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> HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)
HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)
@ 04:19 pm (GMT) |
Ryan NafeFellas,I decided to try a box of HSM’s “Tipping Point” ammo, featuring Sierra GameChanger bullets. In this case the 7mm Rem Mag 165 grain load. I had read on several reviews of the bullet left by reloaders MidwayUSA, and a few other retailers, that the bullets seemed to be most accurate with a long jump to the lands, rather than right close to them. So I figured I’d try the factory ammo from HSM, and after I shot a couple of warmup groups, I printed two separate three-shot groups of .600” at 100 yards. This is from my Remington 700 SPS, factory barrel, lapped lugs, aluminum-bedded laminate stock. These groups are very acceptable for a factory load in a magnum chamber and factory barrel, at least I think so. I still have to chronograph them, but the decent weight and high BC are enough to help make up for the somewhat lower velocity than a handload would yield. They use Federal brass, so it might be a bit too soft for some people’s taste if you want it for loading, but otherwise this stuff seems like a potentially very good option for me at the moment. Just thought I’d let you guys know that this stuff from HSM might be worth trying out. |
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@ 09:06 am (GMT) |
Ryan NafeRe: HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)Shot a doe with the 165 grain Sierra TGK this afternoon. Range was 69 yards, impact velocity would be almost exactly 2,700 FPS from an average MV of 2,810 and a G1 BC of 0.61That muzzle velocity is much lower than I’d like, I was disappointed to discover it when I chronographed the ammo. But, at these short ranges of inside 100 yards when coupled with the quite good BC, it seemed to work well enough. Live weight of the animal should be around 165 to 175 pounds or roughly 75 to 80 kilograms. I’d call it just about average size and weight for a 2 to 4 year old female whitetail in this area. At the shot, placed about right in line with the front edge of the front leg and midway up the chest, the animal collapsed and there was a fountain of blood pouring out of the exit hole, it literally looked like a garden hose. The blood spraying out lasted a few seconds, it was pretty heavy and steady. You’ll see evidence of that in the attached pictures. The animal expired almost immediately, only unconscious nervous system reactions like twitches and short kicks for a few seconds and then it was still. The exit hole was quite impressive, I measured it at 1.125” or 2.8cm in diameter, and it was a clean and round hole. It looked like a hole had been bored through the meat and bone under the exit wound, just an empty tunnel leading to an equal-sized hole in the hide. Evidently there was plenty of hydraulic force still left in the bullet. Forgot to take a closeup picture of it, however. I’ve attached a few pictures. One showing the animal as it fell after the shot, one showing the extensive damage done to the heart/lung area (the liver was basically untouched, no fragments hit it as far as I could tell), and one of me with the rifle and the deer. I took the animal to a meat locker for butchering and they don’t want it skun (they sell the hides of course, and the hide left on means they can be less careful with handling the carcass before hanging it up in the cooler) so I couldn’t get pictures of the entrance and exit on a bare carcass, unfortunately. The knife pictured with the heart/lungs is a Cold Steel Outdoorsman, it’s a 6” blade and 5” handle to get a sense of scale in the picture. Hopefully this is helpful, and I’ll continue to document the performance of the bullet over the coming years until I run out of ammo. That way I can increase sample size and get a good idea of overall performance, and perhaps try some neck or rear-lung shots eventually as well. Then, after I run out, I’ll either get more of these bullets and bump up the velocity a lot or go a different route entirely. It certainly hit hard enough in this instance. If impact velocity is bumped up by 200 FPS, this would likely be an extremely potent bullet. 
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@ 09:31 am (GMT) |
Ryan NafeRe: HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)This was mostly copy-pasted from an email I sent Nathan last night, this happened yesterday. To correct the statement in the first sentence about it happening “this afternoon” |
@ 11:43 am (GMT) |
Luis VazquezRe: HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)Thanks for sharing Ryan and congrats on putting some meat on the freezer. The bullet definitely did its job by the looks of the damage done.The muzzle velocity of this HSM ammo seems pretty low, I have a Rem 700 ADL in 7mm Rem Mag with a 26" barrel like yours so I would've expected somewhere close to 3,000 fps. I recently bought some Federal Premium ammo with the 168gr Berger Hybrid Hunter, and I got it for the brass but it ended grouping half MOA or better depending on the day so I saved a few for this past deer hunt. It worked great on a Coues buck at 280 yds, smashed the lungs and left a tennis ball size exit hole, a quick death. Anyways the advertized muzzle velocity on the box says 2,870 but averages 3,053 on my rifle, maybe they got their numbers from a 24" barrel or who knows. HSM uses a few premium bullets on their 7mm Rem Mag ammo that are good for longer ranges so you would expect higher velocities, but then again you never know. Best regards Luis |
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@ 12:23 pm (GMT) |
Ryan NafeRe: HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)Yeah Louis, the velocity was very low. I would’ve been expecting at least 2,900. I believe the chamber of my rifle to be on the large side, so I typically get less than advertised speed, but a bit over 2,800 for a 165 grain bullet is quite low for the Rem Mag out of a 26” tube.A couple of caveats, however, are that the chronograph I used is a new one (Competition Electronics’ Pro Chrono LTD model) that I haven’t cross-referenced with the Oehler 35P I usually use, and light was beginning to fade. If the readings were off, I doubt it would be very much. But I should still make sure it’s consistent. The three screens of the Oehler are on a homemade setup and spaced nearly 3 feet apart, which means it’s about as accurate as I can realistically get. I did check velocity of my handgun (Glock 27) using some 180 grain hollow points that I have checked in the past and there was no meaningful discrepancy with the numbers for that, but the rifle rounds were not cross-referenced in the same way. |
@ 09:49 am (GMT) |
Scott StruifRe: HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)Nice shot, Ryan! Thanks for the pics. I’m curious, do you live in the Southeast US? The background foliage looks like my old stomping ground in Southern Illinois. |
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@ 12:33 pm (GMT) |
Ryan NafeRe: HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)Thanks, Scott. I hunt in Polk County, Wisconsin. Way back in the 1800’s this area was almost completely dominated by white pine forest, but it was logged out and for the last century or so it’s been mostly hardwoods broken up by swamps, lakes, and farmlands. |
@ 09:30 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)Thanks for sharing your results Ryan, much appreciated. |
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@ 03:26 am (GMT) |
Ryan NafeRe: HSM’s “Tipping Point” Ammo (7mm Rem Mag)No problem, Nathan! |
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