7mm rifles, whats your thoughts, favourites

[ILCAPO]

2nd the notion on the 280 Rem. It can be pushed to almost 7mm RM velocities, and can also be dialed back to 7mm-08 and 275 Rigby velocities. For a reloader, I can't imagine a better cartridge in the 7mm family.

There is the 280 Remington, which is the straight .30-06 necked down to .284 caliber with the shoulder moved slightly forward. Then there is the 280 Ackley Improved, which is now available in commercial ammunition, and a handful of commercial rifles. I'm likely going to use a Belgian FN Mauser action I have on hand to have a 280 AI built for my future trip to Africa. Adds a touch more speed by taking out the taper and pushing/steepening the shoulder a bit more.

 

[bruce moulds]

but will it feed as reliably as the std 280?
bruce.

 

[ILCAPO]

but will it feed as reliably as the std 280?
bruce.

From what I understand it is not exactly the P. O. Ackley design, but close and they gave it the name. I've neither heard nor read any complaints from anyone on feed problems, and I doubt it being a gunsmith I'm talking to mentioned he's built a few with great success, and has two more lined up for clients ahead of me.

 

[bruce moulds]

ilcapo,
you will have a good rifle.
if the gunsmith does it right there will be no feed problem.
controlled round feed has more trouble with feeding 40 degree shoulders than does push feed.
yes the saami so called 280 ackley has longer headspace than the true ackley version, which is a crush fit on a 280 factory case.
that is the advantage of the original, in that you can fire factory ammo in it safely.
doing that in the modern version is pretty much a no no.
bruce.

 

[ILCAPO]

ilcapo,
you will have a good rifle.
if the gunsmith does it right there will be no feed problem.
controlled round feed has more trouble with feeding 40 degree shoulders than does push feed.
yes the saami so called 280 ackley has longer headspace than the true ackley version, which is a crush fit on a 280 factory case.
that is the advantage of the original, in that you can fire factory ammo in it safely.
doing that in the modern version is pretty much a no no.
bruce.

Now I'm going to look a bit fickle, but I'm not convinced I will go with the AI version. Being I have a 7 x 57 Mauser and a 7mm Rem Mag, and the 280 AI pushes the lighter bullets up to near 7 RM velocities, it's kind of redundant. I was leaning toward the AI because of the anemic looking velocities out of the regular .280 Rem commercial loads, but now I've noticed there are a few commercial loads, and some custom and semi-custom outfits which provide rounds with a big variety of bullet choices and loads which push the .280 Remington up to its full potential. I have hand loaded, but it's been years and unfortunately my loader is for pistol only. I'm interested in getting a rifle loader now, but due to limited experience want the option to buy high performance ammo for hunting trips. I've found a sporting goods store in my general area that does just that.

 

[ILCAPO]

Now I'm going to look a bit fickle, but I'm not convinced I will go with the AI version. Being I have a 7 x 57 Mauser and a 7mm Rem Mag, and the 280 AI pushes the lighter bullets up to near 7 RM velocities, it's kind of redundant. I was leaning toward the AI because of the anemic looking velocities out of the regular .280 Rem commercial loads, but now I've noticed there are a few commercial loads, and some custom and semi-custom outfits which provide rounds with a big variety of bullet choices and loads which push the .280 Remington up to its full potential. I have hand loaded, but it's been years and unfortunately my loader is for pistol only. I'm interested in getting a rifle loader now, but due to limited experience want the option to buy high performance ammo for hunting trips. I've found a sporting goods store in my general area that does just that.

Just found a lovely Sako in .280 Remington for a great price, but the problem is, like other commercial .280 Remington rifles I've seen, it has a 1 in 10 twist barrel. This is fine for 150 grain bullets and lighter, but gets iffy at 160 grains and fails beyond that. So, they lose their potential when using heavier bullets, which is the whole point of getting a .280 Remington. Otherwise, why not just get a .270 Winchester?

 

[7x57Joe]

The answer of course is 7x64, a fast twist .280 which has no problem stabilizing 175 grain bullets .

 

[bruce moulds]

the rem 700 mountain stainless 280 comes with a 9 1/4" twist.
bruce.

 

[ILCAPO]

The answer of course is 7x64, a fast twist .280 which has no problem stabilizing 175 grain bullets .

Interesting because I saw one of those on the site too. I've heard they're comparable... to the point of almost being indistinguishable.

 

[bruce moulds]

my own experience with a 10 twist 7mm is that it will handle 160 gn bullets quite well.
I have not tried 175 gn bullets so cannot comment.
certainly a 160 gn swift will do what a 175 gn cup and core will do.
if the only bullet you use is a 175 gn in a 280, then a 30/06 might also suit the job.
the 150 gn barnes is a good hard bullet, and also offers good point blank range trajectory.
bruce.

 

[bruce moulds]

if you are going to build a rifle nowadays companies like Krieger offer a good choice of twists, but a 1 in 9 will cover any realistic bullet.
bruce.

 

[ILCAPO]

my own experience with a 10 twist 7mm is that it will handle 160 gn bullets quite well.
I have not tried 175 gn bullets so cannot comment.
certainly a 160 gn swift will do what a 175 gn cup and core will do.
if the only bullet you use is a 175 gn in a 280, then a 30/06 might also suit the job.
the 150 gn barnes is a good hard bullet, and also offers good point blank range trajectory.
bruce.

Thank you for that observation as well. This said, I made an inquiry to the seller and found it's actually a consignment piece. The store mentioned it had a custom barrel on it. I asked what kind, and noted the concern regarding the twist rate. He just wrote me saying he called the owner and found it had a McGowen barrel on it with a 9 1/2 to 1 twist. Says the owner teste fired it, but had to part with it because of major shoulder surgery. This changes the equation a bit.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

So , A gunshop in Adelaide (Australia) said that the 7mm-08 is popular with African shooters living there.
Is it a common round in Africa?
What about the others?
I've read on the 7x57, sounds like a classic.
Yesterday i read about the ,284Winchester another 7mm bore, and the 7mm-08 AI
People I've met with 7mm rifles are pretty happy with performance
It seems that for hunting the 7x57 is well liked. The 7mm-08 equals it and the 7mmRm is fine but there are other 7mm magnums too.
do these others show any real world performance for hunters?

I have both a 7-08 and a 7 mm Rem mag. In the Western states where I do most of my hunting the 7 mag stands out. Lately I've been using the 7-08 in the dense coastal zones. Both are great for what I use them for and I would not hesitate to use either of them for most non-dangerous game, provided you use the right bullet and place it in the right spot.

 

[bruce moulds]

(7 mag + 7-08) divide by 2 = 280 rem.
bruce.

 

[Dr Ray]

I think the 7mm Bullet has the best ballistic coefficient of all.
I had a 7 Remington magnum that particularly liked heavy Bullets. I sold it as I had a 300 Winchester magnum and couldn’t tell any real difference.
Apparently New Zealanders like the 7/08 for deer hunting but it doesn’t seem to have caught on here in Australia.
My 270 does everything better and after talking w the gun shop men who said the same as I thought, I’ll stick w the 270!

 

[nztimb]

Having had 7x61 S&H and numerous 7x57's I think if I was to go again it would be the 7x64/280 as the ideal 7mm.

 

[bassasdaindia]

i am a fan of the 7x57 for the African bush veld

 

[ILCAPO]

(7 mag + 7-08) divide by 2 = 280 rem.
bruce.

Exacalacally. ; )

Which is why I'd like to get this nice Sako custom I found in .280 Rem. It would fill the gap between my 7mm Mauser and 7mm Rem Mag. Not needed. Just a nice gap filler.

 

[ILCAPO]

I think the 7mm Bullet has the best ballistic coefficient of all.
I had a 7 Remington magnum that particularly liked heavy Bullets. I sold it as I had a 300 Winchester magnum and couldn’t tell any real difference.
Apparently New Zealanders like the 7/08 for deer hunting but it doesn’t seem to have caught on here in Australia.
My 270 does everything better and after talking w the gun shop men who said the same as I thought, I’ll stick w the 270!

Being it's built on the .30-06 Springfield case rather than the .308 Winchester, when loaded to potential the 7mm-08 won't be able to keep up with it. The .280 Remington is very similar but has the added advantage of bullets selection. The only draw back to the .270, and that's a minor one, is your pretty much limited to 150 grain bullets. The .280, being a .284 caliber bullet is slightly bigger than the 270 (which uses a .277 caliber bullet). The 7mm bullets on the market are all .284 caliber, which gives you more choices and allows upwards of 175 grain loads.

But again, many people herein have said they've taken all kinds of plains game with the .270. Some PHs think it's a bit light for the bigger game, but that's mainly because they're looking for a margin of safety in case the client doesn't put the round exactly where it needs to be.

 

[ILCAPO]

Thank you for that observation as well. This said, I made an inquiry to the seller and found it's actually a consignment piece. The store mentioned it had a custom barrel on it. I asked what kind, and noted the concern regarding the twist rate. He just wrote me saying he called the owner and found it had a McGowen barrel on it with a 9 1/2 to 1 twist. Says the owner teste fired it, but had to part with it because of major shoulder surgery. This changes the equation a bit.

Got a correction. Turns out he bought the gun from the seller, so the store owns it. My gunsmith also says 1 in 9 is best to cover it all, but 1 in 9 1/2 would do. This one is the McGowen in 1 in 9 1/2.