7mm Remington Magnum 168 Berger VLD's

[PowellSixO]

Hey guys, I'm new to the site and to long range hunting(anything past 500 yards). I recently put a rifle together in hopes that I would get drawn for elk this year. I wanted a rifle with enough power to take an elk ethicaly up to 8-900 yards. Well my hopes have come true and I will be going on my first AZ elk hunt in 14 years! The rifle I put together consists of the following:
Savage 111 Trophy Hunter XP 7mm Rem Mag (24" barrel with 1:9.5" twist)
BlackHawk Picatinny Style 0 MOA Scope Mount
Vortex Viper PST 2.5-10x44 EBR-1 MOA Scope
BlackHawk Bipod
I've had decent luck with the Winchester Silver Ballistic Tip Ammo, but not great luck. I can shoot MOA most of the time. I would really like to get this rifle SUB MOA if possible. So I went out and purchased all the stuff needed to get into reloading. So this will be my first experience in reloading. I have chosen to start with H1000 powder, Remington Brass, Winchester WLR Primers, and Berger 168 gr VLD Hunting Bullets (already purchased and in my gun safe). After reading, and with products tough to find right now, that's what I landed on. Lol. I may be WAY off, but I figured it would be a good place to start. My questions start when it comes to COAL. I understand and have read about starting off with min loads of powder and working up. I've read my reloading manual front to back a few times now. However, when it comes to COAL, I am lost when it comes to the Bergers. In the instructions from this site, and from Bergers site, they say to start with the bullet just touching the rifleing and work up in steps until the sweet spot is achieved. Then work in smaller steps to achieve the best accuracy. I'm not sure how to tell when the bullet is just touching the rifleing. I'm sure there are tools out there for this, but is there another method to determine this? Does anyone have any good COAL starting points for me? Anyone wanting to throw out some info for a newb would be much appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

[MudRunner2005]

I don't have any loads for 7Mag with Bergers and H1000.....

I do, however, have a load for 7Mag with 168 Berger VLD's and Alliant Reloder 22, if you can get your hands on some of that. 67.0gr seating the bullet just short enough to where they will fit down in the magazine of the gun. Federal 215 primers.

I have a Browning A-Bolt II Compostite Skalker 7mmRemMag that also has a 9.5" twist. It shoots them good, but it started floating around a little, but come to find out, my BOSS system was loose, so I will have to tighten it up and give them another try to see how well they will group again, b/c they started out nice, then started getting kinda wild and getting fliers all over the place. Then found out the BOSS was loose and almost unscrewed about 1/2 way off....Which will make a huge difference in my grouping.


As for measuring COAL, there's several different ways to do that. I do mine the redneck way that I came up with, and there's also chamber depth measuring tools that are sold by Hornady and other companies to do it the scientific way.

Here's the redneck way...

I measure mine with a spent cartride. I pop the primer out of it, and barely bump the neck in the die so it will slightly hold the bullet in place. Strong enough that the bullet will not come out the front, but lightly enough that it will compress down into the neck so I can close the bolt to get my seating depth. Then I push the bullet in the case by hand, seating it very deep. Then I put it in the action and chamber the round (remember, NO primer or powder!). I rack the slide back just enough to pick the handle up, then re-lock it a few times. Then I remove it, take my measurement with my calibers. Then I do this 4 more times. Then add them up, divide by 5, and get my average. Once I have my average, I go from there, as to whether or not I want them to be able to press into the magazine or 1-shot at a time single-shot style.

Hope this helps.

And if you get hurt or try to use a live round, I am in NO way responsible for this. That is my disclaimer.

Please post that you agree to the disclaimer.

You make sure you use an EMPTY case with NO powder, and NO primer.

 

[PowellSixO]

I don't have any loads for 7Mag with Bergers and H1000.....

I do, however, have a load for 7Mag with 168 Berger VLD's and Alliant Reloder 22, if you can get your hands on some of that. 67.0gr seating the bullet just short enough to where they will fit down in the magazine of the gun. Federal 215 primers.

I have a Browning A-Bolt II Compostite Skalker 7mmRemMag that also has a 9.5" twist. It shoots them good, but it started floating around a little, but come to find out, my BOSS system was loose, so I will have to tighten it up and give them another try to see how well they will group again, b/c they started out nice, then started getting kinda wild and getting fliers all over the place. Then found out the BOSS was loose and almost unscrewed about 1/2 way off....Which will make a huge difference in my grouping.


As for measuring COAL, there's several different ways to do that. I do mine the redneck way that I came up with, and there's also chamber depth measuring tools that are sold by Hornady and other companies to do it the scientific way.

Here's the redneck way...

I measure mine with a spent cartride. I pop the primer out of it, and barely bump the neck in the die so it will slightly hold the bullet in place. Strong enough that the bullet will not come out the front, but lightly enough that it will compress down into the neck so I can close the bolt to get my seating depth. Then I push the bullet in the case by hand, seating it very deep. Then I put it in the action and chamber the round (remember, NO primer or powder!). I rack the slide back just enough to pick the handle up, then re-lock it a few times. Then I remove it, take my measurement with my calibers. Then I do this 4 more times. Then add them up, divide by 5, and get my average. Once I have my average, I go from there, as to whether or not I want them to be able to press into the magazine or 1-shot at a time single-shot style.

Hope this helps.

And if you get hurt or try to use a live round, I am in NO way responsible for this. That is my disclaimer.

Please post that you agree to the disclaimer.

You make sure you use an EMPTY case with NO powder, and NO primer.

Thank you for the response. And YES I agree to your disclaimer. I will be putting project 1st reloading into effect this week sometime, and hope to shoot the rifle on friday.

 

[MudRunner2005]

The only reason I put the disclaimer on that, is b/c you know as well as I do, that there actually IS someone out there dumb enough to try to do that with a live round. LOL

If you have any other questions about reloading, feel free to shoot me PM, and I will try to answer them as best I can.

Also, if you do not have a Berger reloading manual, they're $30 and well worth the investment. You can get one off their website.

I just ordered mine yesterday, so it should be here in a week or so....Hopefully. It's coming all the way from Cali to Alabama UPS ground, so there's no telling how long that could take. LOL

 

[7stw]

Hey guys, I'm new to the site and to long range hunting(anything past 500 yards). I recently put a rifle together in hopes that I would get drawn for elk this year. I wanted a rifle with enough power to take an elk ethicaly up to 8-900 yards. Well my hopes have come true and I will be going on my first AZ elk hunt in 14 years! The rifle I put together consists of the following:
Savage 111 Trophy Hunter XP 7mm Rem Mag (24" barrel with 1:9.5" twist)
BlackHawk Picatinny Style 0 MOA Scope Mount
Vortex Viper PST 2.5-10x44 EBR-1 MOA Scope
BlackHawk Bipod
I've had decent luck with the Winchester Silver Ballistic Tip Ammo, but not great luck. I can shoot MOA most of the time. I would really like to get this rifle SUB MOA if possible. So I went out and purchased all the stuff needed to get into reloading. So this will be my first experience in reloading. I have chosen to start with H1000 powder, Remington Brass, Winchester WLR Primers, and Berger 168 gr VLD Hunting Bullets (already purchased and in my gun safe). After reading, and with products tough to find right now, that's what I landed on. Lol. I may be WAY off, but I figured it would be a good place to start. My questions start when it comes to COAL. I understand and have read about starting off with min loads of powder and working up. I've read my reloading manual front to back a few times now. However, when it comes to COAL, I am lost when it comes to the Bergers. In the instructions from this site, and from Bergers site, they say to start with the bullet just touching the rifleing and work up in steps until the sweet spot is achieved. Then work in smaller steps to achieve the best accuracy. I'm not sure how to tell when the bullet is just touching the rifleing. I'm sure there are tools out there for this, but is there another method to determine this? Does anyone have any good COAL starting points for me? Anyone wanting to throw out some info for a newb would be much appreciated. Thanks guys!

SixO' I have a particularly accurate 700P, that loves Berger 168 VLD's. While mine has a 26 inch barrel, and the fact that every barrel is different, your velocity may or may not vary. My load is- 67.0-H1000-168vld @ 3.336 OAL. In my gun, that represents a .040 jump. Here is something that may surprise you, but I do not use a magnum primer in this load. I am using a Winchester WLR primer. I have no ignition problems, and it has been known by more then a few, that in some cases, you do not have to always have to use a magnum primer. I find that the ES, and SD are much lower, all else equal, except the primer change . The seven mag is a amazing cartridge, and I often wonder why I fool with anything else. My favorite as my screen name implies, is of course the STW, but it is the seven mag that got the love affair with 7mm bullets in the first place. Enjoy the ride!

PS, my velocity runs right at 2977, with the 168 VLD.

 

[BuckyFan69]

If yo haven't already done it, check out the "sticky" (top of the reloading home page), about seating VLD's. Excellent read.

I also recommend a head space gauge and a bullet comparator. These are the ones I have, but several manufacturer's make them.

Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Gage 5 Bushing Set Comparator

Hornady Lock-N-Load Bullet Comparator Basic Set 6 Inserts

Good luck on your hunt!

 

[7stw]

SixO, I forgot to mention a very useful but inexpensive tool, that is priceless to setting up your COAL, and you resizing die, and that is the RCBS precision Gage set. It will tell you where your throat begins, and also will tell you how to set the bump on your resizer die. Once you figure out the things you can do with it, you will buy a set for everything you own.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I just use RCBS neck-sizer dies for majority of my rifles.

 

[PowellSixO]

Thanks guys for the info. I listed my primers incorrectly. I have the WLRM primers. I'm starting to see how important coal is. I'm gonna load a few tonight possibly so I can take them out friday and see what I come up with.

 

[roninflag]

that is a good combo to start with. i found cci250, rem 9.5m and wlrm i could use interchangeably. 215m gave higher pressure higher velocity and higher es. are you hunting bull elk??

 

[PowellSixO]

that is a good combo to start with. i found cci250, rem 9.5m and wlrm i could use interchangeably. 215m gave higher pressure higher velocity and higher es. are you hunting bull elk??

I'm not sure yet to tell you the truth. Haha. Sounds funny right. Here in AZ we have a draw system, and it is extremely hard to get drawn. I put in for 3 bull hunts and one cow hunt, and I will only get one of those choices. The only reason that I know that I got a tag is that AZ game and fish just charged my debit card for the price of an elk tag. The official results won't be out for one more week.
Here is a picture of the rifle I'm reloading for by the way.

 

[roninflag]

i have shot eight elk in az with a rifle; and helped others take 28. maybe i should check mine. i took 17 years for my last tag. my last two elk were 11 and 26 yards with a rifle.

 

[PowellSixO]

Yeah if you filed online, go check your bank statement and see if you got hit from the az game and fish. They will be charging peoples accounts for the next 3-4 days. Then they should post the results on their website. Me and my buddy put in together, so we will both be hunting this year!