7mm Rem Mag T3x SuperLite

[Velecic]

Hi all! First time poster but I've been reading a lot of the threads on here and learning a ton (thank you everyone!).
I look forward to interacting more with everyone on these boards.

On to the questions, this could easily turn into a long post so I'll save more details for replies and try to keep it as simple as possible.

I have a Factory 7mm Rem Mag Tikka T3x SuperLite 24" Barrel 1:9.5" Twist that I want to use as my long range hunting rifle (generally >200 yards, max range TBD by my shooting capabilities and the rifle/bullets, ideally around 1MOA with a bullet that kills well).
Multiple big game species (British Columbia, Canada) as targets.

I am wondering if this rifle/barrel is capable of stabilizing and grouping heavier bullets (especially at extended ranges beyond 400yds) before I spend the money/time/effort reloading for it.

Can someone more experienced help me out with this? (I hope Form replies to this as I really enjoyed your other thread on your reloading method and it's how I plan to reload myself)

Potential bullets I'm looking at (I'm also open to advice on these or other options):
ELD-X 162gr, 175gr
ELD-M 162gr, 180gr
Accubond 160gr
Accubond LR 168gr, 175gr
Barnes LRX 168gr
Berger HVLD 168gr, 180gr
Berger Elite Hunter 175gr

Looking forward to some knowledgeable reloaders / hunters / shooters helping me out on this journey.

 

[A382DWDZQ]

That twist is probably not going to work out too well for those bullets with your cartridge & twist, but 200yds isn’t really long range. If you’re staying under 500yds you can easily get away with a 145 LRX or similar.

 

[eric1115]

I get 180 Bergers (vld-h and hybrids) to stabilize in my 9.5 twist, but I'm over 5000' pretty much all the time.

I would not be optimistic about stability close to sea level.

162 ELDX, 162 eldm, or 168 Berger is where I would start if I were in your shoes (assuming BC will potentially include some coastal stuff)

 

[Velecic]

I get 180 Bergers (vld-h and hybrids) to stabilize in my 9.5 twist, but I'm over 5000' pretty much all the time.

I would not be optimistic about stability close to sea level.

162 ELDX, 162 eldm, or 168 Berger is where I would start if I were in your shoes (assuming BC will potentially include some coastal stuff)

Thanks Eric! I'm hoping to have multiple options besides: change gun or change barrel.

I could be hunting anywhere from 1000-6000+ft due to our terrain and game target unfortunately.

Is it typical for Tikka's (or maybe factory barrels in general) to have slower twist rates? Do reloaders just deal with this by only using lower weight bullets? I understand the twist rate recommendation by bullet manufacturers but I'm curious though if this is an "absolutely mandatory" type thing or if it's possible for my gun to shoot heavy loads well despite the 9.5 twist. Looking for more people like yourself to weight in and help me out.

I tried Factory Precision Hunter & Federal Premium 162 ELD-X rounds (will shoot more another day) and they did not group very well, I'm curious if the same bullet handloaded will perform any better. I'm also not sure if barrel break-in is required? Only have around 50-60 rounds through it so far.

 

[eric1115]

Thanks Eric! I'm hoping to have multiple options besides: change gun or change barrel.

I could be hunting anywhere from 1000-6000+ft due to our terrain and game target unfortunately.

Is it typical for Tikka's (or maybe factory barrels in general) to have slower twist rates? Do reloaders just deal with this by only using lower weight bullets? I understand the twist rate recommendation by bullet manufacturers but I'm curious though if this is an "absolutely mandatory" type thing or if it's possible for my gun to shoot heavy loads well despite the 9.5 twist. Looking for more people like yourself to weight in and help me out.

I tried Factory Precision Hunter & Federal Premium 162 ELD-X rounds (will shoot more another day) and they did not group very well, I'm curious if the same bullet handloaded will perform any better. I'm also not sure if barrel break-in is required? Only have around 50-60 rounds through it so far.

Surprising that the factory Hornady didn't work well for you, Tikka barrels tend to be un-finicky and that tends to be high quality ammo. I would try it again for sure.

Stability is not exactly all-or-nothing, if you hop on Bergers website they have a calculator that lets you see where you'll be ok or not.

There's a zone of marginal stability where you'll get good bullet flight but slightly reduced BC, but lower than that you'll get very poor accuracy.

 

[Velecic]

I was actually just playing around with the Berger Calculator a whole bunch the last half hour haha.

Looks like it depends a lot on Elevation & Temperature for whether or not my 9.5 twist can stabilize the bigger Berger bullets. All the way down to 0 deg C and 400m ASL though it puts me at "marginally stable" - slightly reduced BC

Example (175gr Elite Hunter is higher, and 168gr VLD above 1.5):


I was also really surprised to see the groups I shot of the Premium Factory Ammo, I expected it to shoot really well since it matches recommended barrel twist rate and theoretically is a very good bullet.
I will give them another solid try, but I can confirm it was not shooter error as my final group of the day (so likely maximum chance of flinch / fatigue / whatever) with Federal Fusion 175gr rounds was sub MOA @ 200yds.

These are the only bullets I had to test at this time (haven't started reloading yet or spending more money on other factory ammo). All 3 shot right around MOA @ 100yds, but both ELD-X opened to 2+ MOA @ 200yds.

Really appreciate your discussion, do you have the same or a very similar rifle?

 

[Bfish22]

69.5 gr h1000 and the Berger 168 hvld is a pretty well known good load for the tikka 7mag.

 

[eric1115]

I was actually just playing around with the Berger Calculator a whole bunch the last half hour haha.

Looks like it depends a lot on Elevation & Temperature for whether or not my 9.5 twist can stabilize the bigger Berger bullets. All the way down to 0 deg C and 400m ASL though it puts me at "marginally stable" - slightly reduced BC

Example (175gr Elite Hunter is higher, and 168gr VLD above 1.5):
View attachment 622560

I was also really surprised to see the groups I shot of the Premium Factory Ammo, I expected it to shoot really well since it matches recommended barrel twist rate and theoretically is a very good bullet.
I will give them another solid try, but I can confirm it was not shooter error as my final group of the day (so likely maximum chance of flinch / fatigue / whatever) with Federal Fusion 175gr rounds was sub MOA @ 200yds.

These are the only bullets I had to test at this time (haven't started reloading yet or spending more money on other factory ammo). All 3 shot right around MOA @ 100yds, but both ELD-X opened to 2+ MOA @ 200yds.

Really appreciate your discussion, do you have the same or a very similar rifle?

How many shots are you shooting per group?

I would strongly recommend 10 shot groups if you really want to find out what your rifle does with different ammo types. If you're shooting 3 (or even 5) shot groups, you could easily be seeing random variation that's not actually indicative of how stuff will consistently perform.

A 2 moa 10 shot group almost certainly has some set of 3 that make a .5-.75 group. If you happen to pull those 3 out of the box first, it's easy to think that ammo is just that good. It'll happen just often enough to have you chasing your tail.

I have a Bergara Ridge. It gives me quite a bit more room in the magazine, I'm at 3.475 COAL with those 180's, something else to consider if you're thinking of trying them (or similar) in your Tikka. You'll need to run much shorter, well off the lands and we'll into your powder capacity.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

If the ELDX won’t group (surprising to me) try the ELDMs.

 

[Pharmseller]

The 3 Tikka 7mm Rem Mags I load for love the 162 eldx.




Max load so work up.




P

 

[Velecic]

69.5 gr h1000 and the Berger 168 hvld is a pretty well known good load for the tikka 7mag.

Thanks Bfish!

If the ELDX won’t group (surprising to me) try the ELDMs.

I'm definitely going to try both once I get supplies together. Anyone have loads they found work well for these bullets? (I have book info but personal experience is always nice, especially if they happen to be out of a similar rifle)

The 3 Tikka 7mm Rem Mags I load for love the 162 eldx.

Max load so work up.

Thanks Pharm, appreciate you sharing! Barrel Specs on those 3 Tikkas? I didn't find RL-26 in the book loads for ELD-X but obviously it works, thanks for the added load option.

How many shots are you shooting per group?

continued.....

I was only doing 3 (first testing and the ammo is $100/box...) but I have learned from these forums that I need to shoot larger groups so going forward I will be doing that for sure.
I'll update with further testing if I can get out and shoot again, but it's getting very cold and snowy here, so it might have to wait until spring
Thanks for the info on COAL - I will definitely be taking measurements and being careful with my loads.
Really appreciate your knowledge eric!

 

[brn2hnt]

I ran into similar issues close to sea level in my tikka 7rm.

Rudimentary twist rate test also showed me to be closer to 1-10 than 1-9.5, so take that with a grain of salt.

Ended up going with 168 berger classic hunters, which have a waaaay better stability number since they have a shorter overall length despite being heavier than the 162 eldx.

Powdered by H1000, 2950 at the muzzle. Nothing has walked away yet.

 

[Velecic]

I ran into similar issues close to sea level in my tikka 7rm.

Rudimentary twist rate test also showed me to be closer to 1-10 than 1-9.5, so take that with a grain of salt.

Ended up going with 168 berger classic hunters, which have a waaaay better stability number since they have a shorter overall length despite being heavier than the 162 eldx.

Powdered by H1000, 2950 at the muzzle. Nothing has walked away yet.

Thanks brn.

 

[Pharmseller]

Thanks Pharm, appreciate you sharing! Barrel Specs on those 3 Tikkas? I didn't find RL-26 in the book loads for ELD-X but obviously it works, thanks for the added load option.

Stock stainless Tikkas, so whatever barrel the Finns put on them.

R26 is the bee’s knees for our 7mm Rem Mags. I tried a bunch of powders and got the best accuracy and velocity with R26. Really tough to find, now.




P

 

[Velecic]

Stock stainless Tikkas, so whatever barrel the Finns put on them.

R26 is the bee’s knees for our 7mm Rem Mags. I tried a bunch of powders and got the best accuracy and velocity with R26. Really tough to find, now.

So should be roughly the same stainless barrel as mine.

Thanks for the info, I'll have to try and find some R26 someday, for now I'll have to settle for something else. None available anywhere I can see at the moment.

Any comments on primers?

 

[Pharmseller]

I use WLRM. They tend to be more available.

H1000 and Retumbo were good powders also.




P

 

[norcalkh]

I tried the 168gr LRX in a Sako that I believe has the same barrel. Never couldn't get them to stabilize. Lighter than what you're looking at but I've had good luck with the 145gr LRX and 7828SSC.

 

[270quest]

Imr 8133, 150 scenar - 3150 FPS and will kill anything you will find in North America.

 

[Montana Slim]

I've had good luck with the 139gr LRX for monos, and the 160gr Accubonds for bonded... pretty much anything works out of a 7mmRM to 400 yds. I prefer the light monos - especially with the twist and mag length limitations in the tikkas

 

[JGRaider]

I've had the best luck in my 7Mag with RL22, RL26, and Retumbo, especially at higher velocities/pressures.