I got my first 7mm Rem Mag, a M700 SPS mostly to try out for mule deer/black bear and maybe side of elk or moose if I see one while carrying a tag. I've been a die hard .30 cal guy for 20 years (30-30/308/30-06) so venturing into a 7mm belted mag is a new experience for me.

What do you 7mm mag guys like for factory loads, I got some of the good old Remington green box core lokts to start, anything else really stand out that's worth trying? I will eventually hand load for this rifle like I do for nearly all my hunting rifles but for this hunting season at least, it will be factory ammo only. I will accumulate some once fired brass anyways.

Here is a gratuitous pic of said rifle on its maiden voyage to the range. I just got a half a box through it for a little barrel break in and it's now on paper at 100 yards. Next trip I will try a few loads to see what it might like and see how accuracy is out of the box.

I have that exact rifle, also left hand. It now sports a B&C stock and a tuned trigger. I don't shoot factory stuff, but this one really likes 160 Partitions at 3000 fps. There is some good factory ammo out there and I'll bet that rifle will shoot about everything pretty well. I would start with some of the cheaper fodder just to see what happens and then step up to the premium stuff if you so desire. The basic Core lokts etc. will kill just fine, as long as the rifle likes them.

Mine has snuffed one moose and a handful of elk. Seems like a great rifle.

Thanks sbhooper. I really like this rifle so far, I'm a little ashamed to admit it but in over 20 years shooting and hunting and this is my first Remington M700. Better late than never! I will stick with the factory SPS stock for now as it actually fits me pretty well, and I like the grippy panels, seems like a serviceable stock. I think this winter after hunting season is over, I will get it bedded and free float the barrel and probably upgrade to a Timney trigger.

The 160 gr nosler pt will be near the top of my list for reloading would you mind sharing your load? Of course I plan to start low and work up.

Whatever 140 grain load you have access to.

A few years back,my Marine son-in-law picked up a used tikka T3Lite in 7mm Mag for a song. since he likes to hunt this big deep hole of a canyon, its light weight appealed to him. Anyhow, I accompanied him to the range to zero and he just bought a box of HSM ammo with the 168 Berger. That rifle just wadded them into one big hole at 100! Anyhow, he shot a 5pt bull opening AM around 250yds, got complete penetration behind the shoulder. I thought that was pretty good! We have had real good success in other calibers with the Federal Premiums, Barnes Vortex, and the higher end Winchester. Lightest I ever loaded was the original 120X, back int he 90s, I would be tempted to try the 120TTSX today! Good luck to you, great caliber and rifle!

A generic load that shoots well fro me is 65 grains of H 4350 with a Federal 215 primer and any 150grain bullet your rifle likes.
The Nosler BT is a good place to start.
John

Are you sure about that load of 65 gr H4350, I just checked the online Hodgdon load guide as to where that might fall for velocity and they list 55 as start and 57 as max at 50,100 CUP and 2859 fps. I don't think that is even at max pressure but 8 gr over that seems a bit high?

"What do you 7mm mag guys like for factory loads..."

You lost me at "factory".

I don't shoot a lot of factory stuff in my 7 mag. I've got great handloads using the 145 and 160 gr. Speer Grand Slam. A friend passed away and his widow gave me several boxes of 7 mag ammunition that he had saved. He usually bought the latest and greatest fodder to hit the market and when he found one that his rifle liked he went back and would buy 5 more boxes of the same lot. The one that shot the best in my Browning 1885 Single Shot was some 150 gr. Federal Premium. It shoots less than .5 MOA when I do my part and at 3150 fps. The bullet appeared to be the 150 gr. Sierra BTSP, but I wasn't sure. I emailed Federal with the lot number and they confirmed that it was the 150 gr. Sierra and that Federal put the cannelure in it before loading. I'm not sure that's true or not, but that's what they said. I've got one full box left and I'm being pretty stingy with them.

I've got a full box of Remington Core-Locts that she gave me as well.

If I had to go factory I'd try the top of the line Federal ammunition and then also Nosler Trophy Grade and Swift High Grade with the 150 Scirocco.

Yeah, threw me off, too...

I'll let others answer that one, never use factory stuff... Roll my own.

RL-26 with heavies has a lot of promise.

The new Fed TBT is interesting, have some 160's to try.

DF


Edited to add. To the OP, welcome to the Fire.

As far as break in, I now treat with Dyna Bore Coat and go shoot. After a few shoot and clean cycles, I hardly see fouling. And I use a Hawkeye borescope, no guessing.

I like bullets and 7828. It's that simple.

Although I started the thread with factory ammo in mind, I will be reloading for it this winter or spring at the latest so share any pet loads if you would like.

64 or 65 grains of IMR 4350. 140 Partition, Accubonds or Ballistic tips for deer, heavier Nosler bullets for bigger stuff.

I like 63-66g RL22 for 140 and 160 AB's and Partitions. If i want to crank up the speed, I'll go to 71-72g Retumbo and 160 AB's.

never Remington cor-loks that`s a very poor bullet for bigger big game in a 7 mag.,> Nosler partitions ,Swift a-frames ,hornady,Barnes,speer all make good bullets,federal trophy bonded bullets, lot`s of choices for better bullets in factory ammo or handloads too.

160 grain partitions and 68 grains of reloaded 26 works for me

I'm actually a bit surprised to hear a bad report on the core lokt bullet in the 7 mag. Do you have any further details to share? Was it the 140/150 gr bullets or the 175 ? Factory load or reload?

The late Jack O'Connor liked Remington Cor-Lokts very much. In the 7mm Remington Magnum, he said the 150s killed a bit quicker but the 175s penetrated more. I hunted with two fellows, father and son, in Colorado who shoot 7mm Remington Magnums loaded with 175 grain Remington factory ammo. I saw the son kill two elk and a big mule deer with his rifle (two trips). The 175 grain ammo he uses went through a big cow elk at close range and all three animals died quickly. I would say those bullets work.

Personally, as a handloader, I would be loading up Barnes 160 grain TSXs like the ones I shoot in my 7mm Weatherby Magnum. I would shoot Partitions, but my rifle doesn't like them. IMR 7828 was formulated specifically for the 7mm Remington Magnum round, it is said.

Have never fired a Cor lokt, but they have a pretty good rep. among those who use them.

If that’s all I had, I’d use them. I don’t have to, I’m a Loony.

DF

Pete - How many CorLok bullets have you used to kill game ? Any ?

From personal KILLING with CorLoks I can tell anyone they ARE better than you say.
I AM using 100 grs in 6mm and 130 grs in 277 and both are TOUGHER ie. they don’t open as much as Hornadys.

Jerry

The stock does fit pretty well, actually. I liked mine fine, but got a good deal on the new stock a while back. I use a near max load of Re 25 with the 160. With the 26-inch barrel, Re 33 also works real well. Several slow powders will all do just fine.

You're probably 42 million critters too late with that statement.

I used Remington bullets before I started reloading. They killed as well as any TTSX or Nosler bullet I use now. It’s all about where the bullet strikes the animal.

A friend of mine killed deer and elk every year with 150 gr Core Lokts until he discovered 150 gr Barnes TTSX. TTSX is all I shoot in my 7mm Weatherby, .300 Weatherby, and .30-06 these days. Happy Trails

Pete - How many CorLok bullets have you used to kill game ? Any ?

From personal KILLING with CorLoks I can tell anyone they ARE better than you say.
I AM using 100 grs in 6mm and 130 grs in 277 and both are TOUGHER ie. they don’t open as much as Hornadys.

I shot alot of animals in the past with core-loks,but here`s the deal the animals I have caped and the animals I skinned at the wild game shop in Gillett,Wyoming" Owen Hein`s owned" for about 10 years I seen what the core-lok bullet does when hits wild animals, we are talking 100`s of animals I skinned and I always asked what bullet was used if hunter drop his kill off. deer,elk,antelope,bear,buffalo,and moose and the bigger animals as I stated core-loks were not a good bullet to use,that wild game meat shop did 700 - 800 wild animals each fall. the opener week we did around 200-250 animals in 7 days ,and I caped 20-40 a day too. >> jwall is that enough animals to understand bullets and cartridges ? that`s why I won`t use core-loks anymore,there`s a world of difference in bullets and when old John Nosler designed the Partition bullet the bigger wild animals died better and faster too. At my age of 65 and reloading for 45 years,shootin animals since about 7 or 8 out in the country on a farm ,shooting competition,hunting ,skin`n and cape`n lots of animals,work`n in the country as a linemen in all weather conditions and my old dear old hunting partner was a ballistic expert at Federal Cartridge for 40 years his name was John Bell,> yes I do know the difference in bullets good and bad, I just don`t write books.

Luke,
Those Hodgdon recommend loads are lower than I use in my .30/06 for the same bullet weights, but just to give you some background, I have used AR2209 since it was invented, which is about twice as long as Hodgdon has been rebranding it here in the US as H 4350. Since that time, the powder was engineered to burn a little slower (which lowers pressure and makes it safer for the same loads) since it had to replicate the burning rate of the Scottish H 4350 it replaced. More than 3 decades and a truck load of rifles later, I am very sure my recommend loads will be safe and the Hodgdon loads very mild (like 7x57 velocities) in most rifles.

A chronographs will be the best tool you can consider when you begin handloading, as it takes the guesswork out of where you think you are compared to where you want to be.

For Example, that 57gn Max records 2876fps in my 22 inch .280 Ackley Improved. Bi comparison, slower powders easily break 3000fps in this case.
My load of 65gn of H 4350 in the 7mm Remington generates 3160fps wit the 150gn Partition and 3134fps with the Nosler Ballistic Tip.

With my current batch of H 4350 I have loaded up to 68 grains for in my 26 inch barrel, still generating good accuracy and not the slightest sign of excess pressure so my recommended 65 grain load should be fine if you work up to it in the usual manner.
Hope this additional info is helpful.
John

Pete

ALL I can tell you is my experience is definitely different than your observations. NOW... I don't shoot MEATY portions of the body. I shoot RIBs- Lungs, Necks, or Hi Shoulder so THAT could make a lot of difference.


Jerry

I've had very good results, RL-25 with heavies in my 7RM. Just got a jug of RL-26. It should be as good, probably better.

DF

I don't question Pete53s veracity but do note that in order to work on the animals at the butcher shop they obviously were dead when they got there. I don't know what he saw that made him question how well the bullets worked.

Jim

I love to read "bullet failure" stories from the skinning shed...

DF

Jerry

we dug lots of bullets out of shoulders,spines ,meat, laying on hides on the inside.here`s what we seen the most of core-lok bullets no lead left just the jacket of the bullet,if we did find partitions they still were 70-80 % entact yet. as said those core-loks on bigger animals is not a good bullet . maybe jwall just shoot`s deer ? I seen a big bull elk stubble`n around shot by a 7 mag with 140 grain core-lok hit in the shoulder at 70 feet bullet went in 4-5 inches and glad this dude shot that bull 2 more times because that shoulder shot bull would have lived with a limp. I caped that one too and I was there 10 minutes after it happened so I help him . core-loks are fine for smaller animals, but for me I am not using them anymore except maybe varmints. Remington 700 in a 7 mag is a great choice and using 160 grain partitions is also another great choice matter fact that is my choice of rifle and bullet I will be using in Alaska for moose next year too. good luck and be safe.Pete53

Thank you for your explanation, that makes sense to me. I have some H4350 on hand I may well try your accuracy load of 65 gr behind a 150 bullet.

Luke

Tag

Since the 160 gr partition is such a popular choice in the 7 mag I will ask about the 175 gr partition as well. Is there any merit in going up to the 175? Or does the 160 have enough penetration even for elk or moose that you're only giving up trajectory by running a 175 ?

A 175 gr running out of the 26" barrel at around 2900 fps seems attractive as well, like its nipping on the heels of the 300 win mag 180's at 2960 fps load.

While this is older info.. Bob Hagel found the 7mm 175 Part. had the greatest penetration of the rifles he tested.. Bob was a magnum fan, the 175 was tops.. Likely from his Mashburn, the close second was a 200 gr. from a .300..

I have shot some elk with the 175 Partition and Interlock. Both were great and were accurate. I have killed a number of elk with the 160 Partition at just over 3000 fps. I have shot elk with it out to 443 yards, with complete penetration. Looking at the ballistics, I just never felt like the 160 gives up much to the 175. They are both great and Re33 gets the 175 over 3000 in my 26-inch sps. No bad choice here.

I killed a very large Newfoundland moose with the 160. One shot through his thick neck at about 175 yards put him on his nose. Not much to argue with, here.

Pete: Remington never loaded 140gr Core-Lokt bullets in full-power 7mm Mag ammo. When I was young, they had two-loads: a 150 and a 175. Eventually they added a Managed Recoil load using 140's. So, your hunter either was shooting something designed for close-range deer or got a hold of some components and made an ignorant set of choices, the last being shooting a light-for-caliber cup & core bullet into an elk shoulder at near-spitting distance. Whether or not it was a 140gr 7 Mag Core-Lokt, as you claim, or whether or not you've fudged more than one detail of this story, using the right tool for the job still matters. On elk, the near shoulder is an entirely different job than the neck or the ribs, and picking a 140gr Core-Lokt (or a 150, which is more likely) for a 7 Mag at close range is not a good idea.

My points: you are likely talking out of your ass, and if you aren't, the tool can't really be blamed for the craftsman's error. I can't cut the trim for a set of cabinets with a chainsaw, but that doesn't mean that the chainsaw doesn't work. The chainsaw is a perfect tool for some cuts, and produces horrible results if used for others.

For when you reload:

3,000 FPS mv





Factory










P

I always shot Federal Premium ammo with a 160 Nosler Partition in a Browning A-Bolt. My Gunwerks RevX likes 168 and 180 Bergers in HSM factory ammo.

The 175s don't give up much to the 160s for conventional bullets, but in the VLD types the 175 & 180s will out distance a 160. The 168 ABLR looks to be a good compromise at least for longer ranges. Usually I could get 160s and 175s to shoot near the same point of aim at 100 and used the 175s in timber and the 160s in open country but either would work.

I have only used a few 150 Corelokts in the 7RM on deer maybe around 30 or so and expansion was pretty quick but all exited. Anything will work on deer but not my first choice for larger game. JOC thought they killed quicker than the 175s. But this may be due to the time when the 175s were less aerodynamic and were down loaded slightly by Remington in response to meat hunters who thought the 150s too destructive. This was when the listed velocity was changed to 2,860 fps. down from 3,070 for the 175. I don't know how long that load was made. The reduction was also due to the pressure change reduction by SAAMI so not sure which version is correct, meat hunters vs SAAMI or both?

Warren Page used the old Nosler 175s for everything in Old Betsy. This screw turned semi spitzer was no great shakes as far as BC but they sure worked on game. His lifetime game list is impressive and not exceeded by many others. It could not be duplicated now as some of the spiral horned antelope are off limits like the Black Face Impala, Addax, Arabian Gazelle and others.

Pharmseller posted below.


"For when you reload:

3,000 FPS mv"





I really like this group & load. Definitely WILL give it a whirl.

My fav loads are not in any books so......................I'll just keep usin em.


Jerry

Shot 160's for a couple decades and then some. After getting some .30 caliber rifles that shot 150-180g bullets (.308 .30-06, .300WM), i dropped to 140's in the 7mm RM. (Still have a bunch of 160's loaded on the shelf, though.)

Here's some of my favorites combinations, all using Federal brass and CCI 250 primers, all very accurate:

3246fps = 120g Barnes TTSX, IMR 7828SSC
3214fps = 140g North Fork SS, IMR 7828SSC
3048fps = 160g North Fork SS, H1000

Did this today, 3030 FPS




.405”

The lower hole is two shots.





P

That cannot be a 7mm RM target. People can't shoot magnums well.

First thing I do with a Tikka is toss the factory hockey puck for a Limbsaver. Makes all the difference in the world.





P

I have 2 Tikkas. T3 Lite SS 270 ; T3X Lite SS 7mm RM

Both have Tikka composite stocks. NO problems.


Jerry

I think I will definitely try the R26 I 7mm mag, probably first with a 160 gr or 175 gr bullet. I am eager to try it also in my 243 with 100s and 30-06 with 200-220 gr bullets, R26 looks extremely promising in all three cartridges.

Come to think of it, with R26 potentially pushing a 243 100 gr nosler partition at 3100ish fps, the 7mm mag 160 gr NP at 3000-3100 and the 30-06 with a 200 NP at 2750 fps, that could pretty well cover all my bases for BC (or any N American) hunting I'd be doing.

Agree and don't give up too soon on accuracy testing. R26 is one of those powders that can benefit from a change in primer, so much so that now I start load work with a magnum primer and it has panned out most of the time. With a hot primer and determining maximum charge and length then I can work backwards from there and usually find an acceptable load within 20-60 rounds.

I checked my local reloading shop today. NO Rl 26 but I get eMails and know where it's available.
Will be ordering SOON.

RL 26 works great in .300 Weatherby. I switched my hunting load to RL 26 from MagPro and it is just as accurate as MP was at about the same velocity. My son’s 7mm Remington Magnum shoots great with 160s using RL 25 so 26 should work well, also. Happy Trails

Got Order Off today. $ 5.00 - Shipping + Hazmat --- 4 one pounders.

Me too. None of my 7 Wby’s have ever fired a commercial load.

Last Factory Ammo I bought -- 2007 > 270 Win;------- 2008 > 300 WM
BOTH to get brass.

Pharmseller posted below.

3,000 FPS mv"


------------------------------------------------




THANKS Pharm - I've recorded these loads for my 7s when I get started with 26. I know, approach w/caution.

I did this today, after adjusting the scope based on the above placement:



Two clicks down, different target:



That’s .088”






P

Pharm

I have a box or 2 of 162 H B T S P that I'll begin using in my testing.

>*>* For ELK -- I don't which to get serious about. the ELDX or ACCUBOND.
Any recommendation between these 2 ?


Oh, just remembered I have some 160 N P as well. If they group well aka less than 1", I'll stick with them.

How far are you shooting? If ballistic coefficient doesn’t matter, pick whichever shoots best. I killed a big mature 6 point bull last year with the ELDX at 200 yards, he died right now. The next day my brother shot a big cow, same bullet, 350 yards, she went down fast. I have confidence in the ELDX. The history of the PT and AB needs no discussion.








P

Pharm

I love the MASS & Chocolate on that bull. Great. Congrats.

I think I'll try the ELDXs too.

Thnx

My current load is 150 Scirocco and 67.5gr, RL 26, Fed 215 primer.
3 shots in .3" today at 100yds, I'll test them at 200yds and beyond soon.
Today was a match day at the range so I got kicked off.

Same load with Win LR Mag primers was 1.41", that's why we test things I suppose...

The date is wrong, September got here quick...

I have to admit that in the past few years I've purchased a bunch of factory ammo. Usually when I purchase a new rifle, as I like to chrono a few rounds and zero the scope before I start load development. It's also nice to have some factory ammo on hand for when the daughters/sons-in-law decide to go shooting their rifles and are not adequately prepared with ammo.

I haven’t gotten the age card back, but we figured him around 11 years old. I was amazed at how good he eats.









P

I'm expecting delivery of the Rl 26 today. I've been looking at BOOLITS & B Cs.

"Hornady" says the 162 BTSP has a B C of .514
"Hornady" says the 160 ELDX has a B C of .630

Obviously 630 is better than 514 ..... DUH ( to prevent S head's genius comment )

My ? ? are these:

1. How accurate are Hornady's B Cs ?

2. At WHAT distance does that diff > 630--514 << really come into play ?



I MAY NEVER get drawn to hunt Elk here in Ark but I'd LIKE to be prepared. (sig line)

Well look what found me today. I placed the order Fri but it was the holiday weekend.
I got confirmation & shipment notification Tuesday. They tried to deliver yesterday but I wasn't here. It's HERE.
It's been raining but it stopped and the sun popped out for a little bit.




I have time - days/weeks before deer season opens to do some load development IF/WHEN the wx cools down.
Our temp is down now due to latest T S but our humidity is sky HIGH.

68.5 grains of RE26 and a 160 Accubond clock right at 3000 out of a 23” barrel.....

They kill stuff well for as far as I wanna punch tags.

Last year.... a little over 550...

That works...

Nice.

DF

NICE ! Congrats !

REDUX

ELDX BC numbers, from what I understand, were verified by Brian Litz, considered to be the Yoda of BC. They’re consistent with expectations out to 700 for me.

160 Accubond is a mean bullet. My brother killed this buck at 534 yards a couple of years ago. I think I was using MagPro at the time, but velocity was close to 3k.



Shot him close to the last of shooting light, then took a awhile for us to get to him, since Dad wanted to come and I wasn’t saying no.






P

Thanks Pharm

consistent to 700 for the eldx >> very good.

I ONLY wish my Dad could hunt with me again. Good On Ya

Pharm,

I believe you could ride off into the sunset with just two cans of powder, BG and '26...

DF


PS: I like'em both, too.

Add Benchmark for my .223s and I’m in.





P

Two outta three ain't bad...

DF

Guys, NOT to be contrarian or argumentative.

As my loading regimen grew (out of control lol) with diff rifles and bullets I concentrated on the BEST powder for each 'rifle'.

Over time I've read about others trying to reduce the # of powders needed for loading. ----> OK

But the fact remains we must have X # of POUNDS of powder to load AND be reasonably stocked for the short term future.


<<<So, to me - it doesn't make any difference IF it's 3 DIFF powders or 8 Diff powders -- I need X # of pounds.
Actually, It's been easier for me to find DIFFERENT powders than many pounds of the SAME powder.

I had a HARD time finding H 4350 ->> ordered & got.
" " " HARD " " Rl 26 -->> ordered & got.

Whatever floats your boat. Good Loading, Shooting, and ESP. Hunting.

Pharm has pretty good track record with his powder choices.

I have a bunch of powders, covering most options. Typical Loony, I'm always looking for the "perfect load".

Like him, I've had great results with BG in midsized and now with '26 in the larger rounds. Those seem to be taking the place of the ones I had been using.

In my .22-204, Varget rules. My .223 Ranch Rifle seems to like Blc with 65 gr Sierras. So, I'm still a bit more diversified in that arena.

I have Benchmark, just haven't used it that much.

DF

I have so much powder, my goal in life is to outlive my current supply. And that’s with four shooters.

I never thought I’d be “that guy.”




P

Pharm

I’m 68 yo, and I don’t expect to out live my “magazine’.
That was my goal. YIPPEE
I made it.

If I'm gonna burn my whole supply, I need to step up my game...

DF

That — was / is NOT my target !!

I have had good luck with Federal Premiums with the 160gr Partition loads. My 7RM is a Win M70 Classic stainless with 26" barrel. The other factory load I've had good results with is the Hornady Superformance 140gr Copper bullet. l killed a nice moose in Idaho with that load at about 80 yards.

My favorite handloads use RL25 and 160gr Partitions or GameKings, H4350 and 140gr Nosler BT's. Have killed a couple nice deer and a bunch of coyotes with the 140 Ballistic Tip.

My Ruger M77 7RM was my first centerfire. After the first trip to the range I had a gunsmith install a recoil pad. Much better.

Best group I've ever shot with that rifle, some 20 years after getting it, was a .262" center-to-center group with North Fork 140g SS bullets. The rifle was my elk/deer/antelope rifle for 20+ years, with intermittent duty in the prairie dog towns and for coyotes. After 26 years it still shoots great.

Well, we finally have had a break in the hot Wx. We've had rain since Fri pm and the temp is bearable SOO....

I'll get in some shooting tomorrow. (PLAN) ! I have a 7 RM to adjust sight in +.

Also have some 6.5 Swede, 120 N B T to check and adjust sight in +.

Maybe verify my Tikka T 3 Lite SS 270 Win ?

Have a Rem 700 in this caliber...I don't hunt and regular ammo was getting too costly to shoot much so I tried cast bullets. This caliber is notoriously difficult with cast..so I was warned. The Lee 125 and the RCBS 168 grain with Unique powder loaded to about 1,700 FPS. After some trial and error I was popping a 4" steel plate at 200...then 250..then 350 yards regularily with it. I found that the 168 grain bullett was a bit more accurate, but I stayed with the Lee 125 grainer using 15.0 of Promo...finally I had a load that was as good as with the heavier bullet.

I use Std primers and make my own aluminum GC's & bullet Lube. The key is to seat the bullets out long to engage the leade, when chambered. I also load single shot style to get the optimum alignment.

I haven't shot much 7mm mag factory ammo. A year or two ago I borrowed my baby sister's 7mm mag and worked up a load for her with the 160 grain Accubond and either IMR 7828 or RL22, I forget which. Shot well. So based on that, I suppose the first thing I'd grab for factory ammo is a box of Nosler ammo with the 160 grain accubond. Probably grab a box with 160 partitions while I was at it.

Tom

To follow up my earlier post:

I did shoot my Tikka T 3X Lite SS 7mm RM today. EASY PEAZY. Just needed to adjust scope ->-> READY for Deer Season.
Load -- 139 HBTSP, W W brass, W W primers --> 71 grs Surplus 4831.---> 3200+ fps.

"I like it, I love it, I want some more of it." T M.

If you're planning to buy a few different brands of factory ammo to try out, it would be good to include Federal 150 Fusion.

I had that on the list to try along with a few more Hornady and Remington loads. After initial barrel break in and getting on paper at a 100 the first load I tried was the Federal premium load with the 165 gr Sierra Gameking bullet. The first 4 shot group went under an inch and then a 5 shot group did the same, so that's good enough for me for this season. I sighted in for that load and didn't even bother to try any of the other factory loads I bought. I'll try them out and shoot them up for brass after hunting seasons over.

I bought 2 boxes of the 160 gr Nosler Partitions and I will put them together with some R26 this winter and see if I can come up with a good hunting load.