7mm STW Brotherhood - For those who shoot the 7mm Shooting Times Westerner

[WildRose]

I wish Meloniting had been around back 10-11 years ago, and I would have had my STW barrel done...

Is it too late with around 500 down the tube? Or would it still be worth it?

What you think Rose? Also, how much does it cost? And who's the best?

If you can get it clean enough I'm not sure any round count would be too high really providing there's no appreciable throat erosion.

If there is any fire cracking they won't want to touch it though because the process could possibly make those cracks worse.

I can't say who the best is but there have been several threads here at LRH on the subject where guys discussed having it done and who did it for them.

I'm going to do three more custom LR rigs over the next three years. One 7mm STW, one 300 wm and one 264wm and I'm going to have all three of them done along with a couple of my existing rigs that don't have many rounds down them yet.

From everything I have seen, heard, or red there really is no downside to having it done and a whole lot of upside.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Shouldn't be much throat erosion and shouldn't be any fire-cracking...I try to take pretty good care of her. She still drives tacks and shoots 1-hole. Not that in my younger years I wasn't a little hard on it by shooting it consistantly without proper cool-down times. But nothing extreme. I've had it since new.

I am gonna get with my smith and find out why my brass are separating that high above the belt, though.

Could it have been a bad batch of brass?

 

[WildRose]

Shouldn't be much throat erosion and shouldn't be any fire-cracking...I try to take pretty good care of her. She still drives tacks and shoots 1-hole. Not that in my younger years I wasn't a little hard on it by shooting it consistantly without proper cool-down times. But nothing extreme. I've had it since new.

I am gonna get with my smith and find out why my brass are separating that high above the belt, though.

Could it have been a bad batch of brass?

Could be. How many times have these been fired? It is possible to just wear them out although I usually start seeing cracking around the necks and loosened primer pockets before anything like that. In fact I don't think I've ever seen it.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Funny thing is, the necks are perfect and the primer pockets are still decent enough to not show any signs of pressure leaking...Damndest thing I've ever seen.

They were factory loaded Federal ammo when I bought it years ago. And I've loaded them probably 4 times or so. But I don't load them really hot or anything.

 

[WildRose]

Funny thing is, the necks are perfect and the primer pockets are still decent enough to not show any signs of pressure leaking...Damndest thing I've ever seen.

They were factory loaded Federal ammo when I bought it years ago. And I've loaded them probably 4 times or so. But I don't load them really hot or anything.

Well you just answered the question. "Federal Brass" is your answer.

The knock on Federal brass is that it is too soft.

If you check your resizing die you might find a little lip/edge in there at exactly that same point.

Others might argue the point but I wouldn't worry about it.

You can always put a shell holder on a drill and use some very fine sand paper or emery cloth to buff that lip off but I really doubt it's causing you any problems with performance.

 

[Brush4646]

It looks to me like you are bumping your shoulder back to far causing to much head space. I take the firing pin out of the bolt back the size die out 1/4 turn and size a case. I keep turning the die in a little and trying the case in the gun.If the bolt drops you have went in to far. It should drop half way down and the rest of the way with very little presure.When you get this run a case in all the way and screw the lock ring down and lock it. I do this for every die I have. If you have multible guns you have to do this every time for each gun.
Brush

 

[ButterBean]

It looks to me like you are bumping your shoulder back to far causing to much head space. I take the firing pin out of the bolt back the size die out 1/4 turn and size a case. I keep turning the die in a little and trying the case in the gun.If the bolt drops you have went in to far. It should drop half way down and the rest of the way with very little presure.When you get this run a case in all the way and screw the lock ring down and lock it. I do this for every die I have. If you have multible guns you have to do this every time for each gun.
Brush

Your rite on the money

 

[MudRunner2005]

It looks to me like you are bumping your shoulder back to far causing to much head space. I take the firing pin out of the bolt back the size die out 1/4 turn and size a case. I keep turning the die in a little and trying the case in the gun.If the bolt drops you have went in to far. It should drop half way down and the rest of the way with very little presure.When you get this run a case in all the way and screw the lock ring down and lock it. I do this for every die I have. If you have multible guns you have to do this every time for each gun.
Brush

I'll give it a try. Thanks.

Also, I only neck-size my brass, never FL size them.

 

[WildRose]

Funny thing is, the necks are perfect and the primer pockets are still decent enough to not show any signs of pressure leaking...Damndest thing I've ever seen.

They were factory loaded Federal ammo when I bought it years ago. And I've loaded them probably 4 times or so. But I don't load them really hot or anything.

Seeing the other comments here make me think I may not have understood you.

Is that a crack that is forming in the brass after firing, or a donut that forms after resizing?

If it's the former the head space answer is correct.

Are you using a full length resizing die or neck only die?

 

[7stw]

It looks to me like you are bumping your shoulder back to far causing to much head space. I take the firing pin out of the bolt back the size die out 1/4 turn and size a case. I keep turning the die in a little and trying the case in the gun.If the bolt drops you have went in to far. It should drop half way down and the rest of the way with very little presure.When you get this run a case in all the way and screw the lock ring down and lock it. I do this for every die I have. If you have multible guns you have to do this every time for each gun.
Brush

Brush, I have to agree with your take on that, and I do the same to all of my guns, but ti learned how to smoke the shoulder with a candle and and screw down the die til it makes contact, then just a " smidge" more. That usually yields about .003 clearance. Sometimes you may need to adjust your initial adjustment, but once you get it right, your brass will start lasting longer, and it fits the chamber nice.

 

[WapitiBob]

I posted a pic of the exact same thing way back. I let the smoke out of a bunch of cases before these guys got me straightened out. My fl sizer adjusted per rcbs instructions was bumping the shoulder back over 10 thou each firing. They wouldn't last but 2 or 3 reloads.
My suggestion is to follow 7stw's lead and get a 7mm Rem mag fl sizer and use it for a neck/bump die. The 7mm has about 4 thou clearance for the case but the same dims for the shoulder/neck. Smoke the shoulder of a once fired case and adjust the new bump die till it hits the smoke.

 

[gamehawker]

I'm sure I'm looking right at it, but I can't figure out how to post pictures in this new "7mm STW" forum?????

I use to get the "attach files" option box on the old "Brotherhood" thread and I'm not finding it now when I want to post a reply.

I see the "attach files" option box on other forums but not on the "7mm STW" forum??

Help!

Thanks!

 

[marioq]

I posted a pic of the exact same thing way back. I let the smoke out of a bunch of cases before these guys got me straightened out. My fl sizer adjusted per rcbs instructions was bumping the shoulder back over 10 thou each firing. They wouldn't last but 2 or 3 reloads.
My suggestion is to follow 7stw's lead and get a 7mm Rem mag fl sizer and use it for a neck/bump die. The 7mm has about 4 thou clearance for the case but the same dims for the shoulder/neck. Smoke the shoulder of a once fired case and adjust the new bump die till it hits the smoke.

Can you explain how you do this with the 7mm die?? I am sorry if it is a stupid question but I don't understand how to neck size only with a full sizing die. Unless you don't press all the way down??

 

[WildRose]

Can you explain how you do this with the 7mm die?? I am sorry if it is a stupid question but I don't understand how to neck size only with a full sizing die. Unless you don't press all the way down??

Set a case in your loader with the die backed off completely.

Raise it up like you are "sizing it". Slowly turn the die down till it has good contact.

That is your starting point.

Now work it down one quarter turn at a time and work the brass up and down watching the neck and when you have fully worked down the length of the neck all the way give it one more quarter turn.

Then do as they suggested above to guarantee proper head spacing and lock it down.