7mm Remington Magnum Journal
Article #1 - January 2002
Setting Up a Bullet Penetration and Performance Test
This is the first article in what I hope will be a monthly series about our favorite cartridge, the 7mm Remington Magnum. I hope you will continuously visit our site and write us often with any suggestions you have for articles. If you have something you would like to see on our site, e-mail us and let us know....it might just show up on here..!!
As a certified gun nut, I am always trying to figure out what bullet and load will work out "best" in my rifle. I know that "best" is a highly arbitrary term, that doesn't always mean the same thing to you as it does to me. I want a flat shooting, hard-hitting, accurate load that penetrates well and quickly puts down a game animal. There are many bullet and powder combinations in our favorite cartridge that will fit that description. I want to know which one fits it best. To figure this out, we are going to set up some experiments....
In order to set up this experiment properly, we need to set a few constants so we are comparing apples to apples. Lets start with the bullets...
1.) To test performance on heavy game, such as elk, moose, eland, gemsbok, wildebeest and the like, we will use bullets that are likely to be picked for such targets. These will include the following: 175 gr. Nosler Partition, 175 gr. Hornady Interlock, 160 gr. Winchester Failsafe, 175 gr. Speer Grand Slam, and possibly a few others, depending on time and budget.
2.) To test performance on smaller game, such as deer, springbok, and pronghorn, we will use bullets that are likely to be picked for these animals. These will include the following: 145 gr. Speer boattail, 140 gr. Nosler partition, 139 gr. Hornady SST, 140 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip, and possibly some others.
Now for the rest of the loads....All loads will be made using the same brand of cases. I am not sure which brand, as it will depend on what I have in my tumbler at that particular time. I have had good luck with Federal 215 primers, so I will stick with them. The powders of choice will likely be Reloader 22, IMR-7828, and Ramshot Magnum (formerly known as big boy), since that is what I have at my reloading bench.
When testing bullet performance, one needs something to shoot into. I will use the standard testing medium of wet phone books, since I have access to plenty of them from my office, and they will allow us a great deal of consistency when shooting. The ranges for shooting will try to approximate likely shooting distances of these types of animals. For the heavy game simulation, we will shoot at approximately 35 and 75 yards, as these are fairly common distances for the areas where I hunt eland or where I hunt elk. The lighter bullets will be tested at 150 or 200 yards, distances more common for the hunting of pronghorn or springbok.
The measurements that will be reported in this experiment will be: penetration depth, wound channel width, and retained bullet weight. Additionally, all loads will be tested for 100 yard accuracy, and muzzle velocity.
This experiment will likely take a couple of months to do completely, but I will post updates on the progress and data found to date as we proceed. If you have any additional ideas for the test, write me at info@slatesafaris.com
Thanks for visiting, and continue to check back often!!!
Joel S.
Slate Safaris - Namibia & S. Africa
7mm Enthusiasts since 1/6/02
Copyright 2001, Slate & Associates, LLC