southcoast_longgunner
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First off is disclosure time; most of the brands mentioned in this I have affiliations with. Some of the parts that went into this rifle were heavily discounted, and others were free. If that is something that’s going to make you inexplicably angry, I suggest finding a safe space somewhere else.
This build started as an interest in NRL Hunter, I’ve always appreciated the field match/ non-typical-PRS format and wanted to get involved since there’s an NRL not too far from me, and the potential for a couple outlaw matches even closer. I also run an event that takes place on a private ranch, so building something easier to carry around with the horsepower to make the most out of the property was important. 7mm SAW was selected for a couple reasons; one is that I had an itch to be different and try something outside the box but without going full deep-end and having to get custom reamers and the like. I don’t have the time nor engineering degree for that level of commitment. Two is that I liked the idea of drop/wind characteristics that are semi-similar to my 6mm Creedmoor (the way I load it), but with the increased bullet mass of a 7mm and without the need to step up to a magnum to get it.
I had a Kelbly Atlas Tactical that was set up as a .223 trainer gun that honestly wasn’t getting the exercise that it deserved, so I pulled that barrel/bolt and threw them in the corner, and in went a spare bolt for .308-based cartridges. Manners sent over an LRH for this build, and I optioned it with a mini-chassis and a full-length ARCA rail. I slapped on a Nightforce ACACR 7-35 with the excellent MIL-XT reticle, and mounted it up in the Bobro Engineering SCAR mount that I’ve come to love on my bolt guns. I do play musical actions/scopes a little bit, so it’s truly nice being able to mix and match with the mini chassis and Bobro scope mount as needed. The thing that really made this all possible was Cole at Straight Jacket Armory. Not only was he able to get me a 24” Proof in a timely manner, but he’s also got a SAW2 reamer on hand surprisingly, so it was somewhat trivial for him to spin it up, and with an APA Fat Bastard on the end it was ready to breathe some fire.
7mm SAW is a West Texas Ordinance creation based on .308 Palma brass with a small rifle primer, necked down with a 30 degree shoulder angle. It can be made with a single pass through a sizing die or Alpha makes factory brass with the correct headstamp. I opted for the Alpha route since I’m dumb enough to mix up my SAW and .308 brass and cause confusion, and chose Hornady 162 ELD-M’s and Varget to start with. Load data was lifted from West Texas Ordinance’s website, and backed off for a bit of a ladder test to ensure pressures weren’t immediately off the scales. To determine seating depth I went with my extremely scientific and accurate method of seating a bullet in an empty case, attempting to chamber it, removing it, seating it a bit further, and repeating until the bolt closes easily, then seating an extra .005”. SAMMI spec for .308 OAL is 2.810”, and due to the long freebore of the SAW2 reamer I landed at 2.960” OAL with the 162’s. These fit in a steel MDT magazine with no binder plate, but there’s no way they’d fit in any polymer mag that I know of.
Initial range testing was extremely promising with 41.5g of Varget (LOAD AT YOUR OWN RISK, ALWAYS START ON THE LOW END AND WORK YOUR WAY UP. YOUR FACE/RIFLE ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, NOT MINE) producing 2700fps almost on the dot, and that’s where I decided it’s going to live until I get a firing on all my brass. Even more reassuring was measuring fired vs unfired brass, with both measuring exactly 2.000”, so Cole and Kelbly really nailed the headspace spot-on. I’ve yet to do a true 5x25 group test with this gun and likely won’t because my pockets aren’t deep and I don’t have the time/care to do it, however initial precision from this combination exceeded my expectations, and a 1st round impact on a 1moa plate at 900yds put a smile on my face (couldn’t get downrange to take pics of the target thanks to smallbore next door, so take my word for it. Or don’t, I don’t really care).
Recoil is extremely manageable for something that weighs 12.5lbs with a standard single-pull Ckyepod on it, and as long as I’m behind the gun/following through in good form then staying on target is somewhat trivial. I’ll likely make brass weights for the slots that were machined on the underside of the ARCA rail to get this gun closer to the maximum weight allowed in NRL Open Heavy, and it’s nice to have that option to either go heavier, or make some slight configuration changes and be able to shoot in Open Light. Either way, power factor won’t be an issue.
Overall I’m pretty happy with my first toe-dip into the wildcat space, happy enough that I’m slightly considering chambering my PRS rig in 7SAW with a truck axle-esque 26” MTU just to be weird. Now if we could only convince David Tubb to produce a 7mm DTAC (RIP).....
This build started as an interest in NRL Hunter, I’ve always appreciated the field match/ non-typical-PRS format and wanted to get involved since there’s an NRL not too far from me, and the potential for a couple outlaw matches even closer. I also run an event that takes place on a private ranch, so building something easier to carry around with the horsepower to make the most out of the property was important. 7mm SAW was selected for a couple reasons; one is that I had an itch to be different and try something outside the box but without going full deep-end and having to get custom reamers and the like. I don’t have the time nor engineering degree for that level of commitment. Two is that I liked the idea of drop/wind characteristics that are semi-similar to my 6mm Creedmoor (the way I load it), but with the increased bullet mass of a 7mm and without the need to step up to a magnum to get it.
I had a Kelbly Atlas Tactical that was set up as a .223 trainer gun that honestly wasn’t getting the exercise that it deserved, so I pulled that barrel/bolt and threw them in the corner, and in went a spare bolt for .308-based cartridges. Manners sent over an LRH for this build, and I optioned it with a mini-chassis and a full-length ARCA rail. I slapped on a Nightforce ACACR 7-35 with the excellent MIL-XT reticle, and mounted it up in the Bobro Engineering SCAR mount that I’ve come to love on my bolt guns. I do play musical actions/scopes a little bit, so it’s truly nice being able to mix and match with the mini chassis and Bobro scope mount as needed. The thing that really made this all possible was Cole at Straight Jacket Armory. Not only was he able to get me a 24” Proof in a timely manner, but he’s also got a SAW2 reamer on hand surprisingly, so it was somewhat trivial for him to spin it up, and with an APA Fat Bastard on the end it was ready to breathe some fire.
7mm SAW is a West Texas Ordinance creation based on .308 Palma brass with a small rifle primer, necked down with a 30 degree shoulder angle. It can be made with a single pass through a sizing die or Alpha makes factory brass with the correct headstamp. I opted for the Alpha route since I’m dumb enough to mix up my SAW and .308 brass and cause confusion, and chose Hornady 162 ELD-M’s and Varget to start with. Load data was lifted from West Texas Ordinance’s website, and backed off for a bit of a ladder test to ensure pressures weren’t immediately off the scales. To determine seating depth I went with my extremely scientific and accurate method of seating a bullet in an empty case, attempting to chamber it, removing it, seating it a bit further, and repeating until the bolt closes easily, then seating an extra .005”. SAMMI spec for .308 OAL is 2.810”, and due to the long freebore of the SAW2 reamer I landed at 2.960” OAL with the 162’s. These fit in a steel MDT magazine with no binder plate, but there’s no way they’d fit in any polymer mag that I know of.
Initial range testing was extremely promising with 41.5g of Varget (LOAD AT YOUR OWN RISK, ALWAYS START ON THE LOW END AND WORK YOUR WAY UP. YOUR FACE/RIFLE ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, NOT MINE) producing 2700fps almost on the dot, and that’s where I decided it’s going to live until I get a firing on all my brass. Even more reassuring was measuring fired vs unfired brass, with both measuring exactly 2.000”, so Cole and Kelbly really nailed the headspace spot-on. I’ve yet to do a true 5x25 group test with this gun and likely won’t because my pockets aren’t deep and I don’t have the time/care to do it, however initial precision from this combination exceeded my expectations, and a 1st round impact on a 1moa plate at 900yds put a smile on my face (couldn’t get downrange to take pics of the target thanks to smallbore next door, so take my word for it. Or don’t, I don’t really care).
Recoil is extremely manageable for something that weighs 12.5lbs with a standard single-pull Ckyepod on it, and as long as I’m behind the gun/following through in good form then staying on target is somewhat trivial. I’ll likely make brass weights for the slots that were machined on the underside of the ARCA rail to get this gun closer to the maximum weight allowed in NRL Open Heavy, and it’s nice to have that option to either go heavier, or make some slight configuration changes and be able to shoot in Open Light. Either way, power factor won’t be an issue.
Overall I’m pretty happy with my first toe-dip into the wildcat space, happy enough that I’m slightly considering chambering my PRS rig in 7SAW with a truck axle-esque 26” MTU just to be weird. Now if we could only convince David Tubb to produce a 7mm DTAC (RIP).....
(jealousy emoji?)
NICE, COOl.
