7mm rem mag bullets

[killerspoons]

im starting reloading for my 7mm rem mag and was wonder what bullet would be better for deer and elk from anywhere from 100-600 yards. berger 140gr hunting vld or the berger 168gr hunting vld.

 

[Joe King]

The 168gr, if you look around though you may still be able to find Berger's new 168gr Classic hunter, it's a hybrid design and from my testing is very easy to load as far as seating depth is concerned.

 

[Derek M.]

im starting reloading for my 7mm rem mag and was wonder what bullet would be better for deer and elk from anywhere from 100-600 yards. berger 140gr hunting vld or the berger 168gr hunting vld.

I chose the 168. Took me 11 shots through a new Krieger bbl to find a good load.

I bought a few hundred 168 Bergers, and a lot of 180s in JLK and Berger.

 

[CogburnR]

The Sierra Gameking 160 is good too.

I just loaded up some 168 Classic Hunter Bergers to try. They look good!

 

[sendero72]

@Joe King

Did you ever finalize the 168 Classic bullet load? Powder, primer, and seating depth and MV?

Thanks

 

[brentc]

What twist bbl do you have? If it's 1 in 9 use a Berger 180, if it's 1-9.5 use a 168. A 180 on top of a stout charge of H1000 or Retumbo is hard to beat. The 168 performs nearly identical to the 180 due to the increased velocity, however for a hunting load the added sectional density of the 180 could be beneficial, especially with a bullet that works by shedding it's mass for proper function.

 

[Joe King]

@Joe King

Did you ever finalize the 168 Classic bullet load? Powder, primer, and seating depth and MV?

Thanks

70.9 gr H1000
Fed 215M
seated 0.080 off the lands, though I didn't really see much difference from 0.020, 0.040, 0.060, or at 0.080 as far as grouping is concerned, they all shot well and 0.060 allows me to use my magazine and 80 off is just a little wiggle room

My MV is right at 2950, with a 26.5" Douglass barrel 1in 10 twist, when I asked Walt Berger about loads for em he did say that I would see a little bit of a velocity loss due to the longer bearing surface.

I never looked into it beyond initial load testing for charge weight, but I have a strong suspicion that 70gr through 70.9 would also shoot very well, I may have to play with it some next spring just to see what happens, see if I'm right or not. when I ranged it out checking my drops the bullet splashes over lapped at 600, and every 1st round shot at from 200 out to 800 was 1st round hit, I think I like it, helluva bullet1 good job berger

 

[CogburnR]

In my 7 RM I ended up at 69.5g of H1000 with a Winchester case, 215m primer, and a coal of 3.270". Cases look good. 2958fps average 23" barrel M700(1965ish vintage with a stainless original barrel with a boo boo cut off).

This is pretty much what the Berger book lists as max with a VLD. The Classic Hunter is not in the book. It is a pretty good book.

With used Remington cases I get extractor marks at 69.5g H1000 and hard extraction at 71g.