Buddy of mine is shooting a 7mm Rem Mag in a Ruger M77. He will use it for Deer, Elk, Antelope and Black Bear here in Colorado, shots vary 50 yards to 400. What brand of factory stuff would you all advise.
I don't shoot a 7 mag so am at a bit of a loss, I assumed he should use a good 150 or 160 grain bullet for the job, he likes to shoot a bit and doesn't reload so some cheaper priced factory stuff will be in order for part of the shooting.
Thanks for the opinions.

My friend has shot some whitetails and decent sized hogs with his 7mm and 140gr Ballistic Silvertips (Winchester Black Box) and they have all dropped right there.

For elk and blackbear I would try out the 160gr accubond or 160 Partition. I'm not set in stone on the TSX yet but Federal does a factory offering for that aswell.

If he's got a 1-in-9" twist barrel, try the 175gr bullets, they're generally my favorite for elk and moose. Otherwise, Accubond 160gr is excellent.

Mikey he has been shooting the 175's and took an Antelope with it but for the 400 yard shots he's pretty disappointed in the trajectory they give, no different than a 30/06 and 180 grain bullets which is what he stepped from to this "flat shooting magnum".

A couple of friends of mine like the 150 gr. remington core lokt. I know it's not a premium bullet but it works for them.

Hey 270 what have their results been on Elk?
I don't believe that all animals must be killed with premium bullets so if there are some positive experiences with them on Elk I'd like to hear.

I'm sure the core lokt is right up there with Partition on "most animals killed"

I hate to think about the number of animals that have fallen to my brother's 7mmRemMag and the Federal Premium load of 160gr Nosler Partition. He has killed everything from impala to zebra with one shot. Kudude

quote:

Originally posted by kudude:
I hate to think about the number of animals that have fallen to my brother's 7mmRemMag and the Federal Premium load of 160gr Nosler Partition.

That would be my "do-all" recommendation right there. I know we all have our opinions on who experts are and are not, but FWIW, Mike Eastman has been using that ammo for a LOT of years and he's killed his share of mulies and elk with it. We had a long conversation about it at a deer show in Rock Island, Illinois back in the 90s. Now, this is a man with a lot of experience with that bullet/ammo in the 7mag, so it reinforces the above quoted post.

My suggestion would be to find the most accurate in his rifle of these two. The 160 gr partition or 160 gr Accubonds that federal loads. They will take anything that walks in the lower 48. I took a large bull with the Accubonds 2 yrs ago and had full penetration.

Snellstrom,

Some good suggestions above.

I would like to advise against the lead tipped bullets in the M77. I work a good bit with a friend's M77 in 7RM and it flattens the tips of all the loads in the mag during recoil, the protected points or plastic tip variety are a must in this rifle. I don't buy into the bs you here about "bullets shoot the same with flat tips" you hear at times, sure they may at close range. The tips flatten a ridiculous amount and this effects the BC greatly.

The 160 NAB in the Win supreme line would be my first pick.

Good Luck

Reloader