Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 7mm load for elk

I'm looking for a new load for my 7mm. I'm hunting elk next year in WY and wonder what some "hardcore" reloaders are sending down the pipe. It is a Browing A-bolt 7mm. Power; type, amount, and bullet choices if you don"t mind.
Thanks

160 NAB, prepped R+P or WW brass, 215GM, and 65-66g R22 is a good one.

Good Luck,

loder

7828 or R25 and a 160 NPT or 150 NBT and go rock the world.

Dober

Any 160gr bullet that it shoots well. I prefer 160gr NP and 160gr Grand Slams.

We're all assuming the OP is referring to the 7mm Remington Magnum.

That said, my old Rem 700 loved IMR 7828 and Re 22 with just about any 160 and 175 grain bullet. I mainly used 160 grain Nosler Partitions for antelope, deer, and elk.

I used to own 5 different 7mm rm that all shot 160 sierra hpbt's very well and had good results on elk. Powder charge in all 5 was 65 grains of surplus h 4831. Velocity varied up to 200 fps.

Fred

My last bull elk was killed in Wyoming 3-4 years ago.He collapsed from a shoulder shot from a 7 Rem Mag and 160 Partition at 3100 fps. H4831 was the powder.

I like RL 25 with 150 or 160 gr bullets as well.

Another vote for the 160 NPT.....great combination of speed, accuracy, and THUMP!

dawaba: NICE Bull!

140 gr TSX and max load of 4350/4831 will kill any Elk that lives.

For that matter, so will a .223, 22-250, etc, etc, etc. The point is, if you're a visiting hunter and don't have the option of going back out next week or so, you have to take some shots that aren't presented in the perfect "Christmas Card" pose. Fleeting glimpses and angles that need a heavy for calibre bullet plodding along at a "mere" 2600-2900fps.

No they don't. They need a bullet that will penetrate, break big bones, go from azz to neck if necessary and shoot flat enought to make up for your errors in range guessing. Shots that look like 100 yards in the humid East are a lot longer in clear dry air. You cannot push a TSX too fast, ask the guys shooting 7mm RUMs.
I tend to doubt you have seen as many Elk dropped as we have out here where they live. The big slow heavy bullet rule was fine when all you had was cup and core. Monometals have changed the whole game. The faster the better and retained velocity at the target is what counts. We see more "visiting hunters" show up with cannons and huge scopes because they read all the BS about bulletproof Elk.
If you are ONLY going to hunt the "black timber" , where 100 yards is a very long shot, (akin to Eastern Whitetail thicket hunting) then I'll go with your heavy for caliber slow bullet..... 5 Brenneke Gold 1&3/8 oz. slugs in my rifled 870 with a Leupold 1-4 Turkey model. Will kill anything that walks in North America.
But when you hunt mixed country, where shots can vary from 25 yards to an ethical 350, you just can't beat a 1 MOA rifle, that delivers 4 shots quick, pushing a 150 TSX at 3300 fps, with the best glass, illuminated retical and a 2.5-10 power range.
While I own a bunch of rifles, this is all I really need for anything in the lower 48.
Always had those three extra available but have yet to need more than one.
I know you have a few Elk in TN but I think we have a few more out here.

TFF.