Custom Bolt Build

[Birchwood2]

Been thinking about piecing together a custom. Have a 7mm can that I'm not using much so this would be built around use with that, want to go light and short on the gun.

Thinking 7mm rem mag (already have a 7mm-08) so want to go something more powerful. Any other calibers I should be looking at?

Anybody have experience with this round in short barrels? How short can you go without ballistics suffering, 20, 22in? 500 yards is probably as far as I'll ever shoot.

Also any suggestion on barrels? Goal is to find one that is light, but rigid enough minimize POI change when shooting with or without the can.

[JBtflo]

Why not something in 6.5mm? You're already supersonic so the slightly smaller size bullet should still be fine.

[Saltydog235]

Don’t think you’re going to get the results you want out of a short barrel in a 7mmRM. Typically you’re using a slower burning powder. Think I’m loading 69.5grn of 7828ssc in mine.

[FLS]

Short barreled 7 mm rem mag is an obnoxious 7-08.
Nothing magical about a slow 6.5 anything. Mediocre killer. I’ve got a 20” . 260. Meh... You won’t see any difference between it and your 7-08.
You’ve got a magnum bolt face, so one of the WSMs out of a 22” barrel will be your best bet.

[Birchwood2]

Just to be clear this will be a second rifle. 7mm-08 is a custom gun built by Jim Moats out of Aiken, don't want to change that one in anyway. Orgianly bought the 7mm can for it, but that rifle has a 26in barrell, don't want to cut it down.

Not super familiar with the WSM calibers, so open to any suggestions. Want this gun to have the knockdown power for an Elk or any other big game in NA I might get the opportunity to hunt. What are the options out there?

[tman]

You’ve got a magnum bolt face, so one of the WSMs out of a 22” barrel will be your best bet.

Did I miss something?

[tman]

If you dont already have a rifle platform to build off of, I like FLS idea of a WSM. If you go long action and want want a shorter barrel, forget the belted cartridge and go the 280 route. Decent number of factory ammo options and if you reload, you can make cases for it pretty easily given its parent case.

[b-stick]

Did I miss something?

Both take .540 bolt faces.

I’d do a 7 WSM.

[tman]

Why are we hung up on using that bolt face is my question

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[b-stick]

Why are we hung up on using that bolt face is my question

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

The way it sounds he already had that bolt face but now I went back and read it a few times I’m not sure he has an action yet.

[SCcdp]

Just to be clear this will be a second rifle. 7mm-08 is a custom gun built by Jim Moats out of Aiken, don't want to change that one in anyway. Orgianly bought the 7mm can for it, but that rifle has a 26in barrell, don't want to cut it down.

Not super familiar with the WSM calibers, so open to any suggestions. Want this gun to have the knockdown power for an Elk or any other big game in NA I might get the opportunity to hunt. What are the options out there?

Jim Moates. That's a name I haven't heard in a long while. I worked for him as a gunsmith while I was in college. He was quite character who knew a helluva lot about firearms and their manufacturing.

[Birchwood2]

Jim built some very nice guns, that are tack drivers. The one I have is built on a model 700 long action.

To clear things up, I have NO parts for the new gun yet. Wanted to start with a caliber then piece it together from there. When I get to an action it will need to be Left-handed. Haven't decided if I want to take an action off a rifle or go the custom route.


Would like to be in $2000-$3000 range w/o glass.

[FLS]

My bad, thought you had a 7 mag action.
A WSM is about as much power as you can get in a compact rifle. I’ve got a . 300, and it’s a hammer without beating you up. I have friends with 7WSMs and 270 WSMs. Both are flat shooting hard hitting cartridges.

[thawhacker]

What makes the short mag's better than the standard cartridge size?

[tman]

What makes the short mag's better than the standard cartridge size?

Short action is stronger they say.

[FLS]

Other than size, not much. Case design is supposed to be more efficient, stiffer action, blah blah blah...

[Saltydog235]

What makes the short mag's better than the standard cartridge size?

Nothing. I've had a few short mags, nothing wrong with them other than I found them harder to tune a load for the rifle. Benefit would be the short action, few less grains of powder and maybe knocking off a couple of inches of barrel. If I need a short barrel, short action cartridge, I'll shoot one of my .308's or 7mm08's, chances are I wouldn't need the magnum punch anyway.

[Strick9]

Long action 7 magnums vs short action 7 magnums if you want to stay 7mm.

7mm mag has a belt, some don't care.

7mm mag has a long action, adds weight and length to overall build.

7mm mag therefore also has a longer bolt throw/stroke to rechamber next round. Some don't care.

7 WSM and 7 Saum defeat the above points being they run in a short action. They also have the benefit of a fat short column of powder versus a long skinny powder column for a more efficient burn in a shorter barrel. Thus you can use a couple grains less of powder and a shorter barrel to achieve full combustion of powder to achieve near same fps. "Some" say the short fat column also reduces recoil. I don't really notice recoil until you get into the big boys like 416 etc so can't comment there.

A 7 mag really needs 24" minimum and truly excels in a 26" tube where as a 7 WSM or Saum can achieve same velocities or very close with a 22" inch barrel or 24" respectively to excell.

If it were me and I am highly biased I would go with a 22" 7 Saum due to the neck configuration producing a little longer barrel life, the Saum runs about 50 fps behind the WSM. Both have plenty of brass available now that Norma is producing Saum brass.

Very hard to beat a 300 WSM as well and is probably my 2nd favorite cartridge for all things in North America. I simply stay 7mm due to being able to run lighter-medium grained bullets 140-168 grn faster and flatter due to better BC coefficients vs 308 offerings in same weights of which you would need 168s-200s to compare.

B Stick is your 7 mag guru and runs the piss out of them and well.

Best of luck with your build.

[Griffin]

In my humble opinion the SAUMs do better with shorter barrels than the WSMs. The belted magnums need 24-26” barrels.
Most people don’t realize that 6.5 looses to the 7mm in ever category once the projectiles hit 168gn and up. I love a 6.5 but plain and simple 6.5s excel in competition shooting and in the 6.5 saum for hunting. 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5-47 Lapua are slouch's speed wise but you gain a high BC projectile with excellent barrel life on a short action with a standard bolt face and feeds well from a magazine. Awesome rounds but there are certainly far better options for hunting

[b-stick]

7 WSM, 7 SAUM, 6.5 SAUM are all excellent choices.

The .284s are just hammers all the way around. The 7 RM punishes most 30 cals with a 180gr bullet especially with a competent hand loader loading for it. The 7 WSM and 7 SAUM can reach those velocities also. The downfall to any of the WSM and WSSMs are neck thickness and being concentric. I turn necks on all my WSM and WSSMs. Barrel life shouldn’t be an issue if it’s a hunting rifle. Running suppressed will definitely help with recoil but the recoil impulse will still take you off target. I prefer a muzzle brake.

With a 20” barrel you should be around 2850-2900 with the 7 WSM and 180gr ELD. You will be close to those velocities with the 7 SAUM also. You may run into mag issues with the 7 SAUM running the 180s. I would probably opt for a 168s for a barrel that short. You will also run into powder burn rates using the slower powders with these cartridges because of the short barrel. What velocities you achieve will depend highly on powder choices. They should do fairly well with RL22 or 7828 SSC. With a longer barrel I would use a slower burning powder. I don’t tote my 7RM around in the deer woods. I have but it isn’t fun.

If it was my build, I would go 7 WSM on a custom action, sendero contour carbon barrel, and a manners eh6a Elite. Any questions feel free to shoot me a PM.