100 gr 7mmwsm

A long time ago when I built my first custom 7mm Rem, I did alot of experimenting with lighter bullets trying to find that magical load that went so fast that holdover would be a thing of the past. What I discovered was that no matter how fast I pushed the 120grn bullets, they seemed to fly laser straight out to about 300yds, then they seemed to drop comparably to the bigger bullets at the 400-500yrd range, then they fell off the map past that. I guess it would depend on what your goals are, but the only advantage I see in loading these light bullets is if you want to create a low recoil load. I personally only shoot my big game loads at coyotes because I believe that the shots they offer are the best real-world practice for that big buck or bull. Also this limits confusion as only one load has to be memorized for hold/holdover etc. If your plan is to load a red hot screamer, beware of the extra copper fouling that may occur. I noticed this with 120 grn Nosler ballistic tips in my 7mm rem. I'm sure that alot of folks will disagree with me, but I believe in finding one great load for a rifle and shooting it exclusively until it's characteristics are second nature. If I wanted to shoot a different load, I'd be more inclined to buy a different rifle for that load than change up an old favorite that works. But hey.....Just my humble opinion.------shooter

"Springville Shooter" wrote:A long time ago when I built my first custom 7mm Rem, I did alot of experimenting with lighter bullets trying to find that magical load that went so fast that holdover would be a thing of the past. What I discovered was that no matter how fast I pushed the 120grn bullets, they seemed to fly laser straight out to about 300yds, then they seemed to drop comparably to the bigger bullets at the 400-500yrd range, then they fell off the map past that. I guess it would depend on what your goals are, but the only advantage I see in loading these light bullets is if you want to create a low recoil load. I personally only shoot my big game loads at coyotes because I believe that the shots they offer are the best real-world practice for that big buck or bull. Also this limits confusion as only one load has to be memorized for hold/holdover etc. If your plan is to load a red hot screamer, beware of the extra copper fouling that may occur. I noticed this with 120 grn Nosler ballistic tips in my 7mm rem. I'm sure that alot of folks will disagree with me, but I believe in finding one great load for a rifle and shooting it exclusively until it's characteristics are second nature. If I wanted to shoot a different load, I'd be more inclined to buy a different rifle for that load than change up an old favorite that works. But hey.....Just my humble opinion.------shooter

This is exactly how I feel about it. I use the same load out of my 7 Rem Mag for everything it is suitable for. My experiences with the light screamers are exactly how Spring described it. Laser flat for 300, then plowing the ground when gravity over took it at 400-500 yds. I like the 150 grain Barnes TTSX because it penetrates well on the bigger stuff, has plenty of energy, and doesn't blow up the smaller stuff like yotes. IMHO Wyatt

Ox, what these guys are talking about is the bullets ballistic coeficient, or it's ability to fly.
the only 100 grain 7mm bullet I can find available is the sierra hollow point.
It has a ballistic coeficient of .209
lets assume you can get it to shoot well at about 3600 fps
zero this load at 100 yards and it will hit over 47 inches low at 500 yards
not to mention be very sensitive to wind drift.

now lets try a 150 grain Nosler ballistic tip
it has a ballistic coeficient of .493
and lets be modest and shoot it at about 3100 fps
zero this load at 100 yards and it will hit about 29 inches low at 500 yards

see the difference?

Barnes used to make a 100 grain x bullet..... which would have had a higher B.C. than 209 due to its length (no lead core means more copper and a longer more streamlined bullet) but it still fell short of their 120 grain version.

Most calibers have a "go to" weight.... my 300 win mag likes 180's, my 25-06 likes 115's my 270 win likes 130's, yes I have tried lighter faster bullets and the results are always the same: poor accuracy and a fall on your face attitude.

So basically, if you wanna vaporize a jack rabbit at 150 yards or less, try them little bullets out and take lots of gruesome pics for us lol

But if you want velocity to reach way out and smoke a yote at 400.... try something with a little better BC. :thumb

Hey thanks guys!! you answered all my questions perfectly!...i wondered whether or not that would be the issue at longer distances. thats a great point about using just the one load makes perfect since! well i appreciate the advice!
im just getting into reloading so any tips are always welcome.