct. Just like the "I need a .338 (or larger)" fad for hunting anything bigger than a jack rabbit...

isn't that the truth

 

[iceEworm]

Has anyone tried loads with IMR 7977 ?

 

[MudRunner2005]

Has anyone tried loads with IMR 7977 ?

I haven't even seen any for sale yet... As soon as I do, I'll be trying some.

 

[sevenmm]

anyone else have experiences to share with the 7mm RM in competitive shooting?

 

[dsculley]

Okay guys, here is an update on my plans for the 7 mm RM in F-Class. I spoke to Jim Briggs at Northland Shooters Supply Monday. My plans were to get a new, heavier barrel in 7 RM to shoot in F-Class. According to Jim, the heat generated by this round when you fire a fast 20 round string as you would in F-class, you can wear out a barrel easily in one season. I am now rethinking this for that reason.

I asked him what he would recommend for F-class and he quickly named 3 chamberings: 260 Remington, 6.5 X 47 Lapua and 6.5 Creedmoor. In discussing these rounds with him, it became apparent that he prefers the 6.5 X 47 Lapua. It seems to me that these are all very similar chamberings with minor differences. You can push the 6.5 130 gr bullets to around 3,000 fps. The only thing I don't like about the Lapua is that you are limited when it comes to brass, which tends to make the brass a bit more expensive. The Creedmoor is a bit easier to find. And .308 can be necked down, .243 necked up to form the .260. As I had already been considering the Creedmoor, I will probably wind up with a barrel chambered for this round for the F-class. Barrel life will be much better. It is just a shame to work on accurizing a rifle and then have it shot out in under 1,000 rounds.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but if any of you have experience with these 3 rounds, I would love to hear from you.

Dennis

 

[Stu76x]

I had a 6.5x47 lapua built mid 2014. Rem700 28" SS fluted barrel by TSE. It is a real shooter, it is hard to find a load that was less than 0.5 MOA. 140gr berger, 130gr berger, 129gr ABLR and 120gr BT. My rifle likes the 120 gr BT and is loaded at 2915fps with 38.1 gr 2208. Can shoot consistent 0.25 MOA. I was hoping for 3000 for 120gr, 2900 for 130gr and 2800 for 140gr but pressures were a little high and accuracy was falling off. Lapua brass is not expensive when you are getting 8 plus reloads on your brass.