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7rem mag brass?
- Thread starter zr600
- Start date
Norma is arguably the best. It's sold out everywhere I looked, so I settled for Winchester knowing it's going to take some prep work. I use a Forster bench rest seating die, Lee collet neck sizing die and a Redding body die. A lot of guys like the Redding bushing dies but I like not having to lube my cases every time and I've done really well with the Lee collet die in other cartridges.
A remington 700 sps stainless, pillar bedded in a good solid stock will shoot bug holes, good trigger.
Rem brass
65.5-66g of IMR 4350
9 1/2 primer
140g accubond
3250 fps
Shoots tiny groups, 2 1/2-3 1/2" at 600 is normal
I use a Gentry muzzle break
Remington brass is hard to wear out with this load.
If you root around, you can find a Rem 700 LSS in 7 Mag, these are unbelievably accurate rifles.
If you want to go heavy bullets, then the 162g eldx or SST with 71g of Retumbo, fed 215 is doing 3100 with bullets touching at one hundred yards. I use the same load with a 168g berger hunting classic which is a very, very easy bullet to tune with Retumbo and 215's. This load is rough on Remington primer pockets, Winchester holds up better.
You can go custom and spend three times the money and not get a rifle that shoots much better, if any.
Winchester Blue bag brass is good, the red bag is junk.
RWS brass is toughest of the tough, larger in the web than Win or Rem brass, and this can leade to an issue on HOT loads in the web of the brass.
I started off shooting remington brass, got great groups. This is a hunting rifle not a target rifle. I work up a load, and then hunt. Verify zero from time to time. This requires little shooting and load development, so brass issue is not there. Federal brass is soft, avoid it like the plague.
7 Mag is a very accurate round. A rifle bedded with good trigger and optics is a joy to work with if it has a muzzle break and limbsaver recoil pad.
Remington 700's are very, very accurate rifles in this caliber, I have said this several times so you hear me clearly. I have these rifles set up in short, medium, and long range. I hunt for older rifles that have not been shot much. The old ADL's in the walnut stocks, blued shoot like a $4000 rifle when pillar bedded and trigger tuned.
If you want to go custom, then go a 8.5" twist, 28" Brux, RWS brass, 180g Lapua Scenar, and your velocity in the accuracy node will be in the 2900-3000 range with R#26. The 7/300 and 28 Nosler will get you 3100, but you will be shooting 15--20g more powder. You will need to ask the gunsmith what the web dia is in the web of his reamer, because you need a bare minimum of .003 clearance with the RWS brass. RWS brass may require a reamer with a larger web dia, specify CIP spec not SAAMI spec reamer dimensions. I learned this the hard way.
For power and gas lines, I use a 6x-24x scope or a 8-32x. Short and mid range work, 4-16's are on my rifles, sighted in for 200. I twist knobs for range.
I, dad, brothers, and cousins have had one deer run off with a load of 61g of IMR 4350 with a 160g Sierra BTSP or 61g of IMR 4831. That one buck was 320 yards, chasing a doe, and I shot him on the run chasing a doe, heavy 8 pointer outside of Lineville, Alabama. This large buck weighed 210 lbs, his left front shoulder was shattered and the bullet exited out the rib cage on the off side, leaving a trail of blood and bone fragments. How this deer ran 50 yards is beyond me.
Good luck!
Ps. I always had better accuracy with full length sized brass vs neck sized brass, and I expect 3/8" or better with three shot groups, with 1.5" at 300 shot in the calm. The vast majority of deer hunters never shoot over 250.
Rem brass
65.5-66g of IMR 4350
9 1/2 primer
140g accubond
3250 fps
Shoots tiny groups, 2 1/2-3 1/2" at 600 is normal
I use a Gentry muzzle break
Remington brass is hard to wear out with this load.
If you root around, you can find a Rem 700 LSS in 7 Mag, these are unbelievably accurate rifles.
If you want to go heavy bullets, then the 162g eldx or SST with 71g of Retumbo, fed 215 is doing 3100 with bullets touching at one hundred yards. I use the same load with a 168g berger hunting classic which is a very, very easy bullet to tune with Retumbo and 215's. This load is rough on Remington primer pockets, Winchester holds up better.
You can go custom and spend three times the money and not get a rifle that shoots much better, if any.
Winchester Blue bag brass is good, the red bag is junk.
RWS brass is toughest of the tough, larger in the web than Win or Rem brass, and this can leade to an issue on HOT loads in the web of the brass.
I started off shooting remington brass, got great groups. This is a hunting rifle not a target rifle. I work up a load, and then hunt. Verify zero from time to time. This requires little shooting and load development, so brass issue is not there. Federal brass is soft, avoid it like the plague.
7 Mag is a very accurate round. A rifle bedded with good trigger and optics is a joy to work with if it has a muzzle break and limbsaver recoil pad.
Remington 700's are very, very accurate rifles in this caliber, I have said this several times so you hear me clearly. I have these rifles set up in short, medium, and long range. I hunt for older rifles that have not been shot much. The old ADL's in the walnut stocks, blued shoot like a $4000 rifle when pillar bedded and trigger tuned.
If you want to go custom, then go a 8.5" twist, 28" Brux, RWS brass, 180g Lapua Scenar, and your velocity in the accuracy node will be in the 2900-3000 range with R#26. The 7/300 and 28 Nosler will get you 3100, but you will be shooting 15--20g more powder. You will need to ask the gunsmith what the web dia is in the web of his reamer, because you need a bare minimum of .003 clearance with the RWS brass. RWS brass may require a reamer with a larger web dia, specify CIP spec not SAAMI spec reamer dimensions. I learned this the hard way.
For power and gas lines, I use a 6x-24x scope or a 8-32x. Short and mid range work, 4-16's are on my rifles, sighted in for 200. I twist knobs for range.
I, dad, brothers, and cousins have had one deer run off with a load of 61g of IMR 4350 with a 160g Sierra BTSP or 61g of IMR 4831. That one buck was 320 yards, chasing a doe, and I shot him on the run chasing a doe, heavy 8 pointer outside of Lineville, Alabama. This large buck weighed 210 lbs, his left front shoulder was shattered and the bullet exited out the rib cage on the off side, leaving a trail of blood and bone fragments. How this deer ran 50 yards is beyond me.
Good luck!
Ps. I always had better accuracy with full length sized brass vs neck sized brass, and I expect 3/8" or better with three shot groups, with 1.5" at 300 shot in the calm. The vast majority of deer hunters never shoot over 250.
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ThatguySHM
New member
I use Nosler brass. So far so good. I was using Norma but wanted to try the Nosler brand, don't see myself going back now. I do neck up to 308 cal and then down to a crunch fit when I close the bolt so I only get shoulder growth, not web growth. With a 180 Berger I don't get over .5 moa often.
Thought I should amend my first post. The Winchester brass is only so/so. I had 7% reject rate out of 100. Folded/wrinkled shoulders and necks. I got 4 extra pieces of brass in the bags and still ended up 4 short of 100. I would have just bought Norma if I could have found it! Now I have to buy another bag of 50 Win....
Desertcj, do a "want to buy" on Winchester Blue bag, I rarely find rejects in that old brass. The New Winchester brass in the Red bag has a lot of culls in it.
Norma brass is soft. If you start shooting high end loads with 162-180g bullets you will loose the primer pockets in one or two firings...162-168s at 3100.
If you want the best, buy RWS.
Norma brass is soft. If you start shooting high end loads with 162-180g bullets you will loose the primer pockets in one or two firings...162-168s at 3100.
If you want the best, buy RWS.
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