7mm RM Recipe for Muley Hunt

[Lefty G-gear]

Back when I used to shoot a 7mm mag, my hunting load was a 160 grain nosler partition in front of 65 gr of Imr 4350 with a proven velocity of 3150 fps. This was a published load from an old Pacific reloading manual, but it was hot, and many 7mm's will not handle this load. It killed well though!

I'm almost certain that load manuals have tamed down the loads now.
Some exceptions...

 

[Wyatt Johnson]

I booked my first Wyoming hunt, which happened to be a Mule Deer Hunt in Northwest Wyoming. I have a Rem 700 in 7mm RM (9.25" twist) that has a lot of sentimental value to me, and has been my tool of choice for many successful whitetail and bear hunts. I would like to use this rifle on this hunt. My loads for this rifle have never been fully developed, and the most recent load I partially developed is not showing enough promise for me. It's a 168 grain Berger VLD going around 2750 FPS. Not particularly fast, not particularly accurate, not particularly good ESs. I'm currently loading in Winchester brass, and I'm prepared to buy better brass (ADG maybe) to improve things. Having never been on this type of hunt, I dont want to go there with any accuracy/distance limitations imposed by the rifle. Where would you start with redeveloping this load, from a component standpoint? I've got H4831, H4350, H1000, IMR7828, RL26, and I'm prepared to try others. For bullets, I like Berger, but not hung up on using them, if something else would work well. Thanks in advance for your help.

My load of choice in my rifle is 150 TTSX sitting on top of 68 grains of IMR7828SSC. It makes 3150 and is .5 moa in my Ruger 7 mag.

 

[freddiej]

These are loads that are currently being used by two friends of mine. I helped develop them for their rifles.
first is Todd's go to loads for his 7MM RM for deer.
120 grain Hornady HP, 68.5 grains of Reloader -22, Win LRM primer. contained in a prepped Hornady case.
his second choice is 139 grain Hornady interbond, 65.1 grains of reloader-22, Win-LRM primer in the same Hornady prepped cases. Todd had to tune the seating depth to 0.013"- to 0.015" off the lead.

Randy's go to loads for deer is either of these:
120 grain Nosler Ballistic tip, 65.5 grains of IMR-4350, Win-LRM primer, contained in a prepped Norma or Nosler case.
140 grain ballistic tip or accubond, 65.0 grains of IMR-4350, Win-LRM primer, in Nosler cases. Randy runs 0.008" to 0.012" off the lead.

Both guns shoot these loads under 1/2".

A load that works well in both guns is Berger 140 Grain VLD hunter, 71.5 grains of AA Mag Pro, WLRM Primer, prepped cases. set to their respective offsets to the lead.

I do not own a 7MM R/M so I can not personally vouch for these loads. all I have is the reloading data in my custom loads book for these two rifles and these two friends.

 

[MachV]

160 partitions with Retumbo is what the old Ruger prefers lately, oddly enough replace the 160partitions with 180 bergers and it groups better but right or wrong I will not hunt with a hollow point.
Big mulies are both tough and smart....before the rut

 

[Bang4theBuck]

I am the original poster that requested help on this cartridge. Here is my update so far, as promised. If you are one that doesn't like long-winded posts, I'll through you a bone. I've got 143 grain Hammer Hunters going almost 3300 FPS, with good accuracy, and good ESs. For those that want more detail....read on.
I placed an order for 50 hammer hunters. These are pretty pricy, so I didn't want to own too many if my rifle wasn't going to like them. That is turning out to me a mistake. My approach was to be very methodical on how I do this load development, without burning through too much powder, or too many bullets. So, I started with a modified ladder test, of single rounds of individual charge weights. I did this looking for velocity and pressure signs, to know what range I was going to develop loads in. I am using Gunwerks Brass and Fed GMM215M primers and RL26 Powder. My velocity and pressure tests told me that I needed to develop between 71 and 72.2 grains. Again, to conserve components, I loaded 4 shot groups at 71, 71.3, 71.6, 71.9 and 72.2. Those results are as follows:

71 Gr. AVG 3206 ES 29 SD 13.2 Group size .570"
71.3 GR AVG 3239 ES 26 SD 13.4 Group Size ~ 1.5"
71.6 GR AVG 3287 ES 58 SD 24.9 Group Size ~ 1"
71.9 GR AVG 3298 ES 13 SD 6.7 Group Size .650"
72.2 GR AVG 3329 ES 43 SD 19.9 Group Size ~1"

In all but one group (71.9), I had a single shot that varied widely from the rest of the shots as far as velocity. I am writing this off as the brass being fire formed in my chamber. Next steps for me are: Volume sort the cases and only use cases with consistent volume, and load up 4 shot groups at 71.8, 71.9, 72, and see if the node is flat enough and results can be replicated. I will do 3 shot groups this time to conserve, components for a last round of seating depth testing with best charge. Here are some pictures of the results. Note that the first and last groups both have 4 shots, but in the first group (71 gr), I had to move my site in, significantly, so I wrote in where the impact would have been in the group. In the last group (72.2 gr) I did not see the first shot, initially (12x scope) as it was hidden in sharpie numbers. I though I missed the paper, high, so I simply held one dot down on the target. in this case, I also wrote in where the impact was, relative to the rest of the group. Please comment.

 

[Deleted member 112174]

That is really fun and satisfying when you find the sweet spot. I would urge you not to scrimp on powder and bullets now. You have a lot of money dedicated to go on this hunt. Having your load tuned to provide best performance will cost you little in comparison. The greatest benefit is that you are shooting your rifle a lot. That will pay big dividends when the shot presents itself. All that trigger time will be to your benefit. It seems that I shoot better when I am searching for the best load. I would say you have found it. I usually fiddle with seating depth next, just to wring out the last bit of precision. Well done! Keep shooting, vary your shooting if you can, not just from the bench, but standing, sitting, (I can never shoot well kneeling). and prone. shoot without bags, without sticks, with sticks, and so on. Opportunities come without a lot of time to set up. Have a great time preparing for your hunt and enjoy the experience.

 

[Salty Hoffman]

Bang4theBuck,

I am pleased to see that the 143 grn Hammer is performing for you!
I too just recently ordered a box from Steve. Good people with a ton of knowledge.
Any chance you have your throat dimensions and or Seating depth. I have a 1:8 twist 26" barrel on order. Interestingly enough, I noticed these new 143 grn Hammers are very similar in length to Berger 180 grn vld hunters.
Thanks for Sharing
Cheers

 

[imartin]

I am the original poster that requested help on this cartridge. Here is my update so far, as promised. If you are one that doesn't like long-winded posts, I'll through you a bone. I've got 143 grain Hammer Hunters going almost 3300 FPS, with good accuracy, and good ESs. For those that want more detail....read on.
I placed an order for 50 hammer hunters. These are pretty pricy, so I didn't want to own too many if my rifle wasn't going to like them. That is turning out to me a mistake. My approach was to be very methodical on how I do this load development, without burning through too much powder, or too many bullets. So, I started with a modified ladder test, of single rounds of individual charge weights. I did this looking for velocity and pressure signs, to know what range I was going to develop loads in. I am using Gunwerks Brass and Fed GMM215M primers and RL26 Powder. My velocity and pressure tests told me that I needed to develop between 71 and 72.2 grains. Again, to conserve components, I loaded 4 shot groups at 71, 71.3, 71.6, 71.9 and 72.2. Those results are as follows:

71 Gr. AVG 3206 ES 29 SD 13.2 Group size .570"
71.3 GR AVG 3239 ES 26 SD 13.4 Group Size ~ 1.5"
71.6 GR AVG 3287 ES 58 SD 24.9 Group Size ~ 1"
71.9 GR AVG 3298 ES 13 SD 6.7 Group Size .650"
72.2 GR AVG 3329 ES 43 SD 19.9 Group Size ~1"

In all but one group (71.9), I had a single shot that varied widely from the rest of the shots as far as velocity. I am writing this off as the brass being fire formed in my chamber. Next steps for me are: Volume sort the cases and only use cases with consistent volume, and load up 4 shot groups at 71.8, 71.9, 72, and see if the node is flat enough and results can be replicated. I will do 3 shot groups this time to conserve, components for a last round of seating depth testing with best charge. Here are some pictures of the results. Note that the first and last groups both have 4 shots, but in the first group (71 gr), I had to move my site in, significantly, so I wrote in where the impact would have been in the group. In the last group (72.2 gr) I did not see the first shot, initially (12x scope) as it was hidden in sharpie numbers. I though I missed the paper, high, so I simply held one dot down on the target. in this case, I also wrote in where the impact was, relative to the rest of the group. Please comment. View attachment 170477

Looks like you are off to a good start. Going to be working on an identical load, with the exception of Norma Brass, for one of my 7 Rem Mag's. If I can get similar velocity and ~.5 moa accuracy, I will be good to go. Thanks for the info.

 

[mindcrime]

Bang4theBuck,

Any chance you have your throat dimensions and or Seating depth. I have a 1:8 twist 26" barrel on order.

I would love to know as well!!! I have a 1-8" X-Caliber Remage ready for installation, and I plan on using the 180 Bergers [already have 1000 actually].

THANKS!

 

[Bang4theBuck]

So, I am going to shoot 10 more shots, hopefully today, but what I have right now is producing .62 MOA and is propelled at 3334 FPS with an ES of 12 fps.
Federal GM215M primer
Gunwerks Brass (ADG) neck turned to .0135"
RL 26 powder
143 Hammer Hunter Sested to 2.810" base to Ogive which is .020" off lands.

The 10 that I am going to shoot today are going to be .005 and .010" closer to lands to see if I can further tighten the groups.

 

[tonsorge]

I booked my first Wyoming hunt, which happened to be a Mule Deer Hunt in Northwest Wyoming. I have a Rem 700 in 7mm RM (9.25" twist) that has a lot of sentimental value to me, and has been my tool of choice for many successful whitetail and bear hunts. I would like to use this rifle on this hunt. My loads for this rifle have never been fully developed, and the most recent load I partially developed is not showing enough promise for me. It's a 168 grain Berger VLD going around 2750 FPS. Not particularly fast, not particularly accurate, not particularly good ESs. I'm currently loading in Winchester brass, and I'm prepared to buy better brass (ADG maybe) to improve things. Having never been on this type of hunt, I dont want to go there with any accuracy/distance limitations imposed by the rifle. Where would you start with redeveloping this load, from a component standpoint? I've got H4831, H4350, H1000, IMR7828, RL26, and I'm prepared to try others. For bullets, I like Berger, but not hung up on using them, if something else would work well. Thanks in advance for your help.

That sounds like a great trip. I have reloaded for many 7RMs'. My wife has a fetish for the cartidge. She has burnt out 3 barrels on 3 different actions over the years. I have always had luck with 61.5 to 63 grains of H4831 with a 160 grain accubond .05 off the lands with a federal LRM primer running around 2820-2900 fps. It seems be quite tolerant and work across the board on many different actions and chambers with little pressure sign. That said, as always, start with a lower charge and work up. There are planty of different powders for a 7RM. I tend to go with the Hodgdons because we live in Yukon and they seem to be the most temperature stable over a broad range. Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[Bang4theBuck]

Final update on the load development. I could not be happier with the performance that I am getting out of this rifle/bullet combination. Again, 143 hammer hunters going 3334 FPS, with an ES of 11, SD of 4.5. I took the rifle out a little longer this weekend with the load that I settled on, and it did not disappoint. I started at 300 Yards and made perfect hits at 300, 350, 400, and 450. I had to make a slight adjustment beginning at 500 Yards as I was running about .5 MOA low of the calculated drop. I think it might just be a slight difference in BC than what I have programmed in. Finished up with solid hits at 550 and 600. I am getting some new high quality glass for this rifle and some lightweight Talley rings and it will be good to go! Thanks for all of the comments. I'm going to order some Hammers for my 7mm-08 and see what I can do with those now!

 

[Kmccord]

Rl 26. With 168 gr accubond long range or
175 gr. 168 the node was around 3000fps
And the 175 was around 2830 FPS
Both 1/2 Moa easy. Probably stick with 168 with 9.5 twist .

H4831 is a really good powder. My load was 160 gr accubond with h4831 around 3025 FPS

h1000 is a really good powder. Personally like it with heavier bullets. The 168 gr accubond shoot really good

rl 19 with 168 gr at 3000 FPS can't be over looked. Very accurate load. I believe this load was a go to load for along time.

I use to shoot a lot of imr 4831 and 4350 years ago but the above powders I like more.

I did not give my load bc you need to work up. Those speeds have been proven over numerous 7mm that I have worked up for myself and others for over 28 years.
i shoot heavier bullets personal preference but some people shoot lighter. all loads listed are my proven loads.

On a note I've been using rl 26 in my dads 7mm. Over the weekend he shot a 4 shot group at 250 yards that you could have covered up with a 50 cent piece. He is 74 He was talking a lot of stuff over those shots. Lol. Old man can shoot and he is 100% disabled from nam. 3 generations shooting that day that I will not forget
Anyway all is for fun and he was very happy to say the least. u get what u put into it on reloading.
cheers

I have a Bergara 7mm Rem Mag purchased for my grandson grad present, just started breaking it in, I have 100 Berger 168 VLD and 7lbs of H1000, did you find a good load with this bullet and powder combo? I emailed Berger for some load data, but they don't seem to want to provide anything... Do you have a starting load and max load on this combo? I also have H4831 that I may try along with Retumbo.

 

[Capt RB]

67 is a low starting point for Retumbo. I'm using that with the 162 in my brother's 7mag. I'm using Rl26 with the 168 berger in my 700. My brother's shoots well at 3010fps. It has room for more speed at his charge of 70.7 in fed brass. Mine is 3050 but I have not worked with the rifle enough to say it's done. It's a 700P so I don't want to shoot it too much. I have not loaded H1000 in the 7rm