Federal’s 7mm Backcountry

[JMRhino]

I know introducing "Backcountry" case advances to legacy cartridges is fraught with issues but it's fun to consider. Granted it wouldn't be introducing any capability that doesn't already exist from magnum cartridges but if you could get a heavier payload to longer distances with a shorter barrel then it could possibly open up new options by merely replacing a cartridge case and possibly the propellants. I bet Federal may have an opinion on expanding the case methodology to cartridges beyond the 7mm BC. Isn't increased performance one of our main objectives as handloaders for any cartridge?

Until then, my favorite 7-08, 308 and 25-06 is working just fine I suppose.

 

[Aussie Wanderer]

Does anyone know how successful the cartridge has actually been?

 

[Guy Miner]

I'm interested in the terminal performance of the bullets. Standard 7mm "cup and core" projectiles might be overwhelmed by high impact velocity.

This seems to be a candidate for mono-metal bullets like Nosler's E-Tip. I think Federal's Terminal Ascent is a pretty tough bullet but I've never used them.

We'll likely see more online reports during and after this fall's hunting seasons.

Guy

 

[str8meat]

Buddy at work just bought one in a Christensen ridgeline, I let you all know what I think of it.

 

[TexasLife]

I know introducing "Backcountry" case advances to legacy cartridges is fraught with issues but it's fun to consider. Granted it wouldn't be introducing any capability that doesn't already exist from magnum cartridges but if you could get a heavier payload to longer distances with a shorter barrel then it could possibly open up new options by merely replacing a cartridge case and possibly the propellants. I bet Federal may have an opinion on expanding the case methodology to cartridges beyond the 7mm BC. Isn't increased performance one of our main objectives as handloaders for any cartridge?

Until then, my 7-08, 308 and 25-06 is working just fine I suppose.

THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS SUPPOSED TO BE WITH 15K EXTRA PSI ON MAX FOR THE ADVANTAGE ON SMALLER CAPACITY CASES. NOTHING DIFFERENT THAN THE 277FURY, BUT W/O THE 2-PIECE CASE. SURE YOU CAN GET THE SAME VELOCITIES WITH THE SAME BARREL LENGTH OF THE 7BC, BUT REQUIRES A LARGER CAPACITY CASE.............WORKS FOR ME. THEM GOING WITH A 20" IS FOR THE PEOPLE THAT USE SUPPRESSORS TO SAVE ON LENGTHS.

 

[TexasLife]

THE NEXT ISSUE WILL BE HAVING THE ABILITY TO RELOAD...................NOT SURE IF FED GOT ALL THE KINKS WORKED OUT OF THAT PROCESS YET?

 

[Aussie Wanderer]

With the cost of projectiles, I am happy to sit with well made cup and core bullets like the NBT, good velocities at short to moderate ranges...though am a big fan of the accubonds when needed.

 

[Horsethief]

Since the reloading material isn’t out for this cartridge, I think buying the rifle and ammo puts you at the mercy of the supply chain. Anyone remember the component shortages of 2008 and 2020? A proprietary case to boot you’ve got a sustainment nightmare in the works.
Zippy fast velocity from a short barrel is what this cartridge really does, yet a plethora of 7mm cartridges will do fine and dandy when it comes to whacking big game on one shot.

 

[Griffbl]

I hope this is the appropriate place for this post. I shot my brand new 7mm BC today for the first time. Weatherby Factory rifle with 307 Action. Beautiful wood, and that is in part why I bought it. Federal Premium 175 grain ammunition with nickel plated cases with advertised velocity of 3150 out of a 24" barrel, and 3000 with a 20" barrel. My rifle has a 20" barrel. I mounted a 4.5-14x Leupold in Leupold Back Country mounts. Bore sighted it. Moved to my 25 yard target. First shot was with my Titanium Dead Air Mask Suppressor. Good rest. My shot was close enough to the bullseye that adjustments were not major at all. Yeah, a good bore sight job! Also, perceived noise and blast was less than the recoil and blast from my .300 Win Mag Sig Cross for what it is worth. Then, I opened the bolt to load and shoot again. Was not sticky on the upstroke, but I COULD NOT MOVE THE BOLT REARWARD TO REMOVE THE CASE. I thought about getting my rubber mallet, but I think I will send the ammunition and rifle back to Weatherby. I was not about to hammer out a case and then shoot it again. Just wanted you gents to know about my experience. Hope no one else has this issue, and that it is related to my rifle's chamber dimensions or some such ONLY. I am pretty much a traditionalist when it comes to rifles and cartridges, but was intrigued by the smaller steel cased round with essentially '06 neighborhood capacity....actually looks a lot like a .280 AI if truth be told. So that was my excuse for trying it out. If anyone else has this issue, please let me know. Be careful out there!

 

[RL338]

Not sure how a 80,000psi cartridge chambered by multiply manufactures wouldn’t have issues. Tolerances can vary between them causing extraction problems.

 

[michsteve]

Not sure how a 80,000psi cartridge chambered by multiply manufactures wouldn’t have issues. Tolerances can vary between them causing extraction problems.

There is quite a few YouTube videos of people having issues. Someone is going to lose their face at some point. If you have issues from the get go just imagine the constant shooting pressure is stressing the whole gun.

 

[Aussie Wanderer]

Or if someone accidentally chambers it in the wrong rifle, dumb things do happen. Someone recently fired a 308 in a 270 at our local range recently.

 

[michsteve]

Or if someone accidentally chambers it in the wrong rifle, dumb things do happen. Someone recently fired a 308 in a 270 at our local range recently.

I try to be careful knowing I could do the same by loading a .270 into a 30/06. At least it would be pushing a smaller diameter bullet down the barrel but the brass would have some serious expansion going on in the chamber.
Trying to get a .308 projectile to go down a .277 barrel had to have some fireworks and bowel movements involved.

 

[SJB358]

I hope this is the appropriate place for this post. I shot my brand new 7mm BC today for the first time. Weatherby Factory rifle with 307 Action. Beautiful wood, and that is in part why I bought it. Federal Premium 175 grain ammunition with nickel plated cases with advertised velocity of 3150 out of a 24" barrel, and 3000 with a 20" barrel. My rifle has a 20" barrel. I mounted a 4.5-14x Leupold in Leupold Back Country mounts. Bore sighted it. Moved to my 25 yard target. First shot was with my Titanium Dead Air Mask Suppressor. Good rest. My shot was close enough to the bullseye that adjustments were not major at all. Yeah, a good bore sight job! Also, perceived noise and blast was less than the recoil and blast from my .300 Win Mag Sig Cross for what it is worth. Then, I opened the bolt to load and shoot again. Was not sticky on the upstroke, but I COULD NOT MOVE THE BOLT REARWARD TO REMOVE THE CASE. I thought about getting my rubber mallet, but I think I will send the ammunition and rifle back to Weatherby. I was not about to hammer out a case and then shoot it again. Just wanted you gents to know about my experience. Hope no one else has this issue, and that it is related to my rifle's chamber dimensions or some such ONLY. I am pretty much a traditionalist when it comes to rifles and cartridges, but was intrigued by the smaller steel cased round with essentially '06 neighborhood capacity....actually looks a lot like a .280 AI if truth be told. So that was my excuse for trying it out. If anyone else has this issue, please let me know. Be careful out there!

Hopefully they get you squared away. That’s a little heart braking just before hunting season.

 

[Aussie Wanderer]

I try to be careful knowing I could do the same by loading a .270 into a 30/06. At least it would be pushing a smaller diameter bullet down the barrel but the brass would have some serious expansion going on in the chamber.
Trying to get a .308 projectile to go down a .277 barrel had to have some fireworks and bowel movements involved.

Surprisingly not. It was on a tikka rifle, had only fired a handful of shots. I was expecting a catastrophic failure. Ammunition was Remington core locks so maybe a softer projectile prevented everything from coming apart. I know the gunsmith the rifle went to to be checked over and everything on the rifle was sound. Angels must surely have been watching over his bench at the time.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Surprisingly not. It was on a tikka rifle, had only fired a handful of shots. I was expecting a catastrophic failure. Ammunition was Remington core locks so maybe a softer projectile prevented everything from coming apart. I know the gunsmith the rifle went to to be checked over and everything on the rifle was sound. Angels must surely have been watching over his bench at the time.

A well know writer outdoor TV dude admitted couple years ago about putting a 7mm08 shell in a 25-06. Now that was a tight squeeze! He made the mistake of having different calibers on the bench at the same time and stuck the wrong one in the chamber. He said he wanted to remind folks to be careful and pay attention. Good for him on the safety reminder.

 

[RL338]

With a lot of newer powders that are available one can increase velocity safely. Not sure increasing pressure 25,000 psi is worth it. Probably a good thing reloading this caliber is next to impossible or someone will be swallowing a bolt.

 

[Griffbl]

With a lot of newer powders that are available one can increase velocity safely. Not sure increasing pressure 25,000 psi is worth it. Probably a good thing reloading this caliber is next to impossible or someone will be swallowing a bolt.

I think it is increasing 15k PSI, not 25k....i.e. 80k vs. 65k. But I get your point.

 

[Griffbl]

Hopefully they get you squared away. That’s a little heart braking just before hunting season.

I hope this is the appropriate place for this post. I shot my brand new 7mm BC today for the first time. Weatherby Factory rifle with 307 Action. Beautiful wood, and that is in part why I bought it. Federal Premium 175 grain ammunition with nickel plated cases with advertised velocity of 3150 out of a 24" barrel, and 3000 with a 20" barrel. My rifle has a 20" barrel. I mounted a 4.5-14x Leupold in Leupold Back Country mounts. Bore sighted it. Moved to my 25 yard target. First shot was with my Titanium Dead Air Nomad Suppressor. Good rest. My shot was close enough to the bullseye that adjustments were not major at all. Yeah, a good bore sight job! Also, perceived noise and blast was less than the recoil and blast from my .300 Win Mag Sig Cross for what it is worth. Then, I opened the bolt to load and shoot again. Was not sticky on the upstroke, but I COULD NOT MOVE THE BOLT REARWARD TO REMOVE THE CASE. I thought about getting my rubber mallet, but I think I will send the ammunition and rifle back to Weatherby. I was not about to hammer out a case and then shoot it again. Just wanted you gents to know about my experience. Hope no one else has this issue, and that it is related to my rifle's chamber dimensions or some such ONLY. I am pretty much a traditionalist when it comes to rifles and cartridges, but was intrigued by the smaller steel cased round with essentially '06 neighborhood capacity....actually looks a lot like a .280 AI if truth be told. So that was my excuse for trying it out. If anyone else has this issue, please let me know. Be careful out there!

Ok gents I have an update as to this situation. Contacted Weatherby today. Very nice Customer Service Rep named Alan. He told me to contact Federal. Supposedly some lots of ammunition were too hot, and have been re-formulated. I thought about just sending the rifle to Weatherby to re-barrel to .280 AI. Honestly I think you could re-chamber it, as I THINK a .280 AI will clean up the 7mm Back Country existing chamber, but then I would have a 20" .280 AI, which I do not want. About $680 for Weatherby to re-barrel. They are backed up and don't want to see me ship them the gun until February though. Said they only have one gunsmith doing these projects....We will see what Federal says. I gave a Rep all the information, but have heard nothing back yet. I took a rubber mallet and opened up the action...it was not very difficult. Case looked fine EXCEPT for the cratering around the primer itself...photos below....

Update: Spoke with a customer service Rep, Bill, at Federal Ammunition. He was polite and informative. ALSO PROVIDED LOAD DATA ON THE LINK BELOW FROM FEDERAL'S WEBSITE. He said there have been a few cases, NOT hundreds, etc. of this issue happening....more on how many in a moment. He said it was a few here and there with different manufacturers. Bill CONFIRMED that they have altered very slightly the dimensions of the case. He asked when the ammunition was purchased. I told him and while I did not have the lot number at my fingertips (as I was in an airport traveling) that he was almost certain I had used ammunition from an early lot. He offered to replace my box with two new boxes from later production free of charge. Also offered to take my old ammunition back and dispose of it properly. He said IF the later production ammunition did not work free of all issues, that it was a situation with The Rifle Manufacturer (again, in my example Weatherby) i.e. an incorrectly cut chamber or reamer of incorrect dimensions. I asked Bill how many people with my situation the new ammunition had fixed. Bill responded that he had heard from 9 saying it fixed the problem. (obviously some never let him know one way or the other after receiving replacement ammunition but again we are NOT talking about a hundred incidents. I got the impression it was a handful... etc.) This essentially confirms the comments from Weatherby's customer service rep: that later lots of ammunition have been modified vs. earlier lots, with the exception that Weatherby alluded to Federal making powder lot and or type changes, and Federal saying that it was slight dimensional changes in the cartridge case itself. We will see! I will keep you all posted. Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions. Brad

LOAD DATA HERE: https://www.federalpremium.com/on/d...try-Reloading-Data-Sheet_web-disclaimer-2.pdf

 

[Aussie Wanderer]

Looks like some gas leakage around that primer as well