Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Battle of the 7mm 175's

SU35,
I tried this type of test (dry news print) with 25cal bullets about 10 years ago. The thing that shocked me was the fact that Hornady SST bullets penetrated like crazy AND set the news print on fire. The SST bullets were destroyed but they always made it to the back of the 8" stack and within a minute or so the smoke would come billowing out of the back. Nosler PT's, Hornady IL's, Hornady RN's Speer, none of the others set the paper on fire....???

Johnny Dollar

I know what you mean, those bullets are HOT!
And some more than others. Why? I don't know.

Also,

As already mentioned the key to using cup-core bullets is going heavy for caliber.

davidlea,

Here's a recovered 7mm/175 LRAB from a large cow elk I killed. 100 yards or so shot. I put the bullet through the thickest part of her shoulders, missing bone.
The opposite hide caught it. This will give you an idea.

SU - IIRC that bullet was out of your 7 Wby at 3100 fps correct??? What was the accuracy?

Though I prefer a bullet to exit, that one did the job.

Yes, that's correct. Great accuracy too, I had it dialed in.

Though to my thinking the 7mm Wby is king of the 7's, I like lighter rifles and the Tikka appealed to me for that reason. Also, no reason why the 7mm Rem Mag can't be loaded to within 100 fps of the Wby.

Mounted in Talleys on my Tikka is a Leupold vx2 4-12x40 AO (fine hairs) with an M1 on top. I feel very confident using the Sierra 7mm/175 for long range. It's actually made for that.

Total weight of the scoped rifle is 7 lbs 2 oz.

SU35,



That is a spectacular weight all up. What length is the barrel?

24" barrel.

I am taking a chance and going to use the 175 LRAB in my7 mag. It has a 25" #3 lilija 3 groove and holds very good accuracy out to 600 yards. I just shot a 3" group at 600 with a pretty good L-R crosswind. 175 SBT shoot right with them out to 300 and actually hold pretty good in the wind. 175 Partitions have the same point of impact at 100 so I might slip a few of these in my pocket for those deep timber moments.

Using Hornandy brass which has surprised me with its durability and consistence. H1000 powder and Rem 9 1/2M primers for 2975. Hunting elk in 3 states so should find out something.

Lefty C

Not really, it's called animals.

dennisinaz



Normally one wants to do a good job with his hunting bullet on the first shot. About forty years ago I switched to Nosler 175 partitions because a Hornady 175 grainer fragmented on a blacktail deer shoulder blade. The deer turned and I shot it in the tail. Even that bullet fragmented. I was using a 7 Rem Mag. That was before I started testing on media. Now I use either sawdust or water filled one gallon milk jugs. This way no animals are wounded or require three shots to finish the job.

Well put Ringman.

I ran some 175 GK's out of the 7mm Mashburn along with 160 AB's, 160 BBC's, 175 PT's. All them have looked excellent when shot into water filled 1 gallon jugs at 20 yards. The Sierra shoots very well with the same load in my Mashburn.. I am using it as a practice bullet for the 175 PT, but I'd have 0 concerns running it as the primary.

I know this is a 175gr thread, just wanted to chime in on GK's.I have only one memorable experience with the GK, mine a 180 grain, .308, 2950 at the muzzle. Shot a raghorn bull about @ 125 yards, tight and a little high behind the shoulder. He was down, head on the ground, before I could get the action cycled. Exit size was about the size of a 50 cent piece. I wouldnt hesitate to use them again. My brother has also used them in his 25-06 with good results.

Being a 7mm shooter myself, this testing is quite interesting...

Very satisfied with the performance of the 175 gr Nosler Partition on a good 6x6 bull elk. Right through the chest at about 180 yards. Bull took a few steps and fell dead.

The 175 Sierras were a little more accurate, but I like Partitions for hunting. Either one would likely have worked. Was running them at about 2900 fps via H870 then.

Regards, Guy

Guy, I'm a diehard NP fan myself having killed a few elk with both bullet brands out of a 280 RCBS. Both brands performed with one shot kills on 4 elk.

What started my re-look at the SBT GK, I couldn't find any NP's. So, I started reading the good reports of 7mm/175 GK's on big game, bought a box and decided to test them out dry paper.

It was an eye opener I didn't expect them to stay with the NP. They do, and with more consistent accuracy and speed for longer ranges.

Sierra says this about them, "7 mm/.284 Caliber (.284) 175 gr. SBT

For rifles, this 175 grain #1940 Spitzer Boat Tail bullet is an excellent choice for most large game hunting applications. It has a heavy, double-tapered jacket and a special alloy core to ensure deep penetration and good expansion on the heaviest North American game and on heavy African plains game. It has the same basic ballistic shape as Sierra's famous 168 grain 7mm MatchKing bullet. Accuracy of this hunting bullet approaches that of the MatchKing, making this the best long-range big game bullet for any of the 7mm magnum cartridges. It is also used successfully in centerfire rifle silhouette matches."

I have an area I elk hunt that is flat sagebrush country, nothing but long shots. I'm going the Sierra bullet with no hesitation.

At $36.00 for a hundred I get a lot of practice with them.

Does anyone happen to have a few 180 VLD HUNTING they could send him to test? Ive already sent him a few Scenars, and I have arranged for some hybrids to head his way. I would really love to see Bob do a 3 way show down as I am still undecided on bullet of choice for coues deer in my LRM.

Would have liked to see your comparison include the 175gr. Speer Grand Slams and Swift A-Frames.

Phil

500 yards and in is not long range. That is within the expansion window of regular Accubonds. The whole point of ABLR's is to reliably upset at low velocities when other bullets won't. The "bonding" is to help the bullet penetrate enough in case a close shot is taken.

A better way looking at it is-

Regular Accubond: optimized for mid to high velocity at close to moderate range , while having an expansion threshold low enough to cover the vast majority of shots. They are a 0-500 yard or so bullet.


Accubond Long Range- optimized for mid to low velocity at long range, while offering just enough penetration for an unplanned close range shot. They are optimized for past 400 yards.

While I have not used the ABLR at all, I have used the Accubond from 30-500 yards and it has performed flawlessly and identically in all applications, including wet phone books at 15 and 30 yards with a MV of 3410.

Shot some other brands of 7mm today.

Some interesting results.

Scenar 180 HPBT.....9.0" penetration. Same as the Nosler Partition. It flattened out to 1.6" and 75 grains.

Next was an older Nosler 175 Partition. It went 9" just like the new ones but interestingly enough, it weighed at 145.0 grains compared to the 110.0 grains of the newer ones.
Width was the same for both.

Tomorrow I'll be shooting the 7mm/175 BITTERROOT.