vld's in a 7mm rem mag

[reloader7mm]

Has anyone had luck with Berger VLD's in a 7mm rem mag? I have the 140 gr and have only loaded once with H-4831sc and didn't get the reslut i wanted. Any advice?

 

[Guy Miner]

Used RL-22 and the 168 Berger VLD bullets for very good accuracy, at a bit over 3,000 fps.

I'm a big fan of RL-22 and the 7mm Rem mag.

 

[jimbires]

I've got very limited experience with the Berger bullets . all of it is with my 7mm-08 . how much bullet jump were you using ? I didn't try jumping the 140's in my rifle , but they sure shot well with little jump . I'm loading now at .005 jump , just enough so I don't get a bullet stuck in the bbl . Brian Litz is a berger employee . for hunting he has written to start with a .010 jump . then .050 , then .090 , then .130 . he says one of these will group very much better than the others , and you can fine tune from this point .
my powder pick for my 7 rem mag is RL22 . I use it with 160 AccuBond bullets . this powder could be worth a try too . I've never tried H4831sc powder , but I'd say it's in the ballpark . Jim

 

[SJB358]

my powder pick for my 7 rem mag is RL22 . I use it with 160 AccuBond bullets . this powder could be worth a try too . I've never tried H4831sc powder , but I'd say it's in the ballpark . Jim

RL22 rules the roost with the 7WSM and 7RM in my book. Accurate and fast. It cannot be beat in my 270WSM or the 7WSM's... Scotty

 

[reloader7mm]

I just tried the RL-22 yesterday and finally got it to shoot great with nosler bullets. I don't remember the "jump" off the top of my head but i was trying to get it close. I can't get any closer with my magazine.

 

[SJB358]

Nice! Glad you were able to make it work. RL22 is a great one for the 7's. I know it is one of the first ones I reach for when loading for the 7mm Mags and 300 mags. Scotty

 

[JD338]

I echo the recommendation of RL 22.

JD338

 

[reloader7mm]

In your guys experience does RL-22 work better on the higher side of powder charges? I tried several loads with lighter loads and had no luck. I tried the a heavier load I found here the other day and it was awesome, 3 shots in a dime.

 

[SJB358]

In your guys experience does RL-22 work better on the higher side of powder charges? I tried several loads with lighter loads and had no luck. I tried the a heavier load I found here the other day and it was awesome, 3 shots in a dime.

Yep, I have found RL22 among many other powders really starts to perform well as the case get full. Scotty

 

[jimbires]

just about all my loads are close to max or over . it doesn't seem to matter what powder I'm using . Jim

 

[wildgene]

Has anyone had luck with Berger VLD's in a 7mm rem mag? I have the 140 gr and have only loaded once with H-4831sc and didn't get the reslut i wanted. Any advice?

...my experience w/ VLD's is that they're very "picky" when it comes to seating depth. I start w/ 0.010 or the max. length that will function in my mag, load 3-5 rounds, set the next 3-5 @ 0.040 deeper, find the "sweet spot", & tweek from there. VLDs just seem to take a lot of "load development", but @ least Berger's honest about it, compared to what I like to think of as the "Barnes Reloading Method", where they keep telling you how accurate their bullets are, you just need to change seating depths & buy more Barnes bullets, use a different primer & buy more Barnes bullets, try a different powder & buy more Barnes bullets, change case brands & buy more Barnes bullets. Kinda like a room full of chimpanzees w/ typewriters, sooner or later you're bound to find "something" that works...

 

[DrMike]

I've loaded a "swack" of 7 RMs with 168 VLDs. H1000 seems to be one powder that works very well. RL22 is also quite good. In general, some rifles (I suspect because they have cut rifling) will not stabilise the VLDs. Others seem to shoot them very well, once you find the appropriate seating depth.