7mm 162 gr Hornady Amax vs 160 gr Sierra gameking for Elk

[swampdog112]

I recently built an ultralight 7-08 with 9.25" twist for backpack hunting and have found it to be extremely picky on bullets. I was hoping to shoot the Nosler 150gr Accubond LR but I cant get them to group.

I shot some 160 gr Nosler Accubonds and went from 2-3" groups to 1/2" groups. The problem is I ran out and those things are nowhere to be found. I spoke with Nosler and they didn't anticipate another run of them till at least August and that is getting too close to my hunt date.

I'm looking to get a load built for a pronghorn/elk hunting trip in October and am trying to decide between the 162 amax and the 160 gr gameking. I imagine 500-600 yards will be the limit for this rifle.

I don't have any experience with either of these bullets but my buddy shoots the 162 amax in his 7-08 for elk and mule deer and swears by them. They also have the better BC by a pretty significant margin. Just wondering if anyone has experience with either of these?

Thanks!

 

[MudRunner2005]

Have you tried the Berger 168 VLD's or 168 Classic Hunters? I would give them a try, as well. They have some of the highest tested and proven BC's on the market.

 

[swampdog112]

Have you tried the Berger 168 VLD's or 168 Classic Hunters? I would give them a try, as well. They have some of the highest tested and proven BC's on the market.

I was leaving the 168's as a last result. Coming out of my 7-08 w/20 inch barrel those things are going to be slooooooow. I was originally hoping for 140-150gr but they just don't seem to want to shoot

 

[MudRunner2005]

I was leaving the 168's as a last result. Coming out of my 7-08 w/20 inch barrel those things are going to be slooooooow. I was originally hoping for 140-150gr but they just don't seem to want to shoot

They weigh 6 grains more than the 162 Amax... Your velocity differences will be negligible.

I still have my 7mm-08 I've had since I was a kid, and back when I hunted deer with it, I used the factory Hornady 139 SST ammo, and it worked great. But my reloads use either Nosler 140 Accubonds, 168 VLD's, and I even have some with the 180 VLD's. I have not tested the 168 and 180's yet. The 180's won't be fast, but they should thump hard inside of 500. Maybe even further. I would anticipate the results would be about like my Berger 210 VLD load for my .308 Win... Not very fast, but a true heavy-hitter inside of 800 yards.

 

[den]

if your gun likes the 160 accubonds another to consider is the 150 gr nosler e tip they are real close in shape & size to the 160 accubond , my old 7 rum would shoot about the same groups with them as the 160 accubonds

 

[jjmp]

There's more bullets to try the 154 hornady spz their 139 gmx their interbonds Speers grand slams 145,160s the partitions 140 150 160 What powder you burning more info would help . Regards

 

[pods8]

I hunt 145gr LRX out of my 7-08, they shoot quite well. I get about 2700fps from my barrel at a good accuracy node. I just recently started playing around with some 160 gr lead core I had on hand and even with them seated out long (so only the boat tail was below the neck) velocity is only in the 2500fps turf (as to be expected with a 22" barrel). They are accurate and I'll work up a target load for them but plan to stick with the LRX for hunting (bit flatter and I prefer mono).

The main thing that jumps at me is if you adhere to the 1500-1600 ftlb minimum recommendation for elk your elk shots are going to limit out more so around 350yd in the mountains, give or take a bit based on elevation. Perhaps your 500-600 upper end was moreso for the pronghorn aspect of your hunt assuming expansion velocity is still achieved (BC is going to make a big difference at 600yds with a slow MV).

 

[desertbull]

I have found the Amax and the SST to be very dependable and easy to reload for in both my 7MM mag and .308. Have killed Mule Deer, Whitetail, Hogs, Barbary Sheep with both bullets and they kill them as dead as dead can be. Have a cow elk tag this winter. Hopefully we get to try the AMAX on a fat one.

And they cost 40% less than the Bergers.