Seeing as there is a favorite 300 mag load thread, I thought I would ask about your preferred 7 mag load.

68.0 IMR7828SSC, 160 Accubond, Rem Brass, F215M.

3100FPS, 24" Winchester 70.

RL22 under a 160 grain Partition is a great load work up from 62.0 grains and see what you can get. My Remington 700 7RM never failed me, complete penetration and dead animals. That said I felt the same way about my 30-06 and 270.

67 gr. RL-26, Fed cases, 215 Primers, 160 NAB at around 3K fps. Dogshooter’s load.

This load/rifle combo was a hit, African PG hunt last year. Mostly one shot kills, many DRT. One hunter borrowed it for a 300 yd Impala shot. Boom, plop.

This load out of a vintage, but pristine SS Sendero, shot 3” groups at 400.

Should do OK on elk.

DF

I worked up a load with 65gr IMR 4350/160 Partition for a 7mm Mag I had, back in the mid 80s. I loaned the rifle/ato a friend who was invited to an elk hunt ( all he had was a .243) and he killed a bull with it. when I clocked it later at the range ( a fellow had a chronograph) it was "only" going 2950, had. The Book said 3100fps. Oh well, it sure worked!

140g TTSX @ 3358fps
130g North Fork SS/HP @ 3214fps

When I run out of these I'll try the 155g Federal Terminal Ascent, which combines the best features of both bullets.

150 gr TTSX over 72.0 gr Norma MRP with Fed GM215M primer at 3,228 fps from a 26” barreled 7mm Weatherby.

65 grains of IMR 7828, 160 grain Nosler Partition for about 3050fps. The rifle is a 26" Hart barreled pre-64 M70.

160 NAB over 64 grains of RL22

I’ve killed a lot of game with the 7mm Magnum. Try the 140AB or 150AB (not the LRAB). You will find they both kill like lightning. For powder, Look at H4831SC or H4350.

175 Partition on a max load of RL22.

H870 and 175 X bullet, old school load. I must have shot 40+ head of game here and in Africa with this combo and never recovered a bullet.

R22 max load and 160 gr. TSX or Partition. I will be switching to the 168 & 175 Accubond LR and R26 just to try something different. Which ever shoots best with a leaning towards the 175 as I assume there will be more shank left after expansion. All of these are soft enough to work on deer as well especially the LRAB and Partition.

150gr Scirocco, RE26, Fed 215

When they get here, I’ll be playing with 150 scenars, H1000, Fed 215s.

I have been using H 1000 or R25 All behind a 175 gr bullet . Last few years a 175 ABLR in open cntry and 175 Partitions in heavy timber. Earlier on used Sierra 175 spitzer boat tails before every one told me they wouldn't work


Lefty C

154gr sst on 70 gr r 25

I wasn't drinking when I wrote thay, just typo'd it and discovered it too lat to edit.

Should have read "140g North Fork SS/HP" instead of "130g ,,,".

SIL is working on the 7mm RM I gave him.. a Remington M700 synthetic ADL style I picked up at Walmart for $389. He has replaced the trigger with a Timney and plans to bed or replace the stock. His goal is to use it for elk this fall.

For a lod he plans to use the Barnes 145g LRX or Nosler 150g ABLR. Think he is leaning toward the ABLR, but either one should work fine.

CH,
I have some 145 LRX on hand and some hard to find 139 gr LRX on order. I’m going to try them in my 7x57 vs the 140 TTSX I’ve been shooting in it. Might even play around with the 145 in the Weatherby depending on results with the 7x57. Happy Trails

i have couple rifles that use this load, and quite a few dead carcasses as a result

Pretty much the same load I use except I get best accuracy with 62.8 gr instead of 64 gr. The load shoots better than I do and if I fail to bring home meat after getting a shot the fault is mine and mine alone.

139 LRX ; RL 23 & Fed 215M for my 7mm SAUM @ 3100 fps....22" bbl

Yes sir that is a unique powder it makes a really deep bass sounding explosion, even if you miss the game might die of fright.

I notice that no one is using the hornady eldx bullet

I do. I load for my brother, too. 162 eldx, 69 grains of Reloader 26, right close to 3k mv. I’ve killed two elk, he’s killed two elk. I really like the performance.




P

140 Grain Nosler Partition IMR4350 65* Grains FED 215 .005 off the lands.
* Maximum Load.

It used to be said all the time ( 50+ years ago) that the "7mm Caliber Balanced Best with the 160gr". Of course, there have always been hunters who used less or even more. I played around with 120, 130, 140, 150, (for deer and such) 160, 175 (for elk and similar) through the decades. The first time I can remember reading of someone using 140-145gr bullets on elk was Layne Simpsons writings on the 7mm STW. Then the Super Premium bullets showed up....so many bullets, so little time, ha.

180 scenar going 3000fps.

A 160 AB running 3000fps at muzzle is a game killing machine.

Here in north Idaho part of out deer and elk season overlap. I shoot a 150 gr. Partition, with 71 gr. of H1000. About 3000 ft./sec. Always been lights out for both deer and elk.

What twist are you running with those 180 scenars?

I’ve got two 7RMs. One loves the 160 Accubond, the other shoots both the 160 Accubond and 175 Partition equally well. I use the 175 the most. I’d be happy to hunt with either. I’m a bit surprised that the 175 Partition doesn’t get more love.

My old 7mag was a 1:8 and ran 180’s at 3k into tiny groups

9.

I was wondering how they were working out. I have some I want to try with reloader 26 in my 7mm saum

I used the 175 Partition a lot. Loaded over H870 mostly or R22 & H4831, they ran about 2,950 fps with my 23" barreled Dakota. One deer hunting trip I grabbed the 175 elk loads by mistake and found out how good they worked on deer and hogs too. I still have a couple of boxes of the old screw machine semi spitzers with the relief groove around, the ones Warren Page used in Old Betsy. I switched to 160s because of Bob Hagel's writing and then later switched to Barnes as the grass is greener theory rather than any short comings of the Partitions.

Same here but I use the 175 Partition or BBC out of the Mashburn at 3050-3100 and it’s been excellent to me. I know there are better bullets but this one and the BBC especially work excellent for me.

Mine likes 150’s over a maximum load of IMR 4350 for deer the Nosler ballistic tip worked best and for elk Barnes 150 grain TTSX. Both extremely accurate in my old rifle. Since several years ago I’ve only used the Barnes since it is great on deer as well as elk & the Ballistic tip won’t break bones & had a blow up shrapnel result in a nice bull with 600 yard trailing job.

I tried 160’s & 140’s with no good results years ago so for me it is 150 no matter what, sometimes a dime will cover a 3 shot group. I’m at around 3050 FPS.

I've been using 67 grains of H-1000 with a 150 partition. 3052 f.p.s.

Tried to order 155g Federal Terminal Ascent bullets yesterday. Only place I could find them was the Federal web site - $54.99 plus $12 shipping. Want to try them but not $67 worth. Will wait until more vendors have them and see what the price is then.

In the meantime I have a lifetime supply of North Fork 140g SS/HP prototypes and 160g SS and my rifle really likes 140g TTSX.

Thumbcocker: I have used the WONDERFUL Nosler 160 grain Partition bullet in my handloads for many years now - it is accurate and lethal.
NO reason what so ever, to even consider changing.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

1
That sounds like a load I'd like. Not too hot substantially fast and 150 grains of partition. Great bullet.

My rifle like 150's. It shoots the partitons and cor lokts in to little tiny groups. I'm going to try some 160 partitons also.

Try a few 160 NAB's while you're at it, see which one your rifle likes best. Terminal perormance pretty close.

See if SPS has some seconds or blems. To me, they shoot as good, cost less.

DF

I have some accubonds. I;m going to try them also once the weather breaks for good.I have some 160 grain speer hot cors too.

Hot Cor’s have a good reputation and a loyal following.

I’d try all three, let the rifle pick the winner. Hard to go wrong.

DF

I have used 150 grain hot cors for years in my 270. No complaints

Here in Utah I haven't seen many use a 175gr, most use 150-160 it seems. This is not a big survey, just casual, of course. There could be a 100 out there that do!

Jack O'Conner thought that the 150 killed elk better than the early 175, but the first 175s were sort of oddballs they were semi spitzers and I think loaded down as a sort of brush load. Remington did what some manufacturers were doing with the 270 150 RN. It didn't take long before the 175 CL was upgraded to a spitzer. I have had good results with bullets from 120 to 175 but now use 168s and 175s as I shoot the lighter bullets in the 280 AI.

I shoot 65-66g, Rem brass, 9 1/2 primer, bullet .005 off the lands.

accurate and very deadly

As a PS to my earlier post, several of my hunting buddies have switched to Barnes TTSX from whatever else they have been using. I’ve never offered firsthand advice since that sometimes goes sideways with friends and family. They’ve just seen how the catchy blue tips work. 😂

Tejano,

After recently starting some historical research on the 7mm Remington Magnum, I have started to suspect that part of the reason Remington loaded the 175-grain roundnose (not "semi spitzer") Corelokt in their original 175 factory load because they had a bunch of leftovers from when they made 7x57 ammo. By 1962, when the 7mm Magnum was introduced, they hadn't offered 7x57s for several years. So they used 'em up in the 7mm magnum ammo, which gave them time to develop the "pointed" 175 Corelokt.

They introduced the 175 PSP (Pointed Soft Point) load in 1965--and also upped the listed muzzle velocity from 3020 fps to 3070, because DuPont had developed IMR7828 (primarily for the 7mm magnum) which allowed a little more zip.

Of course, the advertised muzzle velocities for the original 150 and 175-grain loads were optimistic, because they were from 26" barrels, and except for special orders, the 700 rifles had 24" barrels.

Correction- my earlier reply....it was NOT 65gr BUT ACTUALLY "60 grains" of IMR 4350/160PT. I was able to get to 63gr/IMR 4350/150 Partition. I had a moment of "Clear Recall", ha. That particular rifle didn't like Norma MRP nor H870 ( it took me forever to find any back then) But it loved all things IMR 4350! So, don't try to use 65gr/IMR4350 with the 160PT! ha

180 Scenar with H1000, Retumbo or RL26. Doing 2850 to 3000 fps muzzle velocity. Very hard on living things.

I haven't played with H1000 in the 7Mag yet. How do your loads (charge weight and velocity) compare between H1000 and R26?

R26 is getting 125-150 fps more speed with accuracy vs H1000. Work up to the speed you want as the throat on mine is a touch longer than normal. Scenar seems to like being closer to the lands. Anything 2850 fps and faster with accuracy has been pretty awesome on game.

Thanks. PM sent. IMR7828ssc and R26 have both given good velocities with the 180 ELD, but I'd thought I'd try playing with H1000 a little.

Didn't know this and I was mixing up the original 175 Nosler semi spitzer with the RN CL.. Look forward to your article. Thanks.

How does speed and accuracy compare, 7828 vs R26 in that application?

DF

In all my 7WSM and 7RM rifles, and with my particular lots of R26 and 7828ssc, they have been nearly identical. Velocities with like powder charges are within 10 fps, and accuracy is similar. I ended up sticking with 7828ssc because it's easier for me to find.

Thanks, Jordan.

I have both powders, worked up loads for my buds African PG hunt with RL-26, based on Dogshooters load. It worked so well, I didn't try 7828.

Some claim that H-1000 loads don't generally shoot quite as fast as RL-26 and from what you say 7828.

H-1000 may be more temp stable that either of those. That may be more of an issue for you than me. You have greater temp variations than we do.

Look forward to your H-1000 report. I've got that one, too.

DF

160 Partitions, over Reloder 25, or 33. 3000 fps and dead elk. Re33 gets a 175 over 3000, too, if that is your preference.

Ordered a box fof Federal 155g 7mm Terminal Ascent bullets from Midwayusa.com so long ago I had forgotten about the order. Got notice today they will be here in 3 days. They had 5 boxes left so I orded a second box.

Looking forward to working up loads for my 7mm RM and l.380 Rem. A SIl is also interested in them for his 7mm RM. We might both be carrying them for elk this fall.

Not one mention of Bergers..I loaded some 180 hybrid for our Elk trip this past fall...they shot extreamly well, but I didn`t get a chance.
Did take a WT here at home.

They shoot well in my 8 twist Brux. They did well with RL-25, haven’t tried them with RL-26.

DF

7rem 180 scenar IMR 7977.
7 weatherby 195 Berger IMR 8133
28 Nosler 175 ELDX IMR 8133

This load has worked for me on a few elk.

A buddy of mine has used his browning abolt 7mm mag for over 20 years, taking deer and elk without a problem. He used factory federal premium ammo loaded with 160gr partitions. Simple, easily found. and works every time.

I have a box ot Federal Premium 160g Partitions (P7RF) left over from the early 1980's - probably 1980. There are 17 rounds left in the box. While I have no doubt they wold work, they were never as accurate as my handloads and I've never used them for any big game..

After a disappointing experience with Hornady 162g BTSP InterLocks (the elk died anyway), I switched to 160g Speer Grand Slams. Used them for the next 20+ years without a problem. Didn't recover one until the last year that I used them exclusively. Took my last elk with one as well, using my buddy's rifle and load. There is a lot to be said about sticking with a load that is proven to work. One less thing to worry about.

My load is with Retumbo, 71 grns. Long throat in the 7 Mag tho.

There you go... Amen

I'll second the Federal Premium 160 grain Nosler Partitions out of an A-Bolt.

The 160 grain partiton seems very popular.

160gr Accubond 65gr. RL23 for 3100fps in 26" Remington 700
175gr. Partition 63.5gr RL23 for 2950fps

160gr Accubond 74gr IMR 8133 for 3150fps, just that IMR 8133 is difficult to find

160gr Accubond/Partition 66gr. RL22 for 3000 fps

+1 for the 160 Accubond. My old A-bolt likes a max load of RL25 at about 3100 with a 26" tube and gives me a 3" group at 400yds. Used to shoot the RL22 but I'm a Florida boy so I shoot at sea level and 50-80 degrees much of the year. I found that with the RL25, when I get to 7000' and 25 or 30 degrees my zero isn't off as much as with the 22.

Typo'd the North Fork load and way to late to edit it for correctness.

Loads should have read as follows:

140g TTSX @ 3358fps
140g North Fork SS/HP @ 3214fps

For what it is worth, though, I've taken more elk with the 7mm RM and a 160g Speer Grand Slam than any other 7mm bullet. Quit loading them about 16 years ago and gave all I had left to my hunting buddy. Took my last elk with his 7mm RM using that load,

Do any of you guys use 140 grain or 150 grain partitons?

4
Never used a Partition but if you can't take an elk with a 7mm RM and a 150g, you need to spend more time at the range. Good to go with that bullet.

Just curious. I have 7mm saum that shoots lights out with the 150 grain partiton

My dad killed a grizzly back when I lived in AK. He used his 7SAUM and 150 Partitions. I’m certain it would work on elk.

Thanks!

One of the interesting things about the 7mm 150-grain Partition is it's often more accurate than the 140 or 160, in any cartridge from the .280 up (and maybe others). Was told this by the late Chub Eastman, who was the public relations guy at Nosler for many years. I was having some difficulty getting the 140 and 160 shoot to my satisfaction in my first .280, a custom rifle by Dave Gentry that shot other brands of bullets in that weight-range very accurately.

I tried the 150 and bingo!

Interesting. My brother and his wife have matching Browning A-Bolts in 280 Win with the BOSS on the barrel. The 150 grain Partitions are the most accurate bullets they shoot in those guns. His will put them into half an inch at 100, and hers will put them into a quarter-inch.

I've had about the same luck with the Nosler 150 Ballistics Tip in my .280. I've never tried the Partition. You've got my interest up. I need to get me a box and load 'em just like the Ballistic Tips.

I like 175's. Nosler Partitions as I hunt green timber a lot and will penetrate a elk from almost any angle. The last few years been using the 175 AB LR. It is a softer bullet, extremely destructive and penetrates good but not as much as the partition. H 1000 is the most accurate followed by R 26 which gives 3000 in my 25" bbl.

It kills deer pretty good too.


Lefty C

Worked up loads with the 155g Federal Terminal Ascent for my .280 Rem and 7mm RM. Now I can't find them anywhere. Even Federal doesn't have them. Bummed.

Hopefully that will change soon, otherwise my .300WM will be going elk hunting, loaded with a 175g Barnes LRX.

65gr RL23 160gr Accubond in a 26" Remington 700 for 3100fps.
63.5gr RL23 175gr Partition in 26" Remington 700 for 2950fps

I have shot these loads in several 700s with very similar results.

Used to use H870 and 160 to 175 gr bullets. Still have 5 plus pounds of H870. Now use RL 26 its faster and more accurate with heavy bullets in the 7 Mag, and clean burning.