I am interested in whether anyone has any experience with the accubond lr 168gr bullets with a Tikka 7mm Rem Mag. When I run the numbers on Berger's twist calculator it states that it will only be marginally stable. How accurate is this calculator? I played around with some other bullets as well and most of them came up as only marginally stable. My Tikka has a 1:9.5 twist rate and I am trying to figure out the heaviest bullet I can shoot out of this rifle.
Accubond LR 168gr and Tikka 7mm Rem Mag
- Thread starter romad97
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MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Did you run the numbers on the Berger 168 VLD?
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Every animal I've shot with them the bullets exited.
The trick to Bergers is to not shoot shoulder shots. Shoot for lung shots behind the shoulders. Softer area, no hard bones, takes out the lungs and the back of the heart, and you'll get an exit.
Ok thats good info. I am primarily a boiler room shooter anyway. I prefer a good heart and lung shot over a shoulder shot, it has served me well over the years. I think I am going to go ahead and give the bergers a try. If they group well I will just go with them. At the end of the day good shot placement trumps all.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Same here. I eat what I kill, and shoulder shots ruin way too much meat. Sometimes you can't help but make a shoulder shot, but 99% of the time I make vitals shots.
LRShooter7mm
Well-Known Member
I am actually just working on a load with the ABLR 168 with Retumbo. I have a load that will shoot .9 inch group at 100 yards. I will be working on it some more later one when I am off work but I have no issues stabilizing the bullet. I also run berger 168 & 180 gr vld out of my tikka 7mm rm both have same impact at 200 yards which is my sight in. I have taking both out too 900 yards just different drops for the 168 & 180 berger.
LRShooter. I would appreciate any further details about your experience with the 180 bergers in your Tikka. My real objective is to shoot the heaviest bullet I can stabilize. I hadn't even considered the 180 as the twist rate on the Tikka is so slow and the numbers on bergers calculator showed that they would be very under stabilized.
LRShooter7mm
Well-Known Member
What would you like to know about the 180 Bergers? The place I shoot I am about 2000 ft asl was shooting at about 16 degree Celsius. I was shooting a smallish rock about 800 yards and 760 yards out and was hitting the rock no problem. My group at 450 yards with the 180s were about 2.5 inches or less. Haven't really showed any signs of it not being stable. The good thing I like about these two loads I have with bergers are that the 168 & 180 both have same zero at 200 but more drop with the 168s further out I go.
LRShooter7mm
Well-Known Member
Yeah doesn't hurt to try them out to see if they will stabilize out of your rifle. I thought same thing when I first bought them but tried them anyways and have had good luck with them.
I've been shooting the 168 ABLR in my 9 twist Brux since they came out I've killed two elk with them and they have performed well...your Tikka 9.5 might be on the slow side, you will just have to try them and see..I use .640 on the BC and my drops have been spot on..
