Devil Dog needs guidance on 7mm STW

[blue03695811]

Hello everyone,

Long time stalker first time posting up. This is my first precision gun of any type. I came across something from a seller and we made a deal. Picked up a very clean REM 700 Sendero 7mm STW . Well I really didn’t think getting ammo or brass for starters would be as hard as it seems in today’s market. I have read several of the posts from others here but wanted to reach out to all the professionals in the community for some guidance moving forward. Frankly I’m not a reloader because I have never had the need. Well that’s changing ASAP it apparent. Is there anyone out here that’s shooting one that’s been reloading or also knows were I can get some factory ammo still? I have found some Nosler off Ammoseek and picked it up so I have some brass to learn to reload with. Any help would be great and thanks again.

This will be a long range Elk and Mule deer gun mostly and maybe a speed goat gun too.

Blue

 

[Aftermath]

7mm Shooting Times Westerner (STW) Load Data

Explore the world of Nosler, renowned for crafting the finest bullets, ammunition, rifles, and brass. Discover our extensive lineup, including Partition, AccuBond, E-Tip, Ballistic Tip, Custom Competition, and more. Experience superior quality and performance with Nosler products.

www.nosler.com

 

[nagantguy]

Easiest button is to have it re- barreled to a more common caliber .
I’m a strong advocate of reloading , but now is a terrible time to dip one’s toes in the water .
And even if you do score everything you need and at decent prices , a quick search for brass showed me the only thing in stock in that flavor is Hornady and at nearly $80 a 50. Or one could form brass - best candidate also from a quick google fu search is to use 8mm Remington Magnum brass . So use unicorn Horns to make hens teeth.
The PRC family looks be getting its legs so brass/ factory ammo would be less of an issue . From one Devil Dog to another. Best of luck on your quest and remember my advice is worth exactly what you’d pay for it .

 

[Aftermath]

+1 on re-barreling.
I did find some Nosler 8mmRem brass for $112 (plus shipping) for 25 pieces of brass. That makes for some seriously expensive shooting!
Of course, you also have a huge bolt face (0.54")and either you also replace the bolt or you restrict yourself to those rounds that take that big bolt face. Not a real hindrance...

Bolt Face & Action Database - LoadDevelopment.com

Our bolt face diameter database helps to determine which new caliber or cartridge will work with the bolt face diameter and action length.

www.loaddevelopment.com

 

[nagantguy]

With keeping the current .540 bolt you’d have a hell of a selection of easy turn key solutions- 300- basically in all flavors lots of 7mm’s and up to .375 Weatherby up to .458 win .

 

[mgoodrich]

Well, the only thing I see for ammo, using ammo seek, is 168 gr bergers, and 140 gr Remington core loks, ( @ 6 to $7 dollars a round ) and it has been that way for a couple of months, so I would be interested in knowing where you picked up some Nosler.

As far as brass goes, all of my usual sources are out of stock, and the one place I found that claimed to have Hornady, reloadingbrass-usa.com, does not have a location nor a contact number, and will only take Zelle, Cashapp, or Crypto. I am thinking that is a scam site.

As Aftermath has pointed out, the only way I saw as well was to get 8mm brass and neck down, which is not hard to do if you have any reloading equipment.

I guess I always considered mine to be a hunting rifle, it is accurate, but not in the precision rifle class.

Maybe in the future it might make come back, but I kind of doubt it.

 

[blue03695811]

Easiest button is to have it re- barreled to a more common caliber .
I’m a strong advocate of reloading , but now is a terrible time to dip one’s toes in the water .
And even if you do score everything you need and at decent prices , a quick search for brass showed me the only thing in stock in that flavor is Hornady and at nearly $80 a 50. Or one could form brass - best candidate also from a quick google fu search is to use 8mm Remington Magnum brass . So use unicorn Horns to make hens teeth.
The PRC family looks be getting its legs so brass/ factory ammo would be less of an issue . From one Devil Dog to another. Best of luck on your quest and remember my advice is worth exactly what you’d pay for it .

Funny you say the PRC lineup. One of my more local gun smiths said the same thing.His advice was 7PRC as it’s more available and cost less to shoot. I miss spoke on the ammo I think that was Gunbroker I found the factory Nosler Ammo (6 Boxes) but I have been on Ammoseek and almost every other place for that matter. I did find a large batch of 8mm REM Mag (Parent Case) brass somewhat local but even at 4.00 a pop for brass it’s spendy for sure. Im really torn on a direction in all honesty but it’s still a nice rifle for sure and I hate to see it go the way of the dodo. I appreciate all the insite and I’ll be honest I didn’t even consider the blot in the equation of everything. Thank you all for some in-site and guidance.

 

[blue03695811]

Well, the only thing I see for ammo, using ammo seek, is 168 gr bergers, and 140 gr Remington core loks, ( @ 6 to $7 dollars a round ) and it has been that way for a couple of months, so I would be interested in knowing where you picked up some Nosler.

As far as brass goes, all of my usual sources are out of stock, and the one place I found that claimed to have Hornady, reloadingbrass-usa.com, does not have a location nor a contact number, and will only take Zelle, Cashapp, or Crypto. I am thinking that is a scam site.

As Aftermath has pointed out, the only way I saw as well was to get 8mm brass and neck down, which is not hard to do if you have any reloading equipment.

I guess I always considered mine to be a hunting rifle, it is accurate, but not in the precision rifle class.

Maybe in the future it might make come back, but I kind of doubt it.

I will agree with you now that you made that point on the hunting rifle.

With keeping the current .540 bolt you’d have a hell of a selection of easy turn key solutions- 300- basically in all flavors lots of 7mm’s and up to .375 Weatherby up to .458 win .

I’m thinking that’s why I had someone suggest taking Weatherby 6.5-300 case and necking it up. Never thought about that way. Still expensive for sure. Also the .375 I was looking into also for brass.

 

[Rookie]

The 7mm STW is a heck of a cartridge. Seen its power on large hogs beyond 200yds. Serious thunder right there. I believe I used to reload it for a buddy that had one. Will check my notes.... i believe the Lyman manual has loads as well. Will post if so, what bullet weight are you considering?

 

[Rookie]

 

[Rookie]

Those loads are from 48th edition of Lyman manual. My notes indicate we spoke to David Tubb and got this:

 

[Rookie]

The only reloading note I have for 7 STW is From 2009 btw. I may have final accurate note in log books...

160gr Nosler Accubond, seated to 3.73 COAL, Nosler brass, load development started with 73.0gr of IMR 7828.

 

[longshooter]

https://bayoubrassandammo.com/shop/ols/products/7mm-stw-brass

 

[davsco]

7stw is such an awesome classic round! i'd do whatever you can to keep it.

that said, 7prc is a pretty good round with not horrible cartridge availability now.

 

[cas6969]

Not sure how dropping $700-800+ on a re-barrel is the "easy" answer.

Handloading is wonderfull, but this would be jumping in the deeper end of the pool for learning.

 

[Aftermath]

Not sure how dropping $700-800+ on a re-barrel is the "easy" answer.

Handloading is wonderfull, but this would be jumping in the deeper end of the pool for learning.

100 CASES = $400
Dies, press, scale, etc.....momoney
Just leave out the primers, powder and bullets and still...

Yeah.

Re-barrel is the "easy" answer.

 

[blue03695811]

100 CASES = $400
Dies, press, scale, etc.....momoney
Just leave out the primers, powder and bullets and still...

Yeah.

Re-barrel is the "easy" answer.

Yeah I don’t want to even tell you what I have gave for the factory loads I have dug up already just to get brass for reloading. I have a line on a few more boxes of Nosler 160’s but they are not cheap. I think I have a good 300 rounds of factory ammo right now. I still feel like that’s just a good start and I want to find brass to reload and it looks like 8mm REM Mag will be the most available right now.

 

[blue03695811]

7stw is such an awesome classic round! i'd do whatever you can to keep it.

that said, 7prc is a pretty good round with not horrible cartridge availability now.

Yeah I do like the 7 PRC it’s a good shooter too

 

[blue03695811]

The 7mm STW is a heck of a cartridge. Seen its power on large hogs beyond 200yds. Serious thunder right there. I believe I used to reload it for a buddy that had one. Will check my notes.... i believe the Lyman manual has loads as well. Will post if so, what bullet weight are you considering?

If I reload I’ll reload some heavy just to see how it likes the heavy Bergers. I think I seen some 190 or 195 bergers at the last gun show. I would hunt with 160 or 175’s at least. I just don’t like my game to turn into fast food and run off.

 

[Aftermath]

Yeah I don’t want to even tell you what I have gave for the factory loads I have dug up already just to get brass for reloading. I have a line on a few more boxes of Nosler 160’s but they are not cheap. I think I have a good 300 rounds of factory ammo right now. I still feel like that’s just a good start and I want to find brass to reload and it looks like 8mm REM Mag will be the most available right now.

Don't get me wrong. I am very set up to reload and have been doing it for decades so I would probably just get stuff as I find it and keep that old rifle as a 7STW. Just for the heck of it. I have LOTS of other options to shoot with so that one would just be another and unique.
However, since you have never reloaded and do not have all the gear, it will prove expensive to get it all set up. There is a lot to it and it gets more expensive the more you get into it and search for perfection. You can be well above $1000 in a hurry and that is not buying the outlandishly priced stuff. And I am not even including the brass, primers, powder and bullets. Of course, once you have all the measuring tools and the basics (like a press), a new caliber is not much more than a new set of appropriate dies.
I am not trying to discourage that either. IF, big IF, you want to get into reloading. It's the way to go, as far as I am concerned, to gain the most from your shooting rig and especially for the more obscure cartridges.
I'd say that 300 rounds to reload with are PLENTY for that hunting rifle.
But...there are other chamberings that are more readily available as factory ready to shoot off the shelf ammo. Barrels are not exactly readily available right now either but you can get a blank for around $400 if you shop the want ads and another $400 or less to have it fitted to your action in the chambering you want.

 

[cas6969]

IF you buy a press and all else to start down the road to reloading, let me know, I'll send you a set of dies.

 

[FuhQ]

Hello everyone,

Long time stalker first time posting up. This is my first precision gun of any type. I came across something from a seller and we made a deal. Picked up a very clean REM 700 Sendero 7mm STW . Well I really didn’t think getting ammo or brass for starters would be as hard as it seems in today’s market. I have read several of the posts from others here but wanted to reach out to all the professionals in the community for some guidance moving forward. Frankly I’m not a reloader because I have never had the need. Well that’s changing ASAP it apparent. Is there anyone out here that’s shooting one that’s been reloading or also knows were I can get some factory ammo still? I have found some Nosler off Ammoseek and picked it up so I have some brass to learn to reload with. Any help would be great and thanks again.

This will be a long range Elk and Mule deer gun mostly and maybe a speed goat gun too.

Blue

Been shooting that same exact rifle and caliber for over 22 years... I might can give some insight.

This is the ONLY in-stock decent ammo available according to Ammoseek...

7mm STW HSM 168 gr. Berger HPBT Hollow Point Boat Tail 20 rnds 3205 fps Brass M-ID: 7STW168VL UPC: 837306005404 7mm STW HSM 168 gr. Berger HPBT Hollow Point Boat Tail 20 rnds 3205 fps Brass M-ID: 7STW168VL UPC: 837306005404 [837306005404] - $124.95

7mm STW HSM 168 gr. Berger HPBT Hollow Point Boat Tail 20 rnds 3205 fps Brass M-ID: 7STW168VL UPC: 837306005404

alamoammo.com

Get as much as you can, shoot it, and then reload the brass.

For dies, I recommend a good quality set of Redding dies and shell holder.

For reloading, I'd jump up to the Berger 175 Elite Hunter bullets, backed by Winchester StaBall HD powder, or H1000, and some CCI 250 primers.

 

[FuhQ]

+1 on re-barreling.
I did find some Nosler 8mmRem brass for $112 (plus shipping) for 25 pieces of brass. That makes for some seriously expensive shooting!
Of course, you also have a huge bolt face (0.54")and either you also replace the bolt or you restrict yourself to those rounds that take that big bolt face. Not a real hindrance...

Bolt Face & Action Database - LoadDevelopment.com

Our bolt face diameter database helps to determine which new caliber or cartridge will work with the bolt face diameter and action length.

www.loaddevelopment.com

This would be his best bet, and it's a simple 1 pull trip through the 7mm STW FL sizing die, and he has ready to roll STW brass.

 

[FuhQ]

My old 2002 Sendero SF 7mm STW that I bought new is still kicking along just fine.

 

[Aftermath]

IF you buy a press and all else to start down the road to reloading, let me know, I'll send you a set of dies.

^^^THIS^^^ is the shooting community.

 

[RUN8]

Yeah I don’t want to even tell you what I have gave for the factory loads I have dug up already just to get brass for reloading. I have a line on a few more boxes of Nosler 160’s but they are not cheap. I think I have a good 300 rounds of factory ammo right now. I still feel like that’s just a good start and I want to find brass to reload and it looks like 8mm REM Mag will be the most available right now.

If you have 300 rounds of factory ammo you’ve got enough there to kill 20% to 25% of the realistic barrel life for a brand new unfired example. Take that fired 300 rounds of brass and re-load them 3-4 times which is realistically no problem, and that barrel will be pretty much done.

Just get dies and roll your own, by the time you are close to wearing out the brass it will be time for a new barrel too. Decide on a re-barrel then.

For clarity at current component prices if you load each piece of brass 4 times after initial firing and can keep costs down to at or just under $2/round you will have sent $2,400 worth of ammo down the tube, not counting what you paid to lay in the original 300 rounds.

 

[blue03695811]

IF you buy a press and all else to start down the road to reloading, let me know, I'll send you a set of dies.

That means a lot ! Thank you very much. I’ll keep you posted on this endeavor. I’m hoping my father in law will be willing to part with all his reloading gear and send it home with me so it will actually be used! So I guess I’ll have to buy rifles in his calibers lol. He was a huge 270WBY man and 300 WBY. He killed alot of deer with them over 40 years of hunting all over. I can’t tell you how much shit he has. Walls full of stuff.

 

[blue03695811]

My old 2002 Sendero SF 7mm STW that I bought new is still kicking along just fine.

View attachment 8335477

I hope mine shoots this. I would be thrilled and all I want in a hunting rifle. That is fantastic for a hunting gun.

 

[blue03695811]

My old 2002 Sendero SF 7mm STW that I bought new is still kicking along just fine.

View attachment 8335477

I hope mine shoots this. I would be thrilled and all I want in a hunting rifle. That is fantastic for a hunting gun

^^^THIS^^^ is the shooting community.

I’m just thankful for some insight. I’m a decent shooter from years of training in the Marine Corps and even more shooting as a PMC in Iraq. I just never was or am a DM/HOG. It’s an art I want to learn honestly. In time I guess