175 SMK in 7mm08

[Helmet]

I just got some 175 SMKs for my 7mm08. I'm not sure why as I'm still working on loads for the 162 gr Amax and 162 gr BTHP. Must be my ADD. Anyway, I'm going to be using H4350 and I'm curious as to what loads have worked good for others and what kind of speeds are reasonable.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ArmchairElite</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just got some 175 SMKs for my 7mm08. I'm not sure why as I'm still working on loads for the 162 gr Amax and 162 gr BTHP. Must be my ADD. Anyway, I'm going to be using H4350 and I'm curious as to what loads have worked good for others and what kind of speeds are reasonable. </div></div>

What's the twist?

I'm going to guess that they're too heavy and you're not going to have enough case capacity to get them up to speed, even if you have the twist rate to get them to settle down.

Chris

 

[Helmet]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

It's a 1-9" twist. I don't anticipate having a stability issue. It is on the heavy side, although I'm certain that many have already done this.

 

[seven mm]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

They are not too heavy and will work well. Varget will get you 2620 to 2650 depending on your barrel. H4350 will be in the 2650 to 2700 area again depending on your barrel. This is data out of my 22" barrel. They are very good bullets that are really easy to tune. Use a g1 bc of 0.640 as per Litz, it is spot on.

 

[rusty815]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

What seven said, you should be able to get decent velocity with the 175's, although you might get them going a little faster using Reloader 19/17 or Ramshot hunter (according to my manual), but H4350 should be very accurate. I usually like to stick in the 140gr. range with my 7mm-08, but that is because I use it specifically for hunting and don't need anything for long range.

 

[George63]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

175's do seem more logical in the mag/short mags than a standard capacity cartridge - like .30's over 200 gr

they work, but is there a clear advantage over say the 168 7mm SMK or the 162 AMAX

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

Shoot the bullet your rifle likes best. My 7MM08 GAP will shoot the 168 SMK or Berger VLD better than any other bullet weight. I wish it did like the 175 as I have several hundred Berger 175 Match bullets stacked up on my shelf. Now that I think about it, I would like it to shoot the 162 AMax for the same reason.

 

[Helmet]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: seven mm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They are not too heavy and will work well. Varget will get you 2620 to 2650 depending on your barrel. H4350 will be in the 2650 to 2700 area again depending on your barrel. This is data out of my 22" barrel. They are very good bullets that are really easy to tune. Use a g1 bc of 0.640 as per Litz, it is spot on. </div></div>I forgot to list my barrel length, it's 26". How much H4350 did you use to get close to 2700 fps out of a 22" barrel? If I could get 2700 fps out of a 26" barrel it would exceed my expectations.
Today I loaded some at 41gr and 42gr to shoot next weekend. After that I will keep going up .5gr until I get close or see pressure signs.

 

[Helmet]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rusty815</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What seven said, you should be able to get decent velocity with the 175's, although you might get them going a little faster using Reloader 19/17 or Ramshot hunter (according to my manual), but H4350 should be very accurate. I usually like to stick in the 140gr. range with my 7mm-08, but that is because I use it specifically for hunting and don't need anything for long range. </div></div>I'm pretty sure that RL-17 would give me the fastest speeds, but H4350 is temperature insensitive so I'm willing to give up a little speed to have consistent speeds. I don't hunt and I would like to shoot 1,000 yards so I probably wont go under 162gr.

 

[Helmet]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: George63</div><div class="ubbcode-body">175's do seem more logical in the mag/short mags than a standard capacity cartridge - like .30's over 200 gr

they work, but is there a clear advantage over say the 168 7mm SMK or the 162 AMAX </div></div>I don't know the answer to that yet, but I'm going to see if they shoot better than the 162 Amax and the 162 BTHP in my rifle. Someone suggested on another thread to measure from the base of the bullet to the O-give on the Hornadys and I found rather large inconsistencies in length. Most of the SMKs I measured were right on the money. Most were within .002" of each other with the occasional oddball length bullet.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: 175 SMK in 7mm08

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: George63</div><div class="ubbcode-body">175's do seem more logical in the mag/short mags than a standard capacity cartridge - like .30's over 200 gr

they work, but is there a clear advantage over say the 168 7mm SMK or the 162 AMAX </div></div>

My 7WSM loves the Berger 180 VLD at 2980 FPS. I would say there may be a slight disadvantage to really heavy bullets in the 7MM08 due to lost case capacity when loading to mag length.

 

[Quickoz]

What sorta charge weights are you guys using with the 175gr smk? Im building a 7mm08AI for F-Class and have 500 175gr smk to try in it. Im gonna use them to fireform to see if the barrel likes them. I need a fireform load and as most would know, finding load data for the 7mm08 with heavy bullets is hard at times!!!

 

[HodgdonExtreme]

Assuming RP or Winchester brass case capacity, and ~2.900"+ COAL, somewhere between ~44gr and ~46gr H4350 oughtta fetch ~2700fps from a ~25" barrel from a straight 7mm08.

You should be able to run 2700ish safely, with ZERO ejector marks.

175smk is my favorite 7mm bullet because it has great BC and is exceedingly easy to tune.

 

[Quickoz]

Im using lapua Palma brass so may try 45gr H4350 and go from there to fireform. Will be jamming them 10 thou.