7mm SAUM

[7MilPill]

Hi there!

Despite having been on the dot com version of this site for years, my account seems to have fallen into the abyss so I guess I'm new to this forum,
Anyhow, does anyone on here load 7 SAUM?
I've got a decent baseline of info to get started, but I'm a couple months out on my rifle build and looking to get ahead of the curve so I can hit the ground running when it's finished.
I'll start this conversation with the baseline data I've found:

Bullet: 180gr Hornady ELD-M
Brass: ADG
Primer: Federal 210M
Powder: RL23

 

[stomp442]

I have had great results with Berger 168s and H1000

 

[Delfuego]

What are you using it for? Hunting? ELR shooting? Which action? Long action or short? Barrel length/contour? Magazine fed? Who is your gunsmith?

The go to powders have been H4831SC and H1000.
I have tried Rem-Match and CCI 250 primers. CCI worked better for me.
I tried the 168/180 ELD-M bullets; the 168 did ok, the 180 were poop. The 180 Bergers were much much better.

Brass... This is where the 7SAUM sucks. The Nosler is garbage. The Norma 7SAUM is about the same. Remington is better than both, but requires a lot of prep-work and is no longer available. Bertam is junk. Alpha (ADG) seem to be pretty good, however they don't have enough case capacity to really get velocity without pressure. Best bet seems to be Norma 300 SAUM necked down to 7mm. This seems to shoot well and holds up longer. Not sure why, but it's different than Norma/Nosler 7mm.

Depending on what length action and what reamer you get, that's gonna decide your load. We usually send a dummy round to our smith and have him build or match a reamer. With a long action (long magazine) you can run the heavy bullets (180/184). With the short action, you might be better off with +/-165gr bullets.

Either way, good luck! If you can get them to shoot, it's a great cartridge, despite the lousy brass.

 

[7MilPill]

[mention]stomp442[/mention] [mention]Delfuego[/mention]
Thanks for the info!
I'll try to remember to follow up here when it's all put together, but it may be awhile before I have real data. Great to know about that 300 SAUM brass though, I will definitely give that a try.

My particular build is being built by Gritus Precision here in Phoenix and will be used exclusively for hunting big game from mule deer to elk.
I went with a blueprinted/accurized Rem 700 short action with standard bottom metal and my 24" Proof Sendero with 1:8" twist barrel is on order. I am hoping to run the heavier bullets, but I expect some heavy tweaking will be required to get reliable feeding and case capacity well-balanced.

 

[Delfuego]

Good deal! Get his reamer specs. Freebore and neck diameter will help you decide what brass and what bullet it will shoot. He might already have some ideas on what will work. Shorter freebore will be better in a short action magazine. Less jump for the bullet, and SAUM will burn that throat fast.

I think for what your doing the 160-170gr bullets will do what you need and then some. Don't chase a specific bullet or velocity, chase the accuracy. The lighter bullet will likely outperform the heavies inside 800-1000 yards; it's only past that where the 180+ will pull away. The elk will not know the difference

 

[stomp442]

I have built two of them. One was built on a trued Remington 700 short action and the other on a Gunwerks action. One had a 26" Proof barrel and the other had a 26" Shilen #5 9 twists. Both were half moa or better shooters and preferred H1000 over anything else. Acording to my notes one liked 61gr of H1000 under a 180 Berger hybrid at 2766 fps and the other liked the 162 Hornady ELD-X and 65gr of H1000 at 2952fps. Norma brass and CCI #250 primers on both.

 

[7MilPill]

[mention]Delfuego[/mention] [mention]stomp442[/mention]
Thank you both for the info.
I will definitely get reamer specs and see what I can do with the mid-weight bullets. I'd really like to see some velocity, but agree that accuracy is king – especially for hunting.