7mm Rem Mag Memorial Build

[lancetkenyon]

A week and a half ago, my 79 year old Father-in-law passed away. We have fished and hunted together since I started dating my wife, 29 years ago, when I was barely 16 years old. We hunted dove, quail, deer and elk together many times over the years, and the ONLY big game he ever shot was a small mule deer buck. He always wanted to get an elk, but the couple times we got drawn for rifle elk, he just could not make it happen, and archery....not happening.

 

He carried a Remington BDL in 7mm RM around every hunt we ever went on. Shooting factory Remington Core-locked 150gr. that shot a little over 1.5" @ 100 yards. I think he only shot that rifle maybe 5 times. Once at the deer, and a couple other shots that I can remember. I think I only shot it 10-15 times or so to sight in in initially. Right around 1 box for the life of the rifle.

 

About 18 years ago, he hung up his hunting cap, put the rifle in the gun cabinet to collect dust, and left me to find new adventures solo. Over the last 17 years, I have really gone a little nuts with hunting. He has seen my rifles go from $400 rifle/scope combos to what some of you have seen. He knew I have shown my daughters, his granddaughters, how to hunt, shoot, fish, and appreciate the outdoors and wildlife. I know he missed it, but could just not get around well enough to go out again. I truly miss him even just being in camp with me.

 

When we were in the hospital for the last week of his life, he bequeathed his rifle to me and my goal now is to get the elk he never got a chance to take. So I have started a build to get it shooting like it should, and to lighten it up to be a good packing rifle for hiking into the deeper mountains and canyons, but still being able to take game out to 800-1000 yards. I already have the heavy LR rigs for both deer (16.5#) and elk (14+#), and a good medium weight rifle for antelope & deer (10.5#). My hopes are to bring this rifle in around 9-9.5# with base/rings/scope.

 

I took it home and spent a while cleaning 20 years of dust out of it.

 

I started with the basic 7mm RM R700 LA BDL. 24" barrel, iron sights w. Weaver rings & 2 pc. bases, and Redfield 3-9x40 scope. Total weight: 8 pounds, 10 ounces.

 

I took the scope/bases off to be used on a Ruger 10/22 that I got from him a few years ago for squirrel hunting with Paige and Taylor, my daughters.

 

The wood stock has definitely seen better days after riding around in his truck for years during hunting season, and being carried around the field, banging against rocks and trees, belt buckles, knife sheath on a belt, etc. So off it came, and is being replaced by an HS Precision composite stock that was taken off my .300RUM. Weight savings: 6 ounces.

 

 

I ordered up a 27" Bartlein 5R #3 heavy sporter fluted 1 in 8.5" twist blank. Specs from Bartlein for the #3 @ 27" without flutes in 3 pounds 8 ounces. new barrel dimensions are about .010"-.020" larger than the factory magnum sporter for the length of the barrel. Fluting, according to the calculator, should have removed approximately 6-8 ounces. But I am adding 2" to the length, so at approximately 1.5 oz. per inch at the muzzle, I should still drop a few ounces. Weight savings: 3-5 ounces. Adding an APA Micro Bastard brake brings the weight back up to probably a wash.

 

 

Here is the barrel next to my 28" #4 Shilen on my .25-06 Ackley.

 

 

Cutting off steel bolt knob and adding an aluminum stubby bolt knob. Weight savings: Maybe an ounce?

 

I will send off the bolt to get fluted when I get it back from Phoenix Custom Rifles. Weight savings: 3 ounces.

 

I ordered a Seekins 20 MOA aluminum Picatinny base and will probably go with Seekins aluminum 30mm rings: Weight savings: Unknown, probably adding an ounce or two.

 

I ordered a Timney Calvin Elite trigger @ 8oz. pull weight.

 

I am pretty set on my scope choice. I have been researching scopes for a lightweight build for a while, weighing pros/cons. Price, weight, mag range, FOV, features, reticle, warranty, etc. In a perfect world (and if I would have just won the Powerball), the choice would have been the March. But since I can't afford a $3500 scope right now, that one is out. Maybe in the future. But for now, I want a scope with a lower bottom mag range, in the 3-4X area. High mag range no lower than 15X, but up to 20X would be great. Of course, for my preference, it needs to be MIL/MIL and FFP. Some sort of a holdover reticle that is true MIL subtension, not a BDC. Illuminated reticle is high up on my preferences, and a second rotation indicator is nice, but not mandatory as long as it has a zero stop. Length is no big deal as long as weight is help down. Vertical adjustment is important for longer shots, but with the 20MOA base, that adds about 6 MIL of adjustment. But to get to 1200 yards, at an approximate high country muley or elk hunt, I only need 9 MILS of dial. I don't want a 2# scope if I can avoid it. But there are 1 or 2 that are high on the list.

 

Here is my list, and you tell me what you would get, and be honest. It is easy to say the S&B 3-27x56 for $6600 when spending someone else's money. So unless you would really drop $7K on a scope, don't suggest it.

 

 

I have already done case prep on a batch of about 70 Winchester brand once fired cases I had in my stash. Weight sorted to within 3 grains (230.0-233.0), resized to .0015" below SAAMI spec @ shoulder, trimmed, chamfered for VLD/de-burred, flash hole de-burred and uniformed, primer pockets uniformed, and neck/shoulders annealed.

 

 

I will be shooting the Berger 180 Hybrids.

 

 

Unprimed dummy round for chambering and freebore. Base of boat tail is just below shoulder to body junction, but has full purchase in neck to bearing surface of bullet.

 

 

Two separate ladder tests worked up with RL22 & H1000. Also, some sighter rounds with a mild load of H1000 for sight in.

 

 

All parts and dummy round have been dropped off at Phoenix Custom Rifles. I talked to Keith today, and he will be starting on it tomorrow. I hope to have it back by the end of January or beginning of February according to Keith.

[hunthard]

I love all your build posts and reloading knowledge that you share. This is probably a dumb question, but I don't see it on there. Have you looked at the mark 4 scopes? 6.5-20x50 is 22.5oz. Also, what's been your experience with the hybrids? Reason I ask is my dad has a custom 300 wby that shoots them lights out, but I watched him shoot a mule deer 5 times at 650 yds in Utah that hardly penetrated and just came apart on impact. Bullet's were in about a 3.5" group and there was shrapnel or about half the bullet of each bullet that didn't even enter the body cavity and just spread on the front side of the hide. Obviously we don't use those any more, but I wanted to see if you've had any good experiences with them and your opinion and the Mark 4?

[firstcoueswas80]

Id beg of you to go the other way and keep the gun exactly how he left it, just go from there.

[4Falls]

Lance, your knowledge and skill is amazing. Looks like a great build.

 

That being said, part of me agrees with Casey too.

 

Either way its a great way to honor the man who obviously made quite an impact on your life.

[CJ Long range]

Following. This is going to be a beautiful rifle and I love the meaning behind it.

[AverageJoe]

Id beg of you to go the other way and keep the gun exactly how he left it, just go from there.

This...you already had plenty of upgraded guns...should of left it alone and just cleaned it up a tad.

[lancetkenyon]

I understand where you guy are coming from on leaving the rifle alone. And I was torn with just doing some minor work to it and leaving it close to factory spec. But, he asked me to "Fix it up nice and get it shooting like yours are". I am sure he will be smiling down on me when I am out in the field with it, and when my daughters are using it too.

 

Not sure on the stock painting yet, but it will have military style stencils with a memorial tribute to him. Something like "IMO: E BUS R 1-4-16" (In Memory Of: Elby "Bus" Robertson January, 4th 2016)

 

As for the Leupold scopes, I have looked at the Mark 6, but at $2700-3300, they are not on the short list right now. The Mark 4 ER/T or LR/T FFP are a 3.5-10 or 4.5-14. Even though 4.5X on the low end is close to my 4X minimum, and the 14 is close to my minimum high end magnification, they run $2000-2800, and they don't really meet my criteria. I can meet all of my goals with other scopes in that price range if I choose to spend that much money. With a 3X magnification range they get surpassed by most other companies with either a 4X or 5X magnification range. Good glass, but just not what I am looking for. I also looked at the VX-6 3-18 & 4-20, but not FFP or MIL. The Mark 8 3.5-25 would be awesome, and I have wanted one since they came out, but at $4500-5500, and weighing in at 37 ounces, they are out of the race right now. Good question though, and thanks for the suggestion.

 

Last question, the Berger Hybrids. I will be honest, I have only ever shot one thing besides paper with a Hybrid. A coyote took a 6.5mm 140 Hybrid, and he did not like it very much...at all. He hated it to death. But it was not as damaging as the HVLDs I have shot coyotes, and deer and elk, with. With a thicker jacket that the HVLDs, they are not "intended for hunting use" by Berger. But I have read a lot on about their on game performance. Those who use them have mostly sworn by them. But like the HVLDs, you get some stories of them not performing. Some will say, and many members here do too, "Why not use a bullet that works 100% of the time?" Well, even though most people never have had their bullet of choice fail, it has happened to someone, somewhere. I think a majority of bullet "failures" or loss of game are from one of several possible factors. Poor shot placement (#1), bullet tip damage (plugged, dented, or pointed meplat), lower than optimal velocity at impact, not enough remaining energy on impact, and probably others that I am not thinking of right now. I have used match bullets that are "not intended for hunting" to take a lot of animals, from jackrabbits to coyotes, to deer and elk. From 18 yards to 1327 yards. All have worked great.

 

I personally think you hear more cases about Bergers not performing because so many more of them are being used than most other bullet types. And everybody thinks they are magic, so they take less than optimal shots, or shots are taken by people who have no business taking the shot and then blaming a lost or wounded animal on the bullet, rather than the shooter. It is really easy to blame the bullet for a failure when you cannot recover the animal and see where point of impact was. I am not saying this was your case at all Hunthard. If it was before 2011, Bergers had a much softer jacket, and had complaints of bullet blow up either on impact or even in flight from tight twist/high velocity guns.

 

I am also trying to get my hands on the 183 Sierra Match King, but Unicorn tears are hard to come by. I really like the SMK performance on game too.

[cactusjack]

Sig just came out with a line of optics. The Whiskey5 is pretty interesting to me as a hunting scope. The 3-15x44 and 3-15x50s are ones I really like. From what I hear, they are made at the same plant in Japan that Vortex uses. I think they run between 1100 to 1400.

 

http://www.sigoptics.com/model/whiskey5-3-15x44-mm/

 

The Tango6 is in their tactical line. 3-18x44

I think between 1500-1700 from what I have seen.

I like them. They have a great feel and they are easy to adjust without adding a lever. I have added levers to some of my Vortex.

Just a thought.

Merchant Firearms stocks them.

 

good luck, great build btw.

[firstcoueswas80]

i would look at the SWFA scope, I have heard nothing but good things about them.

 

Hybrids. Killed my 2014 deer with them, kinda undecided on results. Weather was TERRIBLE so it was hard for me to call my shots. Killed him, but no blood on the ground. Shot a javelina at about 65-75 yards in Feb. of 2015. Plowed him and the bullet stayed inside.

 

Look at the 150 or 180 Scenar as well, but to me, a 7 Rem Mag SCREAMS for a 160 Accubond.

[doogan]

That's awesome Lance! I'm sure it will be an amazing shooter when you're all done. Good work man!

[CraigK]

Midway has 183 SMK in stock. I'm planning on trying them in my 7mag. I run the 180 vld with h1000 at a bit over 2840 just haven't had a tag to shoot anything with. My cousin runs the 180 hybrids in his lrm's and 28nosler and definitely speaks highly of them with their performance on game. Can't wait to see the finished result of your memorial rifle... I think I'm safe to say you're pretty well known around here for producing some awesome end results with your builds.

[More D]

It looks like it will end up being another one of your awesome rifles I dream of owning one day....

 

Please do not take offense but I, personally, would have left it alone aside from a good cleaning.

To me fine firearms are about the story behind them, the stories they could tell when held not what they can be turned into. His rifle deserved to be admired they way he did all those years.

 

"Fix it up nice and get it shooting like yours are" was probably his way of connecting with you.

 

Donor actions are easy to come by.

[rcdinaz]

Lance, awesome project!

 

for your scope choice I would take another look at the ER/T. Mil or LEO discounts are big on Leupold and this is a great scope. I have the 6.5x20 on my go to 7mm RM. I am not a Leupold fan and it is the only scope they make that I have but I ended up choosing this over my Nightforce which is now in a drawer waiting for another project. As for the others I like Burris and have 3 of their scopes but all are mid level with BDC type reticles. My issue with Burris and Bushnell is their scopes are freaking heavy!

 

AS for the other mfg's nothing new to tell you the German glass and US Optics will hold their value and in the past have actually went up. Vortex well you can't beat the warranty and the Razor is great for the $ but again on the heavy side. I like my PST and it has not let me down and may be the best choice if cost is the main concern along with saving some weight.

[CraigK]

I'm sure if you felt strongly about him wanting you to leave it "as is" you would have respected him and done so. I see nothing wrong with building a new rifle out of it, the heart of the gun is the action so that will always be there. Like others, this is just my opinion. I did the same with my 7mag that my dad had for 20 years. My dads still alive, thankfully, and I'll never forget the smile on his face as he said "that was amazing!" When he shot his deer at a distance that more than doubled any distance he had shot an animal at before.

And as mentioned previously I'm pretty excited to see the end result.

[lancetkenyon]

If I would have had any inkling he wanted me to keep it factory and not "fix it up", I would have just cleaned it and worked up a load.

 

But since I want it to be a rifle I will take on every future hunt as either a primary or back up rifle, it has to shoot lights out to my standards. It would do me no good to have a 1+ MOA rifle that sits in the safe or just gets loaned out. I want to hunt with this rifle until I can't hunt anymore, then pass it down as an heirloom. I am sure it will still get loaned out to my kids over the next 30+ years too.

 

I know some might not agree, but my best way to use this gun is to "fix it up" and hunt my butt off with it and remember Bus every time I shoulder it. I can't do that if it sits in a safe because it is not as accurate as another gun. I owe it to Bus and the animals to put every shot where it needs to go.

 

I appreciate all of the responses, on both sides of the decision. Keep up the responses and suggestions.