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Bullet choice for under 180 Grn?

jackieschmidt

Gold $$ Contributor
The case is the 7mm Geramo, which is a 6.5x55 Swede necked to 7mm and Ackley Imp.

600 yards is as far as we ever shoot, mostly 400 and below. We have tried 180 Berger’s, 168 A-Tips, and the 162 ELD Match, and the 175 Sierra MK.

The best shooting bullet so far seems to be the 162 ELD Match Hornady. At 2850 FPS it is producing .250 tp .300 a minute accuracy. Velocity spread is in the 15 FPS range for five shot groups.

My question is the BC numbers. Hornady list the BC of the 162 as higher than then either the 180 Berger or the Sierra MK. It would be nice to know that the lighter and more accurate bullet also possesses the best BC numbers.

Or, is Hornady playing loose with the calculations.

What I am wanting to get this Rifle ready for is the Tack Driver in November. That will be 300 meters. This case is proving to be pretty darned accurate as far as grouping capability goes. It would be nice to have a .250/.300 rifle with that BC.

I am trying not to think like a Short Range Benchrest Shoorter.
 
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I quite like 160gr TMKs in my 7x64.

Shot this as part of barrel break in yesterday on a windy range at Bisley at 100 yds so think has promise.

14V3PDL.jpg
 
While not a match bullet, the 150gr Nosler ABLR has done some impressive groups at 600 yards for me.

Otherwise, another vote for the 160gr TMK.

The 150gr TGK isn't far off. BC numbers be darned.
 
Always had a good run with the 168vld at short to mid range in 7mm. It used to be my bullet of choice to 600m in f class
 
I have 300 of the Barnes 7mm 171 grain Match Burners come
in, and itching to do some work with them on my SA284 Cat.
Going off road and do a spread using WW Staball. Case annealer
is running right now.

What's the case capacity on that 7mm Geramo ??
 
I have 300 of the Barnes 7mm 171 grain Match Burners come
in, and itching to do some work with them on my SA284 Cat.
Going off road and do a spread using WW Staball. Case annealer
is running right now.

What's the case capacity on that 7mm Geramo ??

BEC531C3-9C27-4161-B5E3-C3736115CB04.jpeg The load I am shooting is 56.4 grns of H1000. That charge comes to the neck shoulder junction.

Geramo had the reamer ground with a long enough throat so the straight shank of the bullet is above the neck shoulder junction, even with a Berger 180. I think it’s .220.
 
I shoot 180 bergers out of my 7. Before that the best shooting bullet I found was a 175 SMK before the tipped MK came out. Never had any luck with Hornaday 162.
 
The case is the 7mm Geramo, which is a 6.5x55 Swede necked to 7mm and Ackley Imp.

600 yards is as far as we ever shoot, mostly 400 and below. We have tried 180 Berger’s, 168 A-Tips, and the 162 ELD Match, and the 175 Sierra MK.

The best shooting bullet so far seems to be the 162 ELD Match Hornady. At 2850 FPS it is producing .250 tp .300 a minute accuracy. Velocity spread is in the 15 FPS range for five shot groups.

My question is the BC numbers. Hornady list the BC of the 162 as higher than then either the 180 Berger or the Sierra MK. It would be nice to know that the lighter and more accurate bullet also possesses the best BC numbers.

Or, is Hornady playing loose with the calculations.

What I am wanting to get this Rifle ready for is the Tack Driver in November. That will be 300 meters. This case is proving to be pretty darned accurate as far as grouping capability goes. It would be nice to have a .250/.300 rifle with that BC.

I am trying not to think like a Short Range Benchrest Shoorter.
Best accuracy out of my 7 SAUM, 30 inch Krieger is 162 ELDM 60 gr H1000 @ 3040-3050...also .300 moa, next best accuracy is 150 scenar.
 
The case is the 7mm Geramo, which is a 6.5x55 Swede necked to 7mm and Ackley Imp.

600 yards is as far as we ever shoot, mostly 400 and below. We have tried 180 Berger’s, 168 A-Tips, and the 162 ELD Match, and the 175 Sierra MK.

The best shooting bullet so far seems to be the 162 ELD Match Hornady. At 2850 FPS it is producing .250 tp .300 a minute accuracy. Velocity spread is in the 15 FPS range for five shot groups.

My question is the BC numbers. Hornady list the BC of the 162 as higher than then either the 180 Berger or the Sierra MK. It would be nice to know that the lighter and more accurate bullet also possesses the best BC numbers.

Or, is Hornady playing loose with the calculations.

What I am wanting to get this Rifle ready for is the Tack Driver in November. That will be 300 meters. This case is proving to be pretty darned accurate as far as grouping capability goes. It would be nice to have a .250/.300 rifle with that BC.

I am trying not to think like a Short Range Benchrest Shoorter.
While many competitive shooters have walked away from Hornady ELD bullets due to jacket failure, I don't think many will agree that Hornady's BC numbers are skewed. I've found them to be very close and in fact they are in some cases published lower than my findings show. Sierra and Nosler have been the two (in years past) that have been inaccurate. Today I know Sierra has become very trustworthy in published numbers. Nosler I'm not certain of. For me, those numbers don't mean everything. They are a starting point. Berger 180s do in fact have a better BC than Hornady's 162s. I'm not concerned with bullet failure as I use them for hunting and recreational target shooting and not competition. I've never had a failure or bullet not make it on target. The 162s are what I shoot almost exclusively but play with a few others in that weight range. Hornady's seem to be the most accurate in my rifles. I'm not aware of a 168 ATip made by Hornady in .284. Sounds like it would be an ideal weight class bullet for an A Tip.
 
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BC reporting accuracy across the board is uniforming due to the Applied Ballistics crew and their work.

That said, the BC differences between 16x's and the 18x's is purely academic. It just doesn't matter. They plot vertically within inches at 1k meters. F=ma still reigns and the only benefit is shooting heavier weights in gusty winds. Worry over 0.03 of BC delta is a huge waste of time.
 
I worked up a very good load with the Berger 150 classic hunter and 4831sc. Rem 1st gen 7saum sendero. Bedded the recoil lug and adjusted the trigger. Consistent sub 1/2 moa out to 300 yards(longest range near me) prone/bipod and bags. This year's elk setup.
 
I, too, have had very good results with 162 gr ELD-M after some disasters with the ELD-M 180 gr in my 284 WIN.
I personally don't think BC is as important as most folks do as they all drop with distance and are effected by wind. It is up to the shooter to compensate.
Also, H1000 seems awful slow burning for the case you are using. I would think something like RL-16 would be just the ticket as it will probably complete the burn way before the bullet exits the barrel.
 
I'm not aware of a 168 ATip made by Hornady in .284
Jackie, this is what I was talking about. In your 1st post, you said 168g A-tip,
Thought you might have wanted to type 166 not 168.

Anyways, bought some Hornady 162 ELD-M and 166g A-tips
to try in my new 284. I'll see which works better.
 
Jackie, this is what I was talking about. In your 1st post, you said 168g A-tip,
Thought you might have wanted to type 166 not 168.

Anyways, bought some Hornady 162 ELD-M and 166g A-tips
to try in my new 284. I'll see which works better.
Not really sure how much better they'll be than the 162 ELDMs. Same jacket thickness and I believe the ballistics are very close. The 180 ATip is very close to the 180ELDM.
 
They probably are close except for price.... :eek:
Maybe a little difference in bearing surface. ?
New to me caliber, always wanted to try the A-tips and thought it might be
a good time to try them. Not going to spend a lot of time on them. If neither works the way I want,
I'll go with the old reliable 180 Hybrids. ;)
 

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