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

[7stw]

UPDATE ON NEW BUILD, hey guys, my gunsmith has my donor gun apart, and told me to bring in my barrel. He commented on the action, by saying that the threads are in very good shape, and the lock up area in the receiver are seated nicely, and that overall, this action is in very good shape. He only has to chase the threads on my barrel, because at some point, the scope base screws put a burr in the center top off my barrel. He said that he can clean it up either on the lathe, or a die. I think that when all the dust is settled, my little STW collection will be pretty nice, and it is fun sharing info with everyone here. I think that we all learn from each other, and sharing saves a lot of barrel wear, powder, bullets, and recoil. I can't believe how much this thread has evolved, and the info that has been shared, and learned. And we aren't done yet!!!! Take care everybody, and have a great Holiday weekend!!!!

 

[lloydsmale]

Well i just finished load developement for the stw i picked up this spring. Its a stainless bdl detachable mag gun that i fitted into a lss stock and bedded and floated. This rifle has turned out to be one of the most accurate rifles ive ever worked with. Ive probably shot at least 50 differnt loads using 12 differnt bullets and i had exactly 3 loads that went over an inch and those barely went over an inch. this is for 5 shots at a 100 yards. Many went into 3/4s and a few went into to a half inch. Im not a long range target shooter, more of a longer range deer hunter. 500 yards is my imposed limit so i dont worry about match style bullets. I load and shoot hunting bullets. the two i weeded it down to at the end were the nos bt 150 and Sierra fb 140. the bt got the nod as it did just a tad better and i figured at that velocity level the extra 10 grains might add something. Both of these loads shot consistant 1/2 inch groups with 7828 and fed match mag primers, many with 4 bullets touching and on opening it up to a 1/2 inch. of all the powder primer combos that one was the star of the show. I own quite a few mag rifles of about every make and every mag caliber and have NEVER had one shoot like this. Many will do moa or a bit better but most took some extened range time to find those loads. I think i could load a rock on top of sand in this gun and it would shoot moa.

 

[Freebore]

lloydsmale,

Well all you need to try now are the Barnes 140 TTSX. Just be careful shooting 5 shot groups. you stated your a hunter. You should only need to shoot 3 shot groups. This will save your barrel/bullets/powder life a fair amount.

You would not normally anyway get more than 3 shots off at game before it's gone. 3 shots will tell you. Just let 'er go cold and shoot 3 more for verification. A neat cartridge!

Welcome to the Brotherhood!

 

[ButterBean]

Well i just finished load developement for the stw i picked up this spring. Its a stainless bdl detachable mag gun that i fitted into a lss stock and bedded and floated. This rifle has turned out to be one of the most accurate rifles ive ever worked with. Ive probably shot at least 50 differnt loads using 12 differnt bullets and i had exactly 3 loads that went over an inch and those barely went over an inch. this is for 5 shots at a 100 yards. Many went into 3/4s and a few went into to a half inch. Im not a long range target shooter, more of a longer range deer hunter. 500 yards is my imposed limit so i dont worry about match style bullets. I load and shoot hunting bullets. the two i weeded it down to at the end were the nos bt 150 and Sierra fb 140. the bt got the nod as it did just a tad better and i figured at that velocity level the extra 10 grains might add something. Both of these loads shot consistant 1/2 inch groups with 7828 and fed match mag primers, many with 4 bullets touching and on opening it up to a 1/2 inch. of all the powder primer combos that one was the star of the show. I own quite a few mag rifles of about every make and every mag caliber and have NEVER had one shoot like this. Many will do moa or a bit better but most took some extened range time to find those loads. I think i could load a rock on top of sand in this gun and it would shoot moa.

Sounds like you have a shooter on your hands.......Its an awesome feeling when a gun shoots like that and I feel sure that your bedding job has a bunch to do with it ...........

 

[Sako 75]

I just picked up some Barnes 145gr LRX. Has anyone loaded them up yet? Any recommendations on powder RL22 - RL 25?

 

[ButterBean]

I just picked up some Barnes 145gr LRX. Has anyone loaded them up yet? Any recommendations on powder RL22 - RL 25?

RL22 Is what works with those babys

 

[7stw]

I just picked up some Barnes 145gr LRX. Has anyone loaded them up yet? Any recommendations on powder RL22 - RL 25?

Ditto of whatButter bean said. RL 25 has been working good for me as well. I have not shot the LRX, but two of mine love the TSX. I am curios on that bullet in 160 fashion. Let us know how you make out!!!! Have a great weekend!

 

[7stw]

Well i just finished load developement for the stw i picked up this spring. Its a stainless bdl detachable mag gun that i fitted into a lss stock and bedded and floated. This rifle has turned out to be one of the most accurate rifles ive ever worked with. Ive probably shot at least 50 differnt loads using 12 differnt bullets and i had exactly 3 loads that went over an inch and those barely went over an inch. this is for 5 shots at a 100 yards. Many went into 3/4s and a few went into to a half inch. Im not a long range target shooter, more of a longer range deer hunter. 500 yards is my imposed limit so i dont worry about match style bullets. I load and shoot hunting bullets. the two i weeded it down to at the end were the nos bt 150 and Sierra fb 140. the bt got the nod as it did just a tad better and i figured at that velocity level the extra 10 grains might add something. Both of these loads shot consistant 1/2 inch groups with 7828 and fed match mag primers, many with 4 bullets touching and on opening it up to a 1/2 inch. of all the powder primer combos that one was the star of the show. I own quite a few mag rifles of about every make and every mag caliber and have NEVER had one shoot like this. Many will do moa or a bit better but most took some extened range time to find those loads. I think i could load a rock on top of sand in this gun and it would shoot moa.

I am not totally surprised, but glad to hear that you have got a good shooter. If your barrel is sound, and your loadings are good, you end up with that kind of accuracy, and this caliber will deliver it with ease when everything is right. Its accuracy is addictive, and the end result on game is tremendous, all in a package that dosen't beat you up when you pull the trigger. I can't say enough about them. But believe itor not, there are those that throw stones, but they are usually the ones that have never shot them, or had bad luck with one. Occasionally the latter happens, but more so than not, these STW' s will shoot well, before you shoot the barrel out, and then some!!!!congrats on the load, the gun, and your shooting ability. Have fun and enjoy, but then again, how can you not?

 

[WapitiBob]

Any ideas where this scratch is coming from? This is an unfired case, chambered one time. I have maybe 4-6 scratches on the shoulder of fired brass that has about a 1 thou shoulder bump, evenly spaced around the shoulder like it's the starting of the rifling. I have since adjusted the sizer to get a .002 bump.

Also, on my fired brass with a measured .002 shoulder bump, the bolt is "snug" when I lock the handle down. Non fired brass like the one above, locks down freely. I am assuming the lugs lock into a helical groove, pulling the bolt/brass forward. Could it be the shoulder getting tight even though there is a .002 setback?

 

[lloydsmale]

Ive shot 5 shot groups all my life. What i did do with this one was with my initial load developement i shot 3 shot groups. I kept track of all the good ones and before making any decision on what i was going to use i shot the good ones using 5 shot groups. Ive just seen to many times where you can shoot a lucky 3 shot group but a good 5 shot group usually means its right. As to barnes bullets sorry guys but i wouldnt have another one shoved up my ###.

I shoot crop damage deer and get a chance to shoot upwards of 50 deer a year. Last year i went all out testing tsx bullets. I loaded them in 80s in the 2506 100s in the 257 wby. and 180s in my 300 wby. My hunting partner loaded 100s in his 2506. We shot 6 deer total with the 2506s. 2 went down within sight. 4 ran off and out of those 4 we lost 2. With my 257 i shot 3 and lost one and with the 300 wby i shot one and had the weirdest bullet performance id even seen. Bullet hit right on the shoulder at about 150 yards and never made it past the shoulder bone. All i can figure is it tracked down the bone and blew out the bottom. I noticed when it ran off it was dragging its leg. By the time we found it it was dark and we just gutted it and took it home. I never thought the next day to really check and just cut that destroyed shoulder off and tossed it.

We been doing crop damage shooting for 10 years and we had only lost one other deer prior to this and i knew when i shot that one that i had made a poor shot. Im sure they work fine on larger game but with whitetail they just dont create a big enough wound channel to put deer down fast. If i was to go to a premium bullet it would be a partition. Ive never had poor performance on any game animal with partitions. Bottom line is though ive been shooting deer for over 40 years and have never lost a deer because i was using a cup and core bullet. Buy those expensive bullets if it makes you feel good but dont try to tell me there needed on deer sized game.


I hear all the time too that cup and core bullets do more meat damage. Well personaly id rather loose a little bit of rib meat then spend the night chasing deer. I also will say that in my experience cup and core bullets dont do any more meat damage with most shots anyway. If you shoot a shoulder of a deer with any high velocity bullet its going to ruin that shoulder. I dont care if its a ballistic tip a partition or a tsx. Hit them in the ribs with any of them and your going to loose nothing. As a matter of fact on shoulder shots a premium bullet will about insure you destroy both shoulders. Well thats the end of my rant.

 

[7stw]

Any ideas where this scratch is coming from? This is an unfired case, chambered one time. I have maybe 4-6 scratches on the shoulder of fired brass that has about a 1 thou shoulder bump, evenly spaced around the shoulder like it's the starting of the rifling. I have since adjusted the sizer to get a .002 bump.

Also, on my fired brass with a measured .002 shoulder bump, the bolt is "snug" when I lock the handle down. Non fired brass like the one above, locks down freely. I am assuming the lugs lock into a helical groove, pulling the bolt/brass forward. Could it be the shoulder getting tight even though there is a .002 setback?

That would be my best guess as far as the snug fit. The locking lug, is not a helical lock, but it does have a ramp to bring it to closed position. As far as the scratch, it could be from the feed ramp, as the shell goes into the chamber.

 

[etisll40]

Page 99 and counting on this site. Actually, page 99 here says it all. When you find your load with a 7stw you have a laser for hunting game. Not all game at all distances but most that we hunt out to 1000 yards or so if you are comfortable out there. I'm definitely a 3 digit hunter, in fact, I like 500 and less as it's fun to glass under 500 and then range and take dead aim. The 7 stw is like a laser and fills the freezer pretty fast. The only thing comparable is a 6.5x284. It's all the rage right now. But with stopping power, the 7 stw is a bigger hammer and just as accurate.

 

[7stw]

RANGE REPORT, WINCHESTER SHARPSHOOTER. Guys, I have hit the jackpot with this thing, pix will follow at some point, but my load data is 79.3-RL22-140 TSX @ 3.630 OAL.215 federal primer.Winchester 3 times fired brass, neck sized with a die that I made from a 7 mag F/L die. Barrel was clean, one fouling shot, let cool. Temp was 64 degrees, lite breeze, and I was in the shade. I replaced the scope, which was a Nikon Monarch, 6.5-20 x 44 AO. Nothing wrong with scope, but swapped it for the 6.5-20 x 40 AO Leupold VARI- X III . Installed new dual dovetail bases, and I had a set of rings. Roughed it in on paper with factory ammo, then adjusted to 1 inch above center at 100 yds. Cleaned barrel, one fouler, Whamo!!! Two hundred yard two shot group measured .453. I knew that it was going to be good, because when I fine tuned the zero at one hundred yards, the groups were small. I had only loaded a few of these, and used a few to get it where wanted them at at 100. They shot quite a different POI from the factory bullets. From the final two at a hundred, I calculated the final zero, and fired the next two at 200 yds. Target pix will follow soon. P/ S, this barrel cleans so easy that I can't believe it. Brush it 6-8 time, tight patch it 4 times, spotless, no trace of copper on lands. Best cleaning barrel that I have. All the best to all, hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!!!

 

[7stw]

Page 99 and counting on this site. Actually, page 99 here says it all. When you find your load with a 7stw you have a laser for hunting game. Not all game at all distances but most that we hunt out to 1000 yards or so if you are comfortable out there. I'm definitely a 3 digit hunter, in fact, I like 500 and less as it's fun to glass under 500 and then range and take dead aim. The 7 stw is like a laser and fills the freezer pretty fast. The only thing comparable is a 6.5x284. It's all the rage right now. But with stopping power, the 7 stw is a bigger hammer and just as accurate.

Truer words have never been spoken ED. This is page # 700. what a cool number, it rings a bell, but maybe it will come to me later. I have to say that I am no 1000 yard shooter my self, but I am a triple digit hunter as well. Wouldn't be afraid of a 700 yard shot, if everything was right. And yeah, that 6.5-284 is nearly as awesome as it gets, once you get the hang of them. That 6.5 arena is very interesting to me anyway, as per our conversation previous. Awesome stuff.