Reloading for my 7mm.

FlyingHigh

FlyingHigh

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
27   0   0
Location
Grande Prairie, Alberta
i'm trying to figure out what kind of load i should work up for my 7mm. I planning to get into reloading this summer, and i want to start figuring out my costs of components. i'm not looking to be punching 1 hole groups, but 1/4" spread would be nice. this is my hunting rifle, and the shots will rarely go beyond 300 - 400 yards. more commonly 150 - 250 yards.

i would like to keep the price down, since i enjoy shooting alot of round with the gun to practice. right now i use Remington CoreLokt 150 grain factory ammo. i used to use Federal PowerShok 150 grain. i've kept all my brass and have about 340 pieces of brass or so.

what suggestions do you folks have?
 
7 mm ?

Ill guess Remington magnum...

why dont' you load up on some cheap Remington corelocks or Hornady Interlocks for practice. If you want to get fancier you can try some of the Nosler or Barnes Variety for hunting.

Primers ? any large rifle magnum primers (again Im assuming 7 RM)
Powders? there a few that will work, a lot seem to like RL-22 for 7 RM
Loading book? buy one or actually buy them all.
 
"...1/4" spread would be nice..." It would be, but don't count on it. There's more to groups like that than just the ammo.
Start with a copy of The ABC's of Reloading.
 
thanks for the info guys. i was looking at the Remington bulk bullets in the wholesale catalogue. they seem well priced.

i'll be sure to pick up a copy of The ABC's of Reloading. :)
 
The key to 1/4" "spreads" is to buy a 25-06 and shoot one shot at a time.

I had good results from 160 gr Accubonds and reloder 22...assuming your's is a 7mm remington magnum.
 
I have a 7 Mag and it likes several powders different weights. The one I used for sheep hunting last year was H 4831 - 160 Nosler Partitons. Excellent for accuracy.




Straight Shooting

Budweiser2
 
I would pick up 154 gr or 162 gr Hornady Interlock soft points and some IMR 4831, H4831sc, RL19, RL22. They will most likely shoot more accurate than a Cor Lokt bullet and be not much more $
 
I have had good luck with Nosler Accubonds, Hornady Sps, And Barnes Tsx all in 160s pushed by RL-22.

I could never get the SSts, or Partitions to shoot well in my 7 mag rifle.
 
thanks for the info. i'll be writing down the components you've all mentioned and then picking up a couple reloading manuals. once i can get the prices of components and the quantity of powder i need for certain loads, i can estimate how much a box of rounds will cost. :) i'm hoping to load them for less than the 36 bucks a box i'm paying now.

dunno if this has been posted, but here's what i'm using to estimate my costs.

http://10xshooters.com/calculators/Rifle_Reloading_Cost_Calculator.htm
 
Separate cases by manufacturer and keep 'em that way, clean primer pockets and flash holes, buy the best equip. you can afford, read as much as possible on the subject. Seek out an experienced reloader that will let you sit in on some reloading.
 
You can probably pick up alot of used equipment that still works good, and from what I have been hearing lately some of the older equipment was made alot better that what is coming out right now.

Make sure you leave enough money to buy a good chronograph...they will let you know when your at or approaching a max load.

As far as 7mm I too also like the 160 Accubond. Great all around bullet.

I loaded mine with H1000 last year. Worked great.
 
FlyingHigh said:
. i'm not looking to be punching 1 hole groups, but 1/4" spread would be nice. this is my hunting rifle, and the shots will rarely go beyond 300 - 400 yards. more commonly 150 - 250 yards.

/QUOTE]

1st question is what does your rifle group now. Hunting rifles that group an inch or under are plenty, to get 1/4 inch groups you would have to start looking at upgrading your rifle bbl as a standard one will heat up very quickly. Next what are you hunting, pick an appropriate bullet and go from there.
Click to expand...
 
my rifle is grouping at about 2 - 2.5 inches at 100 yards, with 150gr Remington CoreLokt ammo. It's a Remington 700 SPS DM. I hunt deer and bear, and i'm hoping for a moose trip this year. I know the 7mm is a perfectly adequate caliber, i just want to fine tune the load for this gun.

I'm not too keen on really re-building the rifle, since it was my grad present and i want to keep it fairly original. if this means i only get 1 - 1.5 inch groups with reloads, so be it, i'll go buy another rifle for precision stuff. i'm just curious to see what this gun can do.
 
best bet find a 160ish gr bullet try the failsafe or nosler partition. load up rds each of increasing powder charges imr data for 4831 shows 58-60 grains say in .2 grain increments. In the vertical stringing, you should see some groupings develop. ie: say 59-59.4 show a good group, zero in on those. then practice. remember a 2.5 in group at 100 yards should equal a 8-10" group at 300 yards, should still perforate the killzone aka heart lungs
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom