162 Hornady BTSP

Four+ rifles chambered with the zero freebore reamer in 7 STW, two rem Sendero re chambers, one Pac Nor 11T, all shoot tiny groups with the 140g C/T bullet and several Hart 9T shooting the 120g Nosler Solid base. We have never had a bullet failure.

I never shot any deer with the 120g Nosler ballistic tip or the 120g Barnes TTSX in the 7 STW. In the beginning, all we used was the 120g Nosler Solid base lead tip, I have only worked up a load for the 120g Ballistic tip and TTSX. It was simply amazing at the accuracy of the 120g Barnes ttsx, jumping .050 from the lands, with IMR 7828 and R#22. Groups were simply opening up a single bullet hole with no paper in between the bullets, group after group after group with the hotter the load, the better it shot!

When Lane Simpson came out with the 7 STW in Handloader magazine back around 1989, I ordered a reamer. There was no brass at all for the 7 STW. We formed brass while working up loads with R#22 with Nosler 120g Solid Base bullets.

While fire forming with 8 Rem mag brass and R#22, we started getting 1/2" accuracy around 3750 fps, and as the velocity went up to 3850, the accuracy just kept getting better. A gunsmith, Joe Wagner in Los Angles chambered these rifles and also installed one of his muzzle breaks on the barrel. We wanted to save our primer pockets, so we held the velocity to 3800, hunting while we were fire-forming the brass, why not? Those 120g Nosler Solid Base lead tip bullets sure do a job on deer, never a failure.

We sat up a tree stand, on a Power Line, and put out a great food plot for the deer exactly 500 yards from the tree stand, we killed many deer out of that stand with our 7 STW's. The scopes on our rifles at the time was the Burris black diamond 8x32, and we had the dial marked for the yardage. By this time, brother and I have been shooting the 140g C/T bullet exclusively. Brother killed a 365 lb white tail in Kansas at 550 yards, rattled in, he flopped at the bullet impact.
 
Truc, we have a long barrel 7 Rem mag that we are shooting the 160g Sierra BTSP at 3100 with Retumbo, it is a very deadly combo, but primer pockets do not last long in the Rem brass. For the other 7 mags, we shoot the 160g Sierra btsp around 3000 +-/(R#22), and in a BAR at 2950(IMR 4831). I shoot a 280 Rem with the 160g BTSP at 2900 with a load of IMR 7828(Fed 210), load right out of the Nosler manual #4. They have had to dumb down the 280 Rem loads in manuals due to semi-auto and Pump Remingtons. The 160g Sierra is one heck of a deer and hog-killing bullet, with massive internal destruction and penetration.

In the 7 STW, there is an accuracy node with Winchester brass with the 165g Game changer at 3450.

My cousin is shooting a custom 28 Nosler(X Caliber 9T, 25" barrel), and we just got through working up a bug hole load with ogive sorted 162g ELD-X seated very close to the lands at 3230fps with Retumbo and Fed 215's, AGD brass....never killed a thing with it. I mention this because the 7 STW and the 28 Nosler have almost the same identical case capacity
 
My 7 STW has a slow twist and will not stabilize the 168-180 Bergers. Just wondering if the Hornady 162 BTSP bullet or a 160 Sierra BTSP is too explosive at 3100 fps.
Thanks
I hunted deer and antelope with the Hornady 162 Grain BTHP and the Amax for 30 years, shot out of a 7 Rem Mag and a 7 RUM. Kills stuff DRT. They do open up really quick at close range, but I always shot behind the shoulder so very little usable meat was damaged and there was always a real good exit hole. Not the bullet I would use on Elk or Moose close up but at 400 yards plus, it works great.

I did not read all the responses till just now and see I too have repsonded to a very old thread. Oh well, comment is still applicable.
 
You might try to find a 160-gr bullet with a flat base, short radius tangent ogive. That squatty bullet won't have a high BC but your pipe might stabilize it. Or you could just get a faster twist barrel.
 
Hey Guys, it must be winter, I posted this back in 2014 and don't even have that rifle any longer. But come to think of it it, I do have the barrel. Took it off and put a proper barrel and twist on it.
I've got my old 10" twist pipe hanging in the antlers of the buck I shot with it... Did you wall hang that slow twist barrel of yours, or is it a tomato stake like was joked about?
 
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