I think the 7 IHMSA isn't more popular because of the name. A better name would have caught more attention which could have then garnered some factory made brass.

Trent wrote:I think the 7 IHMSA isn't more popular because of the name. A better name would have caught more attention which could have then garnered some factory made brass.

Trent, just to give you a bit of history on the 7mm IHMSA which originally was called 7mm International was developed by Elgin Gates using the 300 Savage brass. In "The Gun Digest Book of Metallic Silhouette Shooting" By Elgin Gates on page 222 published in 1978 shows a picture with the line up of IHMSA International cartridges developed by Elgin Gates which includes a .25 ca, 6.5mm, 270, 7mm, 30 ca, 8mm, .338 and 35 ca. and on the same picture shows brass with IHMSA stamp on it. Those were the Golden days of Handgun Silhouette shooting.

No "wildcat" cartridge has ever been popular with rifle shooters mainly because until 10 years back they were not allowed in Hunter class.
So basically we went from shooting 308's to 7-08's to 243's and 6mm Rem for a few years and to 260's in 1997 when Rem introduced a rifle and made the ammo for it. There are a few die hard shooters that still shoot 308's and more than a few that still consider the 7-08 the caliber of choice. In Mexico where HP silhouettes are made of what ever metal they can find the 7-08's and 308's are very popular.

Thanks Tony. I knew the history on it. I just think that a lot of other shooters would have been interested in it if it had been named differently. Like the 6.5x47 Lapua, it's used by a ton of other disciplines. Great cartridge, great name. Instead of naming a cartridge after silhouette it should be made more nondescript. Naming it after handgun silhouette is even worse. Better name and maybe it would have become more popular and it would have went mainstream and would now be a factory cartridge. Just my thoughts. I'd love to have one but I don't want to make brass.

I'm really thinking about building a 7mm Creedmoor. Necking up my factory 6.5 Creedmoor would be effortless and dies/reamers are already out there. It is really close to the 7 IHMSA.

I make my 7 ihmsa's from 308 Lapua brass, not a pleasant process. My first ihmsa was a 6.5 for silhouette, then came a 30 for hunter br, now the 7 silhouette. Practically speaking a 22-250 is an ihmsa except for minor differences in body taper and shoulder angle, got the first one of those in 1981.

Greetings,

The 7mm International was the chambering for my first Wichita silhouette pistol. Here's a link, a veritable blast from the past, that has pics of the 13"-barreled pistola. Mine, purchased in 81, was metallic silver. I sold it to a friend after about 6 matches due to it being "Too Much Gun" for the sport. A 15"-barreled XP, chambered in 7TCU, replaced it. Man, that was the way to go as far as I was concerned back then. BUT....bullet selection was key to not ringing rams, hence the development of the original bullet smasher. I just loved watching and listening to the guys scratch their collective heads in total bewilderment when shooting 40x40's regularly with that pistola while their BIG GUNS were ringing rams. Their 7-08's and 308's rang rams, especially at the Tampa, Fla range.

http://www.gunsinternational.com/Wichit ... =100175538

I traded for a 7mm International, rear-gripped Wichita with 15" barrel, along with some other silhouette pistols years ago when a friend had the hots for one of my BPCR match rifles. Man, did that pistola shoot!!! We used to have 500 meter pistol silhouette matches once a month. That puppy sure shot well for me when loaded with the 150 Nosler Ballistic Tips. And, I've got a boat-load of brass with the IHMSA headstamp. That is some cool brass, wonder if it has any collector value?

I'll give you a dollar for one to put in my cartridge collection!
Kb

Kevin, I will give you my only IHMSA case. However, you must show up to next months HP match to collect. Bring a rifle, and drag Gary and his new gun with you. Dan, who made the brass for Gates creation?




To the original poster of this topic: where are you? I hope we were able to help in some way in your decision of what cartridge to use for HP. My opinion only, go with a 7-08 and don't look back.

Bob Mc Alice wrote:........ Dan, who made the brass for Gates creation?.....

Bob,

Federal made the brass, to the best of my recollection.

Tony, you are killing me. Go back and read all 13 pages until you get it right.

Bob Mc Alice wrote: Tony, you are killing me. Go back and read all 13 pages until you get it right.

Lets see, go back to 1997 when the 260 Rem was introduced to 2011 and try to figure out how many HP national titles were won with a 7mm vs 6.5

lone ringer wrote:

Bob Mc Alice wrote: Tony, you are killing me. Go back and read all 13 pages until you get it right.

Lets see, go back to 1997 when the 260 Rem was introduced to 2011 and try to figure out how many HP national titles were won with a 7mm vs 6.5

Ding, Ding....

Tony it's hard to get some people to change there ways, as an example all of us went to cell phones and we all know that Bob is still using smoke signals and maybe a land line on odd days and uses a cell phone only for a HP target

[quote="Bob259"][quote="lone ringer"][quote="Bob Mc Alice"] Tony, you are killing me. Go back and read all 13 pages until you get it right. [/quote]

Lets see, go back to 1997 when the 260 Rem was introduced to 2011 and try to figure out how many HP national titles were won with a 7mm vs 6.5[/quote]

Ding, Ding....

Tony it's hard to get some people to change there ways, as an example all of us went to cell phones and we all know that Bob is still using smoke signals and maybe a land line on odd days and uses a cell phone only for a HP target [/quote]



OUCH!! No need to get personal, but at least he's not tweeting his hits and misses between shots like some of you!

Good Evening,

I thought a comparison of the old vs new 144-gr, 6.5mm, Lapua bullets was in order. I still have a few of the 144's purchased from Neil Stepp back in 97. Below are the smash-test results. For my money, the old 144's take the cake; cake's on the left dressed in moly.

Troy,

I smashed some of the 7mm, JLK bullets you sent. It looks like your older JLK's, with the black marker on them, are ram-slamming MOFO's. On the left is one of your old JLK's with the black marker. In the middle is a 181 Cauterucio. On the right is a sample of your newer JLK.