Remington Model 7MS

[tutster]

Looking at purchasing one of these in .257 Roberts. Saw my first one a few weeks ago and they are awesome with the Mannlicher stock. Does anyone have any knowledge on how they shoot? I called the custom shop and they said they all shoot great, but what else would they say. Was also considering the .260 and .250 savage as well. Any comments are appreciated. Tutster.

[thismortalcoil]

I had one in 6mm rem. Shot the throat out with hot loads : 90gr baranes and alot of imr4064, the faster it went the more accurate it got. This load shot a hair under 1". I then had Hart put a new barrel on. This was a Hart 6.5, 1:8 twist barrel. I had it chambered in 260 rem.. It shot either speer nitex 140grs. or rem 140gr. corelokts also to just under an 1". Due to unemployment and divorse I had to sell it. It makes a great carry/woods rifle, have fun. The 257 roberts is a great choice.

[tutster]

Ordered one from D&R Sports in Nanticoke PA this week. Delivery time appears to be 6 to 8 weeks, but it will still give me time to get used to it prior to deer season. Have a Leupold 2X8 I'm going to stick on it. Ended up ordering the Roberts as I've had two others in years gone by (Winchester and Browning) and they both shot good and had little recoil. Think this will be my new favorite gun for at least a year or two. Tutster.

[Hamish]

Hi Tutster, I have a model7 SS in 260 and am having a bit of trouble getting it to shoot a halfway decent group. I have just floated the barrel and am now looking to glass bed the action to try and get it shooting as it should. How would you get on if you struck the same problem with a manlicher stock? Don't want to rain on your party but you should be aware of potential problems. The model 7 is a great rifle to carry and handles like a dream in close country and snap shooting. I just don't feel comfortable taking shots at longer than 100 metres with it YET. Once it is shooting right it would be my favorite rifle. I also like your idea of the 2x7 Leupold. Mine wears a 3x9 Leupold but I think a 1.5x5 or 2x7 makes better sense for a bush rifle. Hope you have fun with it and good luck for your season. Hamish

[tutster]

Thanks for the info. From my discussions with the Remington Custom Shop, the 7MS is a different animal than the standard model 7. They are glass bedded at the Custom shop, and the actions trued, they crown the barrel and they set the trigger at a crisp 3 pounds. They say that all of them will group at under an inch at 100 yards, and they will include the factory target if you wish. Regarding your model 7, I would probably have the trigger done and have it re-crowned by a smith that knows his work. Lastly, you might want to have the barrel lapped with some lapping compound you can get from Brownells. There's a good chance it has some rough spots.

I had a Winchester in 257 roberts long ago, and it was just plain awful until I lapped the barrel and had the trigger worked on. I believe before you go to the expense and permanent nature of glass bedding the barrel I'd try the other things first. Good luck tutster

[brassloader]

I have a Remington model 7MS in 350 Rem. Mag. When cleaning the barrel before I ever fired the gun,I noticed a tight spot in the barrel.I sent the gun back to the Custom Shop(through an authorized Remington gunsmith)and they hand lapped the barrel to remove the tight spot.
My rifle is bedded at the recoil lug and a pad under the barrel about half way between the recoil lug and muzzle.It is not bedded under the tang.This bedding was done at the Custom Shop.My trigger was not very good on my rifle but I adjusted it to 3 pounds pull with no creep or over travel.
I mounted a Burris 1.5x-6x Signature scope with Burris one piece base and Signature rings with pos-align inserts.
I have never fired factory ammo in this gun but have tried several handloads and so far this gun has grouped every load tried into 1.5 inch or less with most being less.One load groups into one big hole.These are three shot groups.This rifle has a lot of free bore when bullets are seated to fit the magazine.Bullets usually have to jump about .300" before they engage the rifling and I am surprised this gun shoots as well as it does.This is one rifle I don't plan on selling any time soon.

[Edited by brassloader on 09-01-2001 at 07:42 PM]

[Hamish]

Tutster thanks for the tip on lapping the barrel. The trigger is just fine but you are onto something I think with the rough spots in the barrel. Will contact the gunsmith in the morning. Thanks again. Hamish

[skoonz]

How do they stabilise the wood in the Model 7MS?

It seems to me that a MS is just waiting for a change in the weather to get the stock to warp and lean on the barrel making your 1" groups shift across the state. Especially on the skinny wee model 7 barrel.

The only people who should have a Mannlichner stock should also wear funny leather shorts and pointy green tyrolean hats.:D

[tutster]

You are correct about most Mannlicher stocks shift point of impact. Normally the problem is the wood stocks no matter how dry can and will absorb moisture or in the dry parts of the country (out west) they dry out even more and shrink. All those things play havoc with the long stocked guns. My understanding is the Remington is stocked with Laminated wood, which is super stable and prone to no shrinkage or expansion no matter the climate. It's not as good as fiberglass or kevlar, but it sure beats regular wood stocked guns. The only wooden stocked mannlicher I'm aware of which doesn't shift impact is the old defunct Sako Mannlichers which are actually two piece stocks which are joined at the barrel band which disquises the fact that they are indeed two piece. Sako figured it out long ago that long stocks are indeed prone to doing bad things with point of impact changes.

Far as looking funny, I disagree I personnally think they are much sweeter looking then the model 7's with 20 inch barrels. For me the full length stock just makes the short barrels look great and adds to the whole package. Throw on a smallish scope such as a fixed 4 power or a 2X7 variable and you have an awesome looking rig that carries very nicely and doesn't catch on the tree limbs as you are walking. They also make a super tree stand gun.

PS. I have one of the Sako Mannlichers in .243 and they are sweet, but are heavier than they need to be. Also believe the .243 is not my first choice in a ideal deer cartridge although I have probably killed more deer with my old Weatherby Vanguard .243 than all my other rifles combined. I'm partial to a bullet which weighs about 117 grains and have always felt the .25 calibers are a great match with Texas or eastern sized deer.

Double PS. You right about the funny clothes. I never did care for the pants or the hats, and I don't look good in Loden. Tutster.

[skoonz]

Ja, a laaminated ztock vould do za job (well you try typing in an Austrian accent:D)

Your right, the 257 is a great cartridge. I just can't see myself paying megabucks for anything that isn't stainless/synthetic.

I've only seen the 7ms in the catalogue, not in the flesh so it might look quite good

How much weight does the wooden MS add to the synthetic version?

[tutster]

Understand the cataloged weight is 6 1/2 pounds for the Mannlicher model 7MS and 6 1/4 pounds for the plastic stocked model 7 in Stainless. It appears the extra bit of wood only adds 4 oz if Remington is correct on their specifications. Figure by the time you add a 12 Oz scope and 2 Oz of mounts your looking at a honest 7.5 pounds. Not a lightweight, but not bad compared to most guns which tip the scales at 8.5 pounds or more once scoped and loaded.

Interestingly enough my local dealer just got in one of the Titaniam model 700's and they are incredible. It is a 30.06 and tips the scales at 5 1/2 pounds. Would imagine the recoil would be pretty stout even with the 06 at that weight. Sure would be easy to carry around all day though. Tutster.