Hey all,
Ok heres the situation. I am going to be hunting whitetail deer in South Texas this Christmas break. I think there is a chance at a really nice one. I am using a 7mm mag. It is my first and all purpose gun. I am young-18. Right now I am shooting Remington Core-Lokt factory 150 grains. I am disappointed with the accuracy so far. I think they could be a lot better. I am wanting to switch and resight in my gun and stick to that bullet. Someday I would love to play around and reload, but not now. I can only buy factory ammo. I am leaning toward Federal Premium Nosler 160 partition. I have several questions though. Are these accurate? The gun is a Remington 700 BDL SS. Does anyone have a particular brand that they know shoots well out of Remington Guns? I would like to try it if so. Another thing, will the partitions have a slower kill time since they may blow through without penetrating much, or is this not something to worry about? Thanks for the help and the recommendations, Nathan

I've had good luck in the past with Federal Premium 150 grain Ballistic Tips in my 7 mag. I wouldn't shoot much other than deer or Pronghorns with them, but they should work well for your purposes, and Ballistic Tips are usually very accurate.

Nathan... Unfortunatly you will never know what factory ammunition will be accurate in your rifle without testing it. Try a few and see whats what. I wouldnt worry about the Nosler partition and killing slow, it just simply not true. Its one of the better all around bullets man can buy IMO, and it certainly doesnt have any problems dropping game fast.
hope your hunt goes well

Smallfry is dead on. Until you test the bullet in your gun you won't know for sure. I shoot a Ruger Mark II 77 Rem Mag with Fed Premium 160 Noslers and they work great. Just came back from a mulee hunt in SD and they did the job. I use to shoot ballastic tip but got tired of not getting an exit wound, so I switched to the Nosler's. Glad I did.
You will get a lot of varied opinion on this but I wouldn't shoot anything but premium load factory ammo. Woth the investment in time and money you will have the difference in cost is chump change for hunting. You can use a less expensive ammo for sighting in and fine tune the final sighting in with the bullet you are going to hunt with. My experience has been the cheaper bullet gets you in the area and the ones you hunt with will finalize your sight in adjustments and give you the best grouping. It is REALLY important to understand that when you sight the gun in you need to allow time for the barrell to cool down between shots or else you ARE wasting your time and money. When the barrell heats up it changes everything. Remember when you are in the woods how many times are you going to shoot and won't your barrell be "cold" on the first shot? The idea is shoot it once.
I doubt I'll ever reload as I don't shoot that much and would rather spend my time in the woods instead of in front of the reloading bench. If you are going to shoot a lot or are just so seriuos about ammunition in general, reloading certainly is a viable option to keep cost down not to mention the benefit of fine tuning the round that works best in your gun.

Hope this helps, good luck.

Another option would be the 140 gr. Nosler Partition load from Federal Premium. I don't think you will need the penetration the 160 gr. load delivers on a smaller-medium sized deer. The extra range the faster 140 gr. load would be of more use I'd think.

Example:

140 gr. Nosler Partition @ 3150 fps
+/- 3" Point Blank Range out to 309 yards
Energy @ 300 yards - 1990 ft-lbs
Bullet drop @ 400 yards - 12.6"

160 gr. Nosler Partition @ 2950 fps
+/- 3" Point Blank Range out to 293 yards
Energy @ 300 yards - 2055 ft-lbs
Bullet drop @ 400 yards - 15.4"

Just a thought....but if I were to go after medium sized deer in open country, I'd opt for the 140 gr.

I don't want to confuse you with a lot of choices but Hornady bullets have shot great for me and the 139 or 154 gr interlocks are just the ticket on deer.I would buy a box of a couple different brands and shoot them in my rifle making sure the barrel is cool and clean for each different one.Once I found the most accurate I'm go immediately to the store I bought them from and get another box of the same lot number for the hunt.The lot number is listed on the back panel of the box usally.Have a great hunt.

All of the prior posts to this thread pretty much echo my feelings, but I will add that you'll probably have an easier time getting something with a polymer tip to shoot well, just as a matter of design. Granted that's not 100%, but I'd say it's more often than not.

I don't shoot a 7mm Mag so I can give specific suggestions, but Winchester makes some loads with the Ballistic Silvertip, and I'm sure Remington makes it with the regular Nosler Ballistic tip. I'd start with one of those.

Nathan keep it simple.
You are on the right track.
140 thru 160 Nosler Partition will work great for your purposes. If it were me I would use the 150gr. I used them for years in my 7mag and .280 and they put the hammer on deer.
The Partitions tip provides for rapid expansion and the base hold together to provide an exit wound.
The kill deer like a lightning bolt if you hit them right.
As others have said you will need to shoot them in your rifle to determine if they are accurate in your gun.
Remember 1 1/2" groups are good enough for hunting.
Good luck on your hunt!

The problem with using store-bought ammo is the need with any load to practice, practice, practice. By the time you've practiced enough that the sight alignment, safety operation, etc is second nature, you have enough money invested in ammo to buy a reloading kit. My choice? 160gr bullet and use it on everything. I don't shoot at deer at 400 yards so I don't see where the 3 inches would be of value to me.

I shoot a 7 mag also. I would suggest you shoot a 150 grain Nosler Partition. The suggestion to try a 140 grain is also a good one. If you will be doing some hunting on wild boar, or larger game, then go with the 160 grain, or the 150 grain. As stated, if you choose 160 grain, you wont lack for anything I suspect you will be hunting. The 150 grain Swift Scirocco is also a real good deer bullet. It can cause some excessive meat damage, but retains about 80 % of it's weight. Dont forget Hornady's interlocks. Right now, I am shooting a 150 grain Swift Scirocco for deer sized game. The new bonded bullet from Nosler in 160 grain should be a good one if you can find that load in factory ammo. Last item, if you want less recoil opt for the 140 grain bullet, or the 150 over the 160 grain bullet. Out of a 7 mag, all three of these bullet weights will put the wrath of Gor on deer sized game. Enjoy.

It has been a very long time since I loaded and shot a 7MM RM. 160 Noslers will do anything in North America if you do your part in placement. I think shot placement is a very large part of that equation, do it right and you could substitute just about anything else that shot well with repeatable accuracy as far as bullets. 160 Noslers would be hard to beat, however, in my book.

BTW, practice, practice, practice. Shooting, that is.

[ 11-20-2003, 11:57: Message edited by: 8MM OR MORE ]

I traded off a 700 in 7mm mag the day before yesterday. It shot silver box Winchester 150 gr. s.p., $10.00 abox from Wally World, into 1.25" consistently. It would put the Federal Premium 150 grn. into a "pattern" of about 4".
It just shows, no 2 are alike, you just have to try some to see.

Start with a clean barrel , 140 grn & 7mag great deer combo . Be patient and deliberate in your site in proceedure . Be honest with your expectations and results . If heavier bullets shoot better use them . Good luck ,enjoy your break .

nosler ballistic tip or a swift scirocco. used the swift on two deer this year and my dad took one. it is an awsome deer bullet.

the swift puts big holes in the deer but doesnt shoot up the meat that bad.

Nathan
All the above posts are exactly correct. buy 4 or 5 boxes of factory ammo in bullets suitable for deer and shoot them at the range. You should find one or two that will meet your accuracy requirements.