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FeatureStory

September/October 2002

When away When a trophy buck was 374 yards away and closer, and there was no hope of getting closer, the job the high intensity Firebird got the job done done for for the the author. author.

Hunting with Lazzeroni’s In the field with the Firebird, the leader of the pack in .28 caliber performance.

Big 7

By Holt Bodinson

The author worked with three different sporters chambered for the Lazzeroni 7.21 Firebird and a pressure gun to assess the performance of the fastest factory 7mm round. Left to right: Sako TRG-S nickel finish, Lazzeroni L2000 with optional thumbhole stock, Sako TRG-S blue finish, Lazzeroni pressure rifle.

T

HE 7MM MAGNUM HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME. NINETY YEARS, TO BE EXACT. When Holland & Holland introduced the .275 Belted Rimless Magnum Nitro cartridge in 1912 it was a hot number, pushing a 140-grain bullet at 3,190 fps. I imagine it turned the head of more than a few Englishmen who were out sporting about with their .275 Rigbys.

When I was first getting into serious big game hunting, Warren Page and Bob Hagel were extolling the merits of the 7mm Mashburn Super Magnum. It was strictly a wildcatter’s affair based on a shortened and fireformed .300 H&H case. The old Speer Reloading Manual for Wildcat Cartridges indicates the Mashburn was capable of moving a 145-grain bullet along at 3,247 fps and a 160grain pill at 3,119—performance not to be sneezed at— but Hagel claimed 3,375 fps and 3,238 fps respectfully

from his rifle. He went on to observe that Page’s velocities (and pressures) were even higher. The other two 7mm contenders of the day were the 7mm Weatherby Magnum and the 7x61 Sharpe & Hart. They were factory loaded cartridges but the rifles chambered for them were exotic, expensive and not exactly common fare in the racks of your local gun stores. It took the appearance of the 7mm Remington Magnum in 1962, chambered in the affordable Model

Hunting with Lazzeroni’s 700, to forever place a 7mm magnum on the popularity chart as one of the top 10 best big game cartridges of the modern era. What the 7mm magnums offered then, and still do, are high velocities and flat trajectories with bullets in a variety of grain weights having high sectional densities and exceptional ballistic coefficients, ensuring deep penetration and controlled expansion at any reasonable hunting distance. To hunters and shooters, probably one of the most endearing qualities of the 7mms in general is their moderate recoil when compared to their .30-caliber kin. There’s an old rule-of-thumb that says if you want to reduce recoil, drop down a bore size. It works, and I’ve known quite a few experienced hunters who have stepped down to a 7mm without giving up terminal performance in the field. My first 7mm was a $9.95 Model 1902 Remington Rolling Block in 7x57 Mauser. It was a great knockabout rifle for a teenager and it piled up a few venison steaks. When the 7mm Remington Magnum came along in 1962, out went my Model 70 in .270 and in came the first BDL seen in our community. I used it for years in the field on everything from crows to deer. When I went to work for Safari Club in the 1970s, I was suddenly in Weatherby country. Out went the BDL and in came a Mark V .300 Weatherby. I loved it. Loaded with 180-grain Nosler Partitions, it was the hammer of Thor on big game all over the world. Then Tucson riflemaker, Frank Wells, suggested that I try the 7mm-300 Weatherby. His clients were getting 3,200 fps+ with 175-grain Nosler Partitions. It was 7mm seduction all over again. I tried the 7mm-300 Weatherby with a 273⁄8 -inch Douglas barrel, 1:9 twist, on a Brno action and never could reach 3,200 fps with a 175-grain bullet without excessive pressure. Dropping down to the 160-grain Nosler Partition, I was able to obtain 3,300+ fps at normal pressures and that wildcat became my antelope/Coues deer/elk rifle for about five years. When John Lazzeroni hit the ground running in 1994, his first super 7mm was the Firehawk. This was a minimum tapered case, with a 30-degree shoulder, a one-caliber long neck, an overall length of 2.80 inches and a unique 0.548-inch head size. It was love at first sight, and I ended up buying a Lazzeroni L2000ST rifle with a 27inch, 1:12-twist barrel. The Firehawk turned out to be a barnburner in the velocity and accuracy departments. Using Lazzeroni-

7MM MAGNUM COMPARISON 300 yd. zero 7.21 Firebird 7mm Rem. Ultra Mag. 7mm STW 7mm Weatherby Mag. 7mm Rem. Mag.

Muzzle Vel.

500 yd. drop

3,750 3,425 3,325 3,303 3,175

-16.0 -19.9 -22.4 -23.1 -24.3

fps fps fps fps fps

inches inches inches inches inches

Coues deer hunting is known for long range shooting, but it isn’t always necessary. John Lazzeroni took this buck at 150 yards. plated bullets, it could launch a 120-grain Barnes XBullet at 3,697 fps; a 140-grain Nosler Partition at 3,587; and a 160-grain Swift A-Frame at 3,385. With the 140grain Noslers, my bullet of choice, the rifle would group three shots within four to five inches at 500 yards, sometimes less. It was the finest 7mm I had ever used—that is until Lazzeroni decided to push the envelope even further by necking down his big .30-caliber Warbird case and creating the 7.21 Firebird. With a water capacity of nearly 130 grains, the Firebird is the largest, fastest, flattest shooting, commercially available 7mm on the planet. Along with the Warbird, it shares the same beltless case design with a 30-degree shoulder, a 0.58-inch head, a 0.02-inch case taper, and a long and useful 0.284-inch neck. The overall cartridge length when loaded with a 140-grain Nosler Partition is 3.550 inches. Because of its head size and its overall length, the Firebird requires a true magnum action. Currently Lazzeroni offers two options: a Lazzeroni L2000 rifle for $5,000 with a 6-groove, 27-inch barrel with a 1:12 twist—or a $950 Lazzeroni/Sako TRG-S with a 4groove, 26-inch barrel having a 1:11 twist. The factory offers three premium hunting loads featuring NP3-plated 140-grain Sierra Pro-Hunters and 140and 160-grain Nosler Partitions. The sterling qualities about Lazzeroni factory ammunition is that each round is handloaded and gauged several times during production, plus the ballistics quoted for each loading in the company’s ads and literature are realistic. The outstanding powders for the Firebird have proved to be IMR-7828 and Reloader 25, and I’m itching to try Hodgdon’s new

The evolving 7mm hunting cartridge. (L-R) 7x57mm; 7mm Rem. Mag; 7mm Weatherby; 7mm Firehawk; 7mm Firebird.

The key to long range shooting success is plenty of practice, so you will know your bullet’s trajectory from 200 to 500 yards. Retumbo magnum powder. The Firebird is an easy case to reload. RCBS dies are available, and the tough, hard brass seems to last forever. The most accurate factory load features a plated 140grain Sierra Pro-Hunter teamed with IMR-7828. This is a spectacular long distance load for antelope, deer, sheep, and caribou and is quite capable of three-shot groups of less than two inches at 300 yards. Velocity from a 28-inch, 1:12 twist barrel is quoted as being 3,671 fps. In a Model 2000 Lazzeroni rifle having a 27-inch barrel and 1:12 twist, I recorded an average velocity of 3,615 fps over a Pact Professional Chronograph. Firing the same load in the Lazzeroni/Sako TRG-S with a 26-inch barrel and 1:11 twist, I averaged 3,415 fps. Why is there a 200-fps spread between two barrels that are only one inch apart in length? The fourgroove, 1:11 twist barrels just seem to be consistently slower than the six-groove 1:12 twist barrels. Sako furnishes the four-groove barrel because the company feels it will give a slighter longer barrel life than a six-groove tube. Maybe so, but we’re dealing with a high-intensity cartridge that will have an accurate barrel life of no more than a 1,000 rounds in any case. The second factory 140-grain loading is built for speed,

the flattest possible trajectory, and is based around a plated 140-grain Nosler Partition and Reloader 25. The concept is to achieve the highest possible velocity with a premium 7mm bullet that will still hang together on tough big game. Again, I tested this load in both the Model 2000 Lazzeroni and the Lazzeroni/Sako. In the Lazzeroni 2000, it screamed across the chronograph screens at 3,759 fps. The Lazzeroni/Sako averaged 3,604 fps and for a 7mm, that’s screaming, too. What can you expect for accuracy? Based on my work with the Lazzeroni/Sako, I agree with Lazzeroni’s observation that you should be able to achieve groups of three to five inches at 300 yards readily. The third loading is for large, heavy-boned big game animals—moose, elk and African plains game—and places a premium on maximum penetration and down range energy. It features a plated 160-grain Nosler Partition, Reloader 25, and averages as high as 3,535 fps in the Lazzeroni 2000 and 3,384 fps in the Lazzeroni/Sako. Accuracy is on par with the 140-grain Nosler loading. When we compare the muzzle velocities and 500 yard drop figures using a 300 yard zero of the large capacity 7mm magnums firing a 140-grain bullet, here’s how the numbers roughly stack up: In view of its affordability, I was intrigued with Lazzeroni’s Sako TRG-S and acquired one for the 2001 Coues deer seasons in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. The TRG-S retains several of the traditional elements that have made Sakos so popular including integral tapered scope ring bases, a hammer-forged barrel, snappy lock time, fully adjustable trigger, side safety, and sound stock design. Some of the obvious improvements incorporated in the TRG-S include a silky smooth, three-lugged bolt with a short 60-degree bolt lift; a detachable, magazine holding three rounds of the 7mm Firebird; and a reinforced, synthetic stock. Lazzeroni further upgrades the TRG-S with a stainless steel barrel, heavy duty ejector spring, recontoured loading port, Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad and, if a scope is provided, the company installs a set screw in the bottom of the front scope ring. While the basic model is priced at $950, there are two further upgrades: a model with all metal parts treated with an electroless nickel finish priced at $1,300. If supplied with a matching silver-finished Burris 4-16x44 Signature scope with mil dot reticle and Posi-lock, the cost is $2,100. This later upgrade was the model I hunted with during the 2001 deer seasons. When mated with a mil dot reticle scope, the Firebird is an amazing performer at long range. Firing Lazzeroni’s 140-grain Sierra Pro-Hunter ammunition, I zeroed the TRG-S at 300 yards with the scope cranked to 16X. Velocity was reading 3,456 fps. With a 300-yard zero, the first mil dot down proved to be an effective 500-yard zero. At 400 yards one has to split the difference between the center crosshair and the first mil dot. In short, here is a rifle-scope-caliber combination that is dialed in for any

Hunting with Lazzeroni’s shot from 50 to 500 yards. Combined with a modern laser range finder, it’s a terrific hunting package. The Arizona Coues deer season turned out to be anticlimactic. Here I was toting a superb long range rifle, and a little Coues buck strolled out from under a mesquite tree no further than 75 yards away. Well, at least, it was a one shot kill. The Sonoran hunt proved more of a challenge. Annually, John Lazzeroni and I head below the border to hunt the wily Coues deer with Pusch Ridge Outfitters. This past season we were both shooting a Firebird. I was carrying the TRG-S and John was shooting a Lazzeroni Model 2000 mounted with a Schmidt & Bender 4-16x50 scope with a mil dot reticle and a bullet drop compensating elevation dial. Arriving in camp, I was greeted by Mark Dobrenski from Montana, who had just filled his tag. What was he shooting? A 7mm Mashburn Super Magnum! The serendipity of that

Any shot over 300 yards is a long one...one that is to be taken only if everything is right. meeting still makes me chuckle. The area in northern Sonora where we were hunting is marked by an endless series of rolling hills separated by palm studded canyons. The canyon bottoms are very brushy, but the hillsides can be quite open with a mixture of mesquite trees and grass. The trick is to glass up a buck on the far hillside and hope he is within range because it’s impossible to stalk any closer. This style of hunting naturally puts a premium on flat shooting rifles, laser range finders, and precise shot placement. The morning after our arrival in camp found me pinned down on an open hillside looking at a trophy quality buck across the canyon. It was the early rut, and he was chasing and scattering does from treeto-tree without any hope of success. I ranged him at 374 yards with a

Leica laser, noted the wind, set the bipod in place, and practiced dry firing at him whenever he made a quick appearance from under a mesquite tree. An hour went by until he finally quieted down and began feeding in the openings. Personally, I think any shot over 300 yards is a long one, and one that is to be taken only if everything is right. It did in this case, and at the shot, the buck went down and my Sonoran adventure was over. After John scored on a buck not more than 150 yards away, we had lots of camp time to try some true long range shooting with the Firebird. Using the Model 2000 with the bullet drop compensating Schmidt & Bender, it was entirely possible to make first round hits on deer size rocks at distances up to 1,000 yards. The Firebird simply flies. RS

Posted with permission from the September/October 2002 issue of Rifle Shooter ® Copyright 2002, PRIMEDIA Inc. All rights reserved. For more information about reprints from Rifle Shooter, contact Wright’s Reprints at 877-652-5295

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