Alright Berger boys I need some input.

[muddydogs]

Stats: Win model 70 in 7mm Rem Mag, Berger 168 VLD hunting bullet.

So I just got the Berger bullets and went about checking where the bullet hit the lands with my Stoney Point gauge and comparator. I found that the bullet hit the lands at 2.895" but my mag length is 2.690 inches for a jump of .205 inches. Total OAL at 2.690" is 3.390 inches.

So that seems like quite the jump for a Berger, there how to load information stops at loading six rounds at .130" jump. What do you guys think? Am I wasting powder or could I luck out and find they will shoot with this jump?

 

[Dosh]

Muddy, send your info to Berger. They will reply with a solution in a timely manner. The Berger site has info on seating depth success farther off the lands than previously suggested. Recheck your measurements on the COAL to be sure. .205 seems like a lot. There are extended mags available also. Good luck

 

[AZShooter]

The intent of the four seating depths is to help you find an depth that shows promise. I once messed around with a 308 and seating depth to prove a point. I progressively seated deeper in .005" increments. The groups would tighten progressively then open progressively to repeat until I ran out of ogive to hold the bullet in the case mouth.

All you can do is seat to fit and feed from your magazine if you want a repeater and work up a powder charge. Note which charge weight shoots best then begin seating the bullets deeper in the case. If you have a seating die with a micrometer top it is easy to try .005" or .010" increments to see if you can find more accuracy.

If the VLDs won't shoot switch to the hybrids. I can just about guarantee the 168 classic hunter will shoot in your rifle. I have helped load for four 7 Rem mags in the last two years and ALL shot this bullet with a variety of jumps to lands.

 

[Doublezranch]

The Berger method works. I used to "guess" on where I thought the sweet spot was but quickly found out if I would have done what Berger said to begin with I would have saved time and money.

 

[Corey Schwanz]

There is one way to find out if they'll shoot well with that much jump, try'em out. I would recommend doing the seating depth test to find where the optimal depth is in your rifle. VLDs do tend to shoot better when they are seated closer to the rifling, but its not always set in stone.

If you find that your rifle does shoot better with them longer than magazine length, then you may have to single feed that rifle for best results. Another option as mentioned above would be the Classic Hunters. They were designed to be shot from SAAMI spec magazine length depths and should perform quite well if you do not want to single feed the rifle.