Weatherby Nation

I've been attempting to come up with a decent accurate load that groups well at 100 yds (around 1").  I have tried numerous bullet weights, powders, etc and have not yet seen anything better than about 2" groups.

Does anyone have any recipes that has worked well for them on a Vanguard Synthetic Stainless Steel 24" barrel in 7mm Rem Mag?  Please indicate OAL, type and weight of bullet, grains of specific powder, and primer.

Any suggestions or "tricks" you have that would help would be greatly appreciated!

I shoot a 7mm Rem Mag Vanguard Synthetic BLUED 24" with: CT Nosler/Win 150gr Ballistic Silvertip, Rem. 9 1/2M primer, Win. unsized unprimed brass, 68gr H-1000 powder.

Sorry; I'm not sure OAL, and have not tried them in 24" SS

 I have had a few 7 MM Rem Mags over the years in different rifles.  As a rule they like powders with a burn rate of 4350 or slower. Some will show a preference for one bullet weight over another, some could care less.  Headspace off the shoulder generally makes for more accurate loads. FED 215 shot better in mine than CCI 250s. RL-22 is a pretty goods powder to try if you haven't yet.  For OALl each rifle will be a bit different there are a couple of easy ways to check that. Nosler Number 4 had a good method if I remember my numbers correctly.  What shape are your two inch groups?
If they are a three shot triangle your on the right track if not you might want to keep bullet shopping. What loads have you tried? If H 4831 or IMR 4350 won't shoot under an inch with a 150 or 160 ish bullet try some RL-22. If none of those work something is not right. Stock is not tight, Moons not lined up with your rifle range something.   Another tip is to try some Sierra bullets. I know they are not super gee whiz 100 percent weight retention and all that but they win more matches than all the others combined. Good place to start if your wondering what a rife will do group wise. I never found the 7 Rem Mag to be too hard of a round to load for but they all have something they like better than other stuff. Good luck with it
Chip

My groups are mostly off in a vertical direction.  The left to right is usually not that bad at 100 yards (although it's opposite at 200 yds...vertical is great, but horizontal is wider...but that was only done with one set of reloads).  I've had several groups where the 1st and 3rd shot are almost touching and the 2nd shot is way off.

I've only tried Sierras and Noslers.  Most of my reloads are with Sierra 150s as it seemed to have the most promise.  I've tried 140, 150, 160, and even 175.  I've tried H4350, H4831sc, and IMR 4350.

The only thing I haven't changed much is the OAL.  I did what most suggestions are and that is to back of about 0.010".  But now I feel that I have tried enough other options that I should try messing with the OAL and get closer to the rifling edges.  If OAL doesn't help, then I guess I'll start trying using really slow burning powders (like RL22, Retumbo, etc).

Appreciate all the tips!  If you have any other thoughts I would love to hear it.  Thanks.

Oh yeah, someone commented to me that Weatherbys are known for a "wild" shot.  Is this really true, even with SS barrels?

I'd try taking it out of the stock and torque the screws to the inch pounds that Weatherby specs.

A couple additional ideas. Try Berger 168 VLD's. I'm using the hunting bullet. Use the full length of your magazine first for bullet OAL. Work down from there. One other idea - have the barrel recrowned. And clean the barrel. Shoot at least one fouling shot after each cleaning. If you get an acceptable group go to the field with a fouled barrel. My favorite load is around 70-71 grains of Retumbo which is an extreme temperture powder using match grade primers.I BET On Berger Busters

Don't think I'd re crown one before I tried floating it.  Just my opinion. Fouling shot is a good idea, I have a rifle that tends to toss the first shot out of a clean barrel now and then.   Do you measure every charge or do you set the measure and throw your charges?
Might want to try a different primer too before you get too excited about modifications to the rifle. What about neck sizing? Might be worth a try to see if things tighten up.
Verticle strings are also a sign of stock pressure on a barrel as it heats up. One of the main reasons I'm not a fan of barrels touching the stocks on rifles.  Weatherby doesn't see it that way except on the Accumarks, That's why I have an Accumark.

62 grains of Rel22, Rem 9 1/2 mag primer, 160 grain Nosler Partisions  = dime groups in my uncles vanguard 7mm rem. mag.