7mm Remmington Mag

jw29650 · July 11, 2002, 06:36 AM

What is a good powder for a 162 grain bullet in a 7mm Remmington Mag cartridge? I have several reloader manuals and the powders and velocities vary quite a bit. This round will be used for hunting deer.

Elkslayer · July 11, 2002, 08:48 AM

I have handloaded for my Rem 700 BDL 7mmMag since I purchased it new for $150 at a Woolco in 1968. New powders have come and gone. A long time ago I read in a gun rag that you could literally wear out the barrel of a rifle trying all of the different bullet/powder/case/primer combinations looking for the best load. The advice then and mine to you now is find a load your rifle likes and stay with it, I have for over 30 years and my 7mm Mag dropped a cow elk last hunting season at 200 yards with the 30+ year-old load I have always used.

Personally, my rifle likes H-4831 somewhere around 62 grains and I use a 154gr Hornady bullet with CCI large rifle mag primers.

My rifle has always had a 4X Redfiled widefield scope mounted on it. With this setup I have seven targets from different year's hunting season "sight-ins" tacked to the walls of my reloading room with 100-yd, 3-shot groups which all measure under 1".

Good luck!

sricciardelli · July 11, 2002, 10:11 AM

This group, which measured somewhere around 0.303-inches for 5-shots at 200-yards.
It was fired using a Ruger 77R in 7mm Remington Magnum with Leupold 12x optics
Case: Remington
Primer: CCI-200
Powder: 64.6 grains of RL-22
Bullet: Sierra 168 grain Hollow Point Boat Tail
Velocity @ 15': 2943 fps

sundog · July 11, 2002, 12:41 PM

jw, elkslayer has it about right. Find a good load early on and just stay with it. My 700BDL I bought new in 1973 has had a steady diet of H4831 and H4831SC and 160/162 gr bullets and has performed admirably. Only thing I can add is the importance of KNOWING where that first round cold barrel shot is going to impact. Mine is 11 o'clock about 2" out from the group of next several shots at 200 yards. sundog

Joel Medbery · July 13, 2002, 04:26 AM

I use the Hornady 162 btsp also. I found a couple of different powders that work wonderfully in my Savage 7 mag.

load 1.
57.5 gr IMR4350
Fed Brass 63.55 mm
Win large rifle mag primer
2900 fps
sub moa

load 2.
64 gr RL22
Win Brass 63.55 mm
Win large rifle mag primer
3000 fps
sub moa

dakotasin · July 13, 2002, 08:11 AM

right now, i am in the process of developing a load for my 7 rem mag...2 of them actually - a 26" barrel and a 24". so far, i have only tested h-4831 and rl-25.

rl-25 is showing lots of promise. good accuracy and velocity. somewhere in the 68-70 grain range seems optimal. haven't had a chance to get the load completely developed yet. my rifle is restricted by mag length, so i am not seating to the lands.

i couldn't get any accuracy from the h-4831, and it just doesn't fill the case very well.

i've been working w/ 162 grain hornady...have some 150 and 160 sierra gamekings that are loaded, but haven't been able to try yet.

Redneck2 · July 17, 2002, 05:28 PM

I'd go with sric...

RL-22 seems to be made for the "medium mags" 7, 300 etc.

If you haven't checked out his site I'd suggest it. He's GOT to be the most politically incorrect guy on the internet. Man it's great!

dakotasin · July 17, 2002, 07:51 PM

the 7 mag load that seems to be happiest in my rifle right now is 70 grains rl-25 pushing 162 hornady, lit by cci mag primer...

tested rl-25 w/ 150 grain bullets...doesn't work well...69 grains got 3038 f/s, 70 grains - 3048 f/s, and 71 grains got 3021 f/s... terrible velocity. accuracy was wanting as well.

w/ the 162 load, i made 3009 f/s w/ no pressure signs. but, my manual (speer #13) lists 70 as the max... accuracy was right where i wanted it, too, so i think i'll stop there.

imq707s · July 18, 2002, 06:59 AM

I also use 4831-SC in my Ruger MarkII 7mm RM loads. I use Hornady 139gr. SST bullets and I still can't get any groups under 2" at 100 yrds. Should I try a different bullet? I've heard that the SST bullets don't stabalize out untill 150+ yds. What do you guys use for lighter bullets?

July 11, 2002, 10:11 AM	#3
sricciardelli Senior Member Join Date: August 13, 2001 Location: Montana Posts: 489	This group, which measured somewhere around 0.303-inches for 5-shots at 200-yards. It was fired using a Ruger 77R in 7mm Remington Magnum with Leupold 12x optics Case: Remington Primer: CCI-200 Powder: 64.6 grains of RL-22 Bullet: Sierra 168 grain Hollow Point Boat Tail Velocity @ 15': 2943 fps __________________ http://stevespages.com/page8.htm

July 11, 2002, 12:41 PM	#4
sundog Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 1999 Location: Green Country, OK Posts: 782	jw, elkslayer has it about right. Find a good load early on and just stay with it. My 700BDL I bought new in 1973 has had a steady diet of H4831 and H4831SC and 160/162 gr bullets and has performed admirably. Only thing I can add is the importance of KNOWING where that first round cold barrel shot is going to impact. Mine is 11 o'clock about 2" out from the group of next several shots at 200 yards. sundog __________________ safety first

July 13, 2002, 08:11 AM	#6
dakotasin Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2002 Location: south dakota, U.S.A. Posts: 136	right now, i am in the process of developing a load for my 7 rem mag...2 of them actually - a 26" barrel and a 24". so far, i have only tested h-4831 and rl-25. rl-25 is showing lots of promise. good accuracy and velocity. somewhere in the 68-70 grain range seems optimal. haven't had a chance to get the load completely developed yet. my rifle is restricted by mag length, so i am not seating to the lands. i couldn't get any accuracy from the h-4831, and it just doesn't fill the case very well. i've been working w/ 162 grain hornady...have some 150 and 160 sierra gamekings that are loaded, but haven't been able to try yet. __________________ Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It is much more important than that.

July 17, 2002, 05:28 PM	#7
Redneck2 Senior Member Join Date: April 24, 2000 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 519	I'm thinkin' I'd go with sric... RL-22 seems to be made for the "medium mags" 7, 300 etc. If you haven't checked out his site I'd suggest it. He's GOT to be the most politically incorrect guy on the internet. Man it's great!

July 17, 2002, 07:51 PM	#8
dakotasin Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2002 Location: south dakota, U.S.A. Posts: 136	the 7 mag load that seems to be happiest in my rifle right now is 70 grains rl-25 pushing 162 hornady, lit by cci mag primer... tested rl-25 w/ 150 grain bullets...doesn't work well...69 grains got 3038 f/s, 70 grains - 3048 f/s, and 71 grains got 3021 f/s... terrible velocity. accuracy was wanting as well. w/ the 162 load, i made 3009 f/s w/ no pressure signs. but, my manual (speer #13) lists 70 as the max... accuracy was right where i wanted it, too, so i think i'll stop there. __________________ Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It is much more important than that.

July 11, 2002, 06:36 AM	#1
jw29650 Member Join Date: September 28, 2001 Location: Greer, SC Posts: 19	7mm Remmington Mag What is a good powder for a 162 grain bullet in a 7mm Remmington Mag cartridge? I have several reloader manuals and the powders and velocities vary quite a bit. This round will be used for hunting deer.

July 11, 2002, 08:48 AM	#2
Elkslayer Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2002 Location: Wyoming Posts: 132	I have handloaded for my Rem 700 BDL 7mmMag since I purchased it new for $150 at a Woolco in 1968. New powders have come and gone. A long time ago I read in a gun rag that you could literally wear out the barrel of a rifle trying all of the different bullet/powder/case/primer combinations looking for the best load. The advice then and mine to you now is find a load your rifle likes and stay with it, I have for over 30 years and my 7mm Mag dropped a cow elk last hunting season at 200 yards with the 30+ year-old load I have always used. Personally, my rifle likes H-4831 somewhere around 62 grains and I use a 154gr Hornady bullet with CCI large rifle mag primers. My rifle has always had a 4X Redfiled widefield scope mounted on it. With this setup I have seven targets from different year's hunting season "sight-ins" tacked to the walls of my reloading room with 100-yd, 3-shot groups which all measure under 1". Good luck!

July 13, 2002, 04:26 AM	#5
Joel Medbery Junior Member Join Date: July 13, 2002 Location: Nebraska Posts: 2	I use the Hornady 162 btsp also. I found a couple of different powders that work wonderfully in my Savage 7 mag. load 1. 57.5 gr IMR4350 Fed Brass 63.55 mm Win large rifle mag primer 2900 fps sub moa load 2. 64 gr RL22 Win Brass 63.55 mm Win large rifle mag primer 3000 fps sub moa

July 18, 2002, 06:59 AM	#9
imq707s Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2000 Posts: 179	I also use 4831-SC in my Ruger MarkII 7mm RM loads. I use Hornady 139gr. SST bullets and I still can't get any groups under 2" at 100 yrds. Should I try a different bullet? I've heard that the SST bullets don't stabalize out untill 150+ yds. What do you guys use for lighter bullets?