7mm stw re barrel?

[Firebird]

One of the other threads in here got me curious about re barreling my semi custom rem 700 in 7 stw. I have enjoyed shooting the barrel to the point of non existing accuracy. Prior to that it was excellent with the 160 gr AccuBond.
The rifle has a Douglas barrel now and I have touched base with them about a carbon copy of the original set up. But ive
Gotten to thinking, maybe time to move to a 28 nosler. I already have one so have loading components and love that caliber but the same is true for the stw.
So, what are the pros and cons of remaining with the stw, or moving to another 28?

 

[Idaho53]

Had a 7 STW for years and enjoyed it, too. However, I have move towards the belt-less magnum options and love them...my vote would be with 28 Nosler.

 

[FOTIS]

7mm STW/28 Nosler/7mm RUM

Either with a 1:8 RPM !

 

[IdahoCTD]

A 7STW is about 99grs of water capacity, the 28 Nosler is 102 and the 7RUM is about 114. The RUM is too much of a good thing IMO. Very little gain for a ton more powder. I would prefer the 28 Nosler, mainly for the length. It's almost .300" shorter than the STW. There are marginal benefits to no belt as well as the quality of brass for the 28 Nosler. If my main goal was elk I'd do a 30-28 Nosler instead. They will shoot the 215 Bergers 3100fps and the barrel life is considerably longer than the 28 Nosler.

 

[gerry]

I would do the 28 Nosler myself. Seems like the best of the big magnum 7's out there now.

 

[JD338]

Another vote for the 28 Nosler.

JD338

 

[Teknys]

+1 on someone who is happy with his 28N. Just got into it so just shooting on paper. My son’s 28N has deer and elk on the ground with authority.

 

[Firebird]

Thanks for the responses-Scratching my head about some of the answers on here but there you have it.
Spent some time at the gun store I like and their opinions were thus: turn it into a 7prc and they can sell it with no trouble, extremely popular even though it
Underperforms compared to the other options. Turn it into an stw again and enjoy what I have had for two decades OR go to the 28 nosler, which I already have one but they are still popular and resale is high, or just put it into the rotation. My problem like all of you is too many rifles and not enough chances to use them.
My decision is to send it to Douglas and if it can become a 28 then we will do that, if not (based on the boltface) then we will just rebarrel it an stw and use it when I can.

 

[salmonchaser]

I kinda like the 30/28 Nosler idea myself. What about a 6.5 STW

 

[FOTIS]

My rem 700 Proof /McMillan (I think ????) in 28 Nosler
Wears a 2.5-20 NF NX8 now

Very Mild load. First time out nailed a Pronghorn buck at 701 yards.

 

[IdahoCTD]

The bolt face is the same between a 28 Nosler and 7STW so your good for that conversion. The feedrails may need to be opened slightly and a different mag box is needed. A 28 Nosler will sell way better than a 7STW if it comes to that. The 7PRC is crazy popular but it's only a long throated 7RM with closer tolerances.

The 30/28 Nosler is basically a 300 Norma on a standard magnum boltface. The 300 Norma is 103grs of water capacity versus 102 for the 30/28 Nosler. I have numerous 7mm's but I really don't shoot them much anymore compared to my .30's. .30's just kill elk better then 7mm's.

 

[TackDriver284]

I had 3 barrels on the 7 STW, based on the Remington 700 Sendero action, barrel life is limited. I had converted the 7 STW to the 300 Win Mag when my 3rd barrel burned out. The brass available for the 7 STW was Remington and Winchester at that time, but there are more widely better and available brass for the 300 Win Mag nowadays.
I would choose the 28 Nosler or convert it to the more popular 30 cals.

 

[SJB358]

You could also do a 7-300 or 7 Mashburn Super and be able to use 300 Win brass which is kinda nice since it is always available and there is some really good brass out there.

But since you already have everything for the STW it’s kinda the original big commercial 7mm which has a bit of cool factor in my brain.

No real bad choices.

 

[Blkram]

If it ain't broke, don't "fix it"...
You're already set up for the STW and if you enjoyed it and it worked well for you, then stay the course!

BUT, if you got the itch and "need" to scratch it by going a different route...then you better do it, or you'll always be going "I shoulda..." in the back of your mind...it truly is a slippery slope!

It's interesting as I was having a conversation with a friend this evening about him wanting to buy a new rifle in a hot new 7mm...
he is thinking of the 28 Nosler...but also considering the PRC

I have owned and hunted with the 280 Rem, 7mm Rem Mag and 7MM STW over the past 35 years, and because I have and am very happy with my current 280 and 7MM STW ( and I ended up with the STW because of the rifle it was chambered in; a LH Sako AV), and there are very few choices out there for us lefty's at the moment, I am content to stay where I am...and it will put 3 rounds into an inch at 300 yards with a muzzle velocity of 3222 fps...and has put over 3 dozen animals in the freezer over the past 25 years, so it isn't going anywhere!
While my average shot distance on game over the past 37 years is 127 yards, I really do not "need" the extra velocity of the hot 7mm's, but it is nice to have if shots may be longer...and the additional energy is nice on tough game like elk!

But as I told Al, if I didn't have a 7mm, and was looking at a new RH rifle...after looking at the current crop of rifles and newer 7mm's...I would be very hard pressed not to go with a Browning X Bolt Mountain Pro Tungsten in 7mm PRC. A Handsome rifle with a 24" barrel, at less than 7 lbs.
I like the looks of the rifle, they are of reasonable hunting weight, have great triggers and stocks, and I have yet to own or shoot a Browning X Bolt that wasn't sub-MOA with factory ammo, and as for performance, while I love the older 7mm Rem Mag, if I just had to have a newer cartridge, the 7mm PRC is a good balance of performance with the potential to shoot the higher BC bullets (if that is important to you...if not, just go with the standard 7mm Rem Mag (26" barrel) as it has been putting meat on the table for over 60 years for the average hunter!) Hard to argue with that kind of record!
And less powder burnt means less recoil for us aging hunters, so we will tend to shoot these rifles better!
And packing an elk in rough terrain is easier (less work) over 200 yards than it is over 400! (or more!!!)

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

I've had very limited experience with the .28 Nosler but have been around several 7mm STWs. Frankly for me it would come down to whichever one was easier to find brass for.