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Shortest barrel for 7mm Rem Mag??????

TXCCLshooter

Private
Minuteman
Aug 27, 2010
4
0
46
Houston, TX
New to the forum and I am wondering what is the shortest effective barrel length for the 7mm Rem Mag cartridge. I really like to keep my ammo consolidated and I have a Remy 700 with a 26 inch barrel, but I am looking for something more portable and want to see how short I could go without affecting the performance of the round. I will be shooting factory loads(Federal and Remington 150-180 grain).

Thanks
 
Re: Shortest barrel for 7mm Rem Mag??????

Welcome to the Hide.
We need to know what are you going to do with this rifle.
Hunting= If so what range (distance)
Target shooting= If so what distance will you be shooting?
........SmokeRolls
 
Re: Shortest barrel for 7mm Rem Mag??????

Both.....
Long range target up to a max of 600 yards.
Most hunting shots would be between 100-300 yards.

I guess I am looking for multi-purpose.

No 1,000 yard shots here though.

I would be shooting mostly 150 grain loads since I already have about 300 rounds of that in the safe.
 
Re: Shortest barrel for 7mm Rem Mag??????

24 would be the shortest I would go. if you go shorter you might as well have a 280. I ran a 24" for years and never felt like it held me back.

The world was easier before I had a chrony, now we are consumed with FPS. you are not really going to notice 150 fps.

I run a 28" for my long range setup. Yes it feels to long, but a 168 Berger at 3050 to 3100fps is not to bad!
 
Re: Shortest barrel for 7mm Rem Mag??????

I have a 24" barrel on my 7wsm, but I reload.

I can push the 162amax to 3150fps out of the 24" barrel. That is around 21moa to 1000.
 
Re: Shortest barrel for 7mm Rem Mag??????

Thanks for the input guys, 2 inches is probably not worth me buying a new gun since I already have a Remy 700 with a Leupold VIII.

I will probably just buy a Remy 308 SPS Tactical increase manuverability. Ammo will be cheaper too.

Thanks for making up my mind though!
 
Re: Shortest barrel for 7mm Rem Mag??????

I cut down a Remmy 7mm mag to 16in when I was in gunsmithing school. DON'T Do IT!
 
Re: Shortest barrel for 7mm Rem Mag??????

I cut down a Remmy 7mm mag to 16in when I was in gunsmithing school. DON'T Do IT!

what happened lol? I’ve been looking at building a short 308 on a McMillan A4 and was just researching 7mm mag vs 300 WSM at 16in barrels.
 
what happened lol? I’ve been looking at building a short 308 on a McMillan A4 and was just researching 7mm mag vs 300 WSM at 16in barrels.
If you click on the name of the person who made the post. You will find that they have not been around since 2014.

While I don't know what his experience was. I'd say that it was probably a real flame thrower. Since a 7 rem mag has a good amount of powder it's probably still burning when the bullet leaves a 16 inch barrel.
 
What thinking of putting this in a new thread but this one seems appropriate...

What are yall's thought of going with a larger caliber to make up for a shorter barrel? Does it make sense for a hunting rifle?

I know you leave a lot on the table, but an 18" 300/7mm has to perform better that an 18" 308. Would the recoil not be worth the performance?
 
Years ago I bought a Savage 300wm for the scope that was on it. The bbl had been cut to 16.5". It was loud but still shot real well. I atill have the bbl - ill make someone a real good deal on it! 🙂
 
You can use a pipe wrench as a hammer but why would you?
What thinking of putting this in a new thread but this one seems appropriate...

What are yall's thought of going with a larger caliber to make up for a shorter barrel? Does it make sense for a hunting rifle?

I know you leave a lot on the table, but an 18" 300/7mm has to perform better that an 18" 308. Would the recoil not be worth the performance?
 
...

I know you leave a lot on the table, but an 18" 300/7mm has to perform better that an 18" 308. Would the recoil not be worth the performance?
The recoil might not bother you. The Blast and The Boom, on the other hand.....
 
I suppose the real question is why would you want too? My thoughts, it is pointless to try to take a large overbore cartridge that lives for a long barrel and convert it to a short barrel muzzle blaster.

With experience in Xp-100’s with barrel lengths limited to 15 inches, we found best cases were nearly straight wall cases (TCU series) and short, fat low capacity cases (Bench Rest Series). XP’s have massive actions and could easily handle much more powerful rounds. However even with the short barrel lengths and these rounds shooting (and hitting targets) out to 500 yards was simply a matter of adjusting the sights.

To answer your question, 22” is giving up a lot in any of the 7mm Magnums. That would be the shortest. It would seem that a round such as the .338 Federal or the .358 Winchester with a good rangefinder and a ballistic program would serve you just as well, giving decent performance in a 16” barrel.
 
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At least go with a short action magnum. My 7 ss uses 6 grains less powder for the same velocity as my 7 rem mag.

I would go as short as 22" but no less with a magnum.

Go 6.5 if you want shorter barrel, imo.
 
What thinking of putting this in a new thread but this one seems appropriate...

What are yall's thought of going with a larger caliber to make up for a shorter barrel? Does it make sense for a hunting rifle?

I know you leave a lot on the table, but an 18" 300/7mm has to perform better that an 18" 308. Would the recoil not be worth the performance?

A magnum cartridge like a 7mm RM is going to be loaded with powder that is optimized for the kinds of rifles that are typically built to shoot the round. Heavy charges of slow burning powder. This takes a substantial barrel length to burn before the bullet exits.

A 308, on the other hand, is going to be loaded with a more modest charge of faster burning powder. This smaller charge of faster burning powder can be burned in a shorter barrel. It is possible that your 300/7mm will underperform- or perform no better than- a 308win (with equal barrel length).

All metalic cartridges are limited by the same physical constraints- the pressure limit where the brass and/or the barrel rupture. Magnum cartridges get more velocity than their smaller brethren by using slow burning powder and long barrels to manage the pressure build up.
 
If you click on the name of the person who made the post. You will find that they have not been around since 2014.

While I don't know what his experience was. I'd say that it was probably a real flame thrower. Since a 7 rem mag has a good amount of powder it's probably still burning when the bullet leaves a 16 inch barrel.

perfect. I have my long gun set up complete. The shorty was just cause it looks cool, so if it shoots a big flame even better haha!
 
A magnum cartridge like a 7mm RM is going to be loaded with powder that is optimized for the kinds of rifles that are typically built to shoot the round. Heavy charges of slow burning powder. This takes a substantial barrel length to burn before the bullet exits.

A 308, on the other hand, is going to be loaded with a more modest charge of faster burning powder. This smaller charge of faster burning powder can be burned in a shorter barrel. It is possible that your 300/7mm will underperform- or perform no better than- a 308win (with equal barrel length).

All metalic cartridges are limited by the same physical constraints- the pressure limit where the brass and/or the barrel rupture. Magnum cartridges get more velocity than their smaller brethren by using slow burning powder and long barrels to manage the pressure build up.
Thanks for the clarification, I’m just wondering the thought behind the shorty magnum climbers guys are building, yes handy but at what cost?
How dangerous is loading a faster burning powder in a large case? Is it worth pushing the limits?
6.5 PRC and 7SAUM are the two I’ve heard built in the 18” configuration
 
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I’m shooting 195 grain Berger’s out of a 24 inch 8 twist on my 7mm remmy I think I could safely go to 22 inch, 4800 feet elevation I’m at 7 mil to get to 1k yards was shooting 1k yesterday with it I absolutely love how the 195s take the wind, I see no reason to want to go to 22 inch but certainly don’t think less than that would be a wise idea for performance at all..
 
I’m shooting 195 grain Berger’s out of a 24 inch 8 twist on my 7mm remmy I think I could safely go to 22 inch, 4800 feet elevation I’m at 7 mil to get to 1k yards was shooting 1k yesterday with it I absolutely love how the 195s take the wind, I see no reason to want to go to 22 inch but certainly don’t think less than that would be a wise idea for performance at all..
Do you run a suppressor with a 24”? What do you think would be your max range with a 22”
 
I do run a suppressor, I have no doubt I could hit 1k pretty easy with a 22 inch barrel, but the cost of speed would start getting pretty bad. I’m at 2750 right now with a can on 195 Berger running N565 powder.