7MM Remington Mag. Ammo

[Alleyoop]

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I am going moose hunting this fall....I have just bought a used BAR in 7MM Rem. Mag. and am trying various factory shells to find the best one for moose hunting & for my rifle. I will be practice target shooting with my 7MM Rem. Mag. BAR with a Leupold VX1 2-7X. Does anyone have a preference based on which shell operates best in a Browning semi-auto. I have 175 gr. Winchhester Ballistic Point, 160 gr. Remington Premier A Frame and have seen Federal Fusion in 175 gr. which I am contemplating trying. Shots can be anywhere from 50 yards to 350 yards.... from thick brush to clear cuts.

I have used a Remington semi-auto in 180 gr .30-06 for 40 years and have had excellent results

Thx Al

[Jackpine Rob]

I don't think there's any way for you to shortcut this one.

3 years ago I was trying to tune up an older Belgian BAR in 30-06 for a moose hunt, and it was a frustrating couple of weeks before I finally got things dialed in to where I was happy. I ended up reaming out the forearm, taking the whole thing apart and putting it back together again checking all screws for proper tightness, and it finally started to throw acceptable groups.

By the time I was done, I had tried 8 different varieties in 180 grain, as well as some 150's and even some 220's. My shoulder ached for weeks.....

I finally settled on Winchester Premium (3 on their numbering system for large game) tipped with 180 gr. FailSafes which ended up giving me sub-MOA accuracy. The rifle performed flawlessly, and the Burris 3-9 on top worked out just fine.

Good luck on your project! Look at it this way - you get to spend some quality time shooting, and that's always a good thing.

[picksbigwagon]

First thing is definately go buy a lead sled gun rest. it will make a world of difference in your shooting for groups, especially with those loads. Are you reloading or going factory ammo? Barnes makes a pretty good bullet if you are reloading I would look at those. Federal has some Barnes in their factory loads, so keep an eye out for those as well. When you find something that works (Minute of Moose at 200 yards) you're done with the easy part. Then you just have to get prepared for taking the shot, prone, off of a pack, off of a buddy's shoulder, standing, kneeling, sitting, basically anything you might encounter in the wild....Good luck, my Kindergartener is really excited you are going moose hunting, he wants me to go moose hunting now too, along with elk, caribou, cape buffalo and dinosaur hunting. Maybe I will win the lottery this weekend....

[fishingforester]

I don't foresee any functional or reliability problems for you, have owned 2 BAR'S and never had a hiccup with any type of ammo. My current BAR (300 mag) has a BOSS, so I picked my bullet and then tuned the barrel to shoot it well.

I would say to pick a bullet that is well constructed with decent ballistic performance in case you do get a 350 yd shot, and see how your rifle likes it. If groups are not acceptable, try another load. Hopefully the first choice will be a good one, with ammo prices the way they are these days.

Of the loads you listed, the A-frame is probably best suited for moose. IMO, bonded bullets are where it's at, or a bullet that isn't pure lead from tip-to-base (A-frame, Nosler partition, trophy bonded bear claw, etc).

Good luck moose hunting, I would love to give it a try some day!

[Tom7227]

Those 7mm rounds get expensive. I got into reloading shortly after I got my gun and I am sold on it. You get greatly increased accuracy with the hand loads and you can vary the small things to work on dialing it in. It was a while ago but I think I got a Lyman kit for under $200. You can buy once shot brass pretty resonably at a good gun shop. A couple of reference manuals and some time with someone who knows what they're doing is also mandatory. Note that I would not go to a big box to get started. Go to a real gun shop and get what you need. You may pay a few bucks extra but youo'll be building a relationship that will help in the future when you need a little advice.

I had a chance to go moose hunting and I was amused at all the articles that said a 3006 or a 7 wouldn't be enough to kill one. My groups were 1.5 inches at 100 yards and I don't think a quick and clean kill would have been an issue. When I did get a chance at a yearling I ended up doing a 'catch and release'. I was on target but I wasn't excited so I let it go. My cousin got one the next day and his jubilation was something I'll never forget.

Good luck.

[WalleyesWest]

AL

Just a word of caution I used to be a fan of the winchester silver balistic tips but now that i have a New gun that shoots much faster the plain old suck. I used to shoot a 308 win but upgraded to a 7MM WSM 2 years ago and have found that if you shoot a deer at close range under 150 yeards these bullets just don't hold togher. Here's my story shot a buck at about 75 yrds square in the front sholder bullet never made it to the chest cavity. How do I know I tracked him for over a mile and had to shoot him again of course in the rear end (all I had to shoot at). Upon dressing the deer I found many bullet fragment in the sholder of the deer it was a big boned 205lb minnesota buck. Before this incident I had shot 5 deer with this gun and bullet combo 140gr and had great success "all rib shots though". I went directly to the local store and bought Accubonds and had complete pass through on the next deer I shot in the sholder. Just something to think about when using balisic tiped bullets stick to something BONDED. Should have listened to the sporting goods manager who told me this would happen with them silver tiped XXXXX bullets. I know people will chalange me on this one but this is my story. Moose are big go big and heavy.

[Alleyoop]

Thx guyz...WalleyeWest, hear you that moose are BIG & tuff...I plan to be ready with my new used 7mm RM ..I have been fortunate over the last # of years to harvest 8 moose (never lost one)....6 with Remington Corelokt .30-06 180 grain...and the last 2 with 180 grain Remington Premier A Frame...I am now an A Frame man, just would like 180 gr instead of 160 but from other moose hunters I have heard from the 160 gr A Frame out of the 7mm RM should have equally effective results...

Al

[harvey lee]

I used the Winchester balistic tips for two years and had very poor penatration on deer. I switched to Hornady and never looked back.