jeepkid

Okay guys I am going to try and find a good, accurate bullet for about 500 yard shots. It will be for my 7mm Rem Mag. I want to try and find a good bullet/load combo and then work out the drop chart and send it to Leupold and get thier BDC scope turrets. I am thinking about either the 160 Accubonds, 168 Bergers, or those Wildcat bullets. Then I will just stick to that load for hunting deer, elk...

Thanks

700xcr

I would stick with a bullet that is easily acessiable. Meaning that you can get anytime in your area or online. Hate to see you spend the money on calibration on your scopefor one bullet and can not get it due to low in stock or discontinue. I would get a hunting bullet rather than a match bullet due to use of hunting. This is my opinion I would use Nosler Accubondswhere other maybe different.

jeepkid

I chose those three hoping they will be around for a while. I was going to use the 140 XLC's that I currently shoot, but Barnes no longer makes them, and I have 7 loaded shells left.

I know what you mean about the match bullet for hunting. I looked into it a while ago and the Bergers are used for hunting and are suppose to work really well on animals.

I need to find a place that will sell me about 10 of each so I can see which one shoots better out of my rifle...

stubblejumper

Ten rounds isn't likely going to be enough to work up a load and then test it out to 500yards to confirm the accuracy.
If buying a whole box is too much of an expense for you,how much do you intend to spend every year practising so you are capable of good 500 yard accuracy with the rifle?

HEAD0001

175 grain Sierra GameKing Spitzer Boattails.

This bullet has the same BC as your Accubonds for almost 1/2 the price. It has been my experience(over 35 years of reloading) that Sierra's on average will outshoot Nosler's. With the exception of the Ballistic tip bullet's. But the Ballistic tip's will not outshoot the Sierra's.

The Ballistic coefficient on the Sierra is basically the same(slightly higher) than the Accubond. The BC is .538 for the Sierra.

IMO this is how you should go about it. I would buy 500 bullets, and separate them by weight. I am assuming you want accuracy at 500 yards. Work up your loads with the bullet's that are not the exact weight. Make sure they weigh the same so that accuracy potential is not affected. I sort by .1 grain for my 30 caliber's. You should have three or four piles of bullet's. And a few will be outside that box-save them for the barrel burner after a good cleaning.

Take your time and work up your load. You will find a good load that will shoot this bullet. You will also save alot of money-the bullet's do not cost as much, but I guarantee you they are every bit as good as any of your other choices-if not better.

After you have found your load you should shoot a target every 100 yards. Zero your rifle at 100 yards. Shoot your rifle at 200, 300, 400, and then 500 yards. Shoot 5 shot groups, then measure the amount of drop at each distance. This is the best way to know exactly what your bullet's are doing. This isthe pertinent informationthat will be needed to calibrate your scope.

BC's can vary greatly. So velocity and BC may not give an accurate indication of your bullet's drop. However if you measure your bullet's drop, then the velocity and BC become irrelevant. And a ballistician can calculate your velocity and BC from this information. If you want to know. Then check their velocity against your chrono. Tom.

stubblejumper

That being the case,and the fact that the accubonds can be driven faster,result in the accubond shooting flatter and having less wind drift.

The ballistic tip has been the most consistantly accurate bullet in my rifles,bar none.The accubond in general shoots just as accurate as the ballistic tip.

Not necessarily,some rifles will just not shoot certain bullets well.My own 7mm rifles did not shoot 175gr bullets as well as lighter bullets.

kelbro

I believe the most important point made was to work up your load, shoot and actually measure the drops. Then load up a bunch with the exact same components.

Calculations are good but not always dead on. If your velocity varies (due to any of several factors) or the altitude or temps vary, no chart will be accurate enough to ensure a clean kill at over 400 yds.

jeepkid

Its not the expense, but within ten rounds at 100 yards I should at least be able to tell if my rifle will like them or not. Then I will buy a bunch of themand fine tune the load and calculate bullet drop. Maybe I will need twenty, but I shouldn't need a whole box of fifty or 100.

After reading on the net, I am leaning towards the Bergers...

blaserman

You want to try some Richard Graves WildCat Bullets I will give you 10 150 gr RBBT ULD WildCats I use them in my 7 mm STW.The BC on them is way higher than any common noncustom bullets.

stubblejumper

If you are fortunate enough to hit a powder and bullet combination that shows promise on the first attempt ten bullets might be enough,but it may take two or three powders and several bullets in order to find a load that shows promise for 500 yard shooting.That could easily require thirty or forty bullets of each type.
Be aware that to be a competent 500 yard shot requires a great deal of time and shooting.Even after you fine tune the load and fire it at each distance to determine the actual trajectory in warm weather,you will need to test again in cold weather as there can be significant differences at 500 yards.Then you need to shoot again at each distance to learn the wind drift for the load.Then once you learn the load,you need to practise often at long distance to keep your shooting skills sharp.Too many people think that if they simply buy long range rifles,scopes and accessories,they automatically become long range shooters.