Rechambering

[gp816]

Hey i'm a new member to this site and after looking around, you guys seem to really know what you are talking about and hopefully you can answer a question or two.

Is there any practical reason to rechamber my .7mm rem mag to .300 win mag? I mostly hunt deer but i plan on elk and/or moose in the future. My average shooting distance is between 150-400 yards

thanks

 

[woods]

First, you are not talking about a "rechambering" you are talking about a "rebarrel". Rechambering is where you leave the bore size the same and ream the chamber of that barrel out to a different caliber, for instance rechambering from a 300 win mag to a 300 RUM, both with bore size of .308".

Rebarreling is putting a barrel with a different bore size on your existing action. For instance your case of putting a 300 win mag barrel on your existing 7 mag action.

But to your question, both the 7 mag or the 300 win mag will do essentially the same time job on Whitetail and Elk. With Moose the 30 caliber would be a definite advantage because of heavier bullets and a larger frontal area. That being said, I'm sure there are a lot of Moose that have been taken cleanly with the 7 mag. Just use the appropriate premium bullet and even work up some loads with the 175 gr bullets and you should be good to go.

The real reason you should be thinking about "rebarreling" is to have a semi-custom rifle with a name brand aftermarket barrel put together by a gunsmith who makes his living off his reputation. In all likelihood it will give you better accuracy and a sense of pride that you made the decisions on the rifle and have something special. It does for me.

 

[ejones338]

Short answer. If your rifle is fairly accurate already, say 1-1 1/2" at 100 yards it would not be practical to change it for 100-400 yard hunting. It will be very capable for deer and elk.

 

[gp816]

Thanks for the correction and the answers

 

[jasonprox700]

I think you would be just fine using your 7mm for everything up to moose with the premium, heavy weight bullet. I went through the same decision, kind of. I have a .280 that I've been using for years. It will take anything up to moose (just like your 7mm), but I "wanted" a larger rifle. I ended up with a .338 WM. I also purchased a 7mm RUM. Eventually, I plan on converting that over to a .300 RUM, or just have a custom .300 RUM built.

 

[gp816]

Yea thats kinda what i was thinking too. I know my 7mm has the power to take moose and the like but unless i handload, which I cant right now, I'm getting about the same performance as "hot" factory 270 loads with a minimal increase in bullet weight. But then again i can use heavier bullets that a 270 can't. I guess I just want something "new" haha

 

[Loner]

I shoot a 7m and if I was living in Mt. at the time I bought the rifle I would have
gone 300wm. You just can't fight horsepower for getting work done. I would be sick
for a long time if an animal of a lifetime couldn't be retrieved due to lack of bullet on
my part. I don't trophy hunt, meat only , so I'm not as likely to ever have it happen.
For the amount of powder burned a 300wm is very hard to compete with.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

For more horsepower at a reasonable cost why not just rechamber to 7STW and use factory ammo with 175gr (or similar) bullets.

 

[Loner]

An stw is what I actually shoot. The cartridge was designed for 140 grain bullets and
a longer barrel is a must with the heavier bullets to gain full advantage of the case
capacity. Not a desirable feature in a gun you are going to tote around in the mountains.

 

[gp816]

300 ammo is far less expensive than 7 STW ammo and has more variety, atleast where i am