Desert Tech - 7wsm vs 7 saum vs .300 win mag

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SMTGWKD

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Minuteman
Mar 3, 2017
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#1
I had a similar thread going in the old hide but need some input between these calibers for my Desert Tech SRS-A1.

I currently own the rifle in 6.5 creedmoor and run 147 gr Hornady ELDs with GREAT success (.235" center-to-center, 8-shot group at 100 with factory Hornady ammo - shot 8 for group and left 2 to change back to zero)

I'm looking for a round with more punch out to a mile and have settled on the following projectiles:

1. 7mm - Hornady 180 ELD
2. .300 - Hornady 208 ELD or 225 ELD

Ballistics of all calibers are very similar but I'm torn for the following reasons:

.300 WM -
Pros: DTA has a factory conversion with magazines, I can use the same bullets for loading my 300 blackout so no duplication, more energy at game (but does this really matter by comparison?), more readily available factory loads and, more importantly, factory brass as I reload!
Cons: slightly inferior ballistics at the expense of increased recoil.

7mm WSM/SAUM
Pros: Rockstar ballistics (quite a bit less drop and wind deflection out to a mile than the .300 wm) with less felt recoil(I'd love to have extended range sessions), DTA offers a conversion for 7wsm but it appears that brass may have dried up for it???
Cons: brass cost/availability, factory ammo (alternative to obtain baseline accuracy and brass), 7saum would require a custom barrel - not sure about bolt/magazine...

KEEP IN MIND - I've had two shoulder surgeries due to sports injuries (one on each shoulder due to dislocations) and am somewhat sensitive to recoilon the shoulder. Either caliber would be shot with an ASR brake and Omega Silencer.

In short, if DTA had a 7mm conversion with readily available components and factory support I'd buy that in a heartbeat, but with my research I'm not sure about the support for the 7wsm...or 7saum for that matter...Likewise, if I knew the .300 Win Mag had comfortable recoil in my DTA with ASR brake and Omega that may be the ticket due to factory support and readily available components...

Thanks so much for all your input - if there is someone in the Utah area with one or the other calibers in a DTA I'd love to meet up!
 
#4
1. There may be an obvious answer to this but why not a 7mm-300 win mag? Might cost marginally more to have a barrel spun up as opposed to a factory conversion, but it would utilize the same bolt and magazine. Same performance of the win mag (if not a little better) and less felt recoil seems like a pretty good trade-off to me. Not to mention, component availability is practically endless and loading for them is a breeze.

2. I'll tell you right now the .300 mag with a suppressor will not be super fun to shoot from a recoil standpoint. You can certainly turn down recoil on a .300 with a good muzzle brake, but I would lean heavily towards a Terminator/APA/similar instead of a can.
 
#5
I tried a 7 SAUM in my DTA, it shot great and recoil was very mild but it definitely didn't feed perfect. It wasn't as bad as some make it out to be but still not great. I changed to a 7 LRM and haven't looked back, a little more performance and flawless feeding. I would listen to the guys above and stick to a longer cartridge, all of the above mentioned would feed better and give you a little more performance than the short action rounds.
 
#6
I say 300 Norma Magnum or 7LRM. Those are the calibers you should be looking at harder! I think you should be look at the 190 or195 extreme outter limits berger bullet(7LRM) OR 230 Bergers in 300 NM.
 
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#7
just browsing said:
1. There may be an obvious answer to this but why not a 7mm-300 win mag? Might cost marginally more to have a barrel spun up as opposed to a factory conversion, but it would utilize the same bolt and magazine. Same performance of the win mag (if not a little better) and less felt recoil seems like a pretty good trade-off to me. Not to mention, component availability is practically endless and loading for them is a breeze.

2. I'll tell you right now the .300 mag with a suppressor will not be super fun to shoot from a recoil standpoint. You can certainly turn down recoil on a .300 with a good muzzle brake, but I would lean heavily towards a Terminator/APA/similar instead of a can.
Click to expand...

I can highly recommend the Terminator break. Its worth the money everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. I had it on a 338 Lapua and it felt like just a little more that a 308 with heavy bullets.
 
#8
IanHusaberg said:
I can highly recommend the Terminator break. Its worth the money everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. I had it on a 338 Lapua and it felt like just a little more that a 308 with heavy bullets.
Click to expand...

I've had the T3 on a Win Mag, the T4 on a Lapua, and now the T5 on a .375 CheyTac... I can honestly say that every one of them has been worth every penny.
 
#9
WeiserBucks said:
I would steer clear of the 7 WSM, simply due to brass availability. Plain ol' 7 rem mag is a great cartridge that is well established and isn't going away anytime soon.
Click to expand...

This underscores my concern with the 7wsm desert tech produces. Does 7mm rem mag use a standard bolt face that DTA has available?
 
#10
gregsjt said:
I tried a 7 SAUM in my DTA, it shot great and recoil was very mild but it definitely didn't feed perfect. It wasn't as bad as some make it out to be but still not great. I changed to a 7 LRM and haven't looked back, a little more performance and flawless feeding. I would listen to the guys above and stick to a longer cartridge, all of the above mentioned would feed better and give you a little more performance than the short action rounds.
Click to expand...

I think 7mm may be my solution over the 300s simply due to the balance of ballistic performance per lb of recoil.

what setup did you use for the 7LRM I your DTA? Do one of the standard bolts work so i only need a barrel?
 
#11
IanHusaberg said:
I say 300 Norma Magnum or 7LRM. Those are the calibers you should be looking at harder! I think you should be look at the 190 or195 extreme outter limits berger bullet(7LRM) OR 230 Bergers in 300 NM.
Click to expand...

At this point I completely agree - of the two I assume the 7mm will have a slight ballistic advantage and recoil less. Anything I'm missing?
 
#12
I've shot a Gunwerks 7LRM with their loaded bullets(recipe)185's?. With there break its just a little more recoil than a 308. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I've also hit targets at 1200y with it and was a hoot. My buddy, couldn't repeat the feat and was crying on the inside. I don't know the G7 coefficient of the 7mm 195's over the 230 G7 .380. I think his 7LRM was going 2920 FPS with 185's? Not sure of the 7mm bullets weight exactly? I do know the 195 7mm berger extreme outer limits has the highest G7 of any 7mm out there to my very small and limited knowledge. I've been trying to get my buddy to pick some up and try to work on a load. His dad does all of his reloading for him. What a lucky guy! It's like trying to push a wet rope for him to get on board. He shot a antelope at 200 and it did a number on it. 1200 yards is a different story, i don't know why he doesn't get on board. It definitely bothers him that I get hits with his rifle@ 1200y and he doesn't.
 
#13
SMTGWKD said:
I think 7mm may be my solution over the 300s simply due to the balance of ballistic performance per lb of recoil.

what setup did you use for the 7LRM I your DTA? Do one of the standard bolts work so i only need a barrel?
Click to expand...

I got the 7 LRM barrel from Orkan at Primal Rights, he's a good guy and they do excellent work. I use the bolt and mags from my other conversions.
The regular long action mags and the .300 wm bolt will work for all of the 7mm's listed above. 7 RM, 7LRM or 28 Nosler.
 
#14
gregsjt said:
I got the 7 LRM barrel from Orkan at Primal Rights, he's a good guy and they do excellent work. I use the bolt and mags from my other conversions.
The regular long action mags and the .300 wm bolt will work for all of the 7mm's listed above. 7 RM, 7LRM or 28 Nosler.
Click to expand...

Thank you - exactly what I needed to know!
 
#15
IanHusaberg said:
I've shot a Gunwerks 7LRM with their loaded bullets(recipe)185's?. With there break its just a little more recoil than a 308. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I've also hit targets at 1200y with it and was a hoot. My buddy, couldn't repeat the feat and was crying on the inside. I don't know the G7 coefficient of the 7mm 195's over the 230 G7 .380. I think his 7LRM was going 2920 FPS with 185's? Not sure of the 7mm bullets weight exactly? I do know the 195 7mm berger extreme outer limits has the highest G7 of any 7mm out there to my very small and limited knowledge. I've been trying to get my buddy to pick some up and try to work on a load. His dad does all of his reloading for him. What a lucky guy! It's like trying to push a wet rope for him to get on board. He shot a antelope at 200 and it did a number on it. 1200 yards is a different story, i don't know why he doesn't get on board. It definitely bothers him that I get hits with his rifle@ 1200y and he doesn't.
Click to expand...

Berger 195 - G1: .755 G7: .387

Hornady 180 ELD - G1: .796 G7: .401
 
#17
IanHusaberg said:
Thats 7mm only. WOW!!!!

Just saw to .308 225 ELD-M has a G7-.391

But .401 has it beat. Hands down if it's true!!!
Click to expand...

I'm running the Hornady 147 gr 6.5 Creedmoor (.696 G1) and it is spot on.

I originally planned to run a.300 win mag with the 225s but I've run the ballistics over and over and the 7 had it beat with quite a bit less recoil.

muy main concern now is the best turn - key solution for the desert tech.

Orkan's 7lrm looks like a solid solution - any reason not to jus run a 7mm-300wm or plain old 7 REM mag?
 
#18
SMTGWKD said:
I'm running the Hornady 147 gr 6.5 Creedmoor (.696 G1) and it is spot on.

I originally planned to run a.300 win mag with the 225s but I've run the ballistics over and over and the 7 had it beat with quite a bit less recoil.

muy main concern now is the best turn - key solution for the desert tech.

Orkan's 7lrm looks like a solid solution - any reason not to jus run a 7mm-300wm or plain old 7 REM mag?
Click to expand...

7LRM is the solution.?.?!??????

To be honest, I'm stoked about the 147 ELD-M in a 260 Rem!
 
#19
I've been happy with the LRM so far, my only complaint is that there is only one source for the brass and it's not the best, a little soft. If you're picky about using the best brass or having lots of options I would go with a 7 RM or 7-300 WM. Both of those will work great with the DTA.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 
#23
gregsjt said:
I've been happy with the LRM so far, my only complaint is that there is only one source for the brass and it's not the best, a little soft. If you're picky about using the best brass or having lots of options I would go with a 7 RM or 7-300 WM. Both of those will work great with the DTA.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

If you were to do it all over again which would you run with?
 
#24
I would probably go LRM again just because I love the case design so much, I think it's about perfect for a 7mm bore. Plus, it's not my main go to round so brass availability isn't a huge concern, I bought 3 hundred cases up front and have only used a hundred of them in the last couple years. If I was planning on more volume I would go 7 RM.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 
#25
I'd suggest getting a barrel from ty or directly from benchmark. Much cheaper than the factory conversion.

My 300 Norma conversion with 27" Palma contour and fat bastard brake doesn't recoil badly at all. 7 LRM sounds like an awesome cartridge but honestly the limitation to hornady brass kills it for me.
 
#26
Ty spins up some great barrels. As far as magnum conversions, ty has done a 6.5 saum, 7 rem , and 300 win for me . I got my 338lm from Gregg. They have all been great shooters. The 7rem is easier on the recoil and the brass is abundant.
 
#27
Shit, how did I miss this?

I have a 7SAUM that Mark built for me a few years ago, it has always been a hammer, but since I switched over to 183 sierra match kings, it has become my favorite. The long nosed 183's maximize the SAUM case (with much freebore in this instance). They cycle flawlessly in my UN-MODIFIED LA magazines, and they scorch anything in their path at 3000FPS, someday when this one goes south, I will have Mark clone me another.
 
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#28
What is your OAL with the 183s and 7 SAUM? I thought I was going to be able to run the long 143/147s in 6.5 SAUM from unmodified long magazine. They worked with 1 but with more the top round dives down. So I went back to modifying short magazine. I don't have 6.5 SAUM barrel yet, just proofing it a bit. Seems to feed ok from modified mag. Need to tweak a little more to prevent scratches at the corner shoulder.

To the OP all choices are good. Id choose based on component availability/quality and your recoil tolerance.
 
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#29
coldboremiracle said:
Shit, how did I miss this?

I have a 7SAUM that Mark built for me a few years ago, it has always been a hammer, but since I switched over to 183 sierra match kings, it has become my favorite. The long nosed 183's maximize the SAUM case (with much freebore in this instance). They cycle flawlessly in my UN-MODIFIED LA magazines, and they scorch anything in their path at 3000FPS, someday when this one goes south, I will have Mark clone me another.
Click to expand...

That is good to know! Always want to do 7 SAUM but did not think it would feed good enough. Have you tried the new eight rnd magazines?
 
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