First Look 7mm Backcountry: The New Cartridge that Broke Protocol

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When we spotted the massive Alaskan black bear, he was feeding alone in a tiny patch of green at the base of a coastal cliff that soared to the skies. My daughter Sophie—age 11—clutched the Proof Research rifle chambered in 7mm Backcountry and edged her way across a tidal pool, tucking into a crack between two jagged boulders the size of Ford trucks.

Broadside at 251 yards, the heavy-bodied boar presented a perfect shot opportunity. Steady on her Spartan bipod, Sophie flicked off the safety, exhaled, and squeezed. The 7mm Backcountry cartridge barked softly through the Banish Backcountry suppressor, its 80,000 psi of internal pressure sending a 170-grain Terminal Ascent bullet out the muzzle of the 20-inch barrel at 3,030 fps.

Impacting the bear slightly above center on the shoulder, the bullet broke bone, destroyed the top halves of both lungs, and flattened the bear in his tracks. Recoil was mild enough that Sophie ran the bolt and sent another bullet through the bear’s vitals almost before the echoes of the first shot died, paying the insurance just the way I’d coached her.

We were hunting with Alaska Premier Sportfishing, a fishing and hunting transport operation for DIY bear hunters. Sophie would turn 12 years old aboard the Venturess boat two days later. She’d just made history by taking the first bear ever downed with the 7mm Backcountry cartridge.

The Cartridge’s Characteristics

For those wondering what the heck the 7mm Backcountry is, it’s a unique high-pressure .284-caliber hunting cartridge that utilizes high-pressure technology initially developed for new military cartridges. It’s optimized to push heavy-for-caliber, high-BC bullets out of 20-inch barrels, utilizing a standard .30-06-size cartridge case. Even in short 20-inch barrels, it produces more muzzle velocity than traditional 7mm magnums do in standard 24-inch barrels.

Since the 7mm Backcountry burns less powder than traditional magnums, it also kicks a lot less. Recoil is mild enough that my little daughter shot it comfortably in a super-light hunting rifle built of titanium and carbon fiber. Another big advantage is magazine capacity. As the 7mm Backcountry is a standard .30-06-size case with a traditional 0.472-inch case head, most hunting rifles will hold four or five in the magazine, instead of just three rounds like most 7mm magnums.

In appearance the 7mm Backcountry is a lot like the .280 Ackley Improved. It has a milder 30-degree shoulder angle than the Ackley’s 40-degree shoulder, and it’s slightly shorter in case length, but it’s SAAMI-specced to handle 80,000 psi rather than the Ackley’s 65,000 psi. Traditionally, cartridges specced to top out at 65,000 psi pretty well maxed the pressure-containing capability of conventional brass cartridge cases. So, how does the 7mm Backcountry cartridge contain a full 15,000 more psi?

The answer is in the material the case is built of. It’s made of steel, not brass. And it’s not just any steel; it’s a special patented alloy that Federal calls Peak Alloy. This is not your average cheap lacquer-coated Russian steel case. As savvy handloaders will surmise, nonconventional powders (for case capacity) are required to achieve 80,000 psi in a cartridge. Too, reloading steel cases can be a challenge—but it’s doable, and RCBS is already producing reloading dies for the 7mm Backcountry.

What about barrel life? Will 80,000 psi quickly wear out a rifle’s throat? I don’t have enough experience with the cartridge yet to say, but Federal engineers state that their tests have shown the 7mm Backcountry has barrel life comparable to similar-size cartridges. If that’s the case, it should be about like the .280 Ackley Improved.

And what about action strength? Is 80,000 psi too much for some actions? Not according to Federal, whose extensive research suggests that all modern bolt-action designs are strong enough. New cartridges have to offer shooters an improvement over existing cartridges or they don’t survive. So, is the 7mm Backcountry better than other 7mms?

The short answer is that although it’s challenging to handload, yes, it is better than other magnum 7mms. Data doesn’t lie. The 7mm Backcountry produces more velocity, with less recoil, out of shorter barrels, and offers more magazine capacity than any other factory-loaded 7mm cartridge. Importantly, the 7mm Backcountry is optimized for the best of today’s high-performance projectiles, meaning it loves high-BC bullets. This is thanks mostly to the fast 1:8 rifling twist rate required for the 7mm Backcountry.

All these combined features add up. The 7mm Backcountry is easy to shoot well thanks to mild recoil, yet it provides better downrange performance than any other. And yes, that includes the rip-snorting 28 Nosler. Bullet drop is less. Wind drift is less. Impact speed is greater. Rifles hold more ammo, and they have short, handy barrels that are ideal for pairing with suppressors.

That’s a lot of compelling characteristics. The 7mm Backcountry is an easy cartridge to love.

7mm Backcountry Ballistics

Stating this cartridge is ballistically superior is all very well, but let’s take a good hard look at some data to substantiate that claim. Federal launched the 7mm Backcountry with five different factory loads. The flagship of the line, and the load that the cartridge was developed around, utilizes Federal’s 170-grain 7mm Terminal Ascent bullet. It’s a magnificent projectile with a G1 BC of .645 and a sectional density of .301.

Rooted in the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullet designed for reliably dropping dangerous game, the Terminal Ascent has a solid copper rear half and a lead core bonded into the front half. It’s tipped with a space-age composite Slipstream tip that’s resistant to erosion induced by velocity and heat. On impact the Terminal Ascent mushrooms beautifully and holds together well. Since it expands reliably yet resists pancaking or fragmenting on impact, it always creates a large, deep wound channel.

In 24-inch barrels, the 7mm Backcountry generates 3,150 fps at the muzzle with the 170-grain Terminal Ascent, which produces 3,745 ft-lbs of energy. In short 20-inch barrels, it exits with 3,000 fps and 3,400 ft-lbs. That’s incredibly impressive. Even in the short 20-inch barrel, the 7mm Backcountry outdoes the 7mm PRC with a 24-inch barrel. With same-length barrels, it nudges out the 28 Nosler. And the 7mm Remington Magnum isn’t even in the same realm because with its slower rifling twist rate, it can’t stabilize modern heavy-for-caliber, high-BC bullets.

In addition to the 170-grain Terminal Ascent load, Federal offers four other factory loads. One is a 155-grain version of the Terminal Ascent. It has a G1 BC of .586, exits the muzzle of 24-inch barrels at 3,300 fps, and carries 3,748 ft-lbs of energy. It’s the lightest bullet of the offerings and would be terrific for deer-size game up to elk. Next is the 168-grain Barnes LRX bullet. It has a BC of .513, exits 24-inch barrels at 3,150 fps, and hits with 3,701 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. Being all copper, this bullet will out-penetrate all challengers and would be an optimal choice for moose, bison, and big bears.

Federal also loads 175-grain Tipped Fusion bullets, which have a BC of .575 and exit the muzzle at 3,125 fps, generating 3,794 ft-lbs of energy. Tipped Fusion bullets tend to mushroom huge but hold together reasonably well, so they maintain enough weight to penetrate adequately while creating a massive wound channel. For fans of ultraheavy Berger bullets, Federal is loading 195-grain Elite Hunters. These bullets have an awe-inspiring BC of .755. Even though they’re super heavy for a 7mm cartridge, they exit the muzzles of 24-inch barrels at 3,000 fps, generating 3,897 ft-lbs of energy.

If you’re more interested in short-barreled performance, for the most part, you can reduce muzzle velocity by 150 fps and be right on the money when dropping from a 24-inch barrel down to a 20-inch barrel. The crazy thing is, when you compare numbers to competing 7mm magnums with 24-inch barrels, the 7mm Backcountry’s ballistics out of a 20-inch barrel still usually wins by a comfortable margin.

Other Considerations

You’re probably wondering, with all these high-tech materials and manufacturing requirements, how expensive will ammo for the 7mm Backcountry be? Surprisingly—and much to Federal’s credit—the company states it will sell ammo for about the same average cost as 7mm PRC ammo.

As for rifles, as you read this, many major riflemakers are already on board and producing high-end hunting rifles chambered in the 7mm Backcountry. Significant names include Weatherby, Proof Research, Gunwerks, Seekins Precision, Christensen Arms, Horizon Firearms, Pure Precision, and others. And Savage just announced it is supporting the new cartridge with eight rifle models, including a couple for left-handed hunters. Although I have yet to hear definitive word from broad-spectrum manufacturers like Ruger and Browning, I can’t imagine that they won’t offer 7mm Backcountry rifles as well.

What about handloading the new cartridge? Historically, steel cartridge cases are challenging to reload. The 7mm Backcountry is no different, but there’s a lot more motivation to refine the process than with, say, the 7.62x39 cartridge.

Federal engineers tell me they’ve achieved nearly 100 percent success in reloading Peak Alloy steel cases three times each. By the time a batch of cases has been loaded six times, they experience about 20 percent loss due to split necks. Clearly, these high-end steel cases aren’t going to last like premium brass cartridge cases, but I say that’s a fair tradeoff for the increased performance.

An RCBS spokesman told me that the sizing dynamic is quite different from working with brass cases, which is to be expected. Although I’ve not yet managed to get my hands on a set of 7mm Backcountry reloading dies and can’t speak from personal experience, my impression is that sizing steel Peak Alloy cases prior to reloading them is more time-consuming than the brass cases that shooters are accustomed to loading.

Propellants, too, will be different than the common stable of component powders suitable for loading traditional 7mm magnum cartridges. I have yet to get my hands on any data, but I have been told that it will be offered soon—perhaps by the time you read this. Among others, Reloder 17 and VihtaVuori N560 are suitable for the 7mm Backcountry, but it’s worth noting that the propellant blend Federal uses isn’t yet available to handloaders.

When a cartridge this innovative is introduced, there are always unknowns. Could they hold a characteristic that proves disadvantageous enough to squelch the 7mm Backcountry’s success? It’s possible, but I think unlikely. Federal’s engineers are very thorough.

One characteristic I wonder about is accuracy tunability. Traditionally, handloaders search for accuracy nodes wherein accuracy increases with a certain charge of powder, and often those nodes are on the mild end of the pressure spectrum suitable for that cartridge. I wonder how will the unprecedented 80,000-psi pressure range affect accuracy tunability?

That said, the one 7mm Backcountry load I’ve shot extensively (the 170-grain Terminal Ascent) averages 0.85 MOA from the Proof Research Glacier Ti model I’ve been shooting. That’s darned good, considering the Terminal Ascent is a hunting bullet, not a target bullet, and the Glacier Ti is an ultralight hunting rifle, not a 14-pound target gun.

Hunting with the 7mm Backcountry

Before my daughter Sophie shot her whopper Alaskan black bear with the 7mm Backcountry, I took the rifle to West Texas for a free-range aoudad hunt with High West Outfitters. My eagle-eyed guide found a big ram bedded among some giant yucca plants. We crawled through the rocks and cactus—prime rattlesnake territory—to within 286 yards. A crosswind howled, making me grateful the cartridge fired a high-BC bullet at high velocity.

Steady on my bipod, I dialed the 4.5-14X Leupold VX-3HD and waited until the big ram stood up. He was quartering to. Holding for 6.0 inches of wind drift, I sent a 170-grain Terminal Ascent into the point of his shoulder. That bullet penetrated nearly 30 inches of bone, muscle, and vitals and came to rest against the hide between the last rib and the hip. I later weighed it, and it tipped the scale at 157.6 grains, which is more than 90 percent weight retention. (The recovered bullet is shown in the opening photo for this article.) Needless to say, the ram went down in seconds.

A couple days later I watched my friend Adam Heggenstaller shoot a massive 32-inch ram from nearly 400 yards. Shooting uphill, prone across a crumbling ledge of rock on a steep mountainside, he punched the broadside ram through both shoulders and flattened him in his tracks.

Counting Sophie’s bear, I’ve witnessed the 7mm Backcountry absolutely knock the stuffing out of three big-bodied animals, each of a species known for toughness and resiliency. I’ve rung deer-vital-size steel targets with boring regularity out to 600 yards. Given its easy-to-shoot nature and its best-in-class 7mm ballistics, there’s no doubt the 7mm Backcountry is a spectacularly good hunting cartridge.

Just to summarize, the high points of this new and innovative cartridge include it provides best-in-class 7mm ballistics; it is optimized for modern, high-BC bullets; and it drives them faster than all competitors. It does so with relatively low recoil. And thanks to the standard .30-06-size case dimensions, more ammo fits in rifle magazines, so the 7mm Backcountry offers more firepower as well as greater on-impact payload.

Additionally, the 7mm Backcountry generates more velocity out of 20-inch barrels than most 7mm magnums do out of 24-inch barrels. Rifles are lighter in weight and more compact, and as such they are particularly compatible with suppressors.

Will the Peak Alloy cartridge case technology and its 80,000-psi capability lead to other new cartridges? Or perhaps even bleed over into existing cartridges? Could it—imagine this—possibly be used to create .300 Win. Mag. ballistics in .308 Win. ammo? The answer to those questions is probably. It’s impossible to know at this time, but the foundations of high-pressure cartridge technology were developed for and have been accepted for certain military purposes. This tech isn’t going away. I suspect we’re going to see a lot of innovative development stem from it, and I for one am impressed by the tip of the spear: Federal’s 7mm Backcountry cartridge. 

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