Mcwhorter 7mm STW

[sitkastw]

You will be glad you did! I have 2 and my wife has one also. My newest is a 1:8 twist brux, triggertech, borden, 26" and Im shooting the 195's at 3040 fps. Like its been said, running the 195 that hard is hard on brass however it would take me the better part of a day to think of all the kills we've made over 700 yards with them. My other one has a 1:8 27" hart barrel, identical load and it shoots 2960 fps still maintains well under .5 moa with over 1400 rounds shot through it. My wifes has a brux 1:8 26" and shoots 2995 fps. Same borden action on all the ones we have, and all shoot well under .5 moa, most of the time they shoot .25 moa if we do our part.

 

[Reemty J]

Sitkastw, how often do you clean the barrels and what do you use? What type of game have you shot with the STW and what is the terminal performance with the 195? I would guess it would really thump something a long ways out. Back in the early 1990's we used to shoot 30-378's with a 180 grain bullet @ 3500 FPS granted this was not an ideal bullet BC wise but it would smack an elk out to 1000 yards like you wouldn't believe, deer it would just bowl them over. Once shot a coyote at 1030 yards. They were custom rifles out of Arizona built with the weatherby action with 26" barrel and a brake, they were real pleasant to shoot but you better have ear protection. At that time they were $2700 and everything I see about these McWhorter rifles, well they seem to be in another league!! Your round count is impressive.. the BC of that 195 Berger is unreal and it should maintain energy and slide thru the air as good as almost any bullet
wildcat223.... no I have not ever had one but watch there show all the time on TV

 

[jjmp]

There's a forum section just for the Great 7mm/STW,great reads &a lot of info,cheers and enjoy your new rifles .

 

[sitkastw]

I clean using the same method James uses at barbourcreek (video on youtube) and I clean around 40-50 shots. I found they really tighten up after 3 fouling shots after they get cleaned. I usually shoot 6 shots through mine prior to hunting after cleaning. The mtm patch catcher and small squirt bottle for solvent work very well. We've mainly shot blacktail/whitetail/mule deer. The longest shot being 1155 yards on a white tail, neck shot drt. The 195's work excellent at that range and under on deer, cant comment on terminal performance beyond that. I did have a blacktail at 1036 take 2 shots, and a mule deer at 870 take 2 shots (1 would have done it but I couldnt let it lay there and possibly die slow). My wife also shot a trophy cougar a few years ago at 780 yards. Ive been very happy with the 195. I bought enough gelatin to make 15 gallons of ballistic gel. I am going to do some bullet testing beyond 1000 yards once I get some time. Ill compare the 175 elite hunter, 195, 177 hammer and the 190 atip.

 

[sitkastw]

The solvent i use is hoppes, have also used wipe out products with good luck

 

[Reemty J]

Your testing in gelatin will be very interesting @ 1000 yards, great idea!!

 

[wasskeet]

I'll give you a short version of my first McWhorter experience. Bought a used, unknown McWhorter in 7 WSM. Not the caliber I would have selected but looked little used. Fast forward to first trip to range with ammo that came with it. Underwhelming trip to say the least, best group of 4-5 was well over an inch. On advice from members here, called the guys at McWhorter and got some good advice after giving them the recipe of what I got with it - pull them all and start over. Previous owner had loads nothing like their "pet" load - hard to imagine but they say they see/hear of it all the time. They gave me a few loads to try with one they expected to shoot the best.
First time out with their recommended load in the photo below. This was the best of 4, but all under .500". Extra plus - the group shown was the first from cold bore - no fouling shot. Needless to say - they have another big fan!

 

[txaggie1]

Don't own a mcwhorter but i have two 7stw's one ruger 1, one re-barreled wby mk5 accumark. Wanted a LH model bought a 300bee, turned into a 7stw. The accumark was done by bartlein 28" tube, shoots everything i feed it very well.

Mcwhorter use to really (and still do on the show) really show of the stw here in Texas long range shooting down south Texas Sendero's. Maybe one of the reasons why when i wanted a 7mm hot rod i went stw. I'm a huge weatherby fan own a bunch, but i i went 7stw over 7wby and i made a great choice. If a mcwhorter is in your budget i bet you will be thrilled and like others have posted i hear they are very good to deal with and want to help you be successful.

 

[Reemty J]

Tzaggie what bullet do you like and what do you mainly shoot for game.

 

[Reemty J]

Sitkastw, we wait with baited breath on your gelatin test at long range, should be quite interesting

 

[txaggie1]

Own several factory ammo in (nosler 160 accubond, federal 160 trophy bonded and federal 160 sierra gameking) all shoot very well and acceptable for pretty much anything texas. Just recently got into loading for it, my son loves to load so i get the componets and we work up some loads. STW is on the list next i have 175 partition i would like to work up. When you could buy custom loaded ammo i purchased 3 boxes of 175 swift aframes from hendershots. Really all of these shoot well in both my guns wanted to get something a little heavier to take plains game type/sized animals, so i bought some custom loads glad i did. The wife and I have gotten into going on our own little weekend safaris (locally here in texas) and our animal list seems to grow. lol

My accumark i just put a vx5 want to get a custom dial on it, that thing really makes an average joe a very good shot. I have half a mind to get into more long range shooting around here now that i'm getting a setup that will do it. Time will tell most my interest are hunting, but as i said this thing flat out shoots as good or better than anything i've personally owned. Ringing the gongs at our place which max at 500 seems like a chip shot. We hunt with some guys that have access to a ranch in far west texas that have auodad not really on my list of animals but the thought of shooting one long range very much interest me.

 

[jshepherd61]

I stopped by McWhorter to check them out on the way down to Florida a few years ago, and ended up ordering a 7STW before I left. Alan, Tim and all of the guys are fantastic, and their rifle is amazing. They worked up the perfect load, gave me the recipe and seating depth, and they mounted my Nightforce scope and sighted in the rifle. Mine has a Stiller action, Brux barrel with 8-1/2 twist, McMillan stock and TriggerTech trigger. It shoots 195 EOLs at 2950 fps. I have taken 3 big 6x6 elk with it, including one at 801 yards and one at 847 yards (pictured in my avatar).

Do you mind sharing your load data on a pm? Would like to compare with my 195 EOL load data!

 

[mmgravy]

Oh yeah, I'll always be a STW freak

Amen brother.....

 

[Bullmark]

I'm sure I've posted this before but it's worth repeating. The guys at McWhorter are not only some of the very best at their craft, but outstanding human beings.
I've bought 3 rifles and 2 muzzleloaders from them over the past 12 yrs or so. That qualifies me as a good customer, but by no means is it unusual. I know 2 guys personally that have bought twice that number, at least and I'm sure there are many more. My point is I'm not some huge account that any builder would bend over backwards to please.
My little business went through a very challenging event around 5-6 yrs ago and I had to sell off a bunch of nice rifles, old collectible shotguns, and a prime tract of Iowa farmland.

It stung but it had to be done, I have a wife and two school age sons.
That hunting season I had an Iowa Muzz tag and still owned a good tract out there to hunt.
My problem was I didn't have a Muzzleloader anymore. I called McWhorter to get some input on shooting a different Muzz that a friend was loaning me.
I talked to Allan, one of the owners, at length about the Muzz and why I was borrowing one.
To make a long story less long, he ended up sending me his personal smokeless, which had maybe 3 trips on it, scope and all. After the hunting trip, he offered the whole rig to me at a very good price, and said to just send the $$ once my cash flow improved.
I took him up on his generous offer, thankfully was able to actually pay him, and still have that rig today. I just put a new scope on it, but the yrs prior I've shot a whitetail at 389yds, and my friend, who shoots competition (and wins), shot a 2" 3-shot group at 500yds.
This story is a testament to the kind of people that do still exist, and give you a pretty good idea of how they run their company.