6.5 Saum vs 7 Saum. Short action advice

[RampedRaptor]

I did not want to derail the thread that was started in the bolt action section on the same topic but thought the reloading section would be of more assistance when comparing the 2.

There are many wild cats of both calibers (6.5 and 7) but I'm getting lazy in the reloading room and prefer cartridges that are not labor intensive.

I know the 6.5 Saum is regarded very highly and was the route I was going to go but does the 7 Saum at mag length not trump the 6.5 in ballistics?

Can someone add their experience with loading the heavy 7mm bullets at mag length and the performance they were able to achieve?

Single feeding the rifle is not out of the question but it would be nice to see what kind of performance could be obtained by running mag length.

Purpose of round: 90 percent ELR target shooting in windy conditions and 10% (probably more like 5%) hunting.


Thanks

 

[.30kal]

If your are looking for a less labor intensive 7mm short mag, then you should be looking at the 7 SAUM, not the 7 WSM.

 

[Bacarrat]

I would not consider a 7WSM unless you have a ample supply of brass. Winchester has not made 7WSM brass in years, they have pretty much abandoned the cartridge. Ever notice how fast 7WSM brass sells on the hide? I had just sold 500 pieces in less a day for more then what I paid for the brass. I just recently made the swap from 7WSM over to 6.5 SAUM. You have more choice in brass, bullets are cheaper and the dope out to distance is way better without getting beatup on recoil. I loved the 7WSM, not too many SA cartridges out there can hang, but since Winchester all doesn't make the brass anymore, it was a easy decision to change.

 

[Jeffvn]

I have run my 7WSM at 2.90", w/ a 180 Berger VLD @ roughly 2,800 fps from a 27" tube (in Houston - Bayou Rifles).

It will jump up to the 2,900 fps node from the same rifle w/ same 180 Berger VLD if I long-throat the chamber to seat the 180s out to roughly 3.10." (Yes I have 2 barrels for the same rifle one short-throated for magazine feeding, and one long-throated to single feed)

JeffVN

 

[RampedRaptor]

Post corrected to reflect the 7 Saum and not the WSM. I think I had flipped which one had available brass and which one was more difficult to find brass. Thanks Jeff for the comparison, that's great info.

 

[RampedRaptor]

Ttt

 

[RampedRaptor]

Anyone else with 7 SAUM at mag length experience?

 

[RampedRaptor]

Last bump