7mm R.E.M. Mag muley round?

[killshot824]

Will be headed west for the first time in a few years and am looking for a new round for Nebraska muleys. Im not looking for any kind of crazy 1000yrd reload recipes just a solid 100-500 yard round that will perform well in my Remington 700 xcr in 7mm Rem mag! Currently have a few boxes of HSM 168gr bergers hunting vld, haven't really shot them yet but wasn't really pleased with the 100yrd grouping and also wasn't real impressed with the 150gr nosler ballistic tips performance on Wyoming muleys in the past. Any input good or bad would be greatly appreciated! Keep in mind I'm not heading out there to meat hunt, I do plenty of that right here at home! Thanks again!!

 

[Slugz]

Couple things come to mind here.
1) There is history on getting those XCRs to shoot well.
2) Are you handloading?
3) Ballistic tips tend to fragment more than specified on larger game (we dont use then any more, even on smaller deer)

IMO you are hard pressed to find something better than Nosler Accubond for longer range shots, Nosler Partitions for medium to short range hunts, Barnes TTSX good all around or the Bergers.

All those above mentioned though required slightly different seating depths though in our Rem700s.

 

[sneakypete]

I'm a 7mm shooter and have 2 model 70's. that being said I don't hand load, I shoo t Remington corelokts 175 grain and my extreme weather likes them and shoots them very well. I agree what Slugz said, you may just need to try a few different manufacturers and see what your gun likes. The only reason I shoot 175 grain round is I hunted moose two years ago and I will again this fall, after that I'll probably search around for a lighter round. Good luck.

 

[Tim McCoy]

Some great .284 bullets I've used that I'd trust for great performance for hunting, 140 & 160 Nosler Accubonds and the 145 Barnes LRX. All will work great to 500+, expand well, hold together and penetrate well for quartering shots. All are elk capable too. The Hornady inter bond 154 grain offering is a good one too, if you can find them. Have not used the new Hornady ELD-X, but plan too, those may be worth a check too.

 

[mcseal2]

I'd add the 150gr Swift Sirocco II to the list of good ones. The Sirocco is a bit tougher than the Accubond, around 80% weight retention intead of around 70%. Doubt a critter can tell the difference, but it's another bullet that fits your use that may turn out to be accurate in your rifle.

 

[killshot824]

Thanks guys definitely giving me some stuff to think about, I guess I should have specified in the original post that is more than likely be shooting a factory round as I don't have my own reloading equipment at the moment!

 

[JimP]

You don't say if you hand load or not but if you are looking for factory ammo take a look at Federal's Premium line of loaded ammo. For mule deer I would stick with 140-160 grain bullets, you don't need anymore than that range to kill a mule deer. Mule deer are not hard to kill even at longer ranges.

If you reload try some Barnes TTSX in 140 grain. I have been using them for a while in my 7mm Rem mag and really like them. If you want to go a little heaver they also have the TTSX in 150 grain.

The trick is finding what your rifle likes to shoot which can be a lot of fun in itself.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I've been using plain old Core-lokt 150 grain ammo in my 7 RM for over 35 years on deer and antelope and have never had any reason to try anything else.
If your rifle particular rifle shoots them well they are hard to beat. As a plus they are very easy to find most anywhere and are relatively cheap compared to other factory ammo loaded with premium bullets.

 

[Hilltop]

Hornady Interbond is my favorite. They were suspended for a while but are back in production now and available for purchase. Very accurate in the 3 different guns I use them in. Terminal performance is fantastic imo. They expand well but hold a good % of weight for penetration.

 

[Slugz]

Due to the tolerances of the gun manufacturers over the past 7 years more important than bullet in your scenario will be the company that made the ammo. COL is key here. I'd grab the Federal or Remington products and see what shoots better.

 

[JimP]

I've been using plain old Core-lokt 150 grain ammo in my 7 RM for over 35 years on deer and antelope and have never had any reason to try anything else.
If your rifle particular rifle shoots them well the are hard to beat. As a plus they are very easy to find most anywhere and are relatively cheap compared to other factory ammo loaded with premium bullets.

I killed more than my fair share of mule deer in Utah and Colorado shooting Sierra Game King bullets until I switched over to Barnes bullets.

As I said in my earlier post mule deer are not hard to kill and I should of added that just about any bullet out there will do the job. It is just that I prefer a premium bullet anymore and since I reload I can pick and choose what I want to shoot.

 

[Tim McCoy]

Thanks guys definitely giving me some stuff to think about, I guess I should have specified in the original post that is more than likely be shooting a factory round as I don't have my own reloading equipment at the moment!

I've had fantastic results with Federal Fusion for deer. The 150 and 175 offerings for 7RM would be great choices. It's a softer bonded style bullet.

 

[xtreme]

I doubt you can improve on the HSM 168gr Berger. I can't, but read what they do. I let my grandson use my gun and the HSM 168gr berger for bear. I ask him how the bear reacted, he said it just stood up and fell over backwards. The Remington 175 core lokt is probably a better killing round but the berger is more fun for me to shoot.

 

[ridgetop]

I'm shooting the 160 gr. Accubonds for both deer and elk and they have performed great.

 

[swampokie]

I shoot the 175 corelokt I used to shoot the 150 version but my model 70 tends to like the heavier round better. Better distance and bc as well

 

[LaHunter]

160 grain Nosler AB are extremely accurate in my 7 mm rem mag and are 'bad medicine' on deer at any 'reasonable' distance. Pretty much any factory 7 mm projectile will humanly kill a mulie within reasonable distance with a well placed shot, but under field conditions, sometimes the shot placement isn't ideal, IMO this is where premium bullets earn theit keep.

 

[killshot824]

Ok here's the update over the weekend I put a few different rounds through the gun and was less than pleased HSM 168gr Bergers, hornady American whitetail 139gr, federal premium 150gr Sierra game King and 150gr core lokts! Took my time let gun cool between shots would run brush and patch through barrel after every 3 rounds, all rounds were shot at 100yrds from a bench on sand bags average 3shot group was about 2 1/2" tightest being 2" largest being 3". Fairly upset with the way this rifle is shooting gonna try a few more Rounds yet but does anyone have any input on how to correct this or did I just end up with a lemon? I even had two other guys shoot the gun to make sure it wasn't me being the problem and they didnt have any better luck!

 

[billdoe708]

Dry brush and patch? Maybe the gun needs to be "dirty" to shoot better.

 

[mcseal2]

Try cleaning it extremely well and getting out all the copper and then letting it get dirty as you shoot. Shoot 10rds before trying for accuracy. If that doesn't work maybe float the barrel, have the trigger worked on, put on a better recoil pad, wear a shoulder pad when shooting. If it's doing it for everyone it might just be a lemon too, need serious work or got rid of. I've read some bad reviews on newer Remingtons.

 

[Tim McCoy]

What mcseal2 said. Make sure to use a purpose made copper remover. Other thoughts are loose bases/rings or a scope that went bad. If you have shot the rifle a bunch and not done a deep decoppering, that sure can lead to accuracy issues.