Yup cant complain about Berger bullets in 7mm..(or .308 or .243 or .223 for that matter).....well except for the fact my 280AI with a 10 twist will not shoot the 168s. My 7wsm shoots the 168s and the 180s great out so it isnt the bullets. But my factory RUM only likes the accubonds for some strange reason.
7MM Ultra Mag load for longrange whitetails
- Thread starter smokepole
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smokepole
Member
eddybo,
What kind of 7mmRUM you got ?I have a Remington 700 BDL stainless.Also what type of game are you shootin with your?Are you shootin whitetals also?Thanks!
I had the same problem with my 700 7mm RUM. I was shooting 150 gr BT's at mag length and getting 0.5" at 100 yds. I am going to work up a load with the 160 gr AB for a cow elk tag this fall and could only touch the rifling with the bullet about to fall out of the case. Oh well, I'll just seat them to mag length also. I'm shooting 90 gr of 7828 SSC behind the 150 BT for 3375 fps, plan to try a couple grains less for the 160 AB.
I shot a whitetail buck with the 150 BT at 54 yds in 2006, shattered the shoulder going in and left a silver dollar sized exit through the meat of the other shoulder going out. Not bad performance at such a high velocity.
smokepole
Member
eddybo,
I been thinking of puttin a timney trigger on mine and have a muzzle brake installed.Maybe it take some recoil off!LOL
linksmechanic
Well-Known Member
If your having trouble kissing the lands you could have the barrel set back. Just and idea.
Recoil? Mine is gentle as a lamb Actually it isnt bad at all.
I dont think I have fired mine but a couple of times in the last year so maybe its just been blocked from my mind. Then again after I shot my 50 cal encore without removing that heavy aluminum ramrod it seems like nothing has recoil anymore. I just thought I knew what recoil was until that moment.
Actually it isnt bad at all. I dont think I have fired mine but a couple of times in the last year so maybe its just been blocked from my mind. Then again after I shot my 50 cal encore without removing that heavy aluminum ramrod it seems like nothing has recoil anymore. I just thought I knew what recoil was until that moment.
mrultramag
Well-Known Member
I think both the silvertip and sst are a little bit explosive. kill deer? yeah but bloodshoot them good. You can drive a 140 gr bullet to 3500 out of stock 7 rum usually. I have used the 140 accubond, RL25, fed 215M with oal to fit magazine @3.670 Start low (starting load) and go slowly up in charge weight (like a grain at a time)till you get to the velocity you are comfortable with unless you get pressure signs before getting there. I also use RL 25 with 150 partition with real good velocity--3450. Very accurate. Another good load is 93.5 retumbo with the 160 accubond at about 3250 or so. very accurate. With the stock Rem700 you will never get close to the lands so don't worry about it. Set OAL to magazine length that will work well in your gun. I favor the accubond for its a little tougher than a cup and core bullet and has high B.C. I feel it is a better choice for such a high velocity cartridge and works well at longer ranges also. Keep the chamber area of the barrel clean and dry (no oil) so that big cartridge can grab onto something when you pull the trigger. Otherwise you will see false pressure very early. This is a very high performance high intensity cartridge. Mine shoots best when loaded close to max. Its a stock rem 700 LSS. I hope you find a load that your happy with. Its nice to read about what other people experience with their loads so feel free to post your progress.
Peters
Member
You wont be disappointed in the performance of the accubonds.
harfman99
Well-Known Member
same bdl
I have the same BDL and noticed that it had freebore like the Weatherby's. I found that the 168 bergers to shoot very well seated as long as the magazine would allow. I was also using 98 grns of H870 and getting .5 moa at best. they work like nothing else I have ever seen just like shooting yotes "crack and lights out".
I have the same BDL and noticed that it had freebore like the Weatherby's. I found that the 168 bergers to shoot very well seated as long as the magazine would allow. I was also using 98 grns of H870 and getting .5 moa at best. they work like nothing else I have ever seen just like shooting yotes "crack and lights out".
smokepole
Member
harfman,
I thought you they recomended you seating the bergers close to the lans and that is impossible so what did you do just load it to fit the magizine?Thanks
mrultramag,
I know that the 140sbt and sst are very explosive but It makes me mad to shhot a deer behind the shoulder and watch him run off like he has not been hit I I sit there scratchin my head till I go and find a small blood trail and have lost the blood trail till the next day.I jus got in a few of the accubond 160gr bullets and going to check what my magize will hold and load confortibly and give it a try.But I would love to see the big ultra mag put the giant whitetails bucks down as fast as the colt 7mm mag I got with the 7mm winchester 140gr silvertips.
I really enjoy talkin about the 7mm RUM because I think it is a great cartridge that has gained little respect.I would like to see more folks using this round.
smokepole
Member
mrultramag ,
tell me more about how to tell when the pressure is getting to strong without damaging the gun! Thanks!
A few observations I have about this discussion...
In a factory Remington 7RUM, the throat is too long to seat a 168-180 Berger at, or into the lands and still have the C.O.L required for magazine length. In fact, the SAMMI spec on the chamber/throat is too long for this, not just Remington. You will also find that loading 168-180 Bergers at, or into the lands on a factory rifle creates a C.O.L that is too long to extract without removing the bolt. A barrel chambered with a reamer cut to reduce the throat length is necessary for proper function.
Initially, you stated that you consider long-range to be 375-400 yards but many deer are at 175 yards. I have no issue with what you consider long-range to be compared to other's view of the subject.
My initial thought in your choice of bullets, distances you are shooting, and resulting lost blood trail is that you need to take into account impact velocity. I don't know what your muzzle velocities are in order to calculate impact velocity at 175 yards, but given the abilities of the cartridge to produce substantial velocities with the 140gr bullets you have been using, I will assume it is still over 3000fps. At these impact velocities, your bullet most likely isn't staying together long enough to retain energy much less produce complete penetration. This is probably why you are seeing better results with the 7mm rem mag at lower velocities. If you are set on using a bullet in that weight range for the ultra mag, it would serve you well to consider a bullet that does not incorporate a core and jacket such as a Barnes Banded Solid 140gr.
I would suggest you try bullets in the 160+ class and reduce velocities to improve bullet performance at the distances you are typically shooting or switch to a solid.
Just my $.02
mrultramag
Well-Known Member
Smokepole,
I look for all the normal signs of excessive pressure--hard bolt lift, ejector marks on case head,flattened primers, etc. The most telling sign with the 300 and 7 mm ultra mags that I have noticed is primer pocket expansion. When you have fired a load and then in the process of reloading the brass; if the primer seats into the primer pocket with little to no effort (with hand primer) then the pocket has probably overexpanded and the brass is junk. This happening is usually accompanied with ejector marks on the case head but not always. Every gun is unto itself and thats why some show pressure signs quicker than others. Some shoot same load to higher velocities than others, etc. This is why you work up a load from starting load levels and do not start out up in the max range. My comment earlier on keeping the chamber clean and dry was from experience. A mid level load had ejector marks real bad. I believe this was due to the chamber walls being oily and the brass did not adhere to them upon firing creating excessive bolt thrust which the ultra's have plenty of already due to the larger diameter of the case imho. Now after cleaning my guns i usually use a bore mop and swab the inside of the chamber with rubbing alcohol to clean up the chamber and rid of oils, solvents, etc. This is just my experience with the 7 ultra. I am by no means an expert; just a guy who likes to reload and shoot. There is getting to be more and more pressure tested data out for the 7 ultra from the powder and bullet companies which is a good thing! Sometimes a phone call to the company will get you a conversation with a ballistics tech and they send you data that has not been published or give you some advice also.
I look for all the normal signs of excessive pressure--hard bolt lift, ejector marks on case head,flattened primers, etc. The most telling sign with the 300 and 7 mm ultra mags that I have noticed is primer pocket expansion. When you have fired a load and then in the process of reloading the brass; if the primer seats into the primer pocket with little to no effort (with hand primer) then the pocket has probably overexpanded and the brass is junk. This happening is usually accompanied with ejector marks on the case head but not always. Every gun is unto itself and thats why some show pressure signs quicker than others. Some shoot same load to higher velocities than others, etc. This is why you work up a load from starting load levels and do not start out up in the max range. My comment earlier on keeping the chamber clean and dry was from experience. A mid level load had ejector marks real bad. I believe this was due to the chamber walls being oily and the brass did not adhere to them upon firing creating excessive bolt thrust which the ultra's have plenty of already due to the larger diameter of the case imho. Now after cleaning my guns i usually use a bore mop and swab the inside of the chamber with rubbing alcohol to clean up the chamber and rid of oils, solvents, etc. This is just my experience with the 7 ultra. I am by no means an expert; just a guy who likes to reload and shoot. There is getting to be more and more pressure tested data out for the 7 ultra from the powder and bullet companies which is a good thing! Sometimes a phone call to the company will get you a conversation with a ballistics tech and they send you data that has not been published or give you some advice also.
