Hi everyone.

I am new to reloading and I think I've practiced enough, talked to a lot of people and read and watched everything I could. (by the way, Youtube has some pretty good instructional videos.)

Anyway, now I am going to start building something for real.. But I've hit a snag. WHAT BULLET SHOULD I START WITH??

Mind you, I want a hunting load for a 7mm RemMag. I plan to hunt muley, whitetail and maybe an antelope. I want something with range and devistating. I am looking at the Barnes tripple X family, but I see that there are a lot of really good bulletts to choose from. I realize that I'll have to find the right round for my gun, but where is a good place to start? What is the hunting round that I can trust which is MOST likely to give me 'better than factory' results?

My rifle is a Ruger M77 Mark II, laminated/Stainless. I am not sure of the barrel twist, but it's probablu 1:9.5. I'd like to shoot a load from 140gr to 160gr.

Would it be a safe spend of my money if I just went and bought the Barnes tripple x or what about the Interbond by Speer??


Anyway, now that I'm ready to strat, I dont know where to!

Suggestions? Recipies? THANKS!!

Howdy Most manufactures have good bullets now adays. My personal favorite is Nosler. There Accubond or Partition would make great choices in 140 or 160.
Joe

Welcome al_in_cedar!

I also shoot a 7mm Rem Mag and I am currently shooting 140gr Nosler Balistic Tips. They are very accurate bullets and have served me well over the years. The TSX bullets are also very good bullets and should do well on Mule Deer. They might be a little too much for the thin skinned antelope.

If you only want to load one bullet for all three I would go with the Ballistic Tip. It will expand over a wide range of velocities and ranges.

Good Luck!

I like staying on the heavier end of the scale-something about better ballistic coeficients=better long range performance.I load for two 7mags that both shoot moa or less,and I find that they like the 160-165gr bullets.I have shot some factory 150s with good results in accuracy but poor expansion(core locks),so I went to speer and sierra for bullets that would expand! Some of the heavier/bonded jacketed bullets are not really needed for deer sized game,but will do well for elk,and larger.

It depends. I have the same rifle and have been very happy with Hornady 139 and 154 grain spire points. They are very accurate and reasonably priced. Whatever I have shot has never known the difference. Take care...
Joe

ya, know. I could be over-thinking this whole thing. I know that some rifles like different bullet's better, but I gotta' belive that even if a rilfe 'didn't like' the bullet, it's still probably a tighter group than factory. Is this a correct assumption?

even if the groups aren't as tight as I'd like for precision, I suppose by modifying the load or seating depth, I should be able to dial it in to something very acceptable.

I must say that I am not as concerned about velocity as accuracy. Do the two have to be maxed out to attain a flat trajectory? Crap, if I can shoot a consistant group, i can modify my scope to fix that...

am I reading too much into what I'm reading?

Triple Shock Barnes is a favorite of mine when deep penetration and expansion are both required. For thin skinned/bodied game such as deer and antelope, conventional bullets will do a superb job. In that catagory you have received several excellent recommendations and, I add, one other for consideration is the Speer Hot Core series.

The 140gr weight is ideal for the type of hunting you mention. Lighter bullets will always have flatter trajectories when loaded to the same pressures in the same rifle compared to heavier bullets. Realistic ranges for hunting even those prairie antelope seldom exceed 300 yards.

Accuracy in reloading is multifaceted. You seem to have a handle on some of the techniques and by studying some bench rest methods you should be able to exceed the accuracy of factory ammo. But, accuracy per se can be an obsession paying little dividends in the field. If your ammo is shooting to 1.5MOA or better, it will get the job done.

Setting a velocity goal for your handloads and a realistic accuracy goal will shorten your load development time. When you arrive at those goals --- stop! At that point, spending time shooting from hunting positions may be much more important to a successful hunt than seeking another 1/4" smaller groups. IMO, of course.

Good luck.

One of my favorite bullets for the class of game you are hunting is the Hornady SST.

Welcome to HuntingNut !!!

The Nosler Ballistic Tip is a favorite of mine for whitetail. Just stay off the shoulder with them.

The Barnes bullets are great bullets also.
Most hunters think of them as a heavy bone thick skin type of bullet.
The free DVD Barnes puts out clearly shows they are also good for thin skined animals too. Give them a call and check it out.

Also keep in mind that all the premium bullets on the market today were not always around.
Alot of animals have fell with the standards from Nosler, Sierra, Speer and Hornady.