7mm-08 168 VLD

[trailrider121]

So i built this savage / stevens SA rifle using a 22" 1:9.5 twist sporter barrel. I'm thinking of going with 168's Berger Hunting VLD's and shooting with a max range of 650 yards. What kind of velocity are some of you getting with 162- 168gr? I'm leaning towards RL-17 to help push the heavy 168's. Any good loads or ideas? I plan to just target shoot and deer hunt with this rifle.

 

[jimbires]

I've been playing with my rem 700 short action . it has a 24 inch broughton bbl . I'm using 168 berger hunting , norma brass , cci 200 primer , reloader 17 powder . my COAL is 2.870 off the tip , for a jump of .057 , I'm feeding from my magazine . I haven't finished up working on the load . it's been raining about everyday , and now it's turkey season . I can give you my results so far . 43 or 43.5 is supposed to be around the max load , so anything over that proceed with caution . my rifle showed no pressure so on day 2 I added more powder and tested higher .

day 1 40*F elevation 1700
41.5 gr .............2465fps
42.0..................2458fps
42.5..................2525fps
43.0..................2587fps right in here is supposed to be a max load
43.5..................2652fps
44.0..................2672fps
44.5..................2711fps

day 2 30*F . the battery was dieing in my chrony . I shot 2 shots then walked to the target . you can see the first shot read faster than the second every time . all of these loads had less than 0.0004 case head expansion .
43gr .............2603fps
43.3..............2603
43.6..............2663
43.9..............2625
44.2..............2698
44.5..............2687
44.8..............2746
45.1..............2716
45.4..............2761
45.7..............2753................... 0.0003 case head expansion

day 3 30*F new battery in chrony
44.2 gr.............2695FPS
44.5..................2688
44.8..................2735
45.1..................2752
45.4..................2802
45.7..................2799
46.0..................2812 this load gave me 0.00040 case head expansion as near as I can measure with my blade mic .

this is about as far as I've got . I don't know if this helps you any or not . Jim

 

[trailrider121]

Jimbires,

Thank you for the info, very helpful load data. I plan to try H4350 as well, whats your thought about RL-17 and temp stability?

 

[jimbires]

Jimbires,

Thank you for the info, very helpful load data. I plan to try H4350 as well, whats your thought about RL-17 and temp stability?

I haven't shot any more since the weather has warmed up some , turkey season is in the month of May , so I'll be getting back to the range in June . I'll be shooting more of these same loads over my chrony so I'll be able to tell temp sensitivity . I'll try to remember and post my findings on here for you . glad I could help . Jim

 

[trailrider121]

Update:

Well I finally got to test some loads, however did get any chrony speeds. It was a little windy 15mph test was shot at 100 meters.

Savage 7mm-08 22" barrel.

1st load: 168 gr VLD,RL-17,cci BR2, .010" off the lands.

43.5, 44, 44.5, 45 grs.

2nd load: H4350 same as above.
46, and 46.5grs.

Not very good groups, but looks be a node in RL-17 around 43.5-44grs. the h4350 load 46gr looks good. I could pick a charge and mess with seating depth and then go back and rest some loads.

So i went back and did some more testing with both powders.

I loaded up some H4350 seated .010" off the lands,and tested them,found a good node between 45.6,45.8,and 46grs. All three rounds went .716" and chrony them at 2620 fps avg. @ 12' from muzzle. I tested out to 46.5grs but hit a scatter node at 46.6grs. I might see another node at 46.9- 47.1grs. I might test higher but might see pressure signs, I would work very carefully.Hodgdon shows 47.2C max at 2637fps.

I also tried RL-17 out but really didn't see any good nodes, plus the speed wasn't there. The highest was 44grs @ 2570 fps with no signs of pressure at all, so I'm going to push it higher. I shot 45grs in previous target and looks to be a scatter node as well,I did it see pressure signs at 45 grs so I'm going to push it high to 46grs,slowly..Stay tune...

 

[jimbires]

I made it out shooting this past sunday . it looks like reloader 17 is gaining little from a 30* or 40*F temp to a 70*F temp , so far it looks pretty stable for me . averaging 5 shot groups my velocity gained 12 FPS on the group with the most change . on day 3 45.4 was 2802 @ 30*F , Sunday 45.4 grains was 2808 @ 70*F . 45.4 grains seems to be my best so far . it's about a 4.75 group at 550 yards . I thought I had pulled a shot ? I've got more testing to do , I also think I've got some scope issues . Jim

 

[longrangehunterII]

jimbires-

Have you done anymore testing using this load? I've ran out of N140 which was doggy slow, 2500 fps w/ a 168 SMK from a 22" bbl. but super accurate. I have five pounds of RL-17 laying around to test as soon as the weather breaks, just wondered if you switched and/or stayed with Reloader 17?

Thanks

 

[longrifle70]

howdy, talking about 7mm cal, I have a 7 mm rem mag Laredo, for sale or trade, mike

 

[68WMEDICBP]

good afternoon,
I'm wondering if any of you have continued to work with the 7-08 and the 168SMK/VLDs and 162ELDm?
I'm starting out my match gun with Varget, but it looks slow.
this will be primarily for paper and steel out to say 1250 max.
thanks'
Ben