One of my hunting partners asked me what 140 gr bullet to shoot out of his 7 mm remington mag. I shoot 160-175's, so I told him I'd post to ask. He is looking to use this on big fields and powerlines. I don't think he'll be shooting that far (not beyond 300-350) and probably around 200 more often. Any how he reloads and wants to know which bullet? Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.

Depends on the game he is after.

For deer, I would look into the Nosler BalTips or Hornady 139 gr SSTs. Even traditional soft points should work--perhaps a Sierra GameKing SBT. He handloads so is shouldn't be too difficult for him to try several different bullets to see what shoots best from his rifle.

If elk or any game bigger than deer is on the list, I would look into the Nosler Partition, Siwft A-frame, or Barnes XBT/XLCBT. Personally, for game bigger than deer, I would go with a bigger bullet. Like you I am a fan of the 160 grainers in the 7mm Rem Mag.

I've had excellent result's with the Hornady 139gr boattail in 7mm Rem Mag, killed lot's of Alabama deer with it.

The trajectory isn't much different between any of the 7mm @ 200yds. I would stay w/ the various 160gr. If he wants a bit flatter round for 300-400yd shots the I would switch to the 150gr NP or Hornady 154gr. You don't really gain much over a handloaded .280 when you drop to 140gr (JMHO).

I would just pick what ever bullet shot best through the gun because quite frankly BC's don't really come in to play until after the range you mentioned. Now if you are shooting over 400 whole new ball game then go with any bullet in the 160 range with the highest BC.

[ 11-06-2002, 09:45: Message edited by: Oleman ]

My dad has been hunting with a 7mm Rem Mag for over 20 years now and has it shooting quite well. He uses the Sierra 140gr Boat Tail (nothing fancy) with 65gr of 4350. He routinely shoots deer at 200-350 yds and has had few problems doing it.

I've been using the 139 gr hornady for about 15 yrs now....kills like lightning at any distance i've shot. I use IMR 4350 most accurate in my gun. Tell him to try 62.5 gr and work from there.

For the 7mm RM I like the Speer Mag tip. It is very well suited for that caliber.

The 140 Sierra's and 130 Speers perform OK. A bullet that may be more reliable, maybe the most reliable for deer in my experiance, is the 150 gr Rem Corelokt. Don't overlook that one.

I would not shoot a bullet lighter than 160 in any belted magnum 7mm....and 175 is the only place a 7 Mag shines anyway, otherwise you just as well be shooting a .270.....besides hold over is the easy part, wind is what gets you and the 175 beats the wind better.

I took the quarry to be deer in AL at the distances mentioned. The lighter bullets have less recoil and the wind drift is not a lot different but the lighter bullets are more likely to expand if all they hit is skin and lung tissue at the max. range.

One is in good company using 175 gr Partitions in a big 7mm Mag. Both Warren Page and Bob Hagel favored that load and Ray is there with them but I feel they used it on bigger game.

Just my observation but on whitetails the heavier the bullet for a caliber the further they run. Of course varmint bullets should not be used on game.

I'm using the 139gr Hornady, at a chronoed 3200fps, never had a deer take a single step, and never recovered a bullet. What else could you ask for? If I was hunting elk, I would use 175's. You are correct, you can get a 140gr to 3100fps in a .270, not much difference.

I use 140-grain Noslers, of both persuasions. I used a bunch of 145-grain Speers also, nice to use their match bullet for adjusing sights in preparation for using the boat-tails for hunting. Loads are medium, trajectory is nice out to 300+ yards.

Factory loaded Remington 140 PSP, 3225 fps from Rem 700 ADL w/24" barrel. Pretty accurate and very effective on mule deer. I like the Nosler ballistic tip 140 in my handloads for greater accuracy. Guy