Reloading for 7mm mag

[Fatboy Jr]

So I have a rem700 7mm mag that I adopted from my father. Want to be able to use it for some long distance bear or possible elk hunting here in Oregon.
I reloaded for the last year or so for my 22-250. I have berger 168, NAB 160and 162 sst for bullets. Also I have retumbo, H4350 and Rl22 for powder.
Having trouble on where to start.... RL22 has issues with temp. SST has issue with fragmenting on impact. Range is only 200yrds that I have access to. Need some help to decide where to start. Every book has different start and max loads.


Thanks in advance.

 

[aur0ra145]

Tagging for later use.

 

[Big Z]

FWIW I run almost all '22 thru my 7..you've 3 to try from, so try 'em all if you wanna. Outta the list, I'd stick the accubond in or near the lands, start low & work up. Watch for pressure signs. There's a good chance you'll never see any within what a manual shows. I've a few bullets I run 3-4gr over max loads listed in a manual for the 7. If you're not confident in your ability to identify these signs, just stick with the books. It's a pretty easy voyage to find a powder and charge that'll run a hunting load. And iffin you can only test loads to 200yds, I'll just assume you aren't actually doing very long distance shots on critters, especially those at ranges where an anal-level of prep work and load development show their merit. If you've read the stickies, you've been introduced to some of those methods.

 

[30378]

RL-22 is good but RL-25 is great in the 7mm Rem Mag. I'm using 160 Accubonds and 168 VLDs

 

[Fatboy Jr]

Yes this will mostly be for paper - long distance for on a animal is 300yrds. Do want to shoot 600-800 for target. The Accubonds seem to be the number one choice. Also all brass has been fire formed and neck sized only. Can the ladder test be done at 200yrds or is that a waste? So starting with 5-6 different powder loads (3-4 of each) with the same powder and bullet seems to be the place to start. Yes - start low and work up to and possibly beyond max. Or should I find max load first? Doing this by loading low and increasing by .5 gr until I see issues then backing off?

 

[7mmRM]

Retumbo and 162 AMAXs or Berger VLDs.

 

[Archer762]

Where in Oregon are you? There's so much public land here (BLM, State, US Forest) you can go just about anywhere and find a wide clearcut. I am in Benton county and there are many 500+ yard places to shoot within 10 minutes of my house. Almost all private timber companies allow hunting on their land too.

I also shoot 7mm Rem Mag. Hard to find different powders lately, but I found I get good velocity with Win Supreme 780 with 160 Accubonds: just under 3,000fps with 66gr and 26" barrel.

 

[roggom]

With what you have, I would work up the 160 AB over some Retumbo for big game, and the 162 SST over Retumbo for deer. That is for long range deer, for up close a 139 sst 140 BT and H4350 will do great. Not trying to turn the deer inside out.

 

[P7id10t]

Dude, unless you're east of the cascades, worrying about temperature here in Oregon is a joke.

 

[18Echo]

I have a chamber set up for 162 amax's. My one hole load is 64.7gr of RL22, that seems to be a lower end accuracy node for me around 2980ish but is was so accurate I didn't try to push it any faster.

162gr Amax
WW brass
Fed 215M
64.7gr RL22
Ogive @ 2.262
OAL @ 3.300
2982 fps
ES 13
SD 5

 

[Playerz1337]

Retumbo and 162 AMAXs or Berger VLDs.

I agree, set them about 10 to 20 thousandths off lands for accuracy and go with it.

 

[Fatboy Jr]

Dude, unless you're east of the cascades, worrying about temperature here in Oregon is a joke.

Nope I'm west.... What temp will the powder have an accuracy affect? Looking purchasing a Chrony for velocity measurements. Wallmart has them for 79.00 for the F1. No remote but looks like a great starter.

 

[mwroseberry]

I am heading this weekend for a rebarrel of my 7rem mag because I'm currently running the stock noodle. Pushing 162 BTHPs with 69.5g of H1000. Very stable load for temp variations and it bucks with wind pretty well however I went to the 7rem mag to be able to run the heavies. Since I can't find any 180hybrids at the moment I've got a couple boxes of 180 SMKs on the way. Once I get a load worked up I'll be sure to post it up. I don't understand why more guys aren't running the 180SMK with a .660BC considering the Hyrbrids are so hard to find at the moment.

Good luck,
Merritt

 

[P7id10t]

Nope I'm west.... What temp will the powder have an accuracy affect? Looking purchasing a Chrony for velocity measurements. Wallmart has them for 79.00 for the F1. No remote but looks like a great starter.

No idea how temperature may affect accuracy of the powder -- the greater issue would be humidity. Our temperatures are mostly between 40° and 70° with a few blips below 30° and perhaps a month of 90°+.
Look at seasonal temperature and humidity trends.

Practice your long shots and see how they group, and really get familiar with how the drop is over different distances. Deer you may see under 100 yards, elk will probably be 300+ if you're lucky enough to see one.
Also practice shooting in the wind and rain -- Elk season (1st) in the coastal range 3 years ago, it rained so hard roads were washing out and I've _never_ been hunting on a day where it was calm -- there's always wind in either the cascade foothills or coastal range.