7mm stw?

[peakseeker]

well after a lot of discussion with friends and aquaintences, I have decided to hold off on the 7 for now and go the custom route. this beauty sako is sitting here begging for a new barrel so I figure why not. I've got it narrowed to 2 calibers. 6.5x284 or 280ai. what would be your choice and why? Can anyone point me in the direction of a good smith willing to take on new customers. Was thinking of going with a ron smith barrel. opinions apprieciated.

[elkhunter11]

I've got it narrowed to 2 calibers. 6.5x284 or 280ai. what would be your choice and why?

That depends on your intended use for the rifle.

[Leeper]

I always regarded the 7STW as being an over-hyped, overbore cartridge which did not actually outperform the &mm Rem Mag by nearly as much as Layne Simpson claimed.
You see, Simpson had this tndency to compare a 7MM Rem Mag factory load (the slower the better) in a 24 inch barrel to a 7STW, loaded to the nuts, in a 28 inch barrel. He would then hold this up as an example of the superiority of the STW. While the 7STW was faster (just as a 7mm Rem mag is faster than a 280AI just because it's bigger), it wasn't that much faster. Loaded to the same pressures in the same barrel, the difference was much less than the 250 fps Simpson liked to claim. In reality, the STW, under these circumstances, clocks a bit less than 100 fps faster than a 7 Rem Mag.
For about three years or so after it's introduction, I refused to chamber STW's because I thought it was a stupid cartridge. It finally occurred to me that I was passing up money to no real purpose so I bought a reamer and chambered about 35 of the darn things the first year. After another three years, requests had dropped way off and I finally sold the reamer. I was glad to see it go. I still have the 358 STA reamer but I don't think much of it either. Leeper

[peakseeker]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

That depends on your intended use for the rifle.

Well I am leaning towards and open field, ground blind rifle. I thought about going the way of a new sheep rifle, but this stock is fair heavy and I wanna keep it nice for as long as I can.I tend to be hard on my sheep rifles lol.

[peakseeker]

Originally Posted by Leeper

I always regarded the 7STW as being an over-hyped, overbore cartridge which did not actually outperform the &mm Rem Mag by nearly as much as Layne Simpson claimed.
You see, Simpson had this tndency to compare a 7MM Rem Mag factory load (the slower the better) in a 24 inch barrel to a 7STW, loaded to the nuts, in a 28 inch barrel. He would then hold this up as an example of the superiority of the STW. While the 7STW was faster (just as a 7mm Rem mag is faster than a 280AI just because it's bigger), it wasn't that much faster. Loaded to the same pressures in the same barrel, the difference was much less than the 250 fps Simpson liked to claim. In reality, the STW, under these circumstances, clocks a bit less than 100 fps faster than a 7 Rem Mag.
For about three years or so after it's introduction, I refused to chamber STW's because I thought it was a stupid cartridge. It finally occurred to me that I was passing up money to no real purpose so I bought a reamer and chambered about 35 of the darn things the first year. After another three years, requests had dropped way off and I finally sold the reamer. I was glad to see it go. I still have the 358 STA reamer but I don't think much of it either. Leeper

Good info to know, thanks!

[elkhunter11]

I always regarded the 7STW as being an over-hyped, overbore cartridge which did not actually outperform the &mm Rem Mag by nearly as much as Layne Simpson claimed.
You see, Simpson had this tndency to compare a 7MM Rem Mag factory load (the slower the better) in a 24 inch barrel to a 7STW, loaded to the nuts, in a 28 inch barrel. He would then hold this up as an example of the superiority of the STW. While the 7STW was faster (just as a 7mm Rem mag is faster than a 280AI just because it's bigger), it wasn't that much faster. Loaded to the same pressures in the same barrel, the difference was much less than the 250 fps Simpson liked to claim. In reality, the STW, under these circumstances, clocks a bit less than 100 fps faster than a 7 Rem Mag.
For about three years or so after it's introduction, I refused to chamber STW's because I thought it was a stupid cartridge. It finally occurred to me that I was passing up money to no real purpose so I bought a reamer and chambered about 35 of the darn things the first year. After another three years, requests had dropped way off and I finally sold the reamer. I was glad to see it go. I still have the 358 STA reamer but I don't think much of it either. Leeper

Actually Simpson used a 25" barrel on his first 7mmstw rifle, and most of his data was for a 26" barrel. Having owned five 7mmstw rifles myself, as well as an equal number of 7mmremmag rifles, I have had the opportunity to do a lot of comparisons between the two. All five of my 7mmstw rifles had 26" barrels, and all would drive 140gr bullets between 3450fps, and 3500fps, with good brass life. By comparison, my rifles in 7mmremmag averaged right around 3200 fps with 24" barrels(3 rifles), and 3250fps to 3275fps with 26" barrels(2 rifles), using the same bullets, with similar brass life.

[Leeper]

I have always tried to emphasize that cartridge comparisons can only be made using the same barrel and loading to the same pressures using the same components. All other comparisons, though not totally invalid, are flawed. One sees a significant increase in velocity when the increased capacity allows the use of a slower powder which was too bulky to reach effective pressure levels in the smaller case. This scenario is difficult to achieve when you start out with a 7MM Rem mag since it is not really short on capacity. An exception might be where one was trying to use some of the old H570 with a 150 grain bullet or something like Reloader 25 with a 140. Here the 7mm Remington might not have enough capacity to allow one to reach maximum pressure levels.
The availability of very slow powders has made some of the larger cartridges somewhat more viable. When shooters were limited to 4831, for instance, increasing capacity beyond a certain point, had limited effect. Even so, the magnums like the 7 MM Remington are not really short on capacity. The STW will continue to have it's advocates and, as long as they are happy, I guess that's what counts! Leeper.