Discussion Forums

Jonathan Stamper

Hi all,

I am in the early stages of load work up for a new rifle, a 7mm Rem Mag with a 26”, 1:9” twist barrel (Christensen Mesa LR).

It shows a lot of promise, but I am having trouble deciding which bullet to focus on. The edition of Nathan’s Cartridges book that I have mentions looking forward to the 180, and I have hear good things.

But, the accuracy node for the 180 in my rifle is looking to be around 2830-2860 FPS with H1000, which is the powder of most like to use due to temp stability and the fact I have a good bit of it on hand. I have a little RL26, but further supply of it is uncertain right now. There’s plenty of room for more speed, but accuracy definitely falls away above 2860 FPS.

On the other hand, I’ve found good accuracy nodes at 3090 and 3000 (with very good accuracy at the lower node).

I hunt whitetail deer, 0-700 yards.

Does the 180 show enough terminal performance gains to outweigh the velocity loss vs. the 162?

With the 162 at 3090, I have impact velocities of 2600 FPS or greater out to nearly 400 yards, which covers the majority of my shots on game.

Thanks!