Hello everyone. I have been browsering these fine forums for many years, but today I thought I would take the plunge, register, and make a post! I'm fairly new to reloading, but I'm pretty confidant in my understanding of all the logic behind different techniques, tests, etc. Either way, I'll get to my question(s).
Rifle: Sako A7
Barrel: 24.4"
Caliber: 7mm Remington Magnum
Bullet: Nosler 168gr Accubond Long Range (ablr)
Brass: Hornady
Powder: Reloder-25
Let me just say that this Sako A7 is a shooter. I've used a variety of factory ammo and it has achieved 0.5" groups @ 100 yards on numerous occasions. It is a tack driver and as long as I do my part, it'll do the rest. Note: I am not an expert shooter by any means, but I do consider myself a lucky shooter (could go more into that).
As I'm sure most of you know, Sako, and its little brother Tikka, have a detachable magazine, which consequently will limits the COAL of round/cartridge, assuming the shooter wants to use the detachable magazine as opposed to just manually feeding a round in at a time. So for purposes of this load development, I'll be using the magazine.
I did some testing to see what my max COAL for this rifle using Hornady's little OAL guage tool.
The max COAL for this rifle using the above bullet is 3.445" when measuring the tip of bullet to the base of the brass using a EZCal caliper. Where the rifling/lands actually make contact with the bullet, I'm not certain at this time (can do more testing, just haven't yet.)
The max length for inside the magazine is 3.345".
So for the above bullet combo:
max chamber/rifle COAL: 3.445"
max magazine COAL: 3.345"
for a difference of 0.100"
Now with the parameters established, let's take a look at Nosler's load data for the above bullet-caliber combo:
Take note of the Tested O.A.C.L. of the tested loads.
3.250"
That is roughly a 0.195" 'jump' to the rifling/lands. (correct me if I'm wrong).
Now my questions are,
Does anyone have experience loading 7mm Rem Mag rounds with 168gr Nosler Accubond Long Range? What has your experience been with them?
For load testing/development, should I start with the short Nosler COAL or start with my magazines max COAL?
What are the advantages or disadvantages of seating the bullet to max magazine COAL vs. what Nosler is offering here?
How does the powder change the dynamics of the round/load when the bullet is seated at differing depths?
Lastly, does anyone have any experience with 7mm Rem Mag and Reloder-25?
Thanks! Hopefully this isn't too long winded, just wanted to be as accurate as possible.
Rifle: Sako A7
Barrel: 24.4"
Caliber: 7mm Remington Magnum
Bullet: Nosler 168gr Accubond Long Range (ablr)
Brass: Hornady
Powder: Reloder-25
Let me just say that this Sako A7 is a shooter. I've used a variety of factory ammo and it has achieved 0.5" groups @ 100 yards on numerous occasions. It is a tack driver and as long as I do my part, it'll do the rest. Note: I am not an expert shooter by any means, but I do consider myself a lucky shooter (could go more into that).
As I'm sure most of you know, Sako, and its little brother Tikka, have a detachable magazine, which consequently will limits the COAL of round/cartridge, assuming the shooter wants to use the detachable magazine as opposed to just manually feeding a round in at a time. So for purposes of this load development, I'll be using the magazine.
I did some testing to see what my max COAL for this rifle using Hornady's little OAL guage tool.
The max COAL for this rifle using the above bullet is 3.445" when measuring the tip of bullet to the base of the brass using a EZCal caliper. Where the rifling/lands actually make contact with the bullet, I'm not certain at this time (can do more testing, just haven't yet.)
The max length for inside the magazine is 3.345".
So for the above bullet combo:
max chamber/rifle COAL: 3.445"
max magazine COAL: 3.345"
for a difference of 0.100"
Now with the parameters established, let's take a look at Nosler's load data for the above bullet-caliber combo:
Take note of the Tested O.A.C.L. of the tested loads.
3.250"
That is roughly a 0.195" 'jump' to the rifling/lands. (correct me if I'm wrong).
Now my questions are,
Does anyone have experience loading 7mm Rem Mag rounds with 168gr Nosler Accubond Long Range? What has your experience been with them?
For load testing/development, should I start with the short Nosler COAL or start with my magazines max COAL?
What are the advantages or disadvantages of seating the bullet to max magazine COAL vs. what Nosler is offering here?
How does the powder change the dynamics of the round/load when the bullet is seated at differing depths?
Lastly, does anyone have any experience with 7mm Rem Mag and Reloder-25?
Thanks! Hopefully this isn't too long winded, just wanted to be as accurate as possible.