Federal 7mm Backcountry

[NapalmCheese]

It looks like the high pressure arms race is on. Federal is loading a standard bolt face nickel plated steel alloy cased 7mm cartridge at 80,000 psi; and they claim it to be reloadable.

I'm not running out to get one any time soon, but it's an interesting take on 80k psi compared to Sig.

Backcountry | Federal Premium

Federal’s 7mm Backcountry is an entirely new high-performance, all-range cartridge that reinvents ammunition as we know it. It not only provides superior ballistics and terminal performance, it does so through compact, shorter-barreled suppressed rifles.

www.federalpremium.com

 

[NATEWA]

what cartridge are they competing with….

 

[FISHNFRANK]

I’m a huge 7mm fan but seriously, we don’t need one more failed niche cartridge. The barrel life on a cartridge like that will be ridiculously short.

 

[NapalmCheese]

Lol, yeah.

I mean it makes sense for them to compete with the 7mm PRC since Hornady (at least listening to the podcast) is big on short barreled, suppressed, performance; launching high BC bullets at moderate velocities.

That said I don't have a horse in this race, but I find it interesting that Federal decided to bring out an all steel case they tout as reloadable. I've never reloaded steel before, but I recall it is 'persnickety'. I guess with the nickel coating as opposed to lacquer it ought to be easier?

Sig's design with the hybrid case seems easier to resize (a normal die with a carbide ring at the bottom maybe?) but harder to inspect.

Personally I like the idea of 80k psi for no other reason than it's new territory for (most I hope) reloaders.

 

[eeediot]

It might have slightly less recoil than a similar performing traditional cartridge, but not much. With something else (7-300 Norma) I'm not locked into federal brass that may or may not be any good or even reloadable more than once or twice. So interesting, but not really convincing me to buy.

If they had delivered 7mm RM or 7 PRC performance out of a short action with lower recoil and heavy projectiles (180gr+) then I would probably have jumped on board.

 

[Malibu]

Here is a introduction:

Federal 7mm Backcountry Review

Federal's newest cartridge is not just a better long-range 7mm. It may be the greatest ammo-making innovation of our lifetimes.

substack.com

 

[Malibu]

I’m a huge 7mm fan but seriously, we don’t need one more failed niche cartridge. The barrel life on a cartridge like that will be ridiculously short.

I suppose if one doesn't like it, they don’t have to buy it.

 

[jmart9]

steel casing??? Pass, I’ll stick to my hand loads.

 

[Malibu]

steel casing??? Pass, I’ll stick to my hand loads.

I’m interested in reloading steel-cased ammunition of new designs, as I’ve been reloading various steel cases for a long time. What I load are normally lower pressure rounds such as .45ACP, .38 Special, .308W, and .223/5.56, so it will be interesting to see how this goes.
I agree that there are already plenty of other 7mm cartridges, and I don’t even personally use any 7mm. But as a reloader I like to see how new things shake out.

 

[NapalmCheese]

steel casing??? Pass, I’ll stick to my hand loads.

That's the interesting part. Federal's FAQ says they're reloadable. This leads me to believe they'll have data and tools available for handloaders to reload this cartridge to 80k psi. That is at least interesting. Not interesting enough for me to run out and get a rifle, but interesting nonetheless.

 

[NATEWA]

50” less drop at 1,000 yards when compared to 7prc? Am I seeing that correctly?

I’m not a long range shooter. Is that a significant difference?

 

[Malibu]

50” less drop at 1,000 yards when compared to 7prc? Am I seeing that correctly?

I’m not a long range shooter. Is that a significant difference?

If it indeed works out that way, yes at 1K 50” is worth pursuing. It would account for greater margin of error in making wind calls, drop calculation, shot correction, etc. The bullets to realize the benefits though will be on the expensive side. Reloading data will be interesting as to propellant selection.

 

[NapalmCheese]

I'd take that drop chart with a big grain of salt. I would guess Federal is comparing their best performing ballistic load to Hornady's worst performing load. If the chart had said they were using the same bullet I'd chalk it up to extra pressure creating extra velocity in the short barrel.

That said, 3000 fps out of a 20 inch barrel with a 170 grain bullet is pretty nifty.

Propellant-wise I'd guess they're using something a little faster than normal, I mean we all know how to build too much pressure, but when you're optimizing for 80k psi in a 20 inch barrel that seems like the way to go. Probably a case full of Red Dot

 

[NapalmCheese]

Just for fun I ran the numbers in JBM Ballistics comparing a 7mm 166 grain Hornady A-Tip Match at muzzle velocities of 3000 fps (close to the 170 Terminal Ascent numbers) and 2850 (closer to the velocity you'd see with this in 7mm PRC out of a 20 inch barrel in my estimation) and the difference is 30 inches of drop.

If you compare a Hornady A-Tip at 3000 to a Hornady 154 SST at 3000 (again realistic for 7mm PRC out of a 20 inch barrel) the difference in drop is about 30 inches.

So yeah, at the end of the day 7mm Backcountry just has 150-200 fps on 7mm PRC, which was never designed to be a speed demon anyway. 7mm Backcountry basically does what 28 Nosler does, just with a standard bolt face and a long action with less powder. I don't know about the case design yet or if it's well suited for long heavy for caliber bullets. Federal is loading a 195 Berger, so I'd guess it's well designed for that (unlike the 28 Nosler).

 

[AR15barrels]

50” less drop at 1,000 yards when compared to 7prc? Am I seeing that correctly?

I’m not a long range shooter. Is that a significant difference?

Drop is not a problem because you can simply dial more elevation into the scope and hold on-target.
I can't imagine anyone is going to try and HOLD 250 inches of elevation anyways so what difference does it make if you have to put another 1.5mils of elevation on the elevation turret?
The real problem is the wind.
The bullet can easily drift 6ft off target at 1000yds and the difference between all of the cartridges being compared is going to be maybe 15% which means with ANY of the cartridges, you are going to be having to make a dramatic wind correction to hit a vital zone.

The real telling part of that promotional drop chart above is that the drop is so close out to 500yds that they did not even start their chart until 500yds.
So inside of 500yds, all the cartridges being compared are about the same.

 

[ocabj]

Information that may or may not be true that I heard on a podcast is that RCBS is having issues making dies because it's taking "12 passes" to get the case back into spec.

 

[AR15barrels]

Information that may or may not be true that I heard on a podcast is that RCBS is having issues making dies because it's taking "12 passes" to get the case back into spec.

Reload-ability is only a concern for people that reload.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, approximately 17% of all shooters, including hunters, reload their own ammunition.
Hunters that do not reload are the customer base of most new hunting cartridges.
Since it's 17% of all shooters, I suspect that the competitive target shooters are the majority of reloaders and that the hunters who are not also competitive target shooters are reloading at a good amount less than 17%.

 

[NapalmCheese]

And yet Federal says it's reloadable!

They just never said if it was easily reloadable.

 

[FISHNFRANK]

I suppose if one doesn't like it, they don’t have to buy it.

And most won’t, it will be belly up in 18 months

 

[Malibu]

And most won’t, it will be belly up in 18 months

Quite possibly. At that point I will add a few rounds to our collection of “failed gun products”.