7 mm rem mag or......

[25 Sharps]

If you're pushing out to 250-350 yards then a magnum won't do any harm at all. It'll offer a little more margin for error with wind and range and when shooting live quarry that's no bad thing. Not so sure about the Howa comment. For similar money you'll probably find a nice old rifle with a clean bore which will be much better quality. I've seen old Sako L series guns go for less than that and they're as good as they come.

Haven’t caught up on the rest of the thread properly but.....

you do realise that the howa is based (copied) on an old Sako action don’t you? I’ve owned 2, know loads of people that shoot them, incredibly accurate for the money. Lots of after market options.....

 

[25 Sharps]

Totally agree with this. A longer heavier barrel points better shooting offhand because it settles to the shot quicker and stays on it longer if you hesitate before the waving sets in. Also helps shooting standing off sticks. Seems to help calm "circling".

I've noticed this even when rabbit shooting at short ranges at night off sticks. If I was buying my pair of rimfires again (14" HW 60s) I'd buy 18" barrels for this reason alone.

As I said all of my CFs have 23”+ barrels, my WMR is a 20” too. The .22 BSA century is wearing a 16” and it feels horrible short. 90% of my shooting is off sticks whether that’s deer or rabbits

 

[25 Sharps]

So is this a high seat rifle @25 Sharps?

Not if I can help it!! But yes some work will be high seat, some off sticks. The deer I mentioned above was shot from a seat.

 

[25 Sharps]

Go for it I loved mine, if I still had stalking ground I would still have it,incidentally if your after a rem 700 sendero in an aics stock my old one is for sale

Aics is not really my cup of tea, it will probably go in a bell and Carlson to be fair

 

[A Guy Out West]

Reloading Belted Magnum Calibers

This explains the unique problems (and solutions) associated with reloading belted magnum ammunition, and setting accurate chamber clearance at the shoulderfor handloads. It also explaind headspace.

www.larrywillis.com

OP, this may help you with the loading of the belted 7 Remmy. I have never had the pleasure of loading a belted case, this thing seems to make sense. Not sure if sizing on the shoulder makes a difference with the bulge. I would do whatever AB advises. Sorry, the whole site did not attach, it’s a special die for the belted ones.

 

[jay222]

On

Aics is not really my cup of tea, it will probably go in a bell and Carlson to be fair

ive still got the original hs precision stock too

 

[alberta boy]

Not stalking reds in Wiltshire....

As said above my normal stalking rifle is a 24” CZ 550 (Mauser action) rifle so I guess I’m on the lunatic fringe!! To be fair very little if my stalking is in woodland. More often in open farmland of grazing or arable type. If I am stalking the small fields, of which there are few, I use the 25-45 as shots are close. A lot of the fields are bigger, the last deer shot on my ground was in a field 1400x600 metres, around 149 acres so can’t really be called a small field.

That's pretty much what I have my 7mmRM for . I use it down south on the short grass prairie for longish shots on Mule Deer or open country White-Tails , it's no slouch on larger game at distance either . If I'm hunting the thick stuff I carry something in a larger caliber , but the 7mmRM is a very flexible and efficient ( on game ) cartridge . You won't be disappointed .

AB

 

[Namman]

Reloading Belted Magnum Calibers

This explains the unique problems (and solutions) associated with reloading belted magnum ammunition, and setting accurate chamber clearance at the shoulderfor handloads. It also explaind headspace.

www.larrywillis.com

OP, this may help you with the loading of the belted 7 Remmy. I have never had the pleasure of loading a belted case, this thing seems to make sense. Not sure if sizing on the shoulder makes a difference with the bulge. I would do whatever AB advises. Sorry, the whole site did not attach, it’s a special die for the belted ones.

I might be lucky but I have never had an issue or problem reloading belted cases (using RCBS standard dies). In nearly 40 years of reloading for four .375 H&Hs, two .300 Win Mags. two 7mm Rem Mags and a .458 Win Mag I have never seen this problem. The rifles were two Ruger 77 s, three Steyr Mannlichers, two Sakos, a Parker Hale and a Winchester mod 70
I used to neck size all my cases but when I started hunting in Africa more often, I started full length sizing, because it meant that in an emergency I could let my friends use my ammo or at the end of a safari I could give my unused ammo to the PH.
I found that the commonest reason for discarding many times reloaded cases was cracked necks in .300 Win Mag and early signs of incipient separations in .375 H&H. (despite not full length resizing). This case has a very small shoulder and so does not headspace very well on said shoulder.
Before I go on any hunt I run every round through the rifle from the magazine at the range.

 

[John Gryphon]

I might be lucky but I have never had an issue or problem reloading belted cases (using RCBS standard dies). In nearly 40 years of reloading for four .375 H&Hs, two .300 Win Mags. two 7mm Rem Mags and a .458 Win Mag I have never seen this problem. The rifles were two Ruger 77 s, three Steyr Mannlichers, two Sakos, a Parker Hale and a Winchester mod 70
I used to neck size all my cases but when I started hunting in Africa more often, I started full length sizing, because it meant that in an emergency I could let my friends use my ammo or at the end of a safari I could give my unused ammo to the PH.
I found that the commonest reason for discarding many times reloaded cases was cracked necks in .300 Win Mag and early signs of incipient separations in .375 H&H. (despite not full length resizing). This case has a very small shoulder and so does not headspace very well on said shoulder.
Before I go on any hunt I run every round through the rifle from the magazine at the range.

Well said.I do like to read of the experienced!

 

[njc110381]

Haven’t caught up on the rest of the thread properly but.....

you do realise that the howa is based (copied) on an old Sako action don’t you? I’ve owned 2, know loads of people that shoot them, incredibly accurate for the money. Lots of after market options.....

That has been pointed out, yes. It made me look a little silly in fact but I stand by the basis of what I said none the less. If you've had good experience with them and they work for you then go for it. A big part of getting on well with a rifle is confidence and I know from experience that if you have faith in a gun, that's half the battle won when it comes to shooting it well. The information I'm passing on was given to me (and accepted in good faith) a few years back by a friend who owned a fairly successful gun shop at the time. He'd sold several and had problems with more than one of them so when I enquired about a .300 Win Mag, he suggested I stay well away. I don't suppose that was done for profit reasons as he used to sell me rifles at barely more than cost anyway. To back that up further, the resident smith in the shop I use now happened to be talking about them when I was in there last week and his words were far from positive.

Of course they could both be wrong, but I don't feel that I'm passing on duff second hand information which has no relevance. That's not something I tend to do. Two very qualified people who are in the gun trade saying the same thing to me is all the nudging I need to take a different path. The fact of the matter is I've neither owned nor extensively used one. I've fired other people's rifles at the range and handled new ones in shops but that's about it. But even if I had owned one - my opinion vs the opinion of two men who have probably put hundreds of them through their books between them? I'd say they know better than I do. It's certainly not what I would call "my mate said" as Mr Dodgy put it.

 

[User00033]

I'd say they know better than I do.

I'd say me & @25 Sharps and countless others around the world know better than they do....

 

[njc110381]

I'd say me & @25 Sharps and countless others around the world know better than they do....

Of course you would. You're going by your own experiences. What we've both learned from this, or should have at least, is that not everyone's opinion or experiences are the same.

Is the Remington 700 trigger fault a thing? Some say it is, some say it isn't. We could argue all night trying to make the other party look daft but actually we both have good grounds from which we've based our own opinion. We'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[User00033]

Its all good mate, I'm yanking yer chain. Shouldn't you be in bed?

 

[John Gryphon]

Shouldn't you be in bed?

oh you are a **** dave ha ha

 

[25 Sharps]

Of course you would. You're going by your own experiences. What we've both learned from this, or should have at least, is that not everyone's opinion or experiences are the same.

Is the Remington 700 trigger fault a thing? Some say it is, some say it isn't. We could argue all night trying to make the other party look daft but actually we both have good grounds from which we've based our own opinion. We'll have to agree to disagree.

Every person I know who owns a howa, including 2 people at my RFD and several at the club many owning more than 1 rifle/calibre have had good experiences, genuinely think you have to try hard to find a bad one.

First load test with my previous creedmoor, lowest 5 powder weights at .5 gr increments as pressure checks all went into an honest sub half moa group. This new 26” barrel did exactly the same with the first 4 weights.

I have no doubt your cautionary note on howa up the thread was made in good faith based on the opinion of 2 people you trust. But I would say they are wrong, based on multiple people’s experience that I know personally. I do think there is a certain amount of snobbery with howa that weirdly doesn’t get attached to the Weatherby vanguard which is essentially the same rifle.

Its exactly the same thing with Lee reloading gear!

 

[John Gryphon]

Iirc Howa is the top selling rifle brand in Aus or was and with so many sold and so much game here in comparison I would say that the rifles do account well for the brand.
And no wonder too when you see the New Sako prices V the new Howa prices.

 

[njc110381]

There is a degree of that I'm sure. I know they're a very popular rifle and things don't get that common by being junk, I just find it hard to believe that two experienced people could be that wrong! I guess if I were to ask more people I may get a different answer. When Neil McKillop is done with my Whelen and I go to collect it I'll ask for his thoughts. If I am wrong then it would be good to know as I quite often share my thoughts on this sort of thing and I don't like to think I'm giving bad advice/suggestions.

As for the new Sako rifles, well they're not as good as the old ones either in my opinion!

 

[25 Sharps]

There is a degree of that I'm sure. I know they're a very popular rifle and things don't get that common by being junk, I just find it hard to believe that two experienced people could be that wrong! I guess if I were to ask more people I may get a different answer. When Neil McKillop is done with my Whelen and I go to collect it I'll ask for his thoughts. If I am wrong then it would be good to know as I quite often share my thoughts on this sort of thing and I don't like to think I'm giving bad advice/suggestions.

As for the new Sako rifles, well they're not as good as the old ones either in my opinion!

You mean the older Sako the howa is based on?

At the end of the day they are built to a price, personally I don't like the pressed steel safety, but other than that they are very good, particularly for the price tag.

As for asking Neil, don't be surprised if he's not a fan but really why should the opinion of your RFD, or 2 smiths hold any more value than the dozens of people on here who actually own and shoot them? many of whom will tell you how good they are?

 

[User00033]

Snobbery. You’re asking the wrong people @njc110381. And yes, they’re wrong. Woefully so! Many smiths and fancy dealers and the like are rifle snobs. They are rifle uber nerds and cannot abide the cheap and cheerful sub-MOA out the box performance that is the norm these days. Their lives revolve around overpriced rifles that are sold for form over function. It’s a hangover from a bygone era and its boring and tiresome, just like it was when it was the T3 getting the same kind of stick in ‘03 or ‘04. The people to ask and trust are fairly and squarely the people that shoot hundreds or thousands of rounds through these rifles and use them as they were intended. Howa owners don’t buy their rifles to polish and preen and carry around the woods in a bag in case in gets scratched, they are tools to be used in the field.

 

[Namman]

Snobbery. You’re asking the wrong people @njc110381. And yes, they’re wrong. Woefully so! Many smiths and fancy dealers and the like are rifle snobs. They are rifle uber nerds and cannot abide the cheap and cheerful sub-MOA out the box performance that is the norm these days. Their lives revolve around overpriced rifles that are sold for form over function. It’s a hangover from a bygone era and its boring and tiresome, just like it was when it was the T3 getting the same kind of stick in ‘03 or ‘04. The people to ask and trust are fairly and squarely the people that shoot hundreds or thousands of rounds through these rifles and use them as they were intended. Howa owners don’t buy their rifles to polish and preen and carry around the woods in a bag in case in gets scratched, they are tools to be used in the field.

We sell lots of Howas and they perform well, especially at their cost saving over other makes.