7mm Shooting Times Easterner (7mm STE)

Historical Notes:

The 7mm Shooting Times Easterner (7mm STE) was designed in 1987 by gun writer Layne Simpson for Marlin 336 and Winchester Model 94 lever action rifles. This cartridge is the 307 Winchester case necked down and fireformed to the improved configuration with minimum body taper and a 40 degree shoulder. The 307 Winchester is actually a rimmed version of the 308 Winchester, thus providing the 7mm STE with more powder capacity than either the 30-30 Winchester or the 7-30 Waters. Load data for the 7mm STE was developed with the Nosler 120 grain and the Hornady 139 grain flat nosed bullet, as they are compatible with tubular magazines of the lever guns. Maximum velocities for these bullets in a 22 inch barrel are 2900 fps and 2700 fps respectively.

General Comments:

This cartridge has enjoyed fair success on whitetails, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, black bear, caribou and wild hogs. Performance of the Nosler bullet on all of these has been nothing less than outstanding. A favorite open country "single shot" recipe for loading directly into the chamber (not for use in tubular magazine) is the Nosler 140 grain Ballistic Tip loaded to 2700 fps. Chamber pressures generated by the 7mm STE are comparable to those developed by the 307 Winchester. Consequently, only the Model 336 and 94 rifles of recent manufacture and in excellent condition should be considered for this conversion. Those rifles in 30-30 Winchester, 307 Winchester, 356 Winchester, and 444 Marlin are easily converted to the 7mm STE by rebarreling with no other modifications necessary.

Source: Cartridges of the World

7mm Shooting Times Easterner (7mm STE) Reloading Data
Bullet (grs.)	Powder / (grs.)	MV	ME	Source
120 SP	H414 / 47.0	2915	2265	Layne Simpson
120 SP	H4895 / 41.0	2910	2250	Layne Simpson
139 SP	W760 / 45.0	2710	2265	Layne Simpson
139 SP	RL-22 / 50.0	2710	2265	Layne Simpson

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