7mm mag with barnes bullets

24 December 2001, 11:24

redneck7mm

I am new to reloading and just picked up the barnes reloading #3 manual. Can u guys give me you experiences with the barnes bullets? is it worth switching from nosler partition factory loads? I wanna shoot 160gr. pills, and my range will be no more then 250yds. How do they work with close shots 50yds or less? Is accuracy good? wich bellet, X or XLC? If u could answer any of these questions it would very much appreciated. thanx

P.S. I was given some imr4064 and reloader22. Any of these good in the 7mag??

24 December 2001, 11:46

<Big Stick>

My best advice,would steer you towards the 140XLC and Re-22 combo,in that chambering.

It will hone stuff at spittin' distance or from afar,the option is yours,as that bullet is up to either task...........

24 December 2001, 13:09

Nickudu

Redneck,
You did not mention what game you intend to hunt so I am assuming deer. I have tried all the .284 "X" bullets and also both the 140 and 160 Nosler Partitions and I can not fault any of them in the area of terminal performance. I'd give an edge to the Partition in regard to quick kills and to the "X" for penetration, regardless of the shot presentation. Which of these areas is the more important, only you can decide.
In my rifle, I settled on the 150 Grain "X" Boatail for all round use. 67.5 Grains of IMR-4831 gives 3,260 & 10 shot 5/8" groups. This loading has worked well on large mule deer at ranges from 35 to 375 yards with very consistent bullet upset.

24 December 2001, 14:54

BigNate

I have heard others say they can't get X's to shoot but I have found loads for both a .338 and a .257 that shoot good enough that theres no arguments. I to have some 150gr. Barnes X bt's but haven't loaded them for the 7 mag yet. I think they perform great and if shooting Elk they're tough to beat. You may want to check out www.slatesafaris.com/7mm.htm there is data available and it's dedicated to the 7 mag.

24 December 2001, 15:49

<Bill>

RL22 is one of the best 7 rem mag powders for the heavier weight bullets.

I killed one head of game with the Barnes X in 7 rem mag and wasn;t overly impressed.

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www.rifleshooter.com

25 December 2001, 09:52

Fred B

I have used all of the barns x in the 7 mag. I found the best of the bunch to be the 150 gr xbt. I did not like the molycoated x bullets as I found that you had to sometimes fire up to 6 or more fouling shots. The 160gr was a little to long of a bullet and as a result took away from powder capacity and ended up lower velocity.

Happy Hunting

25 December 2001, 01:14

Nickudu

Gonzolas,
That was my exerience, exactly (above post,)which doesn't happen everday in regard to handloading. I'm shooting a 26" Browning Stainless Stalker, how about yourself?

25 December 2001, 01:17

Zero Drift

RN7mm - Stick with the Nosler bullets unless you have lots of time to invest attempting to get the X bullet to shoot accurately. There are no worries with Nosler and almost any gun can shoot them accurately. For 60 + years Partitions have been killing every animal on the planet without problems.

Poor accuracy is the biggest complaint about Barns bullets. Your guns either loves them or hates them - there is no middle ground.

25 December 2001, 02:39

Nickudu

Hi Zero,
So, What's with the red face?

25 December 2001, 03:04

Zero Drift

Too much sun!

Hope all is well Nick!

25 December 2001, 20:16

Fred B

Nickudu,
I shoot a custom Rem 700, with a 26" Apex gain twist barrel. It shoots regular Barns X very well and is outstanding with swift Sciroccos.

Happy Hunting

28 December 2001, 01:14

Nickudu

Gonzolas,
Sounds like a fine huntin rifle! I'll bet it would shoot the Ballistic Tips extremely well too. A good shootin 7 Mag sure covers the bases for much of the worlds game animals at all ranges.

29 December 2001, 13:39

<Sparkman375>

quote:
Originally posted by Nickudu:
Redneck,
In my rifle, I settled on the 150 Grain "X" Boatail for all round use. 67.5 Grains of IMR-4831 gives 3,260 & 10 shot 5/8" groups.

Nick...this load sounds a bit overly warm. Is it necessary to drive the "X" this fast to get it to shoot these amazing groups? Throat erosion in 7mag is definitely a consideration...how far off the lands are you seating your bullets using I-4831? ...and what primers are ye using? I'd entertain attempting to duplicate this.....thanx, Sparkman

30 December 2001, 16:21

<Don Krakenberger>

Sparkman--be careful working up to that load of i4831. It's about 3 grains over Barnes reloading manual and quickload puts it right at 70,000 psi. I'm not saying it isn't possible in the right gun but, it would be a somewhat lucky combo.

03 January 2002, 04:41

My experience with X bullets for deer out of a 7 MM Rem is not very good. I've shot several, and the X bullets are just too good a bullet for a whitetail. I prefer either Hornady Interlocks or Partitions. If you're going after bigger game where penetration is key; then the X bullets come into their own.

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JD

03 January 2002, 07:12

375hnh

Redneck,
I would also vote for the Partion over the X.My rifle (Weatherby Vangard) likes 175gr bullets best and RL22 is hard to beat as well. Good shootin'!

04 January 2002, 06:38

Nickudu

Sparkman375,
Sorry not to have come back to this thread and respond to you. Don Krakenburger has given you good advice in suggesting you work up to this loading. Perhaps I should have done so.
I use the same 67.5 grain load for the 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip and it is also quite accurate in my 26" Browning. The Browning Stainless Stalker I owned previous
to my current rifle shot the 150 Nosler BT at 3,200 in <.5" groups with 67 grains of IMR-4831. I like this powder above all others because it is highly predictable at the top end and does not "suddenly arrive" at too high a pressure. I know where I have to stop with a given bullet. With each new lot of powder and/or bullet, I back down to 64 grains and work up again but, thus far, have returned to the same MAX loading.
Molycoating changes things and I maintain separate data for all such loads. I have been using the Federal 215 Gold Match primer.

[This message has been edited by Nickudu (edited 01-03-2002).]