Future of my 7mm rum?

[allard_msu76]

Well boys, here it goes. I have been reading many post and articles on LRH for the past two years and have learned a lot from the guys on this site. Although this is my first post I feel like I already know most of you guys from reading your posts and responses.

First let me say that I am NOT a competition shooter (Lack the budget and probalby the skill for that breed of shooter) I shoot about 100 rounds a year out of this rifle, mostly practicing for hunting season. I have owned this rifle for 5 years and killed an elk every year with it, ranges from 350-650 yrds. Now let me give you my current set up; I have a Factory 700 bdl 7mm Rum LEFTY no bedding or floating. Trigger set at 2.5lbs. I have a Ziess conquest 6.5-20x50 scope with factory turrets mounted via leupold dove tails. I load my own 160 grn accubond, 92.3 grns of rl-25 and 9 1/2 primers. (I am going play with 215 primers and retumbo powder) When I bought this rifle I was very green (currently still green) and thought a good rifle and scope was all it would take to build a LR rifle. Ignorance is Bliss! This site has ruined me and I can no longer go on shooting a factory rig .

Now for my question; *BEWARE* Im a NEWBIE and have learned everything so far from reading this site, so please be patient I have realized that the only way to learn is to ask and I know you guys are a great bunch and will point me in the right direction!
I know i am going to have to replace my barrel soon, but I cant decide what to do. I LOVE my 7 rum and am not worried about the barrel life. But i am wondering if I could build something like a 338 edge out of my current action? I know its a 300 rum (same parent case as mine) knecked up to 338. but I dont know if it would be possible or not (chuckles welcome). If possible what would it take? Or should I put the money into a new 7 rum barrel and accurizing work, stock, bedding, recrowning? What kind of barrel, length, ETC?
My budget would be $1500-2000. I would like to Keep my current scope (with the addition of kenton ind. turrets), and I dont want to go to a 30 cal (no offense intended, just not on this particular rifle). I would like to be able to shoot wolves and coyotes out to 1000 yards and still kill elk at the range I feel comfortable with (700 yrds).
What would you guys suggest? any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[sambo3006]

If you are limiting yourself to 700 yards on elk, the EDGE won't be neccessary. You could go with a 338 RUM and have room in your factory mag box. Since you will probably be having the action trued before installing the new barrel (I definitely would), you could have it modified for a Wyatt's extended magazine box while you are at it. That would allow you plenty of room to seat bullets long in the 338 RUM or at a decent length out of the 7mm RUM. If you are sticking with 7mm, the RUM is a good round and you already have supplies for it. If you are looking at a different 7mm, the STW will pretty much duplicate the RUM performance with about 10 grains less powder. 168 or 180 gr VLD bullets will retain a bunch of energy at long range and cut wind drift a fair amount over the 160 gr AB. Unless you are going to get an aftermarket synthetic stock, I would definitely suggest having your wood stock pillar bedded and the barrel free floated.
There are lots of quality barrels out there, pick a good gunsmith and listen to him on which brand he prefers to work with. The 338 cartridges are not nearly as sensitive to velocity loss with shorter barrels as the big 7mm rounds. A 24" or 26" would do just fine. In the bigger 7mm's I would suggest a minimum of 26" barrel length. If you are going with a muzzle brake, go with a side discharge style as it will greatly reduce the amount of dust kicked up when you shoot from prone. Have your factory trigger adjusted light and crisp or go with a Timney or Jewell. Your scope sounds good, you might want to look at a 20 moa scope base for plenty of elevation adjustment to reach 1000 yards. Welcome to LRH from a fellow lefty!

 

[royinidaho]

The switch after your bbl is done to 338 Edge is not a problem. Take it over to Shawn Carlock @ Defensive Edge in Rathdrum, I believe. You'll get a good honest, detailed response.

I would suppose that no reputable smith would want to simply fit a new barrel with out truing the action. I requested that a smith simply fit the barrel w/o truing the action. He said he liked his reputation too much to honor my request. I'm happy he stood his ground.

Either the 7 or Edge will do what you wish. However, the Edge is a bit more sexy.

Shawn's canyon rifle configuration seem pretty sweet.

Good luck and keep shootin' 'specially woofs!!

 

[highridge1]

338 RUM would be a great choice !!

 

[Derek M.]

The only reason Carlock is not building me a 338 Edge is because the action has already been worked on. That is his policy now. So I'm sending my action (also a RUM, so yes, your action would work), to Hart Barrels and they are building me a 338-300 which is the same thing.

I'm doing it because I can, not because I need it.

Many 7mm rifles burn barrels and can do it pretty quick but if you shoot roughly 100 rounds/year, then you'll likely get 20 years out of any good aftermarket barrel.

Due to your budget, and I don't know what else you have in mind in terms of additional expense, I'd keep the rifle in the current chamber after you have someone work on it and install a new tube.

If you go Edge, you have to buy new brass, dies, bullets, in addition to the expense of the rifle changeover. That said, I think a 338 bbl will last longer but I could be mistaken.

I like the 7 RUM. I'd stick with it. You could still take it to Defensive Edge, Shawn, and he possibly has a 7 RUM reamer and he's near you anyway. What's not to like?

Ultimately, you also have to decide on what barrel. I like the canted, Russian style lands but some builders tell me that they can "chatter" when being chambered. I don't know what difference that makes.

My top bbl choice if button is Hart. I like Krieger if cut-rifled and Bartlein about the same.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Bigd7378]

Keep the 7mm rum. When the barrel goes south, have it rebarreled with a 28" tube. That's what I shoot and just love it. This way you have a good supply of fired brass. Dies and etc. Plus you will have a good handle on it for load development. By the way I noticed north Idaho. Where, I'm from north Idaho also.

 

[allard_msu76]

Post Falls, but I do most of my hunting in Unit 1 or 4th of July pass. Lots of Big Bulls in those areas, unfortunatley WOLVES too. Thats why I want to hit the 1000 yard range.

 

[allard_msu76]

THanks Guys for all the info so far, keep it coming. What kind of aftermarket stock? Anyone used the kenton ind. turrets?

 

[Derek M.]

If you want an aluminum block, use HS Precision. If you want a great all around stock, McMillan.

You can also look at Wolf, Manners, MPI, MGArms, Ultralight, and I think McWhorter makes a stock wtih an aluminum block in it as well.

 

[WildRose]

Before I did anything It'd take it in and get it floated and pillar bedded. You won't know when you need a new bbl due to loss of accuracy unless you do.

If budget isn't an issue look at the McMillian A3 sporter. It's just the nicest aftermarket long range hunting stock on the market today.

If Budget is a consideration look at the Bell and Carlson and HS Precision. Both very high quality stocks but considerably lower in price than either Manners or McMillian.

As for when it is time to replace... .

If you like the Rum just do it again. At the ranges you are shooting though you certainly don't need to go any bigger and really the 7mm STW which can be shot considerably cheaper and with considerably less recoil and muzzle blast so that should be worth considering.

You might just want to take what you have now into a good gunsmith in the area and have him evaluate the condition of the chamber neck and bore and he can then give you an estimate of how much barrel life you have remaining.

Do that before doing anything else and then you'll have a place to start. If it's got some considerable life left though go ahead with the pillar bedding and floating, or go ahead and upgrade the stock and have that done at the same time.

The great thing about the action you have is that there are endless choices for aftermarket upgrades and improvements.

 

[IDbound]

All of your Idaho hunting talk is making it hard for this Kansas guy to wait for retirement in Hayden. I would concur about what the others said about having your action blueprinted and a good quality barrel installed. I converted my so so accurate LH 700 7mag to a dead on 280AI version. I maybe won't be shooting those ID elk at 700 yrds, but will be happy to clean up those inside that range!

 

[allard_msu76]

Hayden would be a great place to retire, thats for sure. As far as "cleaning the elk up inside that range", anymore the woods are so thick around here. Most of the time you either have a long range shot or within 300 yrd shot so either way there is elk to kill here. I really want to long range for those furry meat eaters though. This season my elk honey hole was over run by those useless "mutts". Would have filled my "Two" *wink, wink* tags on opening day if i was confident at the 1000 yard range.

 

[allard_msu76]

What is a good 20 moa mount for my rifle set up and what rings should I use? EGW 20 moa Base, Burris extreme rings? what do you guys think?

 

[WildRose]

What is a good 20 moa mount for my rifle set up and what rings should I use? EGW 20 moa Base, Burris extreme rings? what do you guys think?

I shoot both a 7mm STW and 300 RUM with 0 moa rails and have no problem at all getting to 1,000yds and beyond.

Unless your scope has pretty limited verticle adjustment there's no need for anything else.