good factory round

[ofl0926]

Good morning. i have a fierce fury rifle in 7mm rem mag. this rifle will be one of two rifles coming with me on a hunt this year. I am looking for a good budget friendly factory round that i can take to the range to shoot paper/steel up to 500 yards. I want to train with the rifle off a bipod and prone. i just want to be comfortable sitting behind the rifle. What can you guys suggest that will be a good practice round? thank you

 

[brianf]

if shooting big name ammo i have always defaulted to federal or hornady.
if federal i look for a sierra bullet and as for hornady i look for the most football shape they have in the caliber.
ive found that sierras shoot well in almost any chamber.
you loose a little BC but your only going out to 5-600 so that doesnt matter at all in the cal.
over the years i also found that federal gold medal match stuff usually has less FPS spread.

 

[elwarpo]

I like Hornady but have also used Federal. I think Federal Fusion has a rebate now.

 

[roggom]

If you just want to throw lead downrange the federal power shock will get that done, its about the cheapest around at $23 a box. Right now Winchester power max is on sale at midway at $21 a box, but that is a sp bonded bullet. As you get closer to the season, I have found the Nosler AB and ABLR to fly very well from my rifle. You can find overstocks at the shooters pro shop. http://www.shootersproshop.com/ammu.../shopby/f/cartridge/7mm Rem Mag/isAjax/1.html

 

[ofl0926]

If you just want to throw lead downrange the federal power shock will get that done, its about the cheapest around at $23 a box. Right now Winchester power max is on sale at midway at $21 a box, but that is a sp bonded bullet. As you get closer to the season, I have found the Nosler AB and ABLR to fly very well from my rifle. You can find overstocks at the shooters pro shop. http://www.shootersproshop.com/ammunition/rifle-ammunition-ammo/shopby/f/cartridge/7mm Rem Mag/isAjax/1.html

do you think my idea to practice with cheaper ammo is smart?
i also found Hornady american whitetail for 139 interlock for $18.15
hornady american whitetail 154 $23.19

 

[strikeeagle1]

All your practice will be good for getting behind the rifle in those positions and breaking the hunt shot; shoot one box of the cheap stuff @ 100 yd increments with a 1/3 box of your hunting round so you get the proper DOPE for the hunt at each increment. It's only going to be a few inches of vertical impact difference most at those ranges. You may want to cold bore a few of your 300-600 yard shots with the good stuff as well.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Do you plan to actually do the hunt shooting prone or bipod, or will you most likely be taking standing shots instead?

Something to think about is that it's a fairly light rifle (7 pounds I think the website says) and shooting that from prone or sitting at a bench is going to be a bit punishing without a good brake. Standing shots are a lot more forgiving of recoil. (ie, some big safari type guns you Never shoot prone or at a bench unless you have to).

Also you may have a slight difference in your impact point if you are shooting standing up vs bench vs prone due to how your eye matches up with the scope.

My suggestion would be to get your actual hunting ammunition and practice shooting it in the same positions that you will be taking your shots while hunting.

If it's a magnum hunting rifle, perhaps instead of trying to just shoot of 500 rounds of basic stuff which might leave you with a flinch, try 100 or less of good ammo & take your time to get comfortable with each shot.

 

[db@100]

Just about any trigger time is a good thing.

 

[DaleGribble82]

Federal, Black Hills, Hornady.

 

[ofl0926]

Do you plan to actually do the hunt shooting prone or bipod, or will you most likely be taking standing shots instead?

Something to think about is that it's a fairly light rifle (7 pounds I think the website says) and shooting that from prone or sitting at a bench is going to be a bit punishing without a good brake. Standing shots are a lot more forgiving of recoil. (ie, some big safari type guns you Never shoot prone or at a bench unless you have to).

Also you may have a slight difference in your impact point if you are shooting standing up vs bench vs prone due to how your eye matches up with the scope.

My suggestion would be to get your actual hunting ammunition and practice shooting it in the same positions that you will be taking your shots while hunting.

If it's a magnum hunting rifle, perhaps instead of trying to just shoot of 500 rounds of basic stuff which might leave you with a flinch, try 100 or less of good ammo & take your time to get comfortable with each shot.

i will be going with a guide and he advised me to be able to shoot from a bipod. I will going on an elk hunt in Oregon. two rifles i am taking are this fierce fury in 7mm rem mag and a custom 6.5 prc that is being built.
The fierce rifle has a radial break from the factory. the prc will have a break as well.
Im looking at the hornady eld-x for a hunting round for the 7mm and the eld-m for the prc. your probably right on just shooting what i plan to hunt with.

 

[roggom]

Its perfectly fine to shoot the cheap stuff at 100 just for drills and working on marksmanship. As you get closer to the hunt, dial in your Dope with the ammo you will actually use. For those sessions use the good stuff for your cold bore shot and see where you are. The 7 mag shoots hella flat and you should be very good out to 500 no matter what you are shooting. Also that American Whitetail is some pretty good stuff, its cheap, match brass, and has a flat based bullet, so it should shoot good in any rifle.

 

[ofl0926]

Its perfectly fine to shoot the cheap stuff at 100 just for drills and working on marksmanship. As you get closer to the hunt, dial in your Dope with the ammo you will actually use. For those sessions use the good stuff for your cold bore shot and see where you are. The 7 mag shoots hella flat and you should be very good out to 500 no matter what you are shooting. Also that American Whitetail is some pretty good stuff, its cheap, match brass, and has a flat based bullet, so it should shoot good in any rifle.

Would you recommend the 139gr or 154gr American whitetail ammo?

 

[roggom]

If you are going to hunt in open prairie from prone, then the 154 whitetail and then move to a 154 superformance SST or 162 ELD-X. Hell that American whitetail is still carrying 1400 ft/lbs of energy at 500Y @2000 fps BC of .433, should have no issues taking any game with that. However if you are going for a trophy animal, get something with a bit better bullet.

 

[AMGtuned]

@roggom has given some great advice here IMO. I will have to say that I have had great success and repeatability with American Whitetail. It has shot well out of my .300wm in a pinch, along with a friends 7mm mag. Careful wasting barrel on junk shit though, better off to practice with decent stuff, so your results are accurate. Stay away from Core-lokt, it's only good for the brass, and as much as I like Federal ammo, I wont buy that blue box stuff they sell. Not with all the other offerings they have in a reasonable price range. Decent cartridge, sub-500 yards, not much stands a chance receiving a hit from the 7mm mag.