Long Range 7/08 loads

[blacknwhite1]

Barrel is 24" 1:9 twist

What bullet is recommended? I have not done much testing but would like to use as heavy as possible. Thanks in advance

 

[15Tango]

162 Amax. That cartridge won't be able to sling the 180 well enough to beat what it can do with the 162.

Wayne

 

[smoking-brass]

I use 168 SMK with a max load of Imr 4064 and a win lr primer...shoots good out to 800 yards. The rifle has a 28" barrel and 1:9 twist...162 A max did not shoot as well as the 168 smk's in my rifle...but give them a try also...I shot the 180vld bergers for awhile ...very accurate out to 600 yards but the cartridge is not built to shoot 180 bullets past 600 yards in my test...just runs out of gas
;D

 

[blacknwhite1]

Thanks guys, great info. I use a lot of IMR 4895 so I will probably try it first. I just looked online for the 162 amax and they are surprisingly cheap ;D. So I will probably try them first.

Anyone have an IMR 4895 and 162 amax starting point?

 

[15Tango]

I just looked online for the 162 amax and they are surprisingly cheap

Powder Valley Inc. has them for $24.98, unless you found them cheaper.

Anyone have an IMR 4895 and 162 amax starting point?

Per Hodgdon -7-08
162 GR. HDY A-MAX IMR IMR 4895 .284" 2.875"
38.0 2471 42,100 CUP
40.6 2650 49,300 CUP

Wayne

ETA, notice those pressures are pretty low . . . and if you load them longer out to contact the lands . . . no reason you shouldn't be able to get much higher velocities. Other powders, R17 especially, should be able to give you more oomph as well. If you get bored you could always have that thing reamed out to 7-08 Improved, you wouldn't gain a lot but you would gain and you wouldn't have to trim brass anymore.

 

[Vanguard]

1 gr over max in rl19 got me 2800fps with 162's in a 24'' tube. it's compressed no doubt , but shoots 1/2 moa at 200, this is just a hunting rig.
but 120's loaded up are flatter shooting with the same wind drift so i fail to see the need for that high bc, doesnt do anything if its a slow moving turd.

 

[15Tango]

120's loaded up are flatter shooting with the same wind drift so i fail to see the need for that high bc, doesnt do anything if its a slow moving turd.

The OP's talking long range. I'm assuming long range is somewhere between 500 and 100 yards. I'd like to see this 120 grain that you speak of beat the 162 at 2800 FPS to 500-1000 yards in trajectory and wind drift.

Best BC I could find on a 120 was the Nosler BT, assuming you could get them to 3200 here's the numbers I came up with:

120 @3200 -
300 yards - drop 9.2", wind 6"
600 yards - drop 66", wind 27"
1000 yards - drop 278", wind 89"

162 @ 2800 FPS -
300 yards - drop 12", wind 4.5"
600 yards - drop 77", wind 20"
1000 yards - drop 290", wind 62"

Drop doesn't mean a lot, once you know your come-up it's not a variable, you come up and that's it. Wind's a variable and what matters in long range. At 1000 yards the 120 BT has 44% more wind drift than the 162 - that's not even close. Even at little ol 300 yards the 162 beats the 120 on wind drift by 33%.

Wayne

 

[Vanguard]

ouch,
those figures sure are quite a bit better the farther you go.
I was crunching 162 gr sst's out to 500 yds
and the 120's are very close in wind drift at that distance with better drop.
But it seems you crunched the a max out farther
and obviously the better choice, if you can push it to 2800 which I have been able to do.
How do you feel about the a-max as a hunting round from 100 yds out to 600 or so ?

 

[15Tango]

How do you feel about the a-max as a hunting round from 100 yds out to 600 or so ?

I've never used an AMAX for hunting but there are plenty of people on here that swear by them and the Berger VLDs. The consensus seems to be that they both make a big mess of things though.

 

[Ksmirk]

My hunting rig is a 284 Win that I ran the throat deeper so I could gain on some powder space, I shoot the 162 A-Max with a COL of 3.100" and yes inside of 300 yards you will have about 12" of unwanted animal! they will or can make a mess of things quickly for sure. Oh just because don't take neck shots with this bullet Later,

Kirk

 

[wapiti25]

You should try the Berger 168 VLD Hunting Bullet. I looked at an Antelope shot by my buddy using the 168 from a 7mm mag @ about 200yds and the meat damage was not bad. He has also killed moose and deer without excessive meat damage. I just built a new 7 mag in Nov. and will be using the 168 Berger for hunting. I have not killed any thing yet with it. Check the ballistic numbers they are fantastic. The G1 is .617 and I'm getting 3000 out of my 24.5" Krieger. I had more meat damage with a 160 Nosler Accubond last year on a mule deer than my buddy did with the Berger on the same trip. The deer were both shot with 7 mags.

 

[rain164845]

I shoot the 168 bergers and smks with H4350, book max loads. The bergers seem to be more accurate, but I am the weak link.

Joe