long range 7mm rem mag load?

[nastynatesfish]

looking for info on some good powder bullet choices. i use 140 and 154gr now but am looking at some berger 180s. my rifle has a 26'' .805 at muzzle barrel. i use reloader 19 now and am wondering if anyone uses the rl 25

 

[redneck2]

I'm using RL-22 with 162 A-Max

 

[Dannix]

I am only just familiar with the community, but perhaps the guys over at the benchrest-central forum could help you.

 

[41 Mag]

I worked up a LR load several years back with the 162gr Hornady BTSP. I looked at tons of info on powders and bullets including the different BC's of them, running predicted velocities through ballistic programs and it came down to the Hornady 162 and the Berger 168gr. My development also included cost which at the time the Hornady's were a LOT cheaper, and much easier to get hold of.

I was working with several powders and also used moly coated bullets in a hand lapped and polished Sendero barrel. The results I got was that RL-19 gave me the best velocities as well as the tightest groups out to 300yds, with this weight bullet.

Not sure what your end use is going to be, but I was working on a hunting load, and using 600yds as a max range. With this in mind, I worked it every possible way and the 162's worked out better all the way around. I got more actual velocity and energy, with less drop/holdover than with the heavier bullets.Now at ranges further on out the heavier bullets do have the advantage, and powders like RL-22, 25, H-1000 will have an added advantage with them.

Good luck with your development, hope this adds some light on it.

 

[Bluenote]

I've used a variety of powders , rl19 and 22 ,H870 ( yes I'm old) 4831 ,4895 ,h1000. And quite a variety of weights. It has been my experience that the vast majority of off the shelf rifles in 7mm mag will shoot best with 150-168 grain slugs , this of course primarily being due to the twist rates offered by various manufacturers , you can end up with a *very* nice longrange heavy varmint gun via investment in a barrel oriented twist-wise towards the lighter available slugs. Though of course 160s work quite well on long range groundsquirrels , generally for hunting loads I try to work right around the 3000 mark , the 160s and 175s thrown at close to the same velocities hit close enough together out to 400 that the same basic holdover works , for ranges beyond that it's the 160s or a 162 loaded a bit hotter , I bought quite a lot of h870 quite a ways back , it was cheap at the time and seems to work very well in both of them and really seems to perform nicely in the 26 barreled model 70 ( shilen barrel).

The two powders I keep constantly around for the caliber are the h870 ( it's been discontinued now) and 4831.

 

[Clark]

I am using Hornady 162 gr SST with H4350 3050 fps, 4" group at 439 yards

 

[ForneyRider]

I tried R25 with 168gr SMK and didn't get the velocity or accuracy I was hoping for. I get great accuracy with R22 and 120gr Nosler BT or 139 Hornady SST.