BallisticsGuy
Well-Known Member
What's a 9:5 twist? Is that Dolly Parton with a squeeze of lemon or?
Browning X-Bolt 7mm Rem Mag -- Heaviest Bullet Weight?
- Thread starter Brydawg512
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30calyooper
Well-Known Member
About any decent 160 or 175 will handle elk with a 7 rem mag. I personally have had better luck with the 175 group, and both the 175 Fusion (if you can get ahold of them) and good ol' Speer HotCors (spitzer or the older MagTip) have come through nicely at ranges to 400 yds. Not exactly the best choices for getting out to ranges beyond 600 but as long as I do my part (good loading practices and marksmanship) they've proven to be consistent enough for reasonable elk ranges like the 400 I mentioned above. Not the highest BC you're going to find, but the terminal performance on elk makes up for some of that in my mind. No problem loading them for sub-MOA to 1 MOA out to 300, and elk do provide a fairly good size kill zone so I've never felt like I was taking a bad risk reaching out a bit further. Both the 168 and 175 Nosler Long Range Accubonds look like they'll stretch that out to extended hunting ranges, and as mentioned earlier the Bergers come into play here as well.
140's and 150's for deer and antelope all day long. There are lighter pills that will git 'er dun on game in this size class but my experience at the range suggests that you begin to give up the ability to buck a crosswind with the lighter choices, and that can become even more of a problem when you start chasing critters across up-and-down terrain.
If I was going to try to pick one bullet for both deer and elk-sized game in this caliber I would default to the heavier pills...but that said I have seen those who pick the 160 and have certainly been successful. Again, any decent quality bullet in that weight class should work, with one caveat - I don't think I'd use the 160 Sierras. Fine for deer but I've both seen and heard stories of bad luck on elk. If you like this weight class, consider something with a bonded core. I do like the Barnes offerings here but make sure you do your testing to be sure of your accuracy...my unfortunate experience was that the TSX seemed to like lower velocities for accuracy, partly defeating the purpose for long range work.
140's and 150's for deer and antelope all day long. There are lighter pills that will git 'er dun on game in this size class but my experience at the range suggests that you begin to give up the ability to buck a crosswind with the lighter choices, and that can become even more of a problem when you start chasing critters across up-and-down terrain.
If I was going to try to pick one bullet for both deer and elk-sized game in this caliber I would default to the heavier pills...but that said I have seen those who pick the 160 and have certainly been successful. Again, any decent quality bullet in that weight class should work, with one caveat - I don't think I'd use the 160 Sierras. Fine for deer but I've both seen and heard stories of bad luck on elk. If you like this weight class, consider something with a bonded core. I do like the Barnes offerings here but make sure you do your testing to be sure of your accuracy...my unfortunate experience was that the TSX seemed to like lower velocities for accuracy, partly defeating the purpose for long range work.
30calyooper
Well-Known Member
Forgot to mention - a friend reminded me that the Barnes TTSX performs better than the untipped TSX at higher speeds, so that may be worth consideration if that one-bullet-for-all scenario is desired. They do seem to offer better expansion on deer, but I'll stop here since I have not put 'em to the test in this caliber.
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
If you've got one of the Hell's Canyon Long Range models, you have a 1:8 twist, at least in the new ones. The 195 grain Bergers will be heavy enough and slow down enough to give you the best of both worlds. If you have the standard 1:9.5 twist, the 150-grain Scirocco will be accurate and deadly, albeit expensive. Doesn't open up explosively like Ballistic tips, but expands more than A-Frames. Barnes TTSX in the 7 Mag is a good choice, too.
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John Polk
Well-Known Member
I use Barnes 145 gr. LRX at 3350 fps and they have worked like a charm on everything I've shot.
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
1:9.5 twist...the most common one. We know what you mean. Use 150 grain Scirocco seated a couple thousandths into the lands with whatever the max charge of H4831SC turns out to be in your rifle, and you'll be set for near and far, big and small!
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
Do you shoot an X-Bolt also with the 1:9.5 twist? What propellant does your rig like with that bullet, and how deeply do you seat them? Thanks!
.300 Dakota
Well-Known Member
Do NOT ignore elevation changes! INSIST upon checking zero of your rifle when moving more than 1000 ft, if at all possible. This mistake cost me the buck of 10 lifetimes over! Everything perfect except trajectory of the bullet!
John Polk
Well-Known Member
I am using loads prepared by Double Tap Ammunition in a Parker-Hale mauser. I don't know the twist, however, it is stabilizing the bullets well.
Hespco
Well-Known Member
As to elevation I live at 7630'. Out at my 400 yd target I notice I get about a 2" flatter trajectory that what my loading manual drop table indicates.
drakehammer
Well-Known Member
Sciroccos have never shot well jammed for me. Went down that rabbit hole too many times. I personally have found the sweet spot .030"-.060" jump. Swift will recommend plenty of jump as well.
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Eagle eyes 17
Well-Known Member
I like the Remington 700 with the 26" barrel , so I would probably go with the one that offers the longer barrel and if you can get it in a heavy barrel that's even better.
