7mm 162gn ELD-X

[toddc]

I understand what your saying about hodgon load data but not all. Bullets are the same i shot 72 grain of retumbo with a-max but have found that 69.5 is the max for the eld-x bullets out of my rifle so with that being said I hope it does work for you but I'd still be careful because there a reason 68.5 h1000 was listed as the maximum from hornady

Pretty simple why Hornady's max is so low...........Hornady brass is TRASH. IMHO.
Love the ELD-X AND ELD-M but the brass, not so much.

 

[AKSavage]

I tried the 162s with 7797, h1000, and Retumbo. I could get close to 3100fps using Retumbo, but things really came alive when I tried some RL26. With that I was able to reach 3200fps out of a 24" barrel, although I know that was leaning on it and I backed down a bit looking for an accuracy node. However, it seems like 3100+ fps is pretty doable with RL26. I haven't found the sweet spot yet (I haven't made it to the range in a while...short days and cold!) but it looks pretty promising, at least as far as MV is concerned. It seems to be a pretty ideal burn rate for 160-168 grain bullets from a 7mm Rem Mag.

BTW: RL 26 also worked great in my 6.5 SAUM with 147 gr ELD-M. It ties Retumbo for speed and accuracy using about 2 grains less. It's a little slow burning for a .260 Rem, but if you shoot 140gr or heavier bullets and can load them l-o-n-g you can just get enough RL26 into the case to make it work. Seems about perfect for a 260AI shooting 140 grainers. OK, now back to your regularly scheduled program...

 

[aaronw06]

I tried the 162s with 7797, h1000, and Retumbo. I could get close to 3100fps using Retumbo, but things really came alive when I tried some RL26. With that I was able to reach 3200fps out of a 24" barrel, although I know that was leaning on it and I backed down a bit looking for an accuracy node. However, it seems like 3100+ fps is pretty doable with RL26. I haven't found the sweet spot yet (I haven't made it to the range in a while...short days and cold!) but it looks pretty promising, at least as far as MV is concerned. It seems to be a pretty ideal burn rate for 160-168 grain bullets from a 7mm Rem Mag.

BTW: RL 26 also worked great in my 6.5 SAUM with 147 gr ELD-M. It ties Retumbo for speed and accuracy using about 2 grains less. It's a little slow burning for a .260 Rem, but if you shoot 140gr or heavier bullets and can load them l-o-n-g you can just get enough RL26 into the case to make it work. Seems about perfect for a 260AI shooting 140 grainers. OK, now back to your regularly scheduled program...

How did it preform with the 7977?
Any load data?

 

[AKSavage]

I tried 69-70.5 grains of 7977 and the best speed I got was about 2950fps. Accuracy was not anything impressive either, so with both Retumbo and RL26 giving me at 100 to 250fps more and equal or better accuracy I moved on.

 

[RobStar]

I get amazing results with the 162gr ELD-X using 67.5gr of H1000 in my Proof 7mm Rem Mag at avg 3012 fps. It was also a fairly deadly package for me this season!

~Robert

 

[aaronw06]

Awesome. I finally shot a white tail last year with the ELD-X and ill just say i didn't have to do much tracking.

 

[Bradvan76]

I finally got a new chrony and made it to the range today and had some good results. H1000 and 215M primers looks promising. 66g was 2812, 70g was 3007, avg 2897fps. Didn't like H1000 and WLMR primers at all.
Best was Retumbo and WLMR primers. 67g 2850, 71g 3004 and avg 2925 fps.
Didn't like Retumbo and 215M primers.
Shooting a Sako Finnlight, Norma brass neck sized only, OACL 3.320
Chrony around 15' shooting from a lead sled at 150 yards.

 

[WildRose]

I finally got a new chrony and made it to the range today and had some good results. H1000 and 215M primers looks promising. 66g was 2812, 70g was 3007, avg 2897fps. Didn't like H1000 and WLMR primers at all.
Best was Retumbo and WLMR primers. 67g 2850, 71g 3004 and avg 2925 fps.
Didn't like Retumbo and 215M primers.
Shooting a Sako Finnlight, Norma brass neck sized only, OACL 3.320
Chrony around 15' shooting from a lead sled at 150 yards.

The top center group looks pretty good.

I would stop shooting 5 round groups. Stick to three as this is a hunting rifle, not a bench gun. With that whippy, light barrel and with no bedding you'v already got an uphill battle trying to get a sub MOA load.

I would also get off of the lead sled and try shootng off of bags and/or a bipod. You can't take the human out of the equation and I find that the closer I shoot in practice or when working up loads to how I will shoot in the field the better my overall results are.

Once you get a load you're happy with give it a try at 200 and 300 yards or farther and see if you are still maintaining accuracy. Sometimes things can change a lot on you in a hurry when you start stretching things out.

 

[Bradvan76]

Thank you for your advice and opinion. I should have clarified that this was ladder testing using 5 different charge weights on two different powders with two different primers. This is my first round of tests on this bullet. I regularly shoot sub MOA groups out to 500m with this rifle with 160 Accubond and 168 ABLR handloads. This was my first time using a lead sled and I do like it for shooting multiple hot loads on multiple rifles. My shoulder is definitely thanking me. lol

 

[IRISHMADMAN7RM]

I tried the 162s with 7797, h1000, and Retumbo. I could get close to 3100fps using Retumbo, but things really came alive when I tried some RL26. With that I was able to reach 3200fps out of a 24" barrel, although I know that was leaning on it and I backed down a bit looking for an accuracy node. However, it seems like 3100+ fps is pretty doable with RL26. I haven't found the sweet spot yet (I haven't made it to the range in a while...short days and cold!) but it looks pretty promising, at least as far as MV is concerned. It seems to be a pretty ideal burn rate for 160-168 grain bullets from a 7mm Rem Mag.

BTW: RL 26 also worked great in my 6.5 SAUM with 147 gr ELD-M. It ties Retumbo for speed and accuracy using about 2 grains less. It's a little slow burning for a .260 Rem, but if you shoot 140gr or heavier bullets and can load them l-o-n-g you can just get enough RL26 into the case to make it work. Seems about perfect for a 260AI shooting 140 grainers. OK, now back to your regularly scheduled program...

What was your load for Retumbo at 3100fps

 

[falcon6555]

I've moved up from a 6.5x55 to a 7mmRemMag Tikka T3X for shooting red deer in NZ
I'm getting 2970fps (through a Hardy magnum suppressor)with 72gns 2217 (H1000) Norma brass and cci magnum primers with the 162 eld x . OAL is 3.327 . I'm getting 3 shot touching at 100 and within an inch at 270 yds so I'm happy with that. Just waiting for our weather to improve in the hills so I can try them out on the deer here.