Lighter 7mm RM Load for Does

C

cunanse

New member
I was thinking about loading 7mm Rem Mag 140-gr Nosler Partitions this year for a Muley doe hunt. Should I be okay going that light? What about 130-gr?
 
I agree. Loading it like a lighter cousin would still pack plenty for a deer. I always wondered why 150 seems to be the magic weight for deer with the 7mm RM. Why not go a little bit lighter on a doe? Will it fragment, even with a nice bonded bullet like a Partition?
 
Another question may be the twist of your barrel. It may not stabilize the lighter bullets as well as the 150gr and up.
 
Exactly. I'm calling Ruger Records Dept. to find out. It's a 1978 M77. It'll probably be either a 1:10 or 1:9.5. If ever I dropped below 130 grains, I'd probably cut back the powder charge to keep it under 3000 fps.
 
Thre have been certain "standards" for decades: 130-grain for the .270, 139 or 140-grain for the 7mm and 150-grain for the .30s. For the deer-sized critters, anyhow. Heavier for elk, for probably-better penetration.

Sure, you can mess around, but it's sorta like reinventing the wheel.

The main reason I know of to load down is to reduce recoil. I figure that if you download for a doe, you might as well stay with it for a buck...
 
For whatever reason the 7 MM barrels are often 1 in 9 twist I suppose because they were thinking about heavier bullets being the norm. I have not had one that really shot the 130 grain well. My 280 shoots 140's Ok but shoots 160's better. But, yours may shoot 130's fine, who knows.
 
It sticks in my mind that a lot of shooting records were set with various 7 mm using 139 gr bullets. It sticks in my mind because my shooting partner has been insisting that I try that weight in my 7 mm mag this fall just to prove him right. I have a pretty good 160 gr load that I use. To tell the truth I had planned it all out to use completely different hunting tactics this year and leave the 7 mm mag at home, but maybe I'll drag it out some evening to bag a whitetail if I feel like it.
 
The most commonly used bullet when the 7mm Rem Maggie was first introduced--as competition for Roy Weatherby's whizbangs--was the 139-grain. In the early days, this was The Big Medicine for Texas guys heading to Colorado to go elk hunting.

Folks got to messing around with other loads and long-range target competition. At one time, it held the record for small group at 1,000 yards.
 
I suppose you can try a different load if you want. I wouldn't think it would make too much of a difference, though. The 7mm wacks deer pretty well, regardless of the bullet weight.

Sounds like something interesting to try, though. Let us know how they work out, and good luck with your mulie hunt!
 
I quit loading any bullets in the 7RM lighter than 154 Hornady. Had a good load in 145gr Speer at 3130 and it was too explosive. A 154-162 @ 2800 would be good for does.
 
I've used a 139 gr. Core-Lokt @ 2800 fps on whitetails with great success. Of the several I've shot with that load, none made it more than 30 yds and several were DRT.

My other favorite load is a 120 gr. BTBT @ 3000 fps. They fall like they've been struck by lightning.
 
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