Accumark 7mm stw

[Ridge Runner]

May have a chance to pick one of these up pretty reasonable.. Not familiar with it at all.. Shoot the 257 and 340 wby now but might pick this one up for trading stock or even keep it. Any info???? Anybody shooting this one??

 

[BuzzH]

RR,

I dont shoot one...but a good friend of mine does. I've seen him shoot two animals with it. A cow elk, this one:

...and also one mule deer doe, one of these two:

His stw is just a garden variety bdl he had a local smith convert to an stw.

I know he shot the speer grandslams, 175 grainers I think. I'm also pretty sure he killed two bulls with that rifle as well, a raghorn and a spike.

Neither animal I saw him shoot with it were a good test for the round, both shot at 150 yards or so...pretty standard performance for a 7mm. The elk he hit twice, but wasnt necessary.

I dont find anything wrong with the stw...but nothing that much more right to justify it over a standard 7mm rem. mag either, IMO.

 

[Drake4]

The stw should be able to get you anywhere from 150 - 400 fps +/- more velocity than the standard 7mm rem. mag, depending on bullet, loading, etc. But you will also be using a lot more powder to reach this velocity due to the larger case size. If you don't handload, they are tough to find ammo. for.

When I was looking at different 7's I had a couple different gunsmiths tell me that they can be extremelly finicky shooters. But I've also heard people who swear by them. They are a great long range cartridge due to increased downrange energy.

 

[Randy11]

If you're really into shooting 500+ yards, It might be worth it, otherwise the remington mag is more than enough. If you get a good deal on it though I can't imagine it'd be that hard to turn around and sell.

 

[174in]

I had one at one time nice rifle but they are barrel burners.

 

[van franke]

How much is a reasonable price.

 

[noharleyyet]

Know a few who swear by the 7 STW.

The 7 mm STW (Shooting Times Westerner) began as a wildcat rifle cartridge developed by Layne Simpson in 1979.[2] It is an 8 mm Remington Magnum case that has been "necked down" (narrowing the case opening) by 1 mm to accept 7 mm (.284 in) bullets. This cartridge is named after the magazine Shooting Times where Layne Simpson is a regular contributor.

The only commercial 7mm cartridge to have more power than the 7mm STW is the 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum.[3] Dimensionally and ballistically, there are similarities between the 7mm STW and the 6mm cartridge based on the .375 H&H Magnum case necked down, known as the .244 H&H Magnum.[

 

[tndanny]

I have 3 stw in remington , love them it is a fast shooter will outshoot the 7mm ultra mag, the stw reaches somewhere around 3600fps, cant go wrong.

 

[belly-deep]

I love my STW, but I love it less now because I have a rangefinder.

IMO, the advent of affordable rangefinders has made cartridges like the STW unnecessary inside of 500 yards. I can kill at that range with my .280 and it is alot easier to pack around the hills. But before I got the range finder, the STW was great.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Well thanks for the info everybody. Should have some with it. will try the 160 gr Accubonds out for starters. The rifle should be here next week.

 

[Randy11]

If your gun likes the 160 accubonds, I can vouch for them being an awesome big game bullet.
I've killed bear, deer, and elk with them anywhere from 10 yards out to 400, haven't had a problem with them yet.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Randy11.. that's what I like to hear. I stay with the partions or the accubonds if they fly right. can't go wrong with either.

 

[belly-deep]

160 Accubonds are great in an STW, that is the only bullet I've hunted with in mine. I tried a bunch of stuff...Barnes X, Partitions, 140gr Accubonds, and a few others but once I hit the 160 accubonds, I never looked back.

Try IMR 7828 and H1000 first. Those two are the best powders in my gun, with the IMR shooting a bit faster than the H1000.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Belly- deep. What kind of velocity and accuracy are you getting with the 160's? I was planning on the 7828 for starters also. will get a can of the H1000 to try too.

 

[belly-deep]

My hunting load is about shooting at about 3200 fps. I was able to go up to about 3250-3275, but that was with another two grains and so I backed it off some. When your velocity increases per grain flatten out like that it usually means you are nearing high pressures, so I decided to keep it on the safe side. Besides, it is only 50 fps or so. I can usually get 3/4" or so groups out of it.

The H1000 shoots a bit slower, usually about 3150, and is slightly less accurate, but it is not a pressure sensitive powder so sometimes I shoot that load instead. It still shoots inside of an inch.

Back when you could still get the blue barnes, I was able to get almost 3500 fps with them in 140 grain. 140 accubonds could get to about 3375 with 7828, but they really don't shoot much flatter than the 160s. The 160 Accubond is THE bullet for an STW, IMO. It bucks the wind well, shoots plenty flat, and is heavy and tough enough to break an elk's shoulder if you need to. As you probably know, the biggest headache with the STW and similar cartridges is finding a bullet that can hold together at high velocity and shoot accurately enough to hit targets at ranges these puppies shine.

My gun is just a factory model 70 stainless/synthetic with a 26" barrel, nothing fancy. I've heard of guys getting 3300-3400 fps with a 160 grain bullet but I have never seen that in person. Maybe they are shooting custom guns or maybe they are not using chronographs, who knows.

 

[belly-deep]

Oops. I meant that H1000 is not a temperature sensitive powder, not a "pressure" sensitive powder.

And get your hands on some Winchester brass, if you can. I don't think they make it anymore, so the stuff is getting tricky to find, but I like it much more than Remington brass.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Sounds good. Our gun show is coming up in a few weeks and I will look for some winchester brass there.