First off not statistically significant but here is what I shot today. It was my first time with the 7RM and certainly 150s faster than 180’s. But the 7RM is the cheapest stuff on the shelf to get me on paper. What I find interesting about this is the SD 20 for the core lokt vs 24 for hornady match. Seems wrong to me? The match ammo was over $20 a box more than the cheap remington. My expectation was different. Again not a lot of shots but something to scratch my head about. Of course I need to get back to reloading.
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Good info. Man, Hornady just seems to be slipping this year. I’ve also seen very high SD’s recently in their ammo.
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I think when you run at 100% production rates there is no more stretch in the rubber band. So much pressure to keep shelves full of all types of ammo. They also keep introducing new stuff - which is great but it puts a load on production even more to support new offerings. Also with their powder constraints and when they shift - there are issues. When you have a critical component that you do not control, you must have second sources and set the specs with all sources tested. For us it was as simple as a resistor but we had to approve those for use. Sourcing teams HATE sole source components for many reasons. As project manager and engineer, I have been in the middle of sales dates and component sourcing availability - and screamed at by both ends.
I do not know if SD is a published spec for match grade ammo.
I hunt with the rem corlok tipped 150’s with my 7RM. I have found it to be good in accuracy and took a couple whitetail bucks with it. Also good accuracy in my 243, 6.5cm and 30.06. Whoteewho has many videos with this ammo and found it good in accuracy as well.
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6 shots vs 9 shots? I think it might be helpful to consider shooting more rounds of each before defining a solid SD number. Maybe shoot a whole box of each. Then you’ll have a reasonable comparison and more solid SD numbers for both loads.
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Yep, limited amount of data, but realistic for most hunters. Here is part of the issue with the 7 PRC, 300 PRC, other magnums…if you get a new bullet design in a magnum you are going to pay, generally a premium price, for that ammo. Burning 20 rounds just to establish if it shoot consistently according to the SD/ES is kind of painful for more people. You are now into 100-150.00 depending on the caliber just to know what a cartridge is doing, and then to have a box to hunt with for the season. So, what to do?
Go do some research on SD/ES/velocity swing impacts on point of impact / group size out to 500 yards and see what it tells you. I think from that data you will realize what is needed or not to hunt effectively to that range.
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I think I made that point in the op. Do you think that the factory ammos will improve when I shoot more? It was just my results from shooting that day. if you have not noticed but ammo is expensive and shooting a 100 rounds of both of those in the same session is beyond my means for costs, recoil absorption, and time during the day.
My goal for that session was to make sure I was on paper for each of those before going to the 100 yrd range to start shooting groups. I only bought the cheapest 7RM ammo I could get just for that purpose . It is not the round I will ultimately use for the rifle so I did not want to spend a lot of money for just getting on paper with new scope. Not sure how you do that? Do you shoot groups with new scope with some worked up reloads? I saw this difference and found it interesting. You can take it for what it is or not. Sorry to have wasted your time with my report.
I didnt find it useless or not interesting, actually I thought the ES’s were fine for hunting. I apologize if my messaging was negative to you. I was attempting to say that 1: SD/ES dont really matter for 97% of hunters shooting inside of 500 yards. 2: The cost of ammo is really limiting these days for anything but basic scope set up, getting on a standard hunting zero (200 yards) and then still having some to go hunting. The days of going shooting at the gravel pit for the heck of it are past…unless you shoot more traditional cartridges like the .223, 308, 3006, etc. It really just depends how picky we become on the ammo we use…PPU makes hunting ammo in a lot of calibers, even 7 REM Mag for 31.00 a box.
Again, I did appreciate the writeup.
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Another note, I do agree with Jim on Hornady…after they got caught with their pants down switching powders in the 7 PRC for production, and subsequently not being able to get to the stated velocities, I think it may have not been limited to just the PRC. I shoot the 162 ELDX load in my 7 Mag, and just for fun one day I shot them on a chronograph, using a 26 inch barrel…the numbers came back at 2850-2880 versus what I believe is 2950 plus on the box. I thought it was strange, but chalked it up to factory ammo…now I wonder if the magnum powder change they made extended to other calibers.
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You didn’t waste my time. I like hearing about other people’s experience, and I too find the difference you’re seeing interesting. But I think you’ll see the SDs change a little as you shoot more rounds. I realize ammo is expensive. I also realize the value of a larger (within reason) sample size. If those numbers are good for you, go forth and prosper. I was just sharing my thoughts based on what I’ve seen in my own shooting. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or make you feel defensive.
I am certainly not a Statistician, but the point being doing a random sample is so that we don’t have to do large numbers of whatever is being sampled to get a statistically accurate numbers. Not sure of the value gained shooting a box or more to gets SDs. Maybe I’m wrong…
The deeper I get into the numbers, which are fun, and the more I work to see improvement, the harder I have to remind myself that I have a basketball sized target to shoot it for almost all North American big game. It usually when I am at 100y-200y that I start feeling like I need to pull my hair because my grouping aren’t where I talked myself into them being (if that makes sense). When I am shooting at the 300Y-800Y range and dealing with wind, I feel good about every shot that rings the 12"x12" steel.
That said, I have a ton of Hornady ammo for my .243 and 30-06 lol. I think I am going to need to get a tatoo on my hand to remind myself to have realistic expectations at the range.
Here are some samples from previous shootings of 7mm PRC. hornady eldx. Again not enough rounds but it does show a trend. A different lot and ammo from previous report. I guess my point is when paying for more premium ammo - I expect more premium performance. Stuff is about $3 a round so that session was close to $45.
