Sako Finnbear 7mm Rem Mag Load questions

[bigmountainskiercfg]

I just picked up a Sako Finnbear 7mm Rem Mag.  Would like to start reloading for it, but not sure where to start.  Do any of you know of a good load or starting point for me?  I would like a load for elk & deer.  I'll mainly be hunting out west (Utah/Idaho).  The previous owner only shot boxed ammo out of it.  I can't afford that 

[Hank]

I don`t load for 7mm rem. Mag BUT IF I DID...lol
Prolly start with Nosler 160g Accubond or Hornady 162g BTSP with some Reloader 19, or IMR 4831
160g Nosler Partition probably get the job done too.
and be sure to light it off with a magnum primer.

[00BUCK]

My pet load for deer is Nosler 150gr ballistic tips over 66.5gr of IMR 4831 with CCI 250 LRM primers.
Chrony's out of my Rem 700 ADL at ~3110fps. For me this is my tack driver load with 5 shot groupings of less than half an inch at 200yds and 3/4" at 300yds. Considering the bullet size those groupings can't get much tighter.

I've also used the 154 gr Hornady SST ballistic tips but they just weren't quite as accurate.

[NB]

3/4" at 300 Yards?  Are you double-tapping the left ventricle?

[Hank]

3/4" at 300 Yards?  Are you double-tapping the left ventricle?

not familiar with `double-tapping the left ventricle`..
Is that anything like throwing the BS Flag? 
 

[00BUCK]

3/4" at 300 Yards?  Are you double-tapping the left ventricle?

Trying to! But to be fair, that is from good bench rest, certainly not off hand. The 700 with this load is an extremely accurate sniper grade firearm.

[00BUCK]

not familiar with `double-tapping the left ventricle`..
Is that anything like throwing the BS Flag? 
 

No BS flags here. If you are in the Omaha area and even better a member and ENGC I'd be happy to let you take it for a drive sometime.

[00BUCK]

My pet load for deer is Nosler 150gr ballistic tips over 66.5gr of IMR 4831 with CCI 250 LRM primers.
Chrony's out of my Rem 700 ADL at ~3110fps. For me this is my tack driver load with 5 shot groupings of less than half an inch at 200yds and 3/4" at 300yds. Considering the bullet size those groupings can't get much tighter.

Forgot to include case trimmed to 2.496, OAL 3.260. Depending on your barrel length, twist rate, headspacing, etc this exact load might not work well for you. Changing the charge +- up to .3gr really didn't affect accuracy that much but changing my OAL in increments of +- .005 changed things considerably when I was building up this load. The other thing I did was to make sure I used brass fired from my 700 and neck sized only. If I had brass form another source I full length sized them, loaded up with 65gr of IMR 4831 and some 150gr softpoints, shot those rounds at pop cans then neck only resized them for my good loads.
 

[Hank]

Glad you didn`t take the BS Flag comment in a bad way 00Buck.
Also thanks for the offer to test drive. At the end of last summer I had my first experience with a high grade custom rifle/optics so I know those kind of groups at 300 yrds are certainly doable.
IIRC that particular rig had a price tag a little over 10k, ~  5 for the rifle and another 5 in glass.

Cant figure out ENGC ?

[NB]

Eastern Nebraska Gun Club

[bigmountainskiercfg]

Forgot to include case trimmed to 2.496, OAL 3.260. Depending on your barrel length, twist rate, headspacing, etc this exact load might not work well for you. Changing the charge +- up to .3gr really didn't affect accuracy that much but changing my OAL in increments of +- .005 changed things considerably when I was building up this load. The other thing I did was to make sure I used brass fired from my 700 and neck sized only. If I had brass form another source I full length sized them, loaded up with 65gr of IMR 4831 and some 150gr softpoints, shot those rounds at pop cans then neck only resized them for my good loads.

Thanks 00Buck & Hank.  I probably should have added, the twist rate (according to him) is a 1:10.  I have not checked that myself yet though. 

[bigmountainskiercfg]

Cant figure out ENGC ?

I just became a member to ENGC, its a really nice complex.  I was out there Friday, people are extremely friendly and a lot of great advice.  00Hank, let me know when you go out there.  I'd love to see you punch paper, i could learn a thing or two. 

[Husker_Fan]

I use RL 22 for my 7mm Rem Mag loading. I like Accubonds and use the 140s for deer. I also loaded up 160s a few years ago for my brother to take moose hunting. They functioned flawlessly on moose. He shot it broadside and recovered the bullet. It expanded beautifully, had 87% weight retention and penetrated all the way through the chest and one shoulder. It was lodged under the hide on the far side.

I need to get out and set up a ladder test to see how accurate I can get with these combos.

[maanbr]

Don't reload mine for elk size game for around here.  My load for my Rem 700 is a 140gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, H4831, Win Mag primers and Rem brass.  Easily under an inch at 100 from the bench.  I've taken many deer with this load.  Like mentioned above, the 7mag does wonderful with neck sized brass.  This will also extend the life of your brass.  Make sure to make everything uniform when trimming and powder measuring and you should be pleased.

I'd recommend the 160 accubond for the work you're planning on big game.