7mm Rem Mag Deer Load

[Jacob]

I posted this on the Big Stuff Forum, but I'll post it here as well. I am looking for a load for a friends 7mm Rem Mag. He has a stock ruger m77. What's a good load for the 140gr sierra spitzer? What do y'all think about this bullet? Shots are at whitetails out to 200 yards. I would rather not go more than 140 grains. I was thinking reloader 22. Recommendations on bullets, powder, primers, and brass welcome. Thanks, Nick

 

[StevenCO]

I posted this on the Big Stuff Forum, but I'll post it here as well. I am looking for a load for a friends 7mm Rem Mag. He has a stock ruger m77. What's a good load for the 140gr sierra spitzer? What do y'all think about this bullet? Shots are at whitetails out to 200 yards. I would rather not go more than 140 grains. I was thinking reloader 22. Recommendations on bullets, powder, primers, and brass welcome. Thanks, Nick

I'm working up a load for my son's 7mm Rem Mag. It is in an old Rem 721 with a take-off SS Rem 700 barrel. I have been getting good performance out of 139 gn Hornady SST's and 140 gn Accubonds. I'm running with WW brass, Fed Mag primers and IMR 7828, just because I have it on hand. I'm getting an honest 3150 fps and groups, with the first 2 touching and third shot maybe 1/2" to 3/4" out. I see no reason why RL22 wouldn't provide with results just as good or better, but then who knows. I'm close to the book max, but the bullets are seated out quite a ways and about .020" from the lands. The magazine box allows it in that old Rem 721. You may not have quite as much powder capacity if you have to seat the bullets deeper for that Ruger M77 magazine box.

With my Ruger M77/7mm Rem Mag, it has a longer Lilja barrel and I am using 154 gn SST's in that rifle. Every other component is the same. The other big difference is that the cartridge OAL is limited by the magazine box and therefore the bullets are seated at the cannelure groove. I'm getting about 3150 fps with this rifle as well, but like I said the barrel is 27" long.

Good luck

 

[Preacher]

The 139 Hornady SP interlock,#2820 ) is cheap to buy and will shoot very well in most rifles along with H-4350 and a standard primer. The 140 BT is also a very good bullet but will cost a bit more than the Hornady's...

 

[Jacob]

Thanks for the replys. What do y'all think about Winchester brass? I have read mixed reviews at midway. Anybody using the 120/140gr sierra's out there? I would think the 120gr sierra's would be popular in the 7mm-08. Any reports on their performance on deer would be helpful. Thanks again.

 

[AckleymanII]

Jacob, the 120 and the 140g Sierra in the 7 mag are poor choices. Both bullets give premature expansion, my brother and I both found out the hard way on the 140g Sierra in a 7 mag. In the 7/08, the 140g Sierra is a great bullet.

In the 7 Mag, the 150g Sierra with 63.0g of IMR 4350 in a Remington case is very accurate and the deer usually do not take a step.

The 160g Sierra BT Sp is also a world Class bullet in the 7 Mag For deer. 61.0g of IMR 4350 with the 160g Sierra usually is very accurate using Rem brass and 9 1/2 primer.

 

[Jacob]

Damn. I just loaded 40 rounds the other day with the 120's. They are medium loads with 66.6grs rl19. Hopefully they will do okay with Louisiana whitetails. Thanks for the input. I'll load up some 150's next.

 

[Coleridge]

I've actually found the Sierra 140's to be quite devastating to NC whitetails,very seldom find one over 200lbs). I shot some 120's & agree they are a bit on the light side. They 140's in the shoulder of any of the 50-60 whitetails that have been hit with my 140's resulted in DRT with an very occasional pusher,never going more that 30-40 yards). It does however ruin the shoulders.

 

[AckleymanII]

I should have been more clear on the Sierra 140's. We had trouble on quartering shots, not much penetration, the 150's are a whole nother story, supurb bullet.

OF course, muzzle velocity that the bullets were loaded for are critical in this whole discussion. We had the 140's loaded for a MV of 3250 fps.

I bet my dad, brothers, and I have killed 200+ deer with the Sierra 160g BT sp loaded with 61.0g of IMR 4350...this bullet does a great job on deer far and near at any angle.

 

[2506]

The 154 gr Hornady interlock pushed by 64 grs H-4831 is one of the best deer killers in the 7 mag. I personally don't care that much about the 7 mag for deer because it has been my experience that they run off a ways after being shot but this is the load that many people swear by that use it where I hunt in East NC. I will just stick to my 25-06. It is bang flop.

 

[billmo]

That .25 caliber is bad news for deer. I have hunted deer for years with a 25-06. I started hunting last year with an A-bolt .25 wssm and I really enjoy it. Like you said it is a bang flop deal every shot. I shot one last Sat, Mon, and Yesterday and all were same story. I like the CT BT 115 Nosler bullets best but I guess it is a matter of opinion. By the way, what part of NC are you in? I am in the Ocean Isle Beach area. Bill

 

[2506]

I don't live in NC now I live in TN but I did live in Gaston NC but left 25 years ago. I have been going back over and hunting in Halifax Co for the past 19 years. I go over for the first week of rifle season then go back and hunt the two weeks before Thanksgiving week. I just got back last week. I killed 9 deer, 2 bucks and 7 does this year. Yes there is just something about any 25 cal. rifle 250 Savage and up and bang flop. The guy that I hunt with and I use to control hunt the farm where we still hunt and we had to take 100 deer a year. We found out what kills deer. We both rely on a 25-06. I have really not found a bad bullet from 100 to 120 gr. for it. The 120 Speer Grand Slam is a bit tough for the average deer but it would be my choice for elk. I shoot a custom Rem 700 26 inch #6 Shilen barrel rig that will shoot 1/4 MOA. I also use a Rem. 700 21 1/2 inch Heart barrel 308 rig that is a 1/4 MOA rig some. I have found that a 125 Nosler ballistic tip makes that 308 a bang flop rig also. I do experiment with other rifles and pistols but those are my main deer killers.

 

[Puppypopper]

140 grain bullet with 71 grains of RL-22 . Thats what I load for my Remington KS . The deer just hate them . Now its a hot load, but out of mine it shoots 5/8" groups at 200 . High shoulder shots drop them like rocks .

This is an easy one .