7mm Rem Mag Loads

[Bombardeir]

I've been trying to get a bit more accuracy out of my Howa 1500 with a medium-heavy bullet, but all roads thus far lead to 1.25-1.5" groups - perfectly fine for hunting out to 400 yrds, but would like to be able to tighten things up a bit for further ranges. I've tested Nosler Accubond 160grn, Nolser Long-Rang Accubond 168grn, and Berger VLD 168grn with various OCLs and and the following powders:

IMR 4831
IMR 4350
AA MagPro

Best combo thus far is the Nosler LR AB 168grn, CCI 250 primer, 64.5 grn of IMR 4831, at the Nosler manual's recommended OCL of 3.250". She scoots at around 2,930 fps and prints a 1.25" group consistently.

I ordered a bottle of both Alliant RL 22 & 25... I figured I would give them a whirl.

Any other powders or tips that you gentlemen might recommend??

Thanks,

 

[Bullet bumper]

The load you have may be capable of better accuracy with further development of the load itself . What you may need now is a better shooting style that suits the gun and the recoil . Failure to control recoil is a major common reason of lost accuracy .
That 1.25 "group could shrink down to . 75 " with just improving delivery technique , rest and bag setup etc.
I have lost count of the number of people I see trying to shoot a big magnum cartridge in a light hunting gun like it's a 6mm PPC .
Producing 1.25" already is very good and I could be all wrong and you are doing everything correctly but it is worth making sure you are not making some small set up mistake or allowing the gun to control you .
I once fixed a German guys shooting problems from a photo he sent me and it turned out to be a rickety poorly designed bench system at his range that was killing his groups . So look at every thing not just the load components .

 

[Stu76x]

H1000(2217) is a very good powder for the heavy bullets, I am running 68.5gr with 180gr Bergers with my old 7mmRM BDL 24" barrel. It shot very well from 67-69.5 gr all very close to 1MOA, I settled with 68.5 as it was just under max according to the ADI reloading data and consistently 0.7-0.9MOA.

 

[barefooter56]

I've been trying to get a bit more accuracy out of my Howa 1500 with a medium-heavy bullet, but all roads thus far lead to 1.25-1.5" groups - perfectly fine for hunting out to 400 yrds, but would like to be able to tighten things up a bit for further ranges. I've tested Nosler Accubond 160grn, Nolser Long-Rang Accubond 168grn, and Berger VLD 168grn with various OCLs and and the following powders:

IMR 4831
IMR 4350
AA MagPro

Best combo thus far is the Nosler LR AB 168grn, CCI 250 primer, 64.5 grn of IMR 4831, at the Nosler manual's recommended OCL of 3.250". She scoots at around 2,930 fps and prints a 1.25" group consistently.

I ordered a bottle of both Alliant RL 22 & 25... I figured I would give them a whirl.

Any other powders or tips that you gentlemen might recommend??

Thanks,

Bombardeir,
Contact us at [email protected] for load data please.

 

[Dosh]

B, another + for H1000 with the Berger 168 VLD. Very accurate in my in law's Rem 700 and my son's Ruger 77 both 7mm RM.

 

[LaHunter]

If you are using COAL as your reference measurement, this could be contributing to the large groups. That measurement is important for magazine length and feeding, but not for best accuracy. You should be measuring CBTO (Cartridge Base To Ogive). This is the critical measurement when it comes to seating depth. I use the Hornady Bullet Comparator and it works very well.

Good Luck

 

[MudRunner2005]

I would try a slower powder for the 160+ grain bullets... Like 7828, 7977, H1000, RL25, RL26, something along those lines.

 

[Bombardeir]

I appreciate all of the responses!

In reply to a few comments, the action was bedded by Mark Bansner in one of his High-tech specialties stocks. I lapped the rings on the DNZ mount. As far as my shooting ability and technique... You may have me there. I might look like Quazimodo sighting in a Daisy Red Ryder, but I do use a lead sled with 25lbs of lead to try and eliminate the human error. I also tried shooting off my sand bags with similar results. My bench is a Skill Work-Mate... Rock solid for me. I've developed a 1/2 MOA load for my 270 with the same bench and and sled, which leads me to believe it might be the loads or the rifle.

I've been looking for H1000 online... Most everyone is sold out with the exception of 8lb bottles. Anyone have a line on a 1lb source??

 

[MudRunner2005]

If you can't find H1000, try 7828 SSC. It has given me excellent results in all my rifles.

 

[Bombardeir]

I do not have the tool that measures the COAL from the base to the ogive. But I've read about how handy these are for achieving consistency in load development. This will definitely be my next purchase to add to my reloading bench.

Thanks again for the comments!!

 

[HNDLDR]

If you can't find H1000, try 7828 SSC. It has given me excellent results in all my rifles.

+1 160 Accubond and 7828ssc turned an old, worn out, Ruger of mine that shot 1.5" to 2.0" inch group into a solid .75" shooter. This gun didn't group like this when it was new.