I bought a beautiful model 700 SS in 7 Utra back in 2001 which I love and have taken many animals with. Then the short action craze kicked in high gear.

Now I find myself with a gun that only has 1 factory loading which is the 140 gr. Premiere Ultra Core Lockt. I've heard good things about this new Core Lockt but I don't want to rely on it for elk, etc. (I've stocked up on 140 and 160 gr. Nosler Partitions in the meantime). Remington says they'll "probably" offer more next year but with the Short Action craze I'm wondering if the 7 Ultra will be phased out and no factory loads will be available.

Since I love the gun and caliber and I'm not a reloader I needed to find a company that loads for the 7 Ultra. I found a company online that offers many different loadings called Conley Precision Cartridge Company.

www.cpcartridge.com


Does anyone have any experience with this company or similar? Can I expect the same of better performance from them as factory ammo? They have an online ballistics table that shows basically the same performance as factory ammo.

Is there another company like this out there?

I just read an Article in Guns and Ammo magazine. There is an outfit in Sturgis South Dakota call Superior Ammunition who will work up and or load custom ammo for the non loader. In the article they give a toll free number which I will pass on to you. After reading the info, it sounds like just what you might be looking for. Maybe you can call them and get the whole story about thier operation. Although thats my old stomping ground, I don't know the outfit or anything more than I just read. Its in the September issue. The number they give is 800 677-8737. Also a webb site . superiorammo.com Some of his custoers include Weatherby, John Rigby and company and USRAC.

Only Hearsay but I have heard pretty good things about both places

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I know what you mean on the slim pickings of factory loads. The problem with this round is that even the brass is expensive. I load and have about 120 pieces of brass now as I've built up for awhile. Reloading is a very enjoyable hobby but if you're not interested or have other hobbies that take up your time then consider trading the rifle for a 7 STW since there's several more options on factory ammo and the performance is almost identical.

I've thought about reloading and even have saved 2 boxes of spent 7 RUM shells and will continue to do so just in case. But it's a little intimidating for someone who's not a McGuyver type guy. I'd rather not blow myself up if at all possible. Don't you need a bunch of equipment outside of the press, etc.?

I'm giving it 2 more years and if someone isn't factory loading for it I'll probably just get 300 RUM as there's quite a few factory loads available for it.

You don't really save any money doing it yourself do you? At CP Cartridge I can get a box of 7 RUM Nosler partitions for roughly $40.

I know that's expensive but doesn't it end up about the same as if you loaded yourself?

Oh and I'm not a fan of the short mags. The 7 SAUM for example has exactly the same ballistics as the 7 Mag.

I know theoretically there supposed to be more accurate but I shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with my 7 RUM which is another reason I love it!

These big mags are the most savings of all. 223's can be bought almost cheaper than loading but I'd say I have about $16 spent for each 20 round box. The best part is I shoot Scirocco 150gr bullets which aren't available in a factory load!! BTW you can get an RCBS Rockchucker kit which includes press, scale and lots of other essentials. This is simple stuff once you learn how to use the scale. Bullet, primer, powder. Setting your cartridge overall length is takes about 10 minutes but once it's set it's good.

I think I could handle the actual loading if I had a manual that said "pour X amount of Y powder with Z primer" but the other stuff is what's confusing.

What about the other stuff like to check velocity and trajectory? How do you know where you're bullet hits at 200, 300, 400 and 500 yards? How do you know how fast it's going and how much energy it's carrying at any distance?

To me that's the hard part but maybe it's not?

You really should have a chronograph if you get into reloading. It is not a must have item but It really answers a lot of the questions you are asking.