What's the best 7mm Cartridge?

So I've decided that the next rifle I have built will be 7mm variant. I'm leaning 28 Nosler, 7mm STW, or a good ole 7mm mag. I'm open to any and all suggestions. It will be for both steel shooting out to 1000+ yards and hunting. I just want to hear any and all opinions of the pros and cons of any 7mm cartridges you guys like. Thanks in advance.

28 Nosler will be my next. Have a 280 but sure hankering for the 28, dang sure don't need it. Montana Rifles are building them in an all stainless hunting rifle.

Do you reload? How heavy will the rifle be?

Every one of them will do what you want to do. I love my custom 7 Rem Mag shooting 180 Bergers. If I were building a new rifle today I would look seriously at the 28 Nosler, simply because of case geometry. I wouldn't be surprised of it has the lowest ES of all of them.

.284 Winchester for me.

All good choices listed and would throw in the 280AI, surprised the member that chose that as their name didn't recommend it.

Have had the STW and though it is a good round somewhat limited brass supply would have me thinking about it for a new purchase.

In wildcats the 300win mag necked down Is a good one. But the old 7mm RM has been getting it done for a long time

I loathe long actions so 7mm-08 and .284 get my vote w a 168

Can't hold as much powder in a short action.

Day to day I carry one of the short actions. But when the need arises I am happy to break out the 7 Rem Mag. Pushing a 180 gr north of 3k tends to mean cycling is no hurry, because one shot and it's over. But when I do hit steel with it emptying a full mag, I notice a fraction of a second more cycling time. I'll never understand loathing a long action.

7mm-08

I'm getting a 7/300 Norma Mag improved made. Should sling the new Bergers around 3200fps

Yes I reload and my target bare rifle weight would likely be 8-8.5lbs so the total weight scoped would be about 10 lbs or less for when I want to carry it hunting.

7 Allen Mag.

But in a more practical rig, I would go with a 28 Nosler. I have and love an STW, but i think the Nosler ought to be close in performance and a bit better in other areas.

I don't get it, either. There's a price to pay for performance, and I'll gladly pay it. In respect to the length of an action, it's hardly any sacrifice.

Is the 7mm RUM obsolete now?

For what you listed the 7mm-08 will be perfectly fine. If you plan on shooting a lot the majority of the la rounds are going to be hard on the barrel.

No. It has its following. It's just so overbore that it won't do anything the rest of the hot sevens won't do, without a much longer barrel than most are willing to have, and with more powder to burn, more muzzle blast, etc.

Your asking allot from one rifle, maybe too much.

Really? I've got four rifles that will do that work.

Yes really! If you want to sit there and throw 180's at everything, but your not going to run 115's and 125's worth a chit. Wasn't it you who was talking about building a rifle around one bullet? Not everybody wants to lob 180 grain pencil's.

So you're not a handloader?

I can load for any bullet weight I want. I'm quite sure my 1:8.5 twist will run 120 gr bullets if I want it to. But why casturate a prized stud horse? And before you tell me sometimes you want a high speed bullet for varmints, I have a .223 and a .22-250 for that.

But you didnt say a word in the last post about ammo. You said it was asking alot of one rifle. That is simply not true. And yes the lightest weight hunting rifle you can find can be set up to hit what ever a guy wants at 1000 yards. All he has to do it put the right scope on it and feed it good ammo.

I agree one rifle will do all that. I also agree that two rifles would make more sense. A big seven, even at 10 lbs, isn't going to be fun to sit behind for 50+ rounds at the range banging steel. And a 7mm-08 at 500, 600 yards on a sheep or elk in some wind might not be the best choice either.

Guys, I already have a custom 6.5x284 that weighs around 15lbs which is my primary steel shooter for practice as it's very comfortable to shoot. I want a big 7 to shoot steel occasionally but more so to be my heaviest hitting rifle for hunting. I have a custom 300wsm but after getting a 270wsm, I kinda don't want 2 wsm rifles and want something that's going to hit harder than that 300wsm anyway. Hope this helps clarify.

My question is this- Why do shooters/hunters automatically go to the biggest rounds possible in a given caliber (7mm in this case) when they mention long range. Shooters assume you HAVE to have a big magnum to reach out that far.

When you build a 28 Nosler/7RUM in a hunting weight rifle, you will get maybe 3 shots before you heat up the barrel enough to need to let it cool. This does not allow you to get proficient with the rifle enough to be effective at longer range targets. If you add a thicker barrel, then it will help get a few more rounds down range to practice with, but them it becomes less practical.

Now, take a 7mm-08 and push a 162 grain A-max or 168 Berger VLD to 2650-2700 fps. You can get many practice rounds in without heating up a barrel too bad. If you can get a round on target, the 162/168 bullet will do it's job on animals out to as far as you can shoot. I field calls all the time with people wanting a 300 RUM or 7 RUM because they need to shoot out to 1K yards. If you are asking to get to 1K yards and have never done so, the last round I am going to recommend is a huge over bore magnum round for you to get there. You can not learn how to get out that far fast enough before you heat up a barrel and have to stop shooting. If you don't the rifle will start walking around on you. A 7 Mag is fine, with a heavy enough barrel. I do love a good 300 WM and 7 Mag. But have the rifle set up where you can shoot it enough without having rounds walk on you after 3-4 rounds, i.e. heavy barrel.

Ok, you posted that while I was typing. If you want hard hitting, that equals bullet weight. For example, my 300 WM. I shot the 190 grain SMK for many years in competitions. The 190 SMK hits pretty hard at 3050 fps. When Hornady came out with their 208 A-max a few years ago, I was so excited and went to that bullet. This 208 at 2950 fps hit even harder on steel at longer ranges than the 190 SMK. Then they came out with the 225 BTHP. I'm pushing this large pill at 2911 fps in my 29" 300WM. With the huge BC of the 225 BTHP and at 2911 fps, it hits even harder than the 208. My point is, as you increase in weight, you also gain in BC. So the down range energy has a noticeable increase. I'd vote 300 WM.

But, if you want a 7mm bullet, look into the new Berger 195 BTHP. I've run the numbers and it is truly a game changer for this bullet. The huge .755 G1 and .387 G7 BC is HUGE!!! I'm running my 300 WM with 225 BTHP with a .352 G7 BC, and it works great. The 195 can be pushed faster and with a higher BC. So this means less drop, less wind drift, and more energy on target at longer ranges.

I get what you're saying chad. Don't think of this as me thinking I need such a big rifle just to shoot 1000 yds as I'll never shoot an animal at that distance. I will be using my 6.5x284 for extensive long range practice and have already had it on steel at 700. I just want a rifle that has the punch to hunt anything I want in North America including bears should I travel or elk in grizzly country. That's why I want a rifle to be no more than 10lbs scoped. I'd probably look at a 5 contour fluted to help with barrel cool down but wouldn't mind needing to wait for it to cool between groups when practicing.

I built a 28 Nosler for a customer and I am shooting it now. It's a slightly heavier barrel rifle. With the 180 grain VLD, it was stupid accurate. Like near same hole at 200 yards. At 3200-330 fps with a 180 VLD, that's smokin'. I'll be playing with the 195 Bergers also in it. I do like the new 28 Nosler so far in a custom build. But in a light weight hunting rifle, I have not tested one yet. I have played with the 26 Nosler in a light weight, and it was no fun at all. I built 4- Tikka T3 rifles in 26 Nosler that were flat out hammers with a #4 contour barrel. So, barrel weight/thickness is a huge plus in these big calibers.

/

a .308 will do that for you.... you not like that round ?

for 7mmm I'd vote for the 7 Mag

Chad, how heavy were those tikka 26 noslers that you shot and said were no fun? I'm thinking 8 ish lb bare rifle for this built with a solid scope.

The Tikka's we built were great. The factory Nosler M48 I tested sucked. It shot all over the place.

I built my 7 Rem Mag on a Rem 700 action
CDI bottom metal
Manners T-4
Rock Creek 1:8.5" "light palma" contour finished a 26"
JEC brake
Sprial flute by Kampfield customs made the barrel lose a pound
Scoped rifle tips the scales at 10-11 pounds

It will hammer things on the range for more than a 5 round mag will hold, and it is no big deal to tote on long walking hunts. I just carried it several miles last week. I was building a rifle with exact same purpose as you have stated. A rifle that will be fun to shoot things far away (have hit a mile with it) as well as not too heavy to carry for long walks.

180 gr. Berger VLD atop 71.2 gr of Retumbo makes 3030 fps MV. Chad tried the 195 Berger in it, and he reported that it stabilized just fine. But it did not make the velocity necessary to out perform the 180 gr. I crunched some numbers and for the 195 to out perform the 180, just looking at energy delivery, it will need to have an MV of 2850 fps or more. We don't think the 7 Rem Mag case can make that happen, so I will remain married to the 180's. It seems that is the highest performance bullet the 7 Rem Mag case can push. So if you wanted the 195's, you'll need more case capacity. The 28 Nosler should get it there, the 7-300 will definately get it there. I will never have any complaints about the 7 Rem Mag/ 180 VLD combo. It'll put em in one ragged hole at 100, and hold up to 800 yards in all weathers (far as I routinely shoot it).

As far as recoil, I also have no complaints. Of course on a bipod, loading into it, it is no big deal. Ladt week I shot it kneeling off a big rock at javelina, and balanced on my pack seated on the ground. You're not going to witness impact from those positions with it, but you're not going to complain about getting beat up by the rifle either. Recovery is very fast.

Beware on a Tikka long action you are more limited by O.A.L. due to the feed ramp location than you will with a Rem 700 action or its' variants. I'll always run a Tikka for a short action cartridge or even the .30-06 parent case of cartridges, but we've learned a lesson using the factory barreled action for the 300 Win Mag, you'll have lots of bullet jump.

If it were me, I'd get ahold of Chase Curtis, buy one of his actions, have Manners build you an MCS-EH1, that weighs a feathery 26 ounces, stick with the 26" fluted light palma contour, a quality brake, and chamber it in what ever tickles your fancy. 7 Rem Mag, 26 Nosler, or big boy 7-300. 180 VLD or a Nosler Accubond for the first two, 195 VLD for the 7-300. And let it eat!

Thanks fireman. Great info!

I highly recommend you go to the The safari club show in a few weeks and finger the different stocks and custom rifles. You can know what stock and barrel contour you like. 90% of the rifles can be had or built for way cheaper but the information you hold is crucial in my opinion.

I've handled , not shot jg's 7mag and it's surprisingly light and then I held a 28 nosler Chad had and it's even better feeling due to the light version of the manners stock ( eh2 I think it was). For the power of the rifles I like the weight to carry. If it were me I would brake it and get a threaded cap for range time vs hunting time. Nobody feels recoil hunting. I recently set my Yote getter up with a brake system like this. Some day I'll shoot it.

Why I have no love for long actions? Why are some guy chubby chasers, or like red heads or hate blonds......? it's my thing, remember I never said long actions are bad only I don't like them. Of course I will have to eat crow pie when I get a .338 lapua, as I don't think that as a short action variant.............

Be a pioneer, create the .338 WSSM

I have a 300 win with an eh1 stock. She still weighs a bit over 10 lbs but is manageable. I took her up to Colorado for elk hunting. A good sling will help more than going from 11-12 lbs to 10 imo

I thought people who did that type of hunting wanted their rifles to be as light as possible. (?)

If I'm counting lbs, I have 7lb scoped rifles to carry but that's maybe 10-15% of my hunts so a 10lb scoped can be used about anywhere else where I'm not pinching pounds.