Kedron, your choice of a 7remmag is good one, not required for 200yd shots, but a fine cartrdige. Forget BC from a bullet/cart. that you are shooting under 300yds, it just doesn't matter much. I would go w/ a controlled expansion bullet of 150gr-160gr weight or a conventional cup/core bullet of 175gr. If your impact vel. is below 2800fps, the bullet should hold togther well. I have used the 160gr NP @ 3200fps (7MMDakota) & it has done well on deer size game & one elk. Penetration is extreme but there is good expansion, as the front often expands rapidly & then shears off, leaving a small exit wound but shreading lungs/heart. The 175gr RemCL or Hornady would do fine as well if pushed @ 2900fps.

My 7MM Remington magnum load is 64.0 grains of RL22 under either the 175 grain Hornady Spire point or the 160 grain Speer Hotcor.Both bullets have performed very well for me at short ranges. I take shoulder shots very seldom and rarely have to shoot over 200 yards.

I've hunted the UP, and I use a 7mm almost exclusively when sitting in a blind or stand. I pretty much stick with 140 grain bullets, the last several trips I've used nosler ballistic tips. the corelokt bullets also worked well in the past. I don't see much need for the heavier bullets unless you're shooting at extended ranges, and you probably won't up there. some of the guys I hunt with use the 160 gr partitions, but they use one load in their rifles for everything from deer to bear and elk. I also use RL22 for the 7 mag. I've gotten extremely good accuracy with that powder and the ballistic tips. As far as meat damage, I don't see much if any more than some of the other bullets, and they've all exited so far.

gd

why not create a non-magnum 7mm through careful handloading with a 160 or 175 grain bullet? The cartridge lends itself to this with the powder capacity it has. I've lived in MI and it's like Maine where I am from - shots can be close. Take a heavy for caliber bullet and download to 2300-2400 fps and there you go; great terminal performance withot all that bloodshot meat.

no magic here.

154 Hornady roundnose at about 2700-2800 will do very nicely thank you. I like Hornady.

Not to Piss Off the 7mm Rem Mags, but here goes.....

Nobody would worry about taking a 100 yd shot at a Whitetail with a 270, but add the word Magnum and everybody worries. Truthfully, your velocity gain over the 270 is about 50-100FPS with all other things being equal.

Going back to the original question, use a 150gr or better bullet around 2800 FPS (oddly enough, about the same speed a 30-06 throws a 180 grainer)or so, stay away from the shoulder joint, and you shouldn't damage to much meat.

John
Having made a three legged deer with a 300 win mag, realised that the 30-06 isn't that lacking after all.....

I have to agree with BBBH. THe 7mm Rem Mag really isn't a magnum when you get into heavier bullets. I've used the 160gr TSX at around 2900 fps to shoot a lot of deer, from big mule deer to coues deer and never had an issue with excessive meat damage at ranges from 10 feet to 350 yards. It's really not any different than using a 180 gr. bullet in a 30/06.

quote:

I've got to disagree with Dutch. Uh-oh, 1st time for everything.

I've had disappointing results with small fast TSX's and there have been anecdotal instances of petals peeling off, penciling through etc.

I would go with a heavy 175 gr bullet like a Nosler Partition, Nosler Ballistic Tip, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw or any cup and core bullet and slow the velocity down to 2800 to 2900 fps.

Me too! At max velocities, the 140-grainer out of the 7 Mag. is very destructive, regardless of bullet construction!

I must be doing something altogether wrong, then. I've used nothing but 140 gr. XLC / TSX's on elk and deer for 6 or 7 years, and never had any tissue destruction that was worrisome.

I know the bullets shed their petals, because I found one in a steak the other day, and it's laying on my desk shelf. You could STILL eat up to the hole, both entry and exit. The shot was about 60 paces, maybe 70, and the muzzle velocity was chrono'd at a little over 3200 fps.

As a matter of fact, this particular cow elk was shot through the top of the heart, and it was gone, but we ate the rest of it the night after the hunt. Yummm........ FWIW, Dutch.

So I put a scope on the new rifle today and went to the range with some factory federal powershok 175 grain shells. After boresighting I had trouble getting it on paper at 25 yards. Eventually I moved it even closer to 10 yds just to see what was happening. Every hole was severely oval shaped. I thought perhaps this was caused by the extremely close range but when I moved it back to 25 yards and covered the backboard with paper I found that it was still keyholing every time. Could this instability be caused by a bad crown or is there just not enough twist in the barrel to stabilize 175 grain bullets? (this would be a major bummer) The rifle is an older savage 110 and I suspect the twist is 1 in 9.5" just as they are today.