remington model 7 questions

[lurchernz]

I have a remington model 7 in 7mm saum that I'm trying to work up as a lightweight medium range (out to 500 yards) mountain rifle.

I know there is one problem I will very likely face, which seems to be a common problem for a lot of short magnums. Some loads will not feed from the magazine (as they are too long) when seated out to the lands.

Wyatt's make a magazine box for long and short rem 700 actions, and I have heard of people extending the magazine slot on a standard 700 short action by removing some material from the rear of the action. Unfortunately the model 7 trigger housing is too close to the magazine box to take this approach. Wyatt's informed me that the only magazine they sell that fits the seven is standard length.

I wondered if another approach to this (if it turns out to be a problem) would be to set back the barrel and cut a shorter throat?

 

[Lawyer Daggit]

I do not know, I have a 7MS in .350 and I have also found that there are difficulties with the length of the magazine (and action) in respect to the length of round.

With my .350 I have settled on a load utilizing 225 grain projectiles.

Much as I love the M7- I own the .350 and also an early .222 and I used to own one in 7mm08 I think you are asking to much of the rifle in terms of accuracy.

The M7 at the end of the day is a lightweight carbine with a light whippy barrel that was not designed for work at 500 yards.

If you want a rifle to perform at that range I think you would be better served with a model 700 with (at least) a standard profile barrel.

 

[Harry Bonar]

Rem. Mod. 7

Sir;
I run into this problem even with some "standard" cartridges. The only way, for varmit hunting which I used to do was to shoot single shot.
I don't like the " short magnums" anyway. Sometimes, when having a bullet seating problem I use a throating reamer to open up the throating a little. But this doesn't solve the magazine box problem.
With the 7 I don't know if there is a different box or not.
As to throats, different reamers with pilots will be slightly different; A-Square has a paralel throat which solves the problem nicely.
When in practice, I rebarreled a 308 to 260 Rem. and it wortked out nicely, but that magazine box is a problem.
I predict that amoung knowledgeable shooters the "short magnum" craze will die out; those cartridges exhibit a very fast pressure curve I don't like.
Harry B.

 

[Alleykat]

I don't use the magazines on either of my 700s. I use a benchrest follower, and load one-round-at-a-time into the chamber. I load all of my precision rounds longer than will fit in a magazine.

 

[Scorch]

If you are dead set to seat the bullets within a certain distance of the lands, you could have the barrel set back one turn and have the chamber re-cut with a pilotless reamer, in effect just re-cutting the chamber, and then re-throat the barrel with a throating reamer to the depth you want..

 

[dipper]

Pick your bullet---the one you want to/ will shoot the most.
Load a dummy round up that fits and feeds out of your magazine properly.
Send barreled action and dummy round to a GOOD smith and tell him to set back and rechamber your barrel to fit the round you supplied.
That should do it.

Oh, and don't cut it real close--that is, leave some room to seat bullets out a little farther as your barrel wears---it will.

Dipper

 

[Alleykat]

Scorch: I'm probably "overthinking" (or maybe "underthinking!) your advice, but wouldn't the process that you describe cause a headspacing problem?

 

[Scorch]

but wouldn't the process that you describe cause a headspacing problem?

No. Headspace is the distance from the base of the shell to the shoulder datum point. By setting back the barrel you reduce the distance from the base of the cartridge to the shoulder, shortening the chamber. Recutting the chamber with a pilotless reamer will restore the chamber to the proper length, but will not cut the leade in the throat, so the rifling will begin right at the front edge of the chamber. Using a throating reamer to cut the throat will move the leade farther from the front edge of the chamber, allowing the smith to control the length of the throat, which affects how far out the user will have to seat the bullets when he loads them.

BTW, Dipper recommended the same thing, he just phrased it differently.

 

[Alleykat]

I knew there was something "simple" and obvious that I wasn't seeing. When you guys were saying "set-back", in my mind's eye I was thinking exactly the opposite direction. No wonder it didn't make sense to me!