7STW & Bergers

[Supertrucker]

All the hype on the Bergers as hunting bullets had me try them out in my 7STW. The velocity was around 3050 with H1000 and RL22 (max book). From what I've read, people are doing this with a 7 mag.

My rifle, which is a semi custom Rem 700 Sendero with McMillan stock, Holland lug & brake, Badger bolt knob and Timney trigger. It shoots under half inch with 120 Ballistic tips and 160 Accubonds and has on several occasions put three through the same hole.

Now here's my dilema. My rifle is extremly long throated and the Berger 168VLD's won't do better than an inch. Am I crazy to have it re-barreled and have the new barrel throated to shoot the Bergers? I also need them to fit the magazine.

Would I be better off re-barrelling to a 7mag?

Kyle

[dwm]

Might want to try this out, Berger recommends trying them at different seating depths, ...

Below is a quote from the Berger web site (way at the bottom of the page) : http://bergerbullets.com/Information/Tech%20Info.html

From the: "VLD Bullet Design" section of the page:

"For years we have relayed that it is best to jam the VLD into the lands for best performance. This works for many rifles however there are many rifles that do not shoot the VLD well when the bullet is jammed. We have learned that the VLD can shoot best as much as .150 jump off the rifling. VLD bullets can be sensitive to seating depth and it has been found that these bullets shoot best in a COAL “sweet spot”. This sweet spot is a COAL range that is usually .030 to .040 wide.

The quickest way to find this sweet spot is to load ammo at four different COAL. Start with a COAL that allows the bullet to touch the rifling. The next COAL needs to be .040 off the lands. The third COAL needs to be .080 off the lands. The last COAL needs to be .120 off the lands. One of these COAL will outperform the other three by a considerable margin. It has been reported that the VLD bullets don’t group as well at 100 yards but get better as the bullet “goes to sleep” at further ranges. We have learned that by doing the four COAL test you will find a COAL where the VLD bullets will group well at 100 yards. Once the COAL that shoots best is established you can tweak +/- .005 or .010 to increase precision or you can adjust powder charges and other load variables. Frankly, those who do the four COAL test usually are happy with the results they get from this test alone. "

[LewisH]

Try Retumbo with 180gr Berger VLDs in the 7 STW...it'd a little slower than H1000, and seems to work better with the heavier bullets.

[7mmCUB]

retumbo seems to work the best in my 7 stw

[J E Custom]

Originally Posted by Supertrucker

All the hype on the Bergers as hunting bullets had me try them out in my 7STW. The velocity was around 3050 with H1000 and RL22 (max book). From what I've read, people are doing this with a 7 mag.

My rifle, which is a semi custom Rem 700 Sendero with McMillan stock, Holland lug & brake, Badger bolt knob and Timney trigger. It shoots under half inch with 120 Ballistic tips and 160 Accubonds and has on several occasions put three through the same hole.

Now here's my dilema. My rifle is extremly long throated and the Berger 168VLD's won't do better than an inch. Am I crazy to have it re-barreled and have the new barrel throated to shoot the Bergers? I also need them to fit the magazine.

Would I be better off re-barrelling to a 7mag?

Kyle

Kyle.

I think you answered your on question.

Stay with the accubond if it shoots that well.

Years ago I tried the hornady match bullets because they had a longer ojive and a reported
higher BC than the 168 gr SMK.

Much to my surprise they did not shoot as flat at the same velocity and not as good as the
SMK's , So why biuld a rifle for one bullet when you can get good results with lot of bullets,

I use and like the bergers but the rifles get to chose which brand of bullet they like as long
as they work for the intended use.

I found the ballistic tip and the accubond to be very very close to the match king in accuracy
and performance is outstanding on game.

I have used a many different bullets in my 50 years of shooting and hunting and the accubond
is now my new favorite all around bullet.

It's just my opinion !
J E CUSTOM

[AZShooter]

I too decided to try the 168 VLD Bergers in my 7 STW. Was considering a Wyatt's extended length mag box but tried some before for the heck of it. With a .170" jump they shoot tiny clusters! Moly coated with 82.5 gr of RL-25, vel 3200 fps. You never know till you try some bullet jump if it will work. FYI VLDs didn't work in my 7 RUM Sendaro or my semi custom 300 RUM, but as already stated there are plenty of other bullets out there.

[284stak]

Several of us have found that their barrels just do not shoot some bullets very well, but will shoot others exceptionally well - just as you have found. Stick with what is working and down the road another bullet may come along that will work, but I wouldn't recommend re-barreling to a similar cartridge just to see if it will shot one specific bullet better - which it may not. In my 7-330 Dakota, I get the most accurate, high velocities with RL-22 --- retumob, RL-25, and H-1000 were all slower out of my 27inch barrel.