Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

[Baconator]

Hello. I have recently built a savage 110 long action in 7mm rem mag. It has a McGowen 28" full heavy (1") bull barrel with 1-10 twist. Have jp enterprises recoil eliminator installed also.

I have a supply of hornady 139 grain sst bullets and also 168 grain Berger vld bullets. I have hodgden h4831 powder and retumbo powder.
I have broken in the barrel with 50 rnds of free ammo I aquired. Was Remington 150grn ammo.

I was planning on only shooting 139gr sst the reason I got 1-10 twist but after contacting Berger they told me that If I can get 3000+ fps from my 28" barrel I can accurately shoot the 168 vld out past 500.

So I am asking for any reputable loads for either of these bullets and powder combos also possible 162gr sst. I can step down to that as hornady told me over the phone that they have no problem with 1-10 barrels with that bullet.

Thanks guys

Cleaned barrel after each shot for first 10 rnds then after each 3 shots for 5-6 groups then after 10 shots for rest of ammo. All shots were sub moa. Easily hitting softball and smaller sized chunks of concrete at 350 where I was shooting.

 

[JCH]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

tag for info

 

[Baconator]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

I can say this. The gun shot basically the same through all the rounds fired and the copper cleaned quickly and extremely quickly after the first 5-7 rounds. This is a slick ass barrel!

 

[KDF]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

I'm shooting 71.5 grains of Retumbo with the 168 VLD's in my long-throated 7RM. Velocity is right at 3000fps. I would start with about 69gr and work up from there. My rifle has a 9 twist 26" Benchmark, but I think you will be OK with the 1:10 shooting the 168's.

I had a factory Sendero that shot really well with Retumbo and the 168 Bergers and also have a friend shooting the same combo in his custom 7mm Rem. I think it's a really good powder for this application and you'll likely find a sweet spot somewhere between 2950-3050fps.

Good luck... sounds like a nice rifle!

Kevin

 

[Limbic]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: KDF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm shooting 71.5 grains of Retumbo with the 168 VLD's in my long-throated 7RM. Velocity is right at 3000fps. I would start with about 69gr and work up from there. My rifle has a 9 twist 26" Benchmark, but I think you will be OK with the 1:10 shooting the 168's.

I had a factory Sendero that shot really well with Retumbo and the 168 Bergers and also have a friend shooting the same combo in his custom 7mm Rem. I think it's a really good powder for this application and you'll likely find a sweet spot somewhere between 2950-3050fps.


Good luck... sounds like a nice rifle!

Kevin </div></div>

this is a good load. I shoot just about the same. Also 64-66g or RL22 also work as well as V560 and the same weight.

 

[Clark]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

There are lies, damn lies, and 7mmRemMag published data.
I shoot 180 gr VLD hunting, I moly coat, 70 gr Re22, 3.48" jammed into the lands, 3025 fps, 26" barrel.
The same, but with 72 gr and the next primer seated goes in just a little easier.
The max published load would be 60 gr, so it takes 17% extra powder to get the max load with safety margin on long brass life.

From my experiments, and Quickload:
a) Typical max published load for 7mmRM.............................. 39kpsi
b) SAMMI registered max average pressure .............................61kpsi
c) My useful load ..........................................................67kpsi
d) The threshold of short brass life ......................................74kpsi
e) Extractor groove grows .017". primer falls out, gun jammed .....108kpsi

 

[Baconator]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

Thanks for the info guys. Guy from Berger called me back just a bit ago and said 1-10 twist is what they recommend for the 7mag 168 vld. Said anything arouns 2900 and up will be great out past 600. So I figure that with my 28" barrel I can work from y'alls loads and have what I'm lookin for. I will document my finds with a chrono and post. Will be a bit before I get around to any shootin though.

 

[Baconator]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

I will start at 69gr with bullets touching rifling. Il check for signs of pressure and stop at around 3050fps or pressure signs whichever comes first.

 

[Ghogs Nightmare]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

Haven't done much with the 139 yet but I shoot 66.5 with 4831sc out of my Sendero Sf does wonders on whitetail and shoots fairly flat out to 300, haven't shot much past that. Its what Im limited to with range for now.

 

[Baconator]

Re: Hand loads for 7mm rem mag. Any info appreciated

Cool beans. I did load 139 sst/h4831 testing with 65.3 66.3 67.3 68.3 with no signs of over pressure. Uniform primer no crazy marks an smooth easy bolt. All rounds were minute of orange at 350. So I will probably load up the 139s at 68. I know seems hot but casing looked fine