7mm mag and bergers for canadian game

I'm using the 168's in my 7WSM and in my 7RM but I'm looking to see if the 180's will group for me. I've killed about 6 elk with them, 3 antelope, and some whitetails and have never had the bullet not do it's job.

It seems like John Burns and the Best of the West guys started out with the 168s and then moved on to the 180s. I assume that they did it for a reason so I have a few boxes of 180s that I'm going to try.

 

i shot a rocky mt bighorn with a 7mm 168. weighed about 350. it did not pass through. mule deer , black bears, cow elk . ok. bull elk , grizzer bear, and moose i would use a different bullet.

 

180s are more difficult to tune your loads in, but once you do, there is absolutely no reason to use the 168s, unless your barrel twist isn't faster than 1 in 9.

 

I really don't think 12 grains is enough to worry about it..specially if you have an accurate load with 168s. I have only shot deer with 168s..complete pass through..even at long range.
I am going to use Barnes for Moose though.. Bergers would work but they don't retain much of their weight, which I think is important when the game is as big as a moose.

 

12 grs is a lot when you look at the BC difference. If you are shooting LR, you want the 180s, and there isn't any contest.

If you don't want to dial in a new load, then work with the 168s, they will kill just fine. They just aren't optimal in any sense.

And as far as Moose, Bergers will work much better at long range than any Barnes bullet. TSX are great, but they aren't as accurate at range.

 

i have shot 3 elk 5 moose a bunch of deer with the 168 shooting at 3050fps shot the one moose at 30 yards complete pass through hole on the other side the size of my fist not all complete pass throughs but they kill fast & do a ton of damage.i shot noslers partitions for years & i think the berger do more damagenot one of the animals shot with the bergers have gone more than 50yard.that being said the 180 will work even better as long as you gun will shoot them, should have a 1in 9 twist rate or 1in8.5.heavyer bullets will always kill better plus the 180 has a better bc so better at long ranges.

 

Nice shootin! Completely agree with all you say.

 

I shoot 168gr. SMKs. I looked at the 180gr SMK because everyone seems to praise heavy bullets. I have worked up a load in just a few trips to the range, getting .64" groups at 100yds. Sometimes the groups are in the .3" range. I ran the 168s as well as the 180s through JBM and found that the only advantage the 180s have only come into play at distances greater than 800yds. That advantage was minimal IMO, and concerned the windage variable. The 168s showed much flatter trajectories, and due to increased velocity, there wasn't enough of a difference in energy to even mention. For me, the increased recoil just doesn't look like it is worth it.

 

SMKs are way different than Berger Hunting VLDs. You can't compare the two. SMKs are even true hunting rounds. The recoil difference is not noticeable between the two.

There is not reason to shoot 168s if your rifle can shoot the 180s in the Bergers. The BC difference in 7mm bullets between the two is significant.

 

Any moose I have shot here in Canada have been less than 100 yards..so I am not sure what I am talking about when it comes to LR moose hunting.

 

the best vel come from h-1000 or retumbo & both handle temp change well. i know some guys getting 3000fps out of them, but think they were running 28inch barrels the 180s are about 80fps slower.gun)