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7saum or 7-6.5 prcw Tikka Prefit for ELR?

Price was too good on a 6.5 prc tikka lite not to buy it for the action. I am super happy with my Preferred Barrel Blanks 223ai prefit, so I will try another.

I just want to shoot as far as I can for fun on public land. There are already targets at 1000, 1100, 1mile, and 3575 yards. I can set up at any distance between that easily.

They offer 7saum and 7-6.5prcw with 1:8 or 1:9 and the max length they do is 27".

I want to shoot the 180 Berger since they are likely goin to shoot well and be easy to tune. Might try the 184 Berger or 180\183 MK if those dont work out for some reason.

I know 1:8.5 is ideal, but since they dont offer that I asked the barrel maker what they suggest. They said 1:8 for ELR in case I want to try heavier bullets for more BC. I read all of the 7-6.5 prcw load data topic and, I see Alex says he wouldn't go faster than 8.5. I found a similar topic and a Berger employee (I love this forum) said go 8, because it would do better going transonic. I shoot at 3000 feet or more. What twist do y'all think?

The barrel maker said they will throat a saum however I want if I send a dummy round, so that solves that. ADG had saum brass in stock yesterday. 150 pieces probably last me forever. I kind of want more horsepower with the saum, especially since im limited to 27". Plus there is a large selection of dies to choose from. On the other hand, brass may not always be around which is the main problem.

A 7-6.5prcw also sounds good. A little slower, but abundant brass that will likely be available for many years. Dies are more expensive and I have to make sure they match the chamber since there are slightly different reamers at the 200 line. I suspect with the 180s its going to shoot better than anything I have ever played with and it will be easy to tune. Burns less powder, less recoil, longer barrel life easier to keep tuned. On the other hand, more horsepower might be better at 3000 yards!

Super hard choices! I appreciate everyone's input!
 
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Saum with 1:8. And to be honest in my 28 nosler i couldnt get the 180 hybrid to shoot well but it hammers with the 195
 
Since you found the brass, I would also say the 7 SAUM. If you plan to shoot past a mile, I would select the 1:8 for hopefully better bullet stability through the transonic flight. I have pointed 184 hybrids and got the G7 to a little over 0.380 for some lots. For ELR, that's the bullet I shoot. I use the 180s for 1k or less.
 
Price was too good on a 6.5 prc tikka lite not to buy it for the action. I am super happy with my Preferred Barrel Blanks 223ai prefit, so I will try another.

I just want to shoot as far as I can for fun on public land. There are already targets at 1000, 1100, 1mile, and 3575 yards. I can set up at any distance between that easily.

They offer 7saum and 7-6.5prcw with 1:8 or 1:9 and the max length they do is 27".

I want to shoot the 180 Berger since they are likely goin to shoot well and be easy to tune. Might try the 184 Berger or 180\183 MK if those dont work out for some reason.

I know 1:8.5 is ideal, but since they dont offer that I asked the barrel maker what they suggest. They said 1:8 for ELR in case I want to try heavier bullets for more BC. I read all of the 7-6.5 prcw load data topic and, I see Alex says he wouldn't go faster than 8.5. I found a similar topic and a Berger employee (I love this forum) said go 8, because it would do better going transonic. I shoot at 3000 feet or more. What twist do y'all think?

The barrel maker said they will throat a saum however I want if I send a dummy round, so that solves that. ADG had saum brass in stock yesterday. 150 pieces probably last me forever. I kind of want more horsepower with the saum, especially since im limited to 27". Plus there is a large selection of dies to choose from. On the other hand, brass may not always be around which is the main problem.

A 7-6.5prcw also sounds good. A little slower, but abundant brass that will likely be available for many years. Dies are more expensive and I have to make sure they match the chamber since there are slightly different reamers at the 200 line. I suspect with the 180s its going to shoot better than anything I have ever played with and it will be easy to tune. Burns less powder, less recoil, longer barrel life easier to keep tuned. On the other hand, more horsepower might be better at 3000 yards!

Super hard choices! I appreciate everyone's input!
For ELR with a 7mm look at the 190LRHT and 1-8 twist.
Here’s my 7 saum shooting out to 2990.
CCAE80E0-9786-4E83-8652-AA9234FA9E8B.jpeg
 
For the longer distance, I myself would do a saum. You also can load then lighter for shorter distances if you’re worried about the barrel life. I would also suggest trying the Lapua 180 Scenar. It might transition better a longer distance. I’ve shot lots of them, but never tried past 1000yds.
 
Those are also on my radar. Maybe I have just been reading too many posts from fclass shooters who have different objectives and standards. I just figure the 180 is a proven shooter, and I can experiment from there if I want.
Out to a mile the 180 is pretty good but 190 bucks The wind even better by that distance.
I was just shooting 600-1000 it would be the 180.

I shoot the 183smk for 500-1500 and the 190 is definitely my choice for past a mile.
 
Out to a mile the 180 is pretty good but 190 bucks The wind even better by that distance.
I was just shooting 600-1000 it would be the 180.

I shoot the 183smk for 500-1500 and the 190 is definitely my choice for past a mile.
Im going to have to make a decision on the first box of bullets to buy so I can make the dummy round to send in.
 
How often do you plan on shooting beyond 1000? Occasionally, at least 50%, or mostly? If more than occasionally, and considering to use the 190, then definitely get throated for the longer bullet. The 180’s will still shoot with some jump, including 180 VLD. I had Berger 180 VLD shooting better with an 0.045 jump then a 0.005 jam. The 180 Scenar would most likely work with the same freebore as the 190 Berger.
 
How often do you plan on shooting beyond 1000? Occasionally, at least 50%, or mostly? If more than occasionally, and considering to use the 190, then definitely get throated for the longer bullet. The 180’s will still shoot with some jump, including 180 VLD. I had Berger 180 VLD shooting better with an 0.045 jump then a 0.005 jam. The 180 Scenar would most likely work with the same freebore as the 190 Berger.
Good points.
Also for both 7mm short magnums running them long as in 3.1+ oal really let’s them shine.
 
How often do you plan on shooting beyond 1000? Occasionally, at least 50%, or mostly? If more than occasionally, and considering to use the 190, then definitely get throated for the longer bullet. The 180’s will still shoot with some jump, including 180 VLD. I had Berger 180 VLD shooting better with an 0.045 jump then a 0.005 jam. The 180 Scenar would most likely work with the same freebore as the 190 Berger.
I plan to shoot beyond 1k pretty much all the time with this gun. I can shoot the 6 creed to 1k.

Seating them long is no problem. I single feed most all my guns. I don't even own a magazine for the 6 creed, just a sled.

Really appreciating everyone's help!
 
Ok i guess im gonna buy adg saum brass while I can! Its expensive! How much you think to last the life of the barrel? 150 with 10 firings seems like enough? Mot sure how many firing to expect or barrel life. I tend to shoot slow. I never shoot more than 10 without letting it cool completely.
 
I dropped off a barrel and 7 saum reamer with smith today. It will be my first saum, so I’m not sure about brass and barrel life. I got 300 pieces of new ADG brass to start with, but I should probably get more.
 
6-7 loadings will probably get you to/near end of barrel life(300 pieces). I have loaded some of my 1st run Remington brass at least that many times.
 
6-7 loadings will probably get you to/near end of barrel life(300 pieces). I have loaded some of my 1st run Remington brass at least that many times.
300x7= 2100. Im not expecting that much barrel life. I was thinking more like 1500. Id sure hope adg lasts a lot longer than Remington! 300 pieces of adg is 600 bucks!

With 150 i figure that gives 50 for testing, zeroing, sighters, culling a bad piece etc and 100 for actual shooting.

Looks like fclass guys are saying possibly less than 1k and some as much as 1500. Of course they shoot some fast strings and only accept super accuracy. So maybe 2000 is possible.

With 150 pieces its more like 13 loadings for 2k rounds. Maybe 200 pieces will do me, but dang thats some coin.
 
Ok i guess im gonna buy adg saum brass while I can! Its expensive! How much you think to last the life of the barrel? 150 with 10 firings seems like enough? Mot sure how many firing to expect or barrel life. I tend to shoot slow. I never shoot more than 10 without letting it cool completely.
I have 150 pieces of ADG and it’s killed one barrel and well along the second and still holding primers.
 

About 1500 trouble free shots, after that you’ll probably be chasing speed.
This is with a steady diet of R26(and some H1000) and 180’s at 2950 and 190’s at 2880.
Have you tried h4350 or n555? I haven't looked too much at powders for saum, but these were top choices in 7-6.5 prc. Be really nice to run a powder that works well in the 6 creed too.

Wow, it really whacks the plate!
 

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