First semi-custom

RL 23 & 25 are also candidates although H100v looks pretty good with the 160s.

RL23 might work out for you, just seems bulky to me. Higher case fill for weight, much like RL16.

I quit using RL25.
Velocities were definitely there.
Accuracy, not so much.
Lazzeroni actually advises against RL25 citing the same results.
 
Shot some 180 ELDMs today. Just playing with seating depth. Not bad for just picking a starting charge out of the book. The barrel is still speeding up so no "real" load development yet.

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Looks like it’s starting to come together. Now when I start with a new barrel I like to get about 100 rounds down the barrel before fine tuning any loads. Seems to settle down after about 100 and normally pick up some velocity also.
 
After fire forming all the brass and starting load development I have a good candidate.
Now to load up some more of this and make sure it's going to be consistent. I think it will be, nearly all the groups I've shot with this rifle have been very good.
This is shooting the 180ELDM with H1000. My approximate MV (after correction factor on my chronograph) is 2850fps. I'm pretty happy with that especially with the 22" barrel.

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That should work!
Glad to see it worked out the way you wanted. Where’s the first hunt gonna be?
Thanks, I'm very happy with how it turned out. I'm not usually inclined to drop that kind of cash on my hobbies so I was nervous about how it would turn out.

Looks like Wyoming deer in October!
 
Got this rifle out again today. Worked on finalizing the load at a longer distance. Pictured are my first three shots at 540yds. It was very windy today, swirling side-to-side a lot, so that somewhat accounts for the L to R dispersion. I'm VERY happy with the vertical though. Even with the wind it's a .75MOA group.
Final calculated MV with the 180 ELDM is 2770fps.
Overall I'm very happy with my first experience with a semi-custom build. If you're on the fence about it I can tell you that I would do it again in a heartbeat. Only you can decide if it's worth the cost to you.

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I really like the 7 saum, too bad it's not more popular. It's a great fit for short action Remingtons.

The 168 ABLR is my 30 cal projectile of choice in my 300wm. I'm building the Model 7 to try and be as near to that level of performance in as short of a package as possible. The 7mm 168 really has me thinking about going 7SAUM with a 22" barrel. If I can get them over 2900 that would be acceptable.
 
The 168 ABLR is my 30 cal projectile of choice in my 300wm. I'm building the Model 7 to try and be as near to that level of performance in as short of a package as possible. The 7mm 168 really has me thinking about going 7SAUM with a 22" barrel. If I can get them over 2900 that would be acceptable.
You should be able to get there. I ran the 162ELDX up over 2900 with no pressure issues with H4831. It's probably going to be my backup load when I run out of H1000.
 
The turret label is done so I'm a officially putting a bow on load development...at least until I run out of H1000 lol!

Time to start practicing for Wyoming in October!

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