Federal’s New 7mm Backcountry

In the 1993 film Quigley Down Under the character of Elliot Marston, who was portrayed by the actor Alan Rickman, refers to protagonist Matthew Quigley’s 1874 Shiloh Sharps .45-110 rifle as, “An experimental rifle with experimental ammunition.” The film has become a western classic, and, without spoiling too much of the movie, it’s safe to say that the rifle and ammunition performed quite well in the story. The bad guys drop one round at a time.

When I began test-firing Federal’s new 7mm Backcountry cartridge Rickman’s line came back to me. While there is no shortage of 7mm centerfire rounds on the market, the new Backcountry is something quite different. When I first examined the case it didn’t correspond with the ballistic data Federal promised. To drive a 170-grain bullet at 3,000 feet per second out of a 20-inch barrel, a brass cartridge needs lots of room for powder. In my mind I envisioned something along the lines of the 28 Nosler or 7mm STW.

What I found was a cartridge case that was considerably smaller. In fact, aside from shoulder and neck length the cartridge looked very similar to Federal’s Terminal Ascent .280 Ackley load. Despite their similar appearance, the 7mm Backcountry is an entirely different cartridge. In fact, it’s different than anything we’ve seen before.

The secret to the 7mm Backcountry’s impressive ballistic performance boils down to case design. Not the dimensions, per se, but the material used for the case itself. Instead of the traditional brass case used to construct most cartridges Federal uses Peak Alloy steel cases for their 7mm Backcountry ammunition. Cartridge manufacturers have used brass cases, and while they are affordable and easy to reload brass cases do have their limitations—primarily, they cannot handle pressures as high as steel cases like the Peak Alloy cases used by Federal.

It's important to note that the Peak Alloy steel is very different in composition than the traditional steel cases used by most manufacturers. Peak Alloy is a premium aerospace-grade steel developed in response to U.S. Military solicitations, and it’s also used to construct materials like safes and nuclear reactors where failure simply is not an option. The molecular structure of Peak Alloy is completely different than the inexpensive steel used to manufacture budget ammunition.

The use of cutting-edge alloy steel allows Federal to safely push pressures to 80,000 psi. That’s considerably higher than the max pressure for a .30-06 (60,000 psi), 7mm Remington Mag. (61,000 psi), and other traditional legacy cartridges. That substantial bump in pressure is thanks to the ultra-strong case design. Federal nickel-coats the Peak Alloy steel cases for reduced friction and protection against corrosion.

The initial 7mm Backcountry load pushes a 170-grain Terminal Ascent bullet at an advertised 3,000 feet per second from a 20-inch barrel. There are plenty of 7mm Magnums that can push a 170-grain pill to that speed, but not from such a stubby barrel. The advantages of a shorter barrel are many. For starters, the overall length of the rifle is reduced to somewhere around 40 inches for bolt guns, and that makes them lighter and easier to maneuver in thick brush, a pop-up blind, or tree stand. The second practical benefit is that a shorter barrel works better with a suppressor. I have a 7mm Remington Magnum that can achieve close to 3,000 feet per second with a 170-grain bullet, but it requires a 24-inch barrel to do so. I’m a convert to suppressors, and even a short six-inch silencer makes a rifle with a 24-inch pipe so ungainly that it’s almost not worth carrying in the woods. 7mm Backcountry rifles offer 7mm Magnum ballistics from a shortened barrel that works far better with a suppressor.

Federal is initially offering the 7mm Backcountry loaded with their Terminal Ascent bullet, and that’s a fantastic bullet/cartridge combo for big-game hunters. The Federal Terminal Ascent bullet represents the evolution of the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullet. As such, it’s very tough and can handle large game, but the streamlined profile (the 170-grain .284 bullet features a G1 ballistic coefficient of .645) and SlipStream polymer tip make this a superb all-around hunting bullet. Federal also plans to offer the 7mm Backcountry loaded with a 155-grain Terminal Ascent bullet, 168-grain Barnes LRX bullet, 175-grain Fusion Tipped bullet, and a 195-grain Berger Elite Hunter bullet with a G1 BC of .755.

Federal brought a revolutionary cartridge to market and sealed the deal with a premium hunting bullet. On paper, the 7mm Backcountry seems like a brilliant option. But how does it perform in the real world? As Elliott Marston says, “Let’s experiment.”

On the Range

Admittedly, I was curious how the 7mm Backcountry would handle on the range. This cartridge produces, after all, pressures hovering around 80,000 psi, and that’s quite high. There was not, however, a great deal of difference between the 7mm Backcountry and its popular 7mm rivals like the 7mm PRC in terms of recoil. There’s plenty of muzzle blast, to be sure, and you’ll appreciate having a suppressor in place when you shoot this rifle. However, with a can in place there’s very little in terms of recoil impulse to indicate that this round is operating at such high pressures.

Accuracy proved to be excellent. For testing purposes I only had the 170-grain Terminal Ascent loads, the same ammunition I would be using on an upcoming elk hunt to test the new ammunition. Groups from the PROOF Research Glacier Ti rifle (which I topped with a Trijicon Tenmile HX scope) proved to be excellent, averaging .84 inch for three shots at 100 yards. The best group of the day went right at .7 inch, and the rifle performed consistently without any feeding or extraction issues. The nickel-plated Peak Alloy cases ran through action without any problems. With the rifle zeroed I checked the security of the base screws and packed my bags for the upcoming elk hunt.

In the Field    

Texas may not be the first destination that comes to mind for elk hunters, but free-ranging elk have been roaming the state’s Glass and Del Norte mountain ranges for over 70 years. I was joined by Trijicon’s Josh Lyall, and we split up to hunt different parts of the Gage Ranch—a vast property extending over 50,000 acres. It didn’t take long to find elk, either; not long after entering through the gate my guide Sawyer Harries bugled, and the challenge was met immediately by a five-by-five bull which had managed to tuck himself entirely behind a clump of mesquite and ocotillo. The bull came at us with mud and dead grass still clinging to his antlers from a recent detour to a nearby wallow, and for long moments he stood and stared in our direction, apparently unable to understand what had become of the cow elk he’d heard just a moment before.

There are few things more exciting than being in the midst of the rut, but we were fortunate to have scheduled our hunt at the peak of the breeding activity. Bulls were responsive to calls and on their feet much of the day, calling throughout the night and at dawn as they pushed their cows toward higher ground and cover. We heard a bull calling from a wooded hilltop on a remote portion of the ranch where he and his cows had laid up to avoid the growing heat. Every time Sawyer would call the bull would answer, but he would not move. Why should he? The cows were with him and the challenger was nowhere in sight. If we were to have any hope of getting a look at the bull, we were going to have to climb.

We used the terrain to our advantage, dropping out of sight into a canyon below the herd and then working out way up the hill and using the spine of the ridge for cover. We approached to 50 yards, but could not see the bull. It was very possible he and his cows had dropped from the ridge top into the next canyon. The grove of junipers would certainly have hidden them from our view, but we had neither heard nothing nor had any reason to be suspicious. Fifty yards was awfully close, I thought, and if the elk were still there it wouldn’t be long until the elk scented us.

Sawyer pushed forward, and I followed him. Suddenly a cow rose up in the cluster of trees, and in the shadows within the small patch of forest I saw a vertical crown of antlers rotate toward me. It was our bull, and though we hadn’t seen him clearly I knew he was big. No one moved. Thankfully, the Trijicon was turned to low power, and I watched as the bull exited the trees at the point closest to us. His head was high, neck swollen from the rut, and I noticed that his eye closest to us was a pale blue-white color.

I don’t know if it was his lack of vision or not, but the bull had heard something and was coming to investigate. Perhaps he believed that our bugles were a challenging bull and he was afraid that bull had come to claim his cows, but whatever his motivation he bugled so loudly that it hung in my ears. The time had come to shoot, and the bull wouldn’t hang around much longer. I settled the PROOF Research rifle on the sticks and fired.

At the impact of the 170-grain bullet the elk rose up slightly and then careened down the hill for 30 yards before crashing into a juniper. After we recovered him and began quartering the bull, we found that the bullet had broken his shoulder and penetrated through over half the body. That the Terminal Ascent held up so well in such a big animal at such a close distance is a testament to the bullet’s design.

Will the 7mm Backcountry become successful? It’s hard to say why some cartridges do well and others are not adopted by the masses, but the 7mm BC is certainly a unique take on the all-purpose hunting round. Federal had the bullet they needed for such a round with their Terminal Ascent, and they also had the right material for the cases with the availability of Peak Alloy steel. Time will tell how this exciting new cartridge is received, but my experience in the field has been entirely positive and I was impressed by what this round has to offer backcountry hunters. (federalpremium.com)