7mm RM Recipe for Muley Hunt

[thwatson2]

Accubonds! Find the grain that shoots best in your gun.

 

[Garou_22]

Tikka T3 7RM 5280ft elev. Zero=200: Sierra GameKing 160gr., RL22 @ 62.6gr, win brass, CCI 250, .005 off lands. MV 2950-3K. This is the load for my B-I-L hunting rifle I developed for him. He has successfully taken antelope, whitetail, and mulies to 600 yards (540 lazed leica 1600b for this year's harvest) on our property at one mile elevation in temps from 60° to -20° (45° this year).

That doesn't mean your firearm will like it, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Rebell]

150 grain Ballistic Tip with 4831. Been my go to 7mm load.

 

[Backcountry sports]

I booked my first Wyoming hunt, which happened to be a Mule Deer Hunt in Northwest Wyoming. I have a Rem 700 in 7mm RM (9.25" twist) that has a lot of sentimental value to me, and has been my tool of choice for many successful whitetail and bear hunts. I would like to use this rifle on this hunt. My loads for this rifle have never been fully developed, and the most recent load I partially developed is not showing enough promise for me. It's a 168 grain Berger VLD going around 2750 FPS. Not particularly fast, not particularly accurate, not particularly good ESs. I'm currently loading in Winchester brass, and I'm prepared to buy better brass (ADG maybe) to improve things. Having never been on this type of hunt, I dont want to go there with any accuracy/distance limitations imposed by the rifle. Where would you start with redeveloping this load, from a component standpoint? I've got H4831, H4350, H1000, IMR7828, RL26, and I'm prepared to try others. For bullets, I like Berger, but not hung up on using them, if something else would work well. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Backcountry sports]

I have 3 7mm I use retumbo 71.5 grains with 168 berger vld out of my Remington xcr 3067 killed lots of elk

 

[D.Camilleri]

You don't need anything special for a Mulie, go to the store and buy a box of your Favorite brand of 160 gr 7MM and shoot it. Mulies are the Dumbest animals on the planet. you can almost walk up them and slit their throat. I shot plenty of them here in Montana with everything from my M1 carbine to 30-06 most were with my 30-30 and 243

I would like to shed a little light on this comment. Muley's in the rut can be pretty dumb, but, big muley bucks can be some of the smartest animals I have ever encountered and being able to shoot long range can up the odds of a successful hunt. Having hunted north western Wyoming for the past 23 years and harvesting numerous bucks over 180" I can say that killing a buck isn't hard, but killing a big buck can be. You will be hunting in mid Sept to early Oct and won't have the benefit of the deer being in the rut. Having a guide that knows the area and knows the deer habbits will help a lot. Ask your outfitter about the size of bucks you will expect to see so you and what to expect as a shooter. A big muley buck will approach 300-350 lbs or more and can soak up a pretty big hit. Some hunters have never seen a truly big buck. Two years ago a hunter beat me into my favorite drainage and killed a huge buck
with a 6.5 creedmore, I heard each of the 5 shots it took to put the deer down!

Back to your 7mm mag, use a bullet of at least 160 grs and push it as fast as you can that retains accuracy, practice with it so you can place the bullet at ranges you will shoot. Once you have dialed in your load from the bench, use your practice from actual shooting positions. Practice prone, from shooting sticks, from the top of a rock, sitting etc. In all of my years of mule deer hunting I have only been able to take one deer from a prone position. Most have been from a steep hillside using shooting sticks. I have friends that are shooting 7mm mags right now that are shooting 175 gr eldx's behind RL25, 180 gr Berger's behind a full case of retumbo or H-1000. I would much rather have the high B.C. of the 175 to 180 gr bullet if long shots are going to be possible. Don't let anyone tell you that big mule deer are easy to kill, two of the biggest bucks of my life got away from bad hits and were never found. One was from a scope failure and the other was from not being ready for an immediate follow up shot after the deer crumpled and then took off at a run. I was shooting a 338 win mag too! Years ago around 1958 my dad and my uncle were hunting mule deer in Idaho and my dad shot a very big bodied muley with a big heavy rack, he hit the deer behind the shoulder with a 180 gr bullet from a 06, watched the deer kick once and run off. He found the deer the next day and he couldn't understand how a deer could run off after taking a hit like that. It was truly a great trophy! My dad went home and bought a 338 win mag and my uncle rechambered his pre 64 model 70 from 3006 to a 30-338.

 

[Hoppsing55]

I booked my first Wyoming hunt, which happened to be a Mule Deer Hunt in Northwest Wyoming. I have a Rem 700 in 7mm RM (9.25" twist) that has a lot of sentimental value to me, and has been my tool of choice for many successful whitetail and bear hunts. I would like to use this rifle on this hunt. My loads for this rifle have never been fully developed, and the most recent load I partially developed is not showing enough promise for me. It's a 168 grain Berger VLD going around 2750 FPS. Not particularly fast, not particularly accurate, not particularly good ESs. I'm currently loading in Winchester brass, and I'm prepared to buy better brass (ADG maybe) to improve things. Having never been on this type of hunt, I dont want to go there with any accuracy/distance limitations imposed by the rifle. Where would you start with redeveloping this load, from a component standpoint? I've got H4831, H4350, H1000, IMR7828, RL26, and I'm prepared to try others. For bullets, I like Berger, but not hung up on using them, if something else would work well. Thanks in advance for your help.

2019 Wyoming Muley hunt: 360 yds bang - flop, through the heart. Shooting a Savage 111 long range hunter 7mm Rem Mag, 1/9:25 twist. Loaded with 67.1gr of H1000 under ABond 160, Hornady brass, WLR primer = 3000fps / 1/2" moa. Confident with this gun, scope, load out to 600 yds, for game up to and including Elk. Hornady ELD-X 162 provides similar velocity - accuracy with extended range of 800-900 yds. Due to higher BC.

 

[JMW67]

I booked my first Wyoming hunt, which happened to be a Mule Deer Hunt in Northwest Wyoming. I have a Rem 700 in 7mm RM (9.25" twist) that has a lot of sentimental value to me, and has been my tool of choice for many successful whitetail and bear hunts. I would like to use this rifle on this hunt. My loads for this rifle have never been fully developed, and the most recent load I partially developed is not showing enough promise for me. It's a 168 grain Berger VLD going around 2750 FPS. Not particularly fast, not particularly accurate, not particularly good ESs. I'm currently loading in Winchester brass, and I'm prepared to buy better brass (ADG maybe) to improve things. Having never been on this type of hunt, I dont want to go there with any accuracy/distance limitations imposed by the rifle. Where would you start with redeveloping this load, from a component standpoint? I've got H4831, H4350, H1000, IMR7828, RL26, and I'm prepared to try others. For bullets, I like Berger, but not hung up on using them, if something else would work well. Thanks in advance for your help.

You mat take a look at the 165 sierra tipped gameking I have good luck with Rl 26 in this round

 

[lancetkenyon]

175 Berger Elite Hunter and H1000 or RL23. Should get you to 2950-3025+ depending on barrel/bore.

 

[Raudy707]

I used a 165 Gamechanger last year. 68 grains of H1000 using Nosler brass and CCI250 primers 2950 fps. One hole groups at 100 and 1.3 inch at 300. Shot a muley through the slats at 340 yards. Dead right there. No lungs. Pass thru. Worked well. Close up I'd be careful not to hit bone. They're soft. Good luck.

 

[LVJ76]

Best option with my experience would be the 162gr SST, you can push it around 3,000 fps. It will go through the shoulder if you need it to or just blow up inside and turn vitals in to jello woth lung shots

If you want a lighter bullet then I would recommend you go with the 150gr Ballistic Silvertip or the 154gr SST.

If you like Bergers then as mentioned before work up your load a bit and should be fine, should also push around 3,000 fps

 

[Deleted member 112174]

I used a Mod 700 BDL 7mm Mag for several years, down in East, Tx. I started out with the 175 factory load to keep from tearing the 90# deer up so bad. I later on began handloading and settled on the 150 NPT/65gr/IMR 4350. It was accurate and a real meat saver. I also made up a load with the 160 NPT over 4350. A friend borrowed it and killed elk in Colorado in 1983 or so. Decades later, ( I've been in Utah 30yrs now) I had a 26" bbl put on a Mod 700 in 7mm RM and got R26/160 Sierra Gameking HP to 3100 real easy. R33 was swell with the 175 SBT. Its a very, very popular round out here in Utah, right alongside the 30-06/270. Have a ball dude!

Don't think that Mule Deer are not tough, and...don't consider them made of iron either. Your consideration should not be if you have enough energy with a 7 RM to do the task, but satisfy yourself that your rifle and load will hit where you want it to. If you/rifle/load together can't be accurate at 300 yds, limit your shots to what you can hit. A mule deer hit in a vital spot with a 7mm Mag with the bullets you are listing will do the job. My sons used a 7x57 and a Hornady 175 gr spire point to kill white-tailed deer, mule deer, and elk. At 2500 ft per second it was devastating. No 300 yd shots, but a 265 yd shot by a 15 year-old dropped a muley buck in his tracks. Enjoy you hunt in Wyoming, I lived there for 14 years and loved it. I bet you will too.

 

[Opa-lopa]

150g TTSX over 60.0g IMR 4831.

 

[Alibiiv]

I booked my first Wyoming hunt, which happened to be a Mule Deer Hunt in Northwest Wyoming. I have a Rem 700 in 7mm RM (9.25" twist) that has a lot of sentimental value to me, and has been my tool of choice for many successful whitetail and bear hunts. I would like to use this rifle on this hunt. My loads for this rifle have never been fully developed, and the most recent load I partially developed is not showing enough promise for me. It's a 168 grain Berger VLD going around 2750 FPS. Not particularly fast, not particularly accurate, not particularly good ESs. I'm currently loading in Winchester brass, and I'm prepared to buy better brass (ADG maybe) to improve things. Having never been on this type of hunt, I dont want to go there with any accuracy/distance limitations imposed by the rifle. Where would you start with redeveloping this load, from a component standpoint? I've got H4831, H4350, H1000, IMR7828, RL26, and I'm prepared to try others. For bullets, I like Berger, but not hung up on using them, if something else would work well. Thanks in advance for your help.

With the 7mm ReMag that cartridge is more than adequate to take mule deer no matter what weight bullet you choose. From your post sounds like you just want to increase muzzle velocity, RL17, RL22, RL25, MAGPRO, WIN Supreme 780 are powders that show the most promise for top velocity. I've always had good performance/velocity and accuracy with with either IMR4831 or H4831 with the overbore cartridges. Nosler is showing a bullet/load that I would try if I were going on a mule deer hunt; IMR4831 starting load of 61gr. to 65gr MAXIMUM with a 150gr bullet for a muzzle velocity of 3240fps..

I know that distances for mule deer hunting can get out there, what distances do you plan on hunting (comfortably)??