Can anyone with a chronograph tell me if they are actually getting 3000+ fps from a 160 gr bullet in a 7mm Rem Mag? I am loading a 160 gr Partition that the manual says should be getting 3100 fps or so but I see other loads suggesting velocities as low as 2900 fps with the same bullet. Why do velocities vary so much? I just want an idea of what I can expect to be getting from a 160 gr bullet in a 7 mag from a 24" barrel....man it would be so much easier with a chronograph!

Individual rifles vary a lot in the results they give from any particular load, so you never know until you chronograph loads from your rifle.

You can get a simple Pact chronograph from Midway for under $65, and it will work very well.

[ 11-01-2002, 05:51: Message edited by: LE270 ]

Chrony has refurbished units for $49.95 and approx $5 shipping. Check their website.

http://chrony.ca/sc_mc.mv

With my birthday in 2 days, looks like I will be in the market for a chrony as well Thanks for the link!!

If you're looking at the published velocity figures in the Nosler manual that's all a bunch of pie in the sky Barbara Streisand.

Nosler uses custom barrels, often of longer lengths than are commonly found on the rifles chambered for the cartridge in question. (For instance, their 30-06 data was deriven from a 24" Lilja barrel, while nine out of ten '06's in common use will have 22" barrels).

Custom barrels do give faster velocities than factory barrels in most cases, but I've yet to see the difference in real life that Nosler seems to be enjoying from their barrels.

Use of non-conventional barrels for load testing also lowers the ceiling for max pressures. A lot of Nosler's data is on the extreme side of conservative. I have found that when the load they indicate to be the most accurate load tested happens to be the lowest pressure load, you can normally go above their max and find a safe, fast, and accurate charge weight.

The Nosler data would be more useful to most of us if they used off the shelf rifles for their load testing.

I like the Nosler manual, don't get me wrong. I just pay little if any attention to their velocity numbers.

If you want a manual that will tell you something closer to the truth about actual velocity, get the Speer manual.

One final note: The ultimate test of any handload is in the actual use of that load. Velocity numbers are just numbers. Good numbers don't guarantee good performance, and bad numbers don't always mean that the load won't perform well. The dead animal, or the obliterated X ring will be the final judge of the load. So don't get too carried away with the chrono-craze. If you want a chronograph, get one. Just know that sometimes those great numbers will be only that, great numbers. And you may actually pass over a load that would have delivered the goods in spades just becasue the little LCD said it couldn't.

According to "chronographers," the 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser won't kill an elk. According to countless dead elk and moose, the "chrongraphers" are wrong.

Take care,

Dan Newberry
green 788

Get the chronoy. Once you do you will go "Why didn't I get this before?" They help you to tell how consistant you are loading also. This is the only place I use statistics. I hated stats as a college course and struggles with it. Now it make sense to me as you use stats for thing you like.

The other thing is with the chrony you will see how different bullets behave with the same powder charge, etc. After getting my Shooting Chrony Alpha Master it even made me think I need a better one with more memory and stats. Anyway you will have fun.

Hcliff

In my experience if you're using a nosler manual forget it. Nowhere near the listed velocities.

I usually agree with Green 788 but I am satisfied with Nolsers system. They have far more control with a custom barrel on the actual dimensions. Factory barrels can vary more I expect.

As to your velocity. It does not matter a lot! Just use 3000 fps for a full load and test the actual impact at various ranges. This is what really counts. The paperwork is just that and only of interest. It has little to do about what the bullet is for or where it hits.

What with the variations in temperature, powder lots, chronograph errors and all you and I could be a hundred fps this way or that. Just run that variable on a external program and the point blank range does not change a whit.

I have had chronographs since they came out. I rarely use it. Instead I look where the first bullet hits from a cold barrel. Thats the real world.

Over my Oehler 35P, I am able to get ~3100 FPS from my Remington Model 700 in 7mm Rem. Mag with a 26" barrel. I use H870 and a 160 grain Nosler Partition. However, I find a little better accuracy around 3000 FPS so that is what I load. As long as you know where the bullet is going to impact at any given range, 3000-3100 FPS probably doesn't make that much difference on game.

I bought a prochrono plus for around $80 a few years back and I'll say it's some of the best money I've spent. I highly recommend getting your own chronograph. I'll even go so far as to say that it will save you money in the long run as you'll be able to settle on a load you like quicker with the additional info the chrony provides. Buy one now, it's well worth it.

As for the 7mm mag with 160 gr bullets, getting 3000 fps with a 160 gr bullet in a 24" barrel at reasonable pressures is going to be hard to do. In a 26" barrel I'd say no problem using a powder like RL-25. The velocities from any reloading manual are pretty much pulled out of someones A$$, very few manuals are even close. One thing the chronograph does is let you work up loads while keeping an eye on velocities. When you are getting velocities that are too much to be true you're getting too much pressure also. Think of the chrony as an extra insurance policy. I got fed up with reloading manuals when I checked one manual and it listed a max charge of 67 grains IMR 4350, then I checked another manual and it listed a max of 73 gr IMR 4350 with the exact same bullet. Working up carefully with the same components I found 69 grains was max in my rifle. The chronograph gives a heck of a lot more reliable info than most reloading manuals nowadays. I'd spend the money on the chronograph before I'd buy extra manuals for sure.

[ 11-02-2002, 07:18: Message edited by: boltman ]

i might have said this before,
buy a chrono...
jeffe

1. Get a chrono. For all the more they cost, you really have no excuse not to have one. I know it's not mandatory, but, it sure is nice to know what that load is generating. Besides, they're a lot of fun, especially when that guy who swears his 243 is sending 100 grainers out at 3400 FPS shoots a few over it. HEHEHEHE

2. Try H1000 under the 160 Partition. Hodgdon listed 72.5 grains as MAX in an earlier manual; I think they're showing 71 now, but, you can get close to 3100 with that combo, and excellent accuracy. I never went any higher than 69 grains for around 3,000 FPS, but, I think POP has gotten close to 3100 with 72 grains. Obviously, you want to start a few grains lower, etc....

R-WEST

[ 11-02-2002, 20:33: Message edited by: R-WEST ]

So do I! A buddy of mine ZAPPED mine today! I'll have to make him buy me another.
Henrik

Actually, I use a chronograph a lot. I have two of them. One that works and another with a lovely rowboat-shaped hole through the front of it! I'm unable to blame it on a friend, either. Too many witnesses that day. Durn!
Yes, Virginia, bullets can tumble completely sideways within 15 feet of the muzzle, if you work at it!
I've asked the Crony repair depot to send me back the part with the conversation-starter hole in it. My wife wants to have it mounted for me as a Christmas present.
'puck

Norma show's a 154gr at 3150fps

http://www.norma.cc/nladdtab/7mmrm.htm

I have a Chrony, been broke for years, just a wire broken off too short for me to solder.

Now you tell me they have a repair depot.

Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the others have said, too many variables. I loaded for my 26" bbl. Ruger #1 in 7mag & w/ RL22 I could get 3050fps+/-. A chrono helps alot, but shooting your rounds down range really tells the story. BEsides the actual velocity, there is temp. differences, altitude to consider, etc. Even if you know the velocity @ sea level/75deg. your bullet impact is going to change @ 6000 feet/0deg.
It would be ideal if we could range test w/ all of the variables in place while preparing for a given hunt. Get a chrono & use it often, but get to the range as well.

I fully intend to practice and get to know my load. I just wanted to know velocity out of pure curiosity. Thanks for the suggestions and info. I told my dad we needed a chrono and he ordered one. Don't have any model information or anything--he just said he ordered a chronograph.

I've not been able to get to 3,000 with Hornady 154's, using 7828.

Matchkings may not be hunting bullets, but I tell you, they WILL kill a Chrony. Takes a followup shot, however! LOL! Dutch.

I load a 160 gn partition in front of 61 grns of IMR-4831 w/WW amgnum primers. This load is chrono'd @ 2963 w/1/2 inch groups out of my Ruger M-77. The chrono was a Dillon.

Evening,
I have a response from the Chrony Depot. Be careful, their responder is a wife and hears everything!
Their email is chrony@shootingchrony.com
Phone 1-800-385-3161
If you've bagged your Master Chrony, they will replace the Master Housing for $34.95 plus $5.00 S&H. If it's any other model, they will quote you a price on replacement or upgrading to a higer level model at wholesale cost.
If you call Mandy, tell her I said "Hi"
Regards,
Ed

That's what they charged me. At that rate, I can afford to shoot it again! LOL! Dutch.