Belted Magnums

[Cort]

I have just purchased a Remington 700 magnum action with a 7mm Remington Magnum barrel. I do not know the condition of the barrel so I may, or may not, re-barrel this rig while completing the rifle. I have never owned a magnum caliber before so what are the issues related to belted versus non-belted magnum cases. I don't expect to shoot this rifle a great deal so I want a standard caliber that I can buy factory ammunition for even though I will probably only reload. If I re-barrel the action, what choices in caliber make sense for a lightly used, hunting rifle?

Thanks,

Cort

 

[BigDMT]

The 7mm Rem Mag is an excellent round capable of excellent accuracy and long range capabilities with the right bullets. Really no reason to re-barrel to anything else if you want a good powerful hunting caliber IMO.

Of course if you re-barrel, we could come up with countless ideas and try to justify them all like so many other threads on here, but the 7mm Rem Mag is all you will ever need for any North American big game.

 

[Raythemanroe]

Well said, I like the 7mm RM and think they are a very good hunting gun..Probably one of my all time favorite guns was a 7mm RM

 

[bigwoodsman]

The 7mm mag is still a great entry level for long range hunting,the caliber came out on the market place in the early 1960 s and is still offered by many company's today.this caliber will be around for many years to come



Jeff

 

[jimbires]

I like my 7 rem mag . I use a 160 accubond and have taken 2 elk and a moose with it . as far as the belt goes , just size your brass to headspace off the shoulder . don't let the belt intimidate you . I'd sure shoot it before I rebarreled it . also don't shoot a lot without letting it cool , magnums will make heat fast .

 

[BigDMT]

I shot my very first elk (a cow on a late hunt permit) with an old 7mm Rem Mag made by Mossberg and an old American made 3-9x40 Redfield scope. Dumped her at 300 yards at the age of 14. Great caliber.....

I actually have a brand new 26" stainless 7mm RM Remington factory barrel sitting on my shelf ready to be fitted to an action. Definitely plan on having a 7mm back in my hunting selection again soon.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

7 mag is very versitile round. I think its a great round. Reload it like any other case, totally ignore the belt.

 

[BigDMT]

The one recommendation I have for loading belted magnums is to use a full sizer die, but set it so that you only size the neck about 3/4 of the way down after brass has been fired in the rifle. This way you don't touch the shoulder. It helps center the case in the chamber with the lower part of the neck being tighter to the walls, and allows you to headspace off the shoulder instead of the belt which takes some stress off the belt when the round is chambered. You will get longer brass life and will almost never see a case head separation at the belt. However, the brass will start to chamber tighter after a few firings with the partial neck sizing method, then at that point you will have to fully size the neck and bump the shoulder back just a hair. Should still shoot with nearly identical accuracy using a full sized case, then you start partial neck sizing again. The best way is to pick up an extra full sizer die of the same brand and have one set for partial neck/full bodysizing and the other die set for full neck/body sizing.

I have loaded all my belted magnums this way for many years and I have NEVER had a case head separation. Accuracy has been phenomenal and brass life is excellent if I am not trying to "red-line" bullet speeds. Even when pushing loads to the limits, I will end up with loose primer pockets long before any other trouble with the brass, next is split necks if I don't feel like keeping up on annealing. The belted magnums I have extensive experience reloading with are;
300 Win Mag, 7mm Rem Mag, 6.5mm Rem Mag, 358 Norma Mag.

 

[Cort]

I greatly appreciate all the advice. I will setup for just barely messing with the shoulder and see how that works. If it doesn't work well, then a second sizer is on the list.

Cort