7mm KS, need your thoughts

[Puppypopper]

I have a Remington KS 7mm RM. I used it for deer hunting, but seeings how i'd rather take my bow. I want to turn it in to a long range gun. I am in the works on a high power scope, I've got a Leup 3.5x10 on it now. I only run hand loads in the gun, 140 gr Nos Bilst Tips, with 71 grains of RL-22, which the gun loves.

My question is what would it take to turn this gun into a long range shooter? I had a good day with it with the 140's and shot a 3/4" group at 200. No wind, low pressure, it was the perfect day to shoot. I want to be able to at lest keep a 4" group at 500.

I know this is kind of vague, but any advise would be great.

Thanks,Chuck

 

[AckleymanII]

Greg, you may be shooting 4" at 500 now. I shoot the old Burris 6-24's on my 7 mags for the longer range shooting. I mark the target knobs for the ranges to 500 yards, dial up and down on the target knobs after shooting the range with a Leica range finder.

You may want to try a load with the Hornady 162 SST or the 162g A-Max which will stabalize in your 700. Try 60-61g of IMR 4350 with a Rem Case and a 9 1/2 primer with the bullet seated on the lands. In my experience, you gun will either love or hate these bullets.

Your current load of 71g of R#22 with the 140g bullet is a heavy load and my guns will not shoot a load that hot. I do shoot a load of 72g of R#22 with the 120g Barnes Tripple shock with a CCI250 in a Rem case with the bullet seated .050 off the lands which is going 3600 fps in my 24" 700 LSS.

My advise to you is to get a scope that is stronger than you think that you need. It is a real bitch to shoot a buck walking across a clearing only to find that he has broken off one side of his rack or is missing several tines that would have lead you to not take the shot if you had been able to examine the rack closely which is impossible at 500 yards with a 4-14.
A 6-20 should be minimum and there is a world of difference between a 20x and 24x-25x at 500 yards.

Good luck!

 

[Puppypopper]

I want to shoot 4" groups at 500, My gun with what I am loading will not. I am trying to learn more about long range shooting. Where I live in NC, unless you are shooting down power lines, most shots are under 200. I under stand that long range shooting is an art, and this is what I am trying to learn. Its just I need some set up help with my 7MM.

I will be trying out the load you suggested and hopefully next week I might be getting a Burris 6x20 scope for my gun. What I call short range shooting, anything under 200 is no problem, which for most is no problem.

For me, I have good equipment and want to utilize it to the fullest of its and my capabilities.

Thanks, Chuck

 

[M700]

A quality 7mm Rem mag, a stout load of Reloader 22, well-prepped cases, and good bullets like Nosler's 140 gr Ballistic Tip should have no problem with good groups at 500 yards. I generally shot 160 - 175 grain bullets from my 7mm Rem mag, but had very good results from the 140's & 150's too, at max or near max charges of Re-22. I do think the longer, heavier, higher-BC bullets start showing better results at longer ranges, but the 140 BT's are good bullets.

I don't know how much shooting you've done at longer ranges, but the farther I shoot, the more environmental factors figure into it. A 3/4" group at 200 yards is impressive. I like it. Mathematically that should translate to a 1.5" group at 400, but it's unlikely to do so on a regular basis. Wind. Mirage. Temps. Updrafts, Downdrafts. At 500 - 600 - 1000 yards it gets tougher and tougher. That's why I'm constantly impressed when I read on this board that someone has shot some incredibly small group at 1000 yards... I'm happy to hit the target at that range.

Also - are you shooting 3 or 5 shot groups? Although I have to shoot long strings of fire in LR competition, with my slender barreled sporter rifles, I limit my groups to 3-shots to keep barrel heat/warpage from becoming a factor. A stout target barrel can take a lot of shots downrange before heat becomes a big problem. A slender sporter barrel though... Especially in a magnum cartridge burning a lot of powder, has a big problem with heat.

Pay attention to all the details of your shooting position. Get everything nice and solid and consistent. Consistency is key.

Read the wind. Read the mirage. Shoot when conditions are good. Consider a higher BC bullet, but I wouldn't go changing that 140 just yet - I've seen that bullet perform well at longish ranges.

Good luck! Guy

 

[Puppypopper]

Thanks, I shot a 5 round group at 200, I need to dig through the targets to find that one and post a pic of it, its cool. I have not done much of long range shooting, 200 is about it. I would not consider the deer at 330 with a 30-30 marlin. Now that's just a funny, we call that one Divine intervention, but other than that 200 is the most I have shot.

From what I have gone over so far, its trail and error. Witch just means I need to buy more brass, bullets, and powder.

Now I did read where folks are weighing out there brass. Is this to find the brass that matches the most so that the powder in each shell is consistently conformed?

I have been weighing my grains and picking them out with a pair of tweezer to match each load, which so far looks like it works, but can I gain more accuracy buy matching brass?

Thanks to all for taking the time, Chuck

 

[M700]

I think this book, Handloading for competition, might be a good choice to help:

http://www.zediker.com/books/handloading/hlmain.html

Chuck - what kind of dies are you using? Just out of curiosity.

I haven't found that weighing each powder charge is vital, but I do it with my loads for 600 and beyond. A powder trickler is a great piece of gear for this purpose. Set your measure to throw the charge just a tad light, then use the trickler to bring it up to exactly where you want it.

Good brass helps and you may be able to reduce your groups a bit by weighing the cases & discarding those that are too heavy or too light. Or not. Opinions differ. I haven't seen much improvement by weighing brass, others swear by it. Careful brass prep does help though and I can't see where weighing brass would hurt any in the quest for accuracy.

Biggest improvement I saw with long-range accuracy from my handloads was accomplished by going with a match-type bullet seater, to minimize bullet runout.

Regards, Guy