7mm mag Elk load

[Doc Holliday]

Picking up a Christensen Arms Mesa in 7mm rem mag in the next couple of days from my FFL. Won it in a raffle. Never had a 7mm before. Bought 1 box of factory rounds of each of the following to get started: Nosler 168 gr Accubond LR, Hornady 162 gr ELDX, Federal 168 gr Berger Hybrid Hunter.

Does anyone have a CA Mesa in 7mm and have any favorite loads for elk?

I have RL19, RL22, and IMR4831

 

[Calbuck]

I handload 162 ELDx with two bulls and a cow taken with them..RL 22 is what my gun likes. Also taken a couple mule deer out to 400 yds with them. Never needed a follow up shot.

 

[mwf008]

I’ve got the same rifle, been working up a load myself. I’m using 7977 and 168 VLDs. I found a nice sub moa load, next step is tweaking the velocity. Right now only getting about 2800, wanna get closer to 3000. You should have no trouble getting well under MOA, it’s a nice rifle.

 

[Rob5589]

R22 has always produced great results for me.

 

[Harvey_NW]

I've ran 168gr Bergers and H1000 or H4831SC in 3 different 7mm mags and can usually get a stable load around 3,000fps. I've always used Hunting VLD but I want to try the classic hunters to see if the hybrid ogive hype will make any difference, and I'm also gonna try IMR4831 because it gave me awesome velocities and a sweet node in my 6mm.

 

[PA Hunter]

Picking up a Christensen Arms Mesa in 7mm rem mag in the next couple of days from my FFL. Won it in a raffle. Never had a 7mm before. Bought 1 box of factory rounds of each of the following to get started: Nosler 168 gr Accubond LR, Hornady 162 gr ELDX, Federal 168 gr Berger Hybrid Hunter.

Does anyone have a CA Mesa in 7mm and have any favorite loads for elk?

I have RL19, RL22, and IMR4831

I load for my friends & use H4831 sc and Accubonds but not the long range ones.

 

[nednic]

I’ve got the same rifle, been working up a load myself. I’m using 7977 and 168 VLDs. I found a nice sub moa load, next step is tweaking the velocity. Right now only getting about 2800, wanna get closer to 3000. You should have no trouble getting well under MOA, it’s a nice rifle.

Did you have to tweak the COAL very much on those VLD’s to get sub moa load?

 

[SDHNTR]

4831SC and a 150 GMX here. Maybe not ideal from a bc standpoint, but the rifle likes it and the animals don’t. Good enough for me.

 

[6mm Remington]

My dad used160 gr. Nosler Partitions and H4831 is all he EVER used in his! It's still a classic powder but there sure are a lot of really good new powders in addition to H4831.

I'd try that bullet and a 160 gr. Accbond. Find one of those that shoot well and go forth hunting with confidence.

 

[270quest]

H1000, 150 Scenar at 3150....Critters die...

 

[Trr15]

I’ve had good luck w/168 gr Bergers and H1000 and the 168gr accubond long ranges w/both RL22 and 4831.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mwf008]

Did you have to tweak the COAL very much on those VLD’s to get sub moa load?

I followed Berger’s procedure exactly. .090 off the lands was the winner for me. I haven’t tried fine tuning from the .090, but I’m still dialing in some other variables.

 

[cal30_sniper]

Both of my 7 Mags (early Savage 110 and Sako L61R) love Federal Premium with 150gr Sierra Gamekings. I can’t speak to their performance on elk, but they shoot consistently well below MOA, and my Grandfather killed many Mulies with the Sako and that load.

I’m currently getting ready to work up 150gr and 160gr partition loads for the Sako. I’ve got 4831 and 7828 on hand, so I’ll try them first. I’ve had great luck with RL19 in 6.5x55, 7x57, and 7x57AI, so I’d expect similar results with RL22 in the larger belted Mag case.

 

[nednic]

I followed Berger’s procedure exactly. .090 off the lands was the winner for me. I haven’t tried fine tuning from the .090, but I’m still dialing in some other variables.

good to know! Did you notice a significant difference between different OAL’s while going through their procedure?

 

[mwf008]

good to know! Did you notice a significant difference between different OAL’s while going through their procedure?

I did. .050 was a sort of close second, the other 2 lengths were way worse (still close to 1 MOA).

 

[Cowbell]

The Hornady 162s have been the best for me

 

[River rat23]

I have a Christensen Ridgeline in 7mm RM. I've got 162gr hornady eld-x , 160gr nosler accubond, and 168gr berger vld all shooting 1/2 moa. A better shooter could probably 1 clover leaf hole it. I'm not that guy. Shoot me a message and I'd be happy to share any load data that I have saved. I ended with a .020 jump start. So far so good. Best of luck. Cheers!

 

[mwf008]

I have a Christensen Ridgeline in 7mm RM. I've got 162gr hornady eld-x , 160gr nosler accubond, and 168gr berger vld all shooting 1/2 moa. A better shooter could probably 1 clover leaf hole it. I'm not that guy. Shoot me a message and I'd be happy to share any load data that I have saved. I ended with a .020 jump start. So far so good. Best of luck. Cheers!

Which powders?

 

[5MilesBack]

It took me awhile to find the sweet spot with my 7mag and the 168gr Berger Classic Hunters, but 69.5gr of H1000 and seated at 3.322" is a one-hole tack driver at 100 in my Browning A-bolt.

 

[Overdrive]

Another 168 Berger VLD guy here, 70 gr H1000 really like this bullet at distance but anything under 100 yards I dislike it and try to wait for a longer shot. I shot a nice buck one year that was chasing a doe right to me, I shot him at 30 yards and the bullet fragmented so much on impact that the shrapnel looked like I shot him with a shotgun inside his chest cavity. Other than that one close range shot, the bullet performs like advertised and turns the chest cavity to mush.