all around 7 mm boolit?

[jhalcott]

I have a280 ,7mm08 (rifles) and 7tcu (carbine AND pistol ) 7BR and 7IHMSA(300 sav necked down)! ANY ideas on a good or at least decent ALL AROUND bullet mold for these? I shoot mostly paper these days and a few critters. Ground hog and deer primarily. I have not seen a GB for the smaller calibers.
thanx and happy new year!

[Buckshot]

...............Wow, that's a wide array of cartridges and possibly action types. The boolit I like the best is the RCBS 7mm-168. It's for sure a bore rider design so that means the nose HAS to guide on the lands. Sounds like all your chambers/barrels are recent (no 7x57's ?) so that might not be a problem. It is extremely accurate for me in several 7mm Mausers. The long nose means that something short throated shouldn't be a problem unless tightly bored (land dia).

Another good one is the Lyman 150gr Loverin, and THAT design may be a problem in some newer short throated chambers, as it's all body. However if the need is speed, it should do it for ya.

I have no 1st hand experience with the Lee 135gr design. However a buddy of mine I sold a 1902 Rem RB too got unbelievable accuracy using it. I say that as the reason I sold that rifle was two fold. One is I had a really nice 1897 Rem RB in 7x57 already, and the 2nd was that the barrel on the 1902 was visibly worn. Good shiney barrel but worn lands. As military rifles, they have VERY comodeous throats to begin with :-) Yet that 1902 shot the short light Lee just super.

None of these 3 designs really have much of a flat nose, but you could bump one on in the lube-size die with a FN punch and use it for critters. SInce the 150gr Lyman is in the middle, I suspect that might be the best 'All Around" one. Just thinking though, it seems to me that Lyman may have recently dis-continued the design. If so, you might still find it on the shelf someplace.

Or, use the RCBS in the 2 rifles and the lighter Lee for the other 3.

...............Buckshot

[BCB]

jhalcott,
I have had very good success with the Lyman 287346 weighing in at around 135 grains. I am shooting it out of a 7-30 Waters with Super 14" barrel. Velocitiy is 2141 fps using H-335 or WC-844 powders. M.O.A. out to 200+ yards. A very good shooter in the Contender. Although, it might be a bit to light for your applications...BCB

[Shuz]

jhalcott--

Back in my old IHMSA days, I had success in the 7mm-08 and the 7mmTCU with the Saeco 070 boolit which weighs a nominal 145 grains. Powders used were H-322 and H-4895. Many of the other folks who shot these cartridges, as well as the 7mmIHMSA, had considerable success with the RCBS 145 SIL boolit. Good luck with your quest.--Shuz

[1Shirt]

Don't overlook the 130 gr. Lee. Not a real pretty boolit, but shoots well in my 7x57.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[jhalcott]

BCB, I forgot about THAT barrel! I must be getting old!The 7tc/u's are contenders
The Br and IHMSA's are bolt pistols. The BR chamber is to short for that 168 RCBS. I have to seat the base way down in the case or it wont close. The IHMSA is another short neck case, but the chamber IS cut long for 160+ jacketed slugs. I have a 280468 mold that drops a .285 dia,112 grain bullet. Also the lee 130 grainer that for one reason or another, doesn't seem to like ME or my guns! Ebay had a 145 RCBS silohouette mold on auction. THAT's what started me thinking about this!

[jhalcott]

I was looking at MidSOUTH's list of molds just now. They have a 6 banger 7mm"soup can" mold but when I looked for a picture ,I can't find one. Would some one post a pic and tell me if this is a candidate for my all around mold?

[Ben]

Here is the SAECO 168 ( actually weighs 167 with my alloy ) fired at 50 yards from my .280 Rem. custom 98' Mauser.

By the way, that's a 1" aiming square.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Stalker%20280%20Remington/106.jpg