Ruger American 7mm Rem Mag load for whitetail

[DLrocket89]

Hi everyone,

In the next couple of weeks I'll be picking up a Ruger American Magnum in 7mm Rem Mag. I'm going to have at most 2 afternoons at the range to develop a load before deer season (life is very busy, plus I'm shooting a bunch of USPSA matches between now and then).

Does anyone have any "pet loads" or whatever you want to call it? The rifle is a 24" barrel, 9.5 twist rate, will be putting a brake on it. Plan is to use nosler custom brass, whatever primers are needed, and then looking at Nosler accubonds, accubond LR, partitions, or Hornady ELD-X's in the 140-170 grain range. I have on hand RL19, RL23, RL25, H4831SC, but will acquire what's needed.

Longest shot is about 400 yards without a lot of crosswind. I'll be shooting of off a nice shooting table on top of a very stable tower, what I'd call "field bench rest" conditions or something similar. Well within the capability of the gun, and 400 yards is comfortable for me.

Thoughts anyone? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!!

Dustin
Wisconsin

 

[jmr40]

I no longer have a 7 mag, but if I did I'd lean toward something in the 160 gr weight and use it for everything. I've come to the conclusion that there is no downside to using bullets on the heavier end of the spectrum even if they aren't needed. I'd develop one load and use it for everything to keep life simple.

I've had excellent results with the ELD-X bullets in 30 and 26 calibers and see no reason why 28 wouldn't be the same. I'd start with the 162's. Of course the Nosler options are good too.

7 Mags are noted for being hard to actually reach advertised speeds. That was a big part of why I sold mine. The only powder that I found that would give decent speeds was RL 25. But even if you're getting 280 speeds from it that is enough.

 

[STCL01]

I will have to go home and look. However, I was using 150g partitions and switched to 140g Accubond and the results tightened up to about 1/2" at 100 yards out of a Ruger NO. 1. I'll have to go back and look at the powder, but I believe that I am using RL-22 in that load at about 63 grains. DO YOUR OWN WORKUP. THIS IS MY LOAD AND MY RIFLE.

 

[LoonWulf]

Hi everyone,

In the next couple of weeks I'll be picking up a Ruger American Magnum in 7mm Rem Mag. I'm going to have at most 2 afternoons at the range to develop a load before deer season (life is very busy, plus I'm shooting a bunch of USPSA matches between now and then).

Does anyone have any "pet loads" or whatever you want to call it? The rifle is a 24" barrel, 9.5 twist rate, will be putting a brake on it. Plan is to use nosler custom brass, whatever primers are needed, and then looking at Nosler accubonds, accubond LR, partitions, or Hornady ELD-X's in the 140-170 grain range. I have on hand RL19, RL23, RL25, H4831SC, but will acquire what's needed.

Longest shot is about 400 yards without a lot of crosswind. I'll be shooting of off a nice shooting table on top of a very stable tower, what I'd call "field bench rest" conditions or something similar. Well within the capability of the gun, and 400 yards is comfortable for me.

Thoughts anyone? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!!

Dustin
Wisconsin

I have that exact rifle, with a very similar set up to what your looking at....


My standard load for 7mm remingtons has been pretty much the same for the last 10 years or so. I use 73-74gr of Retumbo (depending on rifle), behind a 160 class projectile.
My standard bullets untill fairly recently have been 162Amax, and ive shot stuff up to the size of feral cattle (800lbs or so), with zero issues. Now im probably going to swtich to the 162ELD-X, as im almost out of the Amax.

The specific load im using in this rifle is
162Amax, 73.5Gr Retumbo, COAL of 3.379 (which is max for the magazine to function correctly, Lands are at 4.10). Hornady, Winchester, and Federal brass have all gone into the same groups so I just grab what i have in the bin and go.

Im considering working with some new powders when i get the Eld-xs in, im on my last pound or so of Retumbo, so now would be a good time to switch if i can find a powder that works better.

 

[DLrocket89]

LoonWulf - couple of questions - 1) what velocities are you getting with retumbo? I've always wanted to try it, based solely off of the name (not the best way to pick a powder, I know ) 2) what kind of accuracy? 3) where did you get that stock? It's not stock, right?

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[JimKirk]

IMR 8133 ... Maybe a powder to try Loon...

 

[troy fairweather]

LoonWulf - couple of questions - 1) what velocities are you getting with retumbo? I've always wanted to try it, based solely off of the name (not the best way to pick a powder, I know ) 2) what kind of accuracy? 3) where did you get that stock? It's not stock, right?

Thanks everyone!!!

if woonwulf is shooting it fast and good shooting to the 4350s are good to sounds funny but starting with a powder u like can help lots confidence in your loads and shooting. u wil be happy with the ruger.

 

[LoonWulf]

LoonWulf - couple of questions - 1) what velocities are you getting with retumbo? I've always wanted to try it, based solely off of the name (not the best way to pick a powder, I know ) 2) what kind of accuracy? 3) where did you get that stock? It's not stock, right?

Thanks everyone!!!

Thats as good away as any as long as it works for your applications LOL
73.5 gets me 2990 from my gun. Groups are running right around .75-1MOA, which is about what i got with the 2 factory loads ive tried.
Ive got a number of 1/2moa 5 shot groups, but while they arnt rare, they arnt what i consider an accurate representation of what the gun averages. I dont cool the rifle, and usually a 5 shots takes me a min or 2. Ive fired a couple 10round groups, and they all stay around 1" as well.

The stock is a Boyds Tacticoo...I mean Provarminter (sorry it amuses me that they changed the name from Tacticool to ProVarminter).

IMR 8133 ... Maybe a powder to try Loon...

Ill give it a shot. Ive wanted to try some of the new Endurons, and they are on the shelf here.

 

[LoonWulf]

if woonwulf is shooting it fast and good shooting to the 4350s are good to sounds funny but starting with a powder u like can help lots confidence in your loads and shooting. u wil be happy with the ruger.

Yeah, 4350 wont give you the top velocity with the 160+ class bullets, but its boringly consistent. Ive got a couple pounds of H and IMR variants, that i use when stuff goes totally sideways. If 4350 should work and it wont, its usually time to look for a new bullet, or for some other problem.

 

[troy fairweather]

Yeah, 4350 wont give you the top velocity with the 160+ class bullets, but its boringly consistent. Ive got a couple pounds of H and IMR variants, that i use when stuff goes totally sideways. If 4350 should work and it wont, its usually time to look for a new bullet, or for some other problem.

id like to try those Enduron powders to but haven't seen any yet like to try the new unequal to if i take to my dad tonight ill see what his loads are for the 7rm he had many that were good shooter il post them for dlrocket89

 

[.308 Norma]

Not many whitetails around these parts, but for mule deer my wife uses the following load in her 7mm Rem Mag:

160gr Speer Grand Slam
CCI LRM primer
64.5grs RL-22
3.250" COAL

She gets 2920fps average out of her rifle's 25" barrel, pressures are okay, and she's getting 7/8" 3-shot groups at 100 yards.

There's a note on the bottom of the index card that reads: "Watch out for old style Grand Slam bullets - this load was developed for the newer style Grand Slams." I don't know what that means, but it might be important.

 

[LoonWulf]

Not many whitetails around these parts, but for mule deer my wife uses the following load in her 7mm Rem Mag:

160gr Speer Grand Slam
CCI LRM primer
64.5grs RL-22
3.250" COAL

She gets 2920fps average out of her rifle's 25" barrel, pressures are okay, and she's getting 7/8" 3-shot groups at 100 yards.

There's a note on the bottom of the index card that reads: "Watch out for old style Grand Slam bullets - this load was developed for the newer style Grand Slams." I don't know what that means, but it might be important.

As a note RMR has some 7mm grand slam pulls available right now. I've been very, very happy with the service and products they have provided. Highroaders get a discount too!

I believe the older GS may have been a little blunter, I've only got a couple in my spare bullet box but they looked unusually stubby compared to a Hornady spirepoint for instance. I shot a box of those a while back, they worked pretty well but we're "expensive"....as compared to the 10 bucks a box plain jane spirepoint....then I went hog wild and paid 28 or 30 for amax

 

[mikey98e]

My deer load for my 7 mag is 160gr Mag tip with 60 gr of IMR4831.
My pet load that I shoot at the range most of the time is 139 gr Hornady SST with 62 gr of IMR 4831.
-mike

 

[DLrocket89]

Everyone,

Thanks for the detailed replies, much appreciated!! I'm not 100% sure what direction I'm going to take this, I'll update when I do though.

Dustin

 

[DLrocket89]

Update - picked up a pound of Retumbo based off of the recommendations here. They didn't have any federal primers, ended up with 1k Winchester LR Magnums. I don't have any experience with them, so we'll see what happens.

Right now I'm leaning towards the 162 gn ELD-X. I see on Midway that Sierra just came out with the "GameChanger", a polymer tipped GameKing. Seems interesting, but I've had good luck with the ELD-Xs in other platforms, so probably sticking with that. Plus, for the $, hard to beat. I was at Cabelas yesterday and looked at the Accubond LR, but holy crap are they expensive!

 

[troy fairweather]

sps pro shop has accubonds for 35,00 a 100 wlr mags are good cups are little softer then cci mags.

 

[George P]

With such a short time for this hunt maybe a box or two of quality factory ammo to get you through; then work on loads. Been a while since I had a need to shoot my 7mm, but when I was loading, Sierra 140 and 160 and Nosler 160s were the ticket for accuracy behind IMR 4350, 4831, or 7828

 

[LoonWulf]

Update - picked up a pound of Retumbo based off of the recommendations here. They didn't have any federal primers, ended up with 1k Winchester LR Magnums. I don't have any experience with them, so we'll see what happens.

Right now I'm leaning towards the 162 gn ELD-X. I see on Midway that Sierra just came out with the "GameChanger", a polymer tipped GameKing. Seems interesting, but I've had good luck with the ELD-Xs in other platforms, so probably sticking with that. Plus, for the $, hard to beat. I was at Cabelas yesterday and looked at the Accubond LR, but holy crap are they expensive!

I've shot Win, Cci, and Fed, lrp, and lrmp.
I've seen very little difference with any of them. I've been told Retumbo NEEDS a mag primer, but from my experience it hasn't been necessary.
At least at the 50-90 degrees I usually hunt and shoot at.

As @troy fairweather said, if your gonna shoot nosler keep an eye on shootersproshop.com, they have alot of blem and over run sales.

I've shot the 160tmks and they have been accurate and effective. In fact, I'll be loading the last of what I've got today, that and a few random 175 and 120s will clean out my .284s so I can restock.
If the 165TGKs perform like the 160tmks they should be excellent light/medium game bullets.

 

[DLrocket89]

I went through my calendar in better detail...looks like I'll have 4, maybe 5 days range time, so less panic. So, I'm expanding things a bit, bought a pound of 7828SSC today, we'll see how it shapes up.

 

[STCL01]

I will have to go home and look. However, I was using 150g partitions and switched to 140g Accubond and the results tightened up to about 1/2" at 100 yards out of a Ruger NO. 1. I'll have to go back and look at the powder, but I believe that I am using RL-22 in that load at about 63 grains. DO YOUR OWN WORKUP. THIS IS MY LOAD AND MY RIFLE.

I finally got around to looking up the load last night. It was RL-19 at 63.5g. at the stated COAL per the Nosler data. Once again work up your load

 

[DLrocket89]

I finally got around to looking up the load last night. It was RL-19 at 63.5g. at the stated COAL per the Nosler data. Once again work up your load

Sweet, I'll have to try that out too. I found a great load in RL-19 for my gf's 243 win, so I bought an 8lb container of RL-19.

 

[Blue68f100]

The RL-19 is sensitive to temp change, so do test/check your load at the intended temp you will be using it at. I've had loads start blowing primers with a 30deg increase. Some are more sensitive than others, so please check for your self and piece of mind. I would hate to see you miss a 12 point due to the bullet not even getting to the intended target, like it did to my neighbor. If your shooting less than 300 yrds it may not have a lot of impact, but greater yes.

 

[DLrocket89]

Quick update. Did a ladder with IMR 7828 and Retumbo, 50 rounds each. 7828 was a pretty uniform 2 moa regardless of velocity, 3-4" groups of 5 shots at 210 yards. Retumbo turned in a couple of 1.25-1.5" groups at 210, so that was good to see, going to continue development there. Shots were taken prone off of my deer hunting platform.

I have a 56mm obj scope on it, so I built up the stock with pipe insulation...built it up too much, so I had troubles getting a good eye alignment with the scope...I'm sure that didn't help any.

Otherwise, great day. Two more days coming up to get ready for deer season...feeling good, I have a couple of loads I'd feel good using today.

 

[troy fairweather]

Quick update. Did a ladder with IMR 7828 and Retumbo, 50 rounds each. 7828 was a pretty uniform 2 moa regardless of velocity, 3-4" groups of 5 shots at 210 yards. Retumbo turned in a couple of 1.25-1.5" groups at 210, so that was good to see, going to continue development there. Shots were taken prone off of my deer hunting platform.

I have a 56mm obj scope on it, so I built up the stock with pipe insulation...built it up too much, so I had troubles getting a good eye alignment with the scope...I'm sure that didn't help any.

Otherwise, great day. Two more days coming up to get ready for deer season...feeling good, I have a couple of loads I'd feel good using today.

good to here things are going good. retumbo is good powder.

 

[DLrocket89]

Another update, this one more in the realm of "modern bolt action rifle are pretty amazing when you think about it".

Ran the best Retumbo load I had (69.5 gn, Win LR mag primer, Hornady brass, 162 grn ELDX at 3.295" COAL). The attached pic was at 440 yards. I zeroed at 200, then one sighter (very bottom of diamond), then 3 consecutive shots went into the triangle by the round.

Is it just me, or are we living in a great time to be someone interested in precision shooting? This is a gun I got for $400, haven't even really developed a load (ran a ladder and just picked the best, no other experimentation), and then having a rifle that'll shoot ~0.7 MOA over a quarter mile?