Need some advice with chambering for 7mm SAUM

[Tondar15]

I am getting a Brux barrel chambered in 7mm RSAUM. This will be my first custom rifle and thus I have a lot to learn. I believe my gunsmith has a 7mm RSAUM reamer set to SAAMI specs. I would like to be able to mag feed this gun and shoot the 168 Berger VLD's (I know the 180's are out for mag fed).

The gun will be based on a Savage Model 16 short action and I'll be using a Mcree Precision TMAG stock.

What do you guys think? Will I be able to shoot the 168's from a mag and still have some room to play with seating depth and/or chase the lands?

Should I instruct the gunsmith to do anything special considering my intentions? I have asked him as well but SSS is difficult to get a hold of

Forgot to mention that I will be using Remington brass if that helps

Thanks for the help!
Tony

 

[Kenny474]

A lot is going to depend on mag length. With a short action you are very limited in cartridge OAL, as I believe the magazine is only 3.026" long and rounds need to be shorter than that to feed. If you go to Gun of The Week 95, you will see some of the issues that had to be dealt with in a similar situation, as the .284 is only .135" longer than the 7mmSAUM. 160gr AccuBond's loaded to 2.90" were 1/4" below the base of the shoulder. The same OAL in the 7mmSAUM will still leave the bullet inside the case a bit. And the Berger VLD's are longer.

I think a custom reamer ground to suit a loaded round that will mag feed will help you out a bit, but it's not going to help the mag length constriction, and still may not get you to the lands with a VLD. Though a long action would solve most problems.

 

[Tondar15]

Kenny,

Thanks for info, who would you recommend for the custom reamer? I didn't know you could send someone a loaded round and they would make a reamer to that round.

Thanx

 

[Kenny474]

Dave Kiff at Pacific Tool and Gauge.

You can call and discuss your project and they will help you figure out what is going to work best in your application. PT&G has been making reamers for a while, and they really know their stuff, far more than I can explain.

My suggestion is to buy whatever brass and bullets you plan to use, load 3 of them to a length that will function in your magazine (no primer or powder) and send them to PT&G after you discuss the details with them. What you get back will be a reamer tailored to fit your gun and ammo combination, like a fine suit tailored to fit you.

Good luck, hope it shoots!
Kenny

 

[Tondar15]

So I talked to Dave and I think this is the direction I'm taking.

I measured my AW mag and front to back on the inside is 2.975". When I setup my dummy rounds what OAL should I go for if I want to have some ability to "chase the lands"?

Dave said the throat wear depends on too much to predict. I'll be shooting a Brux barrel if that helps. Any guesses out there if I want to be able to get at least 1000 rounds out of this barrel before having to re-chamber?

Thanx
Tony