Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 7mm Rem Mag Loads

So somehow I happened to become the new owner of a 7mm Rem Mag. I am planning on developing loads for it this spring after turkey season. Does anyone have a pet or favorite load for this caliber? The gun will be used for elk and whitetails.

Jim

Can't help you on loads. I bought a 7mm Wby and I can tell you it is just great. Mine likes 70 gr of RL22 with 140 Accubonds. That load gives me 3050 fps. Whitetail whacker deluxe.

I have a Weatherby Eurosport chambered for the 7mm Remington cartridge. I've had good success with CCI 250 primers, H-1000 powder and Nosler 150 grain Partitions/ 150 grain Ballistic Tips or 145 grain Speer flat bases in Remington or Winchester cases. I've had good success with 68-70 grains of H-1000. Occasionally I'll also use IMR 4831 because I have a lot of it. I have not used the 7mm Remington Mag on anything larger than a whitetail deer, but I'm sure it would be great for larger game, as some of the other more experienced poster on this forum have stated.

A friend of mine uses IMR 7828 with a 162 grain Horny SST.He's very happy and said it was one of the most consistant loads from his rifle.Also a lot of guy's are using Reloader 22 for their 7 Rem Mags with good results.

140 TSX under 70 gr of RL22 with federal 215 GMM primers and Rem brass. Worked well for a bull elk, bull moose, mule deer doe and whitetail buck.
04' - 160 Nosler AB under 65.5gr of IMR 7828 with 215 GMM primers and rem brass. Worked on the exact same, well - the mule deer doe for a whitetail doe.

Both loads averaged around 3/4" for 3shot 100 yard groups.

I have had good luck with 150 gr variety with IMR4831 and RL22. The Nosler Part would be an excellent choice if you prefer 150 gr and will work nicely for both animals you plan to hunt.

Caution these are safe in my rifle. I would follow your manuals, start low and work up slowly to ensure safe in your rifle.

RL22, the 4831's(H and IMR) and IMR7828 seem to be very servicable in the 7mm rem mags through 140 up. I haven't tried H1000 yet. RL 19 hasn't seen a ton of action yet but I am going to play with some this year under 140gr AB and TSX's. If I had to choose one powder to start with for 7mm rem mag at this point - RL22.

Good Luck

Have had excellent results with IMR 4831,CCI 250's and 160 Nolser AB's. Get around 3014fps out of 24' tube and .5 to .75 groups.

I have a Steyr SBS 7mmRM. It loves everything, and its 25.6" bbl is fast...but here are some fine loads IME...YMMV...and some are HOT!

150 NosBT; 70grs R-22; WLRM (3250fps, VERY VERY warm)

150 Sciracco; 66.5grs VV N-160, WLRM, (3180fps)

160 Nos AB; 66grs R-22, WLRM, (3100fps)

All loads listed shot under 1" at 100yds...YMMV. In fact all of those loads shot near one hole at 100yds. The largest was @.66"

Some of those load are very warm and should be worked up to. The last one with R-22 is a book max load that is plenty!

63 GRS OF R-22 160 AB REMINGTON LARGE RIFLE PRIMMERS IS NO WHERE NEAR HOT AND IS VERY ACCURATE.DARREN

Hi Mo,
I just sold my Ruger No 1 7mm Rem Mag today. To big for me. I'm a small framed shooter but here is what I learned over the years I shot it.
The neck on this case is short and the angle large so your larger bullets will sit to far back in the case in order for it to chaimber in the rifle. I tried 175 grain bullets and never found a load I was satisfied with. A slower burning powder is better. IMR 4831 is awsome! the theory, as I understan it, is that a fast burning powder burns and pinches on that piece of the bullet sticking back in the case where as a slower burning powder gets that bullet moving out and burns more evenly so it doesn't pinch. I don't know if its true, only know the theory. I found 154 -162 grain bullets to be the largest I could get to be accurate in my gun. Anything smaller I felt not big enough for elk. I did shoot and loose an elk with the 154. Thats why I tried the 175. If you like the gun its a flat shooter. But for me it kicked my tail way to hard.
Good Luck

My old 7 mag is throated for the 160 Nosler seated to the base of the neck 3.450 OAL. I use 70 gr RL22 for 3,160 with the 160 and 67 gr with the 175 for 3,012. I hunted elk in 4 states this year and used the 175 load. Four bang flops on bulls to 353 B&C.
It does not whackem as hard as the 200 gr from the 300 Win, but they penetrate just as deep.
-Doc-

if you have a rifle with a 1/11" twist it will shoot 120gr 140gr bullets very good if it is a 1 /9-1/2 twist 160gr and 175gr bullets. i have had great accuracy with h4831sc

xxBob:
I love to hear you talk about your long throated 7mm RM. I recently had mine throated for a 160 grain speer seated to the base of the neck. Now I can seat all the heavy bullets out of the powder space. I can't see any reason to use light bullets in a 7 Mag.

Nowadays, people tell me it doesn't make any difference, and that may be so, I dunno, but I seem to be locked into a "Time Warp" from back when it was all the rage.

I haven't proved it is any advantage, but I didn't hurt anything. Still, a leetle more capacity, should give me a leetle more velocity, which they say isn't important either.

The onliest thing that I don't like about the 7mm RM is the short neck. Also, not important??? Oh Wal. It don't have to make sense to everbody.

I'm using H1000 for my 7mm RM, ET. (Extended Throat) and my 7mm Weatherby.

Smitty of the North

my Husky has a 1-9" twist! I use 160 grainers to great satisfaction

Well I necked down a 338 to 7 Mag before Rem got on the bandwagon.
Warren Page gave me the idea. I lived in San Diego with a bunch of aerospace gun loonies and had access to a very sophistocated ballistic tunnel. I really got to know this cartridge and how to measure pressure with a strain gage.
Early 700 Rems had short throats and the Corelokt was a dual dia. bullet ditto the 264 Win. Standard bullets ran up the pressure in both.
Smarter dudes then me Wooters,Hagel,Sundra,Page,Sharp, Bowman said a longer throat would smooth out the pressure curve and it does.
Hagel wrote an article on the subject and checked the chambers on 9 diff rifle ALL had diff throats.
Hence the 7 Mag was just not as user friendly as one would like. Since the 7 Rem was not invented when mine was born I cut the chamber to the same dimensions as my 7 Roy and cut the powder charge a couple of grs. That was almost fifty years ago and I have yet to blow a primer or experience any other sign of pressure"spike". Its been my Far Shootin rifle but I dont always load it full throtel. One does not need 3,200 fps at 100 yards unless one is into blood and guts and exit holes bubbling savage vapors.
But I like it and it works for me at close to original published velocities. I have used the 300 Win a lot and have found that rifles chambered for that round have very uniform chambers. They must have learned a lesson although the throats on most 300 Win rifles measure .311. Kind of sloppy but I have never shot a 300 that wasnt accurate.
Have a good one.
-Doc-

Congrats on your new rifle � the 7mm Mag is a very versatile cartridge and completely adequate for elk.


All loads with:
Federal brass trimmed to minimum.
CCI 250 primer


160g Barnes XLC, COL 3.278�, 66.0g IMR4831, 3020fps = 3 shots, 0.60� @ 100
160g Grand Slam, COL 3.225�, 62.0g IMR4831, 2857fps = 3 shots, 0.5� @ 100 in my rifle, 0.40� in my buddy�s rifle
160g North Fork SS, COL 3.284�, 66.0g H4831SC, 2990fps = 5 shots, 1.7� @ 100, 4 of 5 in 0.90�
160g North Fork SS, COL 3.284�, 68.0g H1000, 2840fps = 3 shots, 0.266� group @ 100
160g North Fork SS, COL 3.284�, 70.5g H1000, 2944fps = 3 shots, 0.90� @ 100
160g North Fork SS, COL 3.284�, 71.5g H1000, 3048fps = 4 shots, 1.20� @ 100, 3 of 4 in 0.40�

The Grand Slam load has been knocking elk down very reliably for over 20 years. Switched to the North Fork but haven�t had an opportunity to test it yet.

xxBob:
Thanks, for the history.
Interestingly enough, my 7mm RM is an early model I bought from a friend of mine, 3 or 4 years ago. From what you say, it would appear that, having it's throat extended was a fine idea.

I read in a loading manual about the dual diameter bullets for the .264, but didn't know that Rem. did that in 7mm RM factory loads.

I friend of mine bought one of the first 300 WMs when they came out in the New Model 70. After firing, there was very little neck left on the case. I still have one piece of brass, that I saved. He wasn't a handloader, so didn't consider it an issue.


The rifle had impressed checkering, and the barrel was free floated enough, you could throw your hat between the barrel and the stock. I'm stretching it a bit, but I'm sure you would have been able to run your hat brim the full length of the barrel.

Of course, the early 700s had impressed checkering too, but I liked the stocks much better. I bought one in 280 Rem. at the Base Exchange. I still have it. It has a 20 inch barrel.
Smitty of the North

Anybody have loads using Hornady 154's?????

I've got RL22, H4831, IMR 7828, IMR 4350 on the shelf.

Thanks

I used to use the 154 Horn, if I recall right I used 7828 and got to it.

Dober

Got two loads that work in my 7mm RM:
RL22: 63.0 using 154 Hornady FB

H-4831: also 63.0 154 Hornady FB

Accuracy with both loads was very good, RL22 a bit better.
If you're in really cold temps, I'd use H-4831.

XXBob - those are some stout loads! Must be that long throat in your rifle. Excellent velocity.

I'm a big fan of 160's or 175's from the 7mm Rem mag, loaded over RE-22. Just not as much of it as XXBob uses!

Regards, Guy