7mm rem mag factory ammo

[goebs66]

So I just got my sako 85 7mm rem mag in and this is my first rifle in that caliber. Unforunately, I don't have the time/money/equipment to reload ... I was wondering how you guys think I should start out finding the best factory ammo for this, while being cost efficient. I am trying to shoot targets from 500-1000 yards for fun while also hunting coyotes and deer at 400+ yards. Should I buy a couple boxes of ammo that look appealing with the highest BC and see which one groups better at 100 yards? How do you guys go about finding the best (factory) ammo for your rifles?

 

[Ken gun]

I also picked a 7 mm this spring and trying Horndy Super-performance ammo in a few different bullets. After I get some range time in two weeks will report back.

 

[MudRunner2005]

This is going to be the highest (real) BC factory loaded ammo.

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 180 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

Bergers are the highest legit BC bullets on the market. Nosler inflates their BC's, and have for years. They are good bullets, but they inflate their numbers. However, Nosler brass is about the best brass you can buy for belted magnum cartridges... So, there's always a pro and con to every option. I have been told, however, that the HSM brass is good stuff, too, although I have no first-hand experience with it.

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 160 Grain AccuBond Box of

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain AccuBond Long

 

[Dosh]

This is going to be the highest (real) BC factory loaded ammo.

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 180 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

Bergers are the highest legit BC bullets on the market. Nosler inflates their BC's, and have for years. They are good bullets, but they inflate their numbers. However, Nosler brass is about the best brass you can buy for belted magnum cartridges... So, there's always a pro and con to every option. I have been told, however, that the HSM brass is good stuff, too, although I have no first-hand experience with it.

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 160 Grain AccuBond Box of

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain AccuBond Long

^Exactly! Which ever shoots most accurately and save all the brass just in case you decide to reload. Factory rifle and ammo will be tough to go at 1000 yards. Practice with ammo you will hunt with. The HSM will easily get the best BC and has the bullet weight to knock them down. Check the custom search here for info on prepping your rifle to shoot accurately. Good luck

 

[goebs66]

This is going to be the highest (real) BC factory loaded ammo.

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 180 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

Bergers are the highest legit BC bullets on the market. Nosler inflates their BC's, and have for years. They are good bullets, but they inflate their numbers. However, Nosler brass is about the best brass you can buy for belted magnum cartridges... So, there's always a pro and con to every option. I have been told, however, that the HSM brass is good stuff, too, although I have no first-hand experience with it.

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 160 Grain AccuBond Box of

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain AccuBond Long

Awesome! thanks for the help! Pretty expensive ammo though... Another question, would I be using the G1 or G7 for these bullets BCs?? I use Shooter ballistic app, you think thats good enough?

 

[MudRunner2005]

Awesome! thanks for the help! Pretty expensive ammo though... Another question, would I be using the G1 or G7 for these bullets BCs?? I use Shooter ballistic app, you think thats good enough?

This article might help you understand BC's a little bit better. It's easier to post a link, than to type it all out.

A Better Ballistic Coefficient | By Bryan Litz | Berger Bullets Blog

I use the BulletDrop+ and iStrelok apps on my iPhone. In those apps, I use the G1 BC. G7 is more accurate for boat tail bullets, but so far using G1 BC's in those apps has been accurate.

Honestly, the only way to tell what is good enough for your wants, is to find an ammo that shoots less than 1 MOA all the way out to your desired distance. The closer to 1/2 MOA the better off you'll be. Unfortunately, it costs a lot of money to find that particular factory ammo that will do that. And you can get started reloading for a lot cheaper than what all that factory ammo would cost you.

RCBS Reloader Special-5 Explorer Plus Single Stage Press Kit

Ammo has been ridiculously expensive for the last 10 years or so, and I'm so glad I got into reloading. Best thing I ever did. I can load precision ammo for a fraction of the cost.

I can load up 100 rounds of 7mmRM using Berger 168's, in Nosler brass (I don't factor brass in my cost, because brass is reuseable many times over), using Federal 215M primers, and IMR 7828 SSC powder for around $0.90 each (not including brass). And it's extremely precise and constant. I'm OCD when it comes to reloading ammo, so it's been developed, proven, and taylor-made for getting the most accuracy out of my rifles.

Even if you factored in the 2 new boxes of Nosler brass at $60 per 50 cases, that would be an extra $120 for 100 new Nosler cases, plus the other $90 for 1 lb. of powder, 100 primers, and 100 Berger bullets... You're still only looking at only $2.10 per round (plus, you now have 100 Nosler brass you can reload over and over again). Nosler ammo starts around $3.00 a pop, and while it's good ammo, it still doesn't come with Berger bullets, and it's not taylor-made for your rifle.

For LR shooting, reloading is a must-do. It is rare to find factory ammo in a factory rifle that shoots good enough to be consistent at 1000 yards. And even then, who's to say that your next lot of ammo will be the exact same, and produce the same consistency? There's no guarantee. With handloading, you can tune and tweak your load with each new lot of powder and bullets for continued consistency with your favorite load.

 

[goebs66]

I agree... But as a college student I do not have the time or money to get into this until I finish college. Also, I will never compete in long range competitions. I just want to be able to take a coyote at 700-800 yards someday. AND it would be cool to shoot some targets consistently at 1000 yards. Not trying to achieve MOA at long distances or anything! I'd rather have fun and save the headaches for the people that do this as a sport! I just want some dead coyotes!!!!

 

[Dr. Vette]

I agree... But as a college student I do not have the time or money to get into this until I finish college. Also, I will never compete in long range competitions. I just want to be able to take a coyote at 700-800 yards someday. AND it would be cool to shoot some targets consistently at 1000 yards. Not trying to achieve MOA at long distances or anything! I'd rather have fun and save the headaches for the people that do this as a sport! I just want some dead coyotes!!!!

Unfortunately your goals aren't compatible.

To hit a coyote at 700-800 yards, you WILL have to achieve MOA accuracy at long distances. Anything over MOA will essentially result in missed coyotes.

The real answer is that there is no cheap way to do it. You will have to buy a box each of several different kinds of ammo and see what works best in your rifle. Trust me, I've tried to cheap out on it too. The only bonus is that you can either a) sell you partial boxes to someone else trying to do the same thing or b) hold on to them for a future rifle. I've used various boxes of 270 Wincheter in at least 5 different rifles now (not all mine), and I'm glad I had them.

For my 7mm I was lucky that the previous owner knew of a good load, and I also had a chance to use the leftovers from a friend who was trying to find a good load for his rifle. I bought loads on an as-used basis, and found another one that worked.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I agree... But as a college student I do not have the time or money to get into this until I finish college. Also, I will never compete in long range competitions. I just want to be able to take a coyote at 700-800 yards someday. AND it would be cool to shoot some targets consistently at 1000 yards. Not trying to achieve MOA at long distances or anything! I'd rather have fun and save the headaches for the people that do this as a sport! I just want some dead coyotes!!!!

MOA is roughly 1" per 100 yards. So roughtly 1" at 100 is 1 MOA. 10" at 1000 is 1 MOA. Your goal should be sub-MOA at all distances. If you're not shooting atleast 1 MOA at 1000 you're going to miss more coyotes than you hit.

I know it seems daunting, exhaustive, and expensive, because I was a broke college student once, too. But I can assure you, that the sooner you get into reloading and get the components paid for, and the earlier you perfect your technique, the better off you'll be in the long run.

Trust me, I have calibers that factory ammo costs $80 a box... Reloading for $20 a box I can make 80 rounds (4 boxes of ammo) for what 1 box of factory ammo cost.

 

[goebs66]

MOA is roughly 1" per 100 yards. So roughtly 1" at 100 is 1 MOA. 10" at 1000 is 1 MOA. Your goal should be sub-MOA at all distances. If you're not shooting atleast 1 MOA at 1000 you're going to miss more coyotes than you hit.

I know it seems daunting, exhaustive, and expensive, because I was a broke college student once, too. But I can assure you, that the sooner you get into reloading and get the components paid for, and the earlier you perfect your technique, the better off you'll be in the long run.

Trust me, I have calibers that factory ammo costs $80 a box... Reloading for $20 a box I can make 80 rounds (4 boxes of ammo) for what 1 box of factory ammo cost.

Yeah I shortly realized my mistake of understanding MOA after I posted that... But I'm only home for 3 weeks this summer so I dont really it would be efficient to start reloading yet. Maybe this fall or next summer. Either way thanks for the help!

 

[goebs66]

This is going to be the highest (real) BC factory loaded ammo.

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

HSM Trophy Gold Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 180 Grain Berger Hunting VLD

Bergers are the highest legit BC bullets on the market. Nosler inflates their BC's, and have for years. They are good bullets, but they inflate their numbers. However, Nosler brass is about the best brass you can buy for belted magnum cartridges... So, there's always a pro and con to every option. I have been told, however, that the HSM brass is good stuff, too, although I have no first-hand experience with it.

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 160 Grain AccuBond Box of

Nosler Trophy Grade Ammo 7mm Remington Mag 168 Grain AccuBond Long

What do you think about federal premium ammo? I saw the federal fusion 180g have a BC of ~.53 if I remember correctly. Also, they can be found online at about 35 bucks a box. Also, once I find a good factory ammo, do you suggest buying it in bulk like 100 or 500 rounds to save money? (before I get into reloading 3 years from now, too much college football/work/school)
EDIT: Damnit... just realized Im not 21 yet so I can't order ammo online yet... 2 months away. Looks like I'm stuck with what Bass Pro has in stock...

 

[goebs66]

^Exactly! Which ever shoots most accurately and save all the brass just in case you decide to reload. Factory rifle and ammo will be tough to go at 1000 yards. Practice with ammo you will hunt with. The HSM will easily get the best BC and has the bullet weight to knock them down. Check the custom search here for info on prepping your rifle to shoot accurately. Good luck

I found some good info, but what forums/articles did you have in mind? ill read whatever you throw at me!!!

 

[Dosh]

66, the custom search top right this page. There is info on all facets from stock bedding, scope mounts, safe barrel cleaning, triggers, shooting technique and many other helpful info you could use. There are many opinions on each subject, that's where you need to filter the knowledge you've learned to apply to your needs. Asking questions on the forum helps also. Many will tell you there are no stupid questions. Good luck

 

[roninflag]

the sako is a nice rifle. besides the 168, and 180 grain HSM ammo ..... you should try the 140 grain HSM . all are loaded with berger match grade bullets. those give the best chance in accuracy. the 4 th choice i would try is the 140 ballistic silver tip from winchester. i would save my money until i could shoot those 4.