130 Gr Match King + 7mm STW for Whitetail?

[Boyd Heaton]

I feel the 130 to be alittle light for the STW.I have shot the 150gr BT and the 162gr A-MAX out of mine.Have shot it to 1450 yard's with the a-max and does quite well for an 8 pound shoulder gun...

 

[Guest]

Boyd, I've been shooting the 140 Barnes XLC Boat Tails. Surprisingly it shot just uner MOA (3/4" @ 100). I want more of a long ranger that is why I was looking at the matchking. I saw what DC did to that buck with the 168 SMK. WOW! More Damage than my shotgun did on a small doe!

I have been building a 338 Lapua that I should finally get by end of January. After seeing DC's Deer I'm afraid of what a 300 SMK will do to one!

 

[Guest]

Boyd, I'm curious what king of accuracy & Velocity you get from the A-Max. Also, what is you barrel length on your 7mm STW?

Thanks

 

[Boyd Heaton]

My stw is built on a Rem 700 action with a 27" Douglas 9.5 twist barrel....Velocity is 3220 with the 162.............Here is a 3 shot 100 yard group with H1000 and the 162 at 3220...

 

[Guest]

Wow, nice group! My STW is also rem700 action, I have a Krieger 26" Barrel, 9.5 Twist. How much velocity do you think I would lose with the 26" barrel?

Thanks

 

[Guest]

Wondering how effective this round would be on whitetail? And...out to what range?

 

[speedbump]

Johnny,

A 130 SMK holds up to velocity, in flight at least. I've chronographed them at an ave. 3,671 in my 7mmRUM & a .522" 5 shot group.

I'd be a little leery of how they'd do at that speed into a heavy bone mass. It might be worth testing some into newsprint or gelatin after hammering through some scrap cow or deer bones or something. Just a thought.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I've got a 26",10 twist Hart on my 7 STW. Do you think it will stabilize the 162gr A-MAX?

 

[Cybra]

Varminy Hunter:

You should be fine with a 1-10" twist. A 1-9" will actually stabilize Berger's 180 VLDs. To my knowledge muzzle velocity should be kept above 2700 fps--which I doubt you'll have trouble attaining.

Dave

 

[Cybra]

****, if my memory isn't going {actually, it's gone, but I try and keep it a secret around my peers}. For what's worth, I have had some experience with Sierra's 130gr MKs tested out of a 7-08. Results were somewhat erratic--sometimes the bullet would hold together marvelously, other times it'd open up like a heretic exposed to fire. Why?--I don't know. I have a feeling material entry into the bullet's tip is very crucial. My velocities were all kept within +/- 50 fps 2800fps, depending on powder type. If I was getting fragmentation at or below those figures, it reasons that such problems would likely occur at an exponentially faster rate as velocity increased. However, for lung shots, I feel a person could get by--in fact, as the range exceeds 400 yards, a person really shouldn't have TOO trouble. Out to how far?--I don't know. Wind drift would probably cut you short before loss of energy, on smaller game. I wouldn't even try it on the bigger stuff. Best of luck. The suggestion over testing with soaked newspapers is a very good one. Set these "targets" out at various ranges, and see what happens. If nothing else, the rest of us would likely enjoy hearing, as its not "normally" a weight used in that style of bullet. Regards

Dave

 

[BountyHunter]

My question is why go as light as 130 on a bullet that is marginal in performance particularily for LR.

Stay with something at least in th 140 range and gives you the reliability of holding together through a shoulder blade etc for a clean kill.

For LR hunting and clean kills, maximize the combination of accuracy, penetration (in all circumstances) and reliability.


BH

 

[Guest]

BountyHunter, I have been using the 140 Barnes XLC's. Shooting over 3500 FPS and 3/4" @ 100yds. Since they are Barnes I don't want to use them past 300YDS. I saw what DC did to that buck using a 168 SMK so In started looking for a SMK load for my STW.

I use 300 SMK's for my 338 lapua. I am a believer in MK's for LR hunting. But, to be honest, I only considered the 300gr for big game. I figured the smaller MK's might not do the job. DC sure proved me wrong!

Happy Holidays to All!

 

[dbhostler]

I use 130 MK's in a 7 Mag and drive them 3500fps. They are very destructive and would not recommend them for use on a meat producing game animal. .02
db