Federal 7mm Backcountry Cartridge: Ballistic Miracle?

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There have been several new hunting cartridges released over the last decade, but Federal’s new 7mm Backcountry is unique. When I asked Federal’s senior media relations manager J.J. Reich what made this cartridge different from the myriad other hunting rounds to hit the market in recent memory, his response was three numbers: 20; 170; and 3,000. As in, the 7mm Backcountry drives a 170-grain bullet from a 20-inch barrel at 3,000 fps.

Those are impressive figures, but what’s most impressive—and perhaps game-changing—is how it achieves those impressive stats. When Reich first told me about the cartridge, I expected the cartridge would be oversize to accommodate a super-size powder charge. It’s not. In fact, when I pulled the first 7mm Backcountry cartridge from the box, I set it side-by-side with a .280 Ackley Improved. The two rounds looked virtually identical.

The .280 Ackley can’t produce 7mm Backcountry ballistics, though, so I asked Reich how they’d managed to accomplish such velocity from a case of that size. Turns out the 7mm Backcountry is loaded in patented Peak Alloy steel cases.

While most consider steel-cased ammo a budget option, Reich said Peak Alloy cases are entirely different from traditional steel cases. The metal is similar to the high-tech steel alloys used in bank safes, race cars and nuclear reactors, and it results in a case strong enough to safely handle pressures up to 80,000 psi—far more than standard brass cases.

Research and Development

“The 7mm Backcountry is a result of six years of development,” says Brad Abramowski, centerfire rifle ammunition engineer for Federal. “Driven by the U.S. military’s need for improved performance ammunition, we tested many materials at high pressures to ensure rifle function out of a one-piece case configuration for manufacturing efficiency and design reliability.”

This boost in pressure results in improved ballistics that allow the 7mm Backcountry to perform at such impressive levels. According to Abramowski, the team worked hard to ensure that the resulting cartridge offered those impressive ballistics yet remained safe to operate in bolt-action rifles. In addition, the cases are nickel plated for smoother operation.

“The results showed that brass cases loaded at pressures normal for brass cases created similar stress as high-strength steel alloy cases loaded at significantly higher chamber pressures,” said Abramowski. “Peak Alloy allows Federal to safely increase chamber pressures far beyond the limits of brass-case ammunition.”

The 7mm Backcountry’s development is related, at least tangentially, to the increasing popularity of suppressors. I’ve become a huge fan of suppressors and own several, and after hunting with them I don’t want to head afield without one. But many rifles still require a 24- or 26-inch barrel to reach 3,000 fps, and spinning a suppressor on such a long barrel makes a rifle unwieldy and difficult to maneuver in the field.

Suppressor Friendly

I’ve carried a .300 Win. Mag. with a 24-inch barrel and nine-inch suppressor through Alaskan deadfalls for the better part of a week, and I would greatly have appreciated a shorter rifle with magnum-level energy. The 7mm Backcountry offers that, and it will appeal to the millions of hunters who head afield with a can on their rifles.

Many shooters will wonder if it’s possible to handload this round. Reich said you can, but the caveat is you will have to use the Peak Alloy cases. Federal plans to offer full reloading data on its website.

Regarding wear, Reich says throat and barrel erosion and extractor wear are on par with legacy cartridges, so 7mm Backcountry rifles should, according to Federal, hold up as long as traditional centerfire rifles.

Federal is initially offering five loads for the 7mm Backcountry, three with its own bullets: the 170-grain Terminal Ascent at 3,000 fps; a 155-grain Terminal Ascent bullet that posts 3,150 fps; and the new 175-grain Fusion Tipped bullet at 2,975 fps.

Industry Buy-In

There’s also a lead-free 168-grain Barnes LRX offering with a ballistic coefficient of .513 and a velocity of 3,000 fps, as well as a Berger Elite Hunter 195-grain bullet with an impressive .755 G1 BC and a velocity of 2,850 fps.

For the 7mm Backcountry cartridge to succeed, gun companies will have to buy in, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem. Nearly a dozen firearms manufacturers are slated to offer 7mm Backcountry rifles for 2025, a list that includes Ruger, Savage, Weatherby, Gunwerks, Christensen Arms, Proof Research and others. That list is still expanding, so it’s likely we’ll see more added in the next few months.

For testing, I was sent a Proof Research Glacier TI rifle in 7mm Backcountry. The rifle was equipped with a 20-inch sendero-contour Proof carbon-fiber barrel with a 1:8 twist to stabilize the heavy 170-grain .284 bullets. The barrel was threaded 5/8x24 to accommodate a suppressor. I added a Banish Backcountry 30 suppressor from Silencer Central and a Trijicon Tenmile HX scope.

Initial accuracy results with the 170-grain Terminal Ascent load were impressive. The three test groups averaged 0.87 inch at 100 yards, and even in a light rifle recoil was manageable, on par with the 7mm PRC.

Elk Slayer

I had an opportunity to hunt elk with the Proof 7mm Backcountry in west Texas with the team from Trijicon. I shot my bull at 40 yards, and at the impact the bull reared up and headed downhill, crashing through the ocotillo and coming to rest less than 30 yards from where he’d been standing as I shot. The bullet had done its job effectively and didn’t break up when striking heavy bone at a relatively high velocity.

The 7mm Backcountry has the goods to be an effective wilderness hunting cartridge, especially for those who like rifles with short barrels for use with suppressors. It makes use of the latest materials technology and drives heavy, high-BC bullets at impressive velocities from light rifles with stubby barrels.

It’s difficult to say which new hunting cartridges will wither and which will thrive, but the 7mm Backcountry has the goods to go the distance.

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