7mm 150 Ballistic tip

[roysclockgun]

Tom,
Thanks for the kind words. Although my vision has been corrected by glasses since age 12, I never had any trouble seeing to shoot. At age 63, this cataract thing has really thrown me a curve. The operation is not serious, save for the fact that glaucoma complicates things, in that the retina may fall back into the inside of the eyeball, when the Doc goes to replace it.
I pretty much did as you mention, that is, to load up three boxes of the 140gr bullet this past year. I think that I will be okay with those, unless I go again for elk. The 70gr of IMR7828 was not max load, but when I went past that, my groups opened up. I figured that the MV was what I wanted for a good, flat shooting load, so I have thus far, been happy with it. Funny how we can get a successful load the still get the call to return to the range and try something just a little "better".
In terms of the 7mmRemMag; I have shot it since the 60's. However, I bought a number of other rifles and calibers, just because I believed what gun rag journalists had to say. I went through 300RUM and 7mmWSM. The short mag did not show me anything, over the 7mmRemMag. In fact, with factory ammo, I was getting swelled cases, so I sent that one back to Winchester. They never would admit that they are pushing the pressures on that round, but that is my belief. They replaced the rifle and I sold it at my wholesale cost, just to get rid of it. The 300RUM, I thought, was going to be my long shooting elk killer. That cartridge is so finicky, in terms of cases, primers, propellents and bullets, that I had 700 rounds through it and had not found a load that shot tight and consistant, so that rifle also went out at wholesale. I figured that by time I worked up a load that I liked, the barrel would be shot out and I would need to start all over again with a new barrel. Some supporters of the 300RUM claimed that I just did not have any patience. One told me that the highly tuned sports car is not for everyone. I guess he is right, but what good is a spiffy sports car, if it will not start?
I have long been a disciple of Jack O'Connor and the .270Win with 130gr Sierra SPBT. I took a fair number of deer with that rifle. I still have the rifle, which is a 1952 made Winchester Model 70. I would've never left that rifle on the rack, if I did try a friend's 7mmRemMag. The RemMag just shoots so flat and is so hard hitting, that I had to go with it.
I am going to try some of the loads that you mentioned with the 160gr AccuBond. Now that may be the bullet for everything.........or maybe a 175gr......or, you know what, maybe the 150gr AccuBond would be just right :grin: So many bullets and so little time!
Have fun in all of your gun-sports and let me know if you hit on another load that you like, using those AccuBond bullets.

 

[Tom1911]

Hi roysclockgun,

I traveled down a rather circuitous route, returning to a rather bland point of embarkation. I can get very good velocity out of a 22" barreled .308 Win; putting up with longer barrels, bigger case capacities, and obnoxious reports. To me, 2900 FPS with 165 grain bullets is more than sufficient to harvest deer and elk out to 350 yards, which I think is the extreme limit the average hunter ought to shoot. I can easily get 2700 plus FPS with 180 grain bullets, which should do for elk. I can reload 200 grain partitions at just a hair under 2600 FPS, which is a load more for moose and maybe inland grizzlies.

I cannot see any substantial advantaged to be gained by going with fat magnums, unless, of course, one is starting out and has no other guns.

Reference the burgeoning family of .284 caliber cartridges, there are only two that really get my attention; however, I would not kick a 7MM Mauser out of my battery if I had one. In non-magnum flavor, I think the .280 Remington is as close to an all-around cartridge as exists. To my way of thinking, it easily surpasses the venerable '06, keeping in mind critical sectional density. A 160 grain Partition in a .280 Rem will work for everything except coastal griz and polar bear. I know it is a bland cartridge, but damn it it ain't a good one. But we can find one ever more so.

As far as I am concerned, there have been no revelations in rifle cartridges since the 7MM Rem Mag. I can see why it has been our country's number one magnum round since its introduction. The only round that might come close to its prominence is the .338 Win Mag. The Mighty 7MM Rem Mag seems to have lost luster with neutered factory ammunition and the introduction of rifles chambered for howitzer ammunition. But it retains capability of performing to limits that made it an American legend!

With access to reloading tools, I can make my 7MM compete favorably with such rounds as the 7MM STW. For instance, using RL22 I was able to get better than 3200 FPS with Speer 160 grain Hot Core bullets, but it was maximum. I think I could get more velocity using either IMR 4350 or H4831 and 160 grain Partitions. As it stands now, I get better than 3100 FPS with 160 grain Partitions using 67 grains of H4831. Since it shoots so damn well with absolutely no sign of pressure, I see no reason to screw with it. However, I do have old data that indicates the 160 Nosler bullets will do better than 3100 FPS with IMR 4350. The only reason I might experiment with this powder is for accuracy. I get far under an inch using 63 grains of IMR 4350 and 150 grain Ballistic Tips. What is so amazing is that I get these velocities using a rifle equipped with a 24" barrel!

The point I am trying to make and which you know all too well is that we do not need a rfile chambered for a round that burns a pound of powder with every trigger pull. A properly loaded 7MM Rem Mag will take any North American game at ranges at which ethical hunters shoot. While some of our hunting peers might think we are hunting with an anemic round, we know that our 7MM Rem Mags are more than up to any task to which it might be assigned in North America.

I have been exposed to the thesis that the .284 caliber is the most efficient for all North American big game hunting. I believe Jack O'Connor espoused this theory as well as he was a devout fan of the 7MM Mauser. I have yet to see anything of substance that refutes this theory.


Happy New Year,

Tom