7 mag ammo
 

what do you perceive as being the best factory 7 mag ammo for elk in relatively long ranges say out to 500 yds

I have friends that swear by the 175 grain offerings. Best advice is try different factory loadings and see which one that your set up prefers. The best constructed bullets on the planet are not going to help you a bit if they will not shoot out of your rifle.

My go-to load for the 7mm mag is the 160gr Partition. I don't know if I would trust it to 500yards. Accuracy would be the major issue here. I personally load my own, with a full case of retumbo. If I could get accubonds to shoot good, I would consider that.

For that distance I would go with:

Remington 7mm Rem. Mag. 150 gr. Swift Scirocco, or Remington 7mm Rem. Mag. 160 gr. Primier PSP Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded.

Good luck.

What is it with people wanting to shoot an animal at that range? The 7MM will reach out and touch an elk with lethal force to the distance and beyond.
However, ask yourself this.

Are you capable of shooting to that range?
Do you have a place to practice shooting at that distance or beyond?

If the answer to either of these questions is NO, than forget about trying a shot at that distance, and get more realistic.
Practice at 100, with a 300yrd zero. Or about 2.5 inches high at 100.
Get to know your rifle, and how it handle, what ammo it shoots the best.

160 TTSX Barnes VorTx!

:wink:
HL

500yds. that's the key I would opt for a faster premium load. Faster flatter and more ft lbs down range. That's where I would start my research for up to 500yds. Most people can't consistently make a good 300yd shot let alone 500yds. So you would do your self a favor by eliminating a bunch of trajectory and room for error by going with a faster load. Either that or have time to range, calculate trajectory and wind-age and maybe the scope if you have that type of set up. Most elk hunting don't allow that much time to make a good shot before the animal is in a position of the perfect broadside shot or gets in cover. If the bullet sighted in at 200 yards is dropping more than 40 inches at 500 yards you don't really have a good that great of a 500 yard round for a basic rifle and scope set up for hold overs. My set up is 30" of drop at 500 yards. With a basic foot and a half of hold ( just a tad more than half the width of the elk body) i'm hitting dead center of the elks lungs. If I want to try just for the hear only I hold 6" over the body. But at 500yds why make it a iffy shot go straight through both lungs. And don't try to break bone at 500yds stay behind that shoulder. Hope this helps the ideal of your 500yd shooting.

I'm not really wanting to shoot 500yds but that is what my outfitter said i should be ready for. the bullets i am shooting are federal premium 165gr boat tail. they seem to shoot just like my 160 nosler partitions do at 100yds. ballistically the boat tails should do better at longer ranges. i'm an old bow hunter so these numbers drive me crazy. i am hoping for something under 200 but i know i am good @ 300. i mainly was curious about everyone else opinion. thanks for the input and i will continue to check back to see what else is said. i am curious about the "ideal" round for a 7 mag. years ago i committed to the 130 on 270 and haven't considered changing. i guess that's what i am really looking for is the best all around bullet for a 7 mag.

If your outfitter is telling you that I'd be looking for a diff outfitter. It's his job to get you w/in a reasonable shot. And for hunting I wouldn't call 500 yards a reasonable shot for anyone when you consider all the factors that may be in play from going up/down a mountain all day.

Outiffiter SUCKS
 

Find a different outfitter ASAP

I agree, if your outfitter/guide can't get you within 300 yards... Find another.

My outfitter told me the same thing. Im not sure about the 7mm as I bought a 300 win mag for my hunt. I found that 165 gr hornady superformance shot very nicely in my gun. I sighted in at 350 yds and went to handloads.com and printed out ballistic info. It told me I would be 26" low at 550 yds. (6" high at 200) When i shot at 550 it turned out to be about 24 1/2" low. My shot came at 437 yds which meant i needed to hold high up on the body but not over. It was a one shot kill with the elk running less than 50 yds leaving an easy blood trail.

+ ..............48


BTW - I use a 139gr. Hornady SST

for what its worth i ended up shooting my elk at 250. he was spooked and running from other hunters. one shot went right thru both lungs and was lodged in the ribs on the opposite side. i was not impressed with the amount of damage done. it did require a followup shot as he got up from his bed but went down shortly in heavy cover where i finished him. i am sure he would have died in the first spot he laid down if i hadn't followed so soon. i have a 338WM coming as i do not want to have this happen again. i believe the problem was the relatively small bullets and lack of tissue damage. i know the 7 mag is a great caliber but i do think a little heavier won't hurt a thing. i guess that's what keeps us buying guns and ammo.

The cheap winchester super x 175 grainers work great for moose never shot an elk with a 7mm.

Congrats on the elk

In the sagebrush 300 to 600 yd shots are the norm not the exception!! It depends on where he is going to hunt, and to throw out a blanket statment to just find a differrent outfitter is not the answer! All elk are not found in the high timber, where a shot over 200 yds would be a long one, here in the desert it's kinda like huntin antlope no place to hide, and if ya crawl it's through a bunch of catus! I don't care what you say no guides gonns get you in real close on flat ground with no cover!!!!!

I shot my bull at about 70 yards with a handloaded 150gr nosler partition. Double lung, complete pass through, wobbled for about 15 seconds and tipped over!! If i was going to shoot that long of range though i would shoot a some sort of ballistic tip, and probably a heavier one at that.