7mm wby elk, deer ammo

[stiggy]

I just purchased a 7mm wby ultralight and am now in search of ammo. I'm looking for a round that can be used to kill deer but also elk. This rifle is not one that will be taken to the range and shot. I will sight in the scope and go hunting.....1 or 2 rounds per season.

The ammo I'm considering are:
Nosler in 160gr accubond
WBY brand in 154gr Spire Point
Hornady in 154gr interbond
HSM in 175gr Speer Grand Slam bullet

Or is there another load that is better?

The confusing part is the bullet type......accubond, interbond, spire point, etc. Is one round "better" than the next? Ballistically speaking they are all very similar. Any information, suggestions, and/or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[hardluk1]

Elk are not that hard to kill .You might want to stay away from the bullets that tend to frag at high velocity like NBT and then just find what your rifle shoot well for longer shots but going over 160gr is not needed.

 

[Stack]

I like a heavy for caliber bullet. They buck the wind better and withing a given range of velocity impart greater energy than a lighter bullet on a target. (sometimes the weight of energy shifts at a range where the heavier bullet slows significantly by comparison to the lighter choice). That being said, Good old spire point bullets are my go-to in general for most all calibers I enjoy. Weatherby Ammunition 7mm Weatherby Magnum 175 Grain Hornady Spire Point is a good choice for me. I like Weatherby ammo in a Weatherby rifle. Also, Bullet mfgrs know that a little plastic thingy on the bullet tip makes no difference to the animal that just received your well placed good night kiss.

 

[coug]

180 gr Berger VLD. nothing else needed for a 7mm of any flavor.

 

[groundhog34]

First is to find a suitable bullet that will kill an elk then most important find a round that your rifle likes.

 

[LoonWulf]

If your shots are going to be made inside of 400yds, none of the choices youve listed is bad, or will offer any huge advantage in performance over the others. As you said your not shooting in volume, price per box probably dosent make a whole lot of difference? Id pick the one that shoots the best, and/or is most available in your area.

 

[coug]

most people shoot a 7mm for the advantage they give in long range shooting. The 7mm bullets boast a very High Ballistic coefficient. That being said if you would like to take advantage of a High BC and sectional density. stay with your heavier bullets. Berger is just the most widely used. They are a proven Big game killer. But they can be hard to find locally you can always get them off the net. But Nosler Accubond and hornady both make very good hunting bullets. The only problem is that they don't have the extremely high BC. so they don't fly as well. That being said @ 400 yds it wont matter. just stay 150gr or bigger.

 

[Sergeant Sabre]

The fact that we just anguish over bullet selection in our rifles proof that manufacturers have been successful in convincing hunters that a perfectly-performing bullet is just critical to taking down an animal, and success and failure hinges on your bullet expanding perfectly into a catalog specimen. In reality, any of the bullets you listed will do fine on both types of game. In an identical shot between all three of them, I doubt you will notice one whit of difference.

I'm reminded of something George Carlin said: "Every time you're exposed to advertising in America you're reminded that this country's most profitable business is still the manufacture, packaging, distribution, and marketing of bull****"

 

[coug]

Yea, Nothing wrong with finding out what bullet to use. I would never shoot a 145gr anything. But some guys that don't shoot very far wouldn't have any trouble with them. You need a bullet that will at least leave a blood trail if you do make a bad shot or in some cases even a good one. But the better bullets in general are the ones that can do it all. That was a good question, there are a lot of bullets out there that are not even made to kill. You sure don't want those its good to ask if you don't know. I hope this helps.

 

[Jeff F]

150 grain or heavier and whatever your rifle shoots the best at the at the longest range your going to shoot. You might have to try a few different brands before you find what that round is. You should also practice at the range after sight in and shoot from the positions you would shoot from in the field.

 

[stiggy]

Good points, good info! Can anyone explain what the differences is between the bullet types, ie, accubond, interbond and spire point? Hornady is about a 1/2 the price that Nosler and Weatherby (brand) ammo is.

 

[LoonWulf]

accubond(nosler), and interbond(hornady) are the same basic design, A lead core bonded thru some secret process to the jacket, then a cute little plastic cap stuck on top. The Spire point, is one of hornadys oldest bullets, and they make them well. Its a basic non-bonded lead core in a copper cup design.

The bonded bullets will generally give you much better penetration then the cup and cores, but slightly less expansion. For my personal preference, i generally stick with traditional cup/core bullets, and just add an extra 10-15grns of bullet weight.

as a note, both the accubond and interbond are boattail spitzers, and have a higher BC then a comparable weight Spirepoint (not to be confused with a boattail spirepoint, which should be close in BC). I dont honestly think the extra BC would be useful untill range gets rather long.