Practice Ammo VS Hunting Ammo 7MM Rifle

[AMERICANS FIRST]

Sorry if this has been addressed before, but I have a Tikka TX3 Lite 7MM Wideland on order and I plan on bringing this with me to Colorado for Mule Deer and Elk. I did this trip last year for the first time and got a nice size Muley with my buddy's Browning 7mm at 349 yards. I drew again this year and want to bring this new gun with me but of course want to sight it in here and practice with it first before I go in October. Question is, do any of you use cheaper ammo to dial your rifles in or do you dial it in with the same ammo you would be hunting with? 350 Yards is about the max I would take a shot at my skill level and I have a range finder( reason why I know it was 349 yards) so the other question is should I zero it out at 100 yards and record markings for 200, 300 or would I be better off zeroing it in at 200 yards?

Appreciate all thoughts and comments in advance.

 

[Tundra02]

because I am to lazy to type it all out here you go

View: https://youtu.be/0bLGdcqjcn0

 

[Caveman]

I can’t speak to 7mm. But for a hunting rifle I generally shoot the ammo I will hunt with. you can run a cheaper ammo to get you “on paper” but I would dial it in with your ammo of choice and then run that ammo moving forward. My hunting bullets of choice are usually Barnes TTSX or Nosler Partitions but run what works best for your rifle. maybe rough it to get the scope close then run a handful of different brand loads to see what your rifle likes. I do my load development and zero at 100 and build dope from there.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

One of my NH sons is in Alaska hunting with his brother who lives there. He just sent me a pic of a good size black bear that he took this AM. .338 win mag, sighted for 250 yards. Double lung shot and the bear went only a short distance. They paced 250 yards to where the bear was hit. Jack.

 

[mac1911]

Get it close here , zero it there. You hit your target with someone elses rifle/zero consult your budy.
You want cold bore zero and follow up.
What you do here will change a bit once your out there.

You can fool around with Point Blank Range for that particular carteidge.

I dont hunt amymore but growing up our deer rifles where zeroed 2” high at 100 yards. Gave us point at center of vital zone and shoot
Out to about as far as you can see here in New England

 

[AHM]

... I ... want to bring this new gun with me but of course want to sight it in here and practice with it first before I go in October. ... do any of you use cheaper ammo to dial your rifles in or do you dial it in with the same ammo you would be hunting with? ... should I zero it out at 100 yards and record markings for 200, 300 or would I be better off zeroing it in at 200 yards? ...

... for a hunting rifle I generally shoot the ammo I will hunt with. you can run a cheaper ammo to get you “on paper” but I would dial it in with your ammo of choice and then run that ammo moving forward.

Good point, although...

...while clubs with 200 yard ranges are available around here,
unlike mere 100 yard ranges, they may require technical (non-basic safety) certification
to use them. If that's true for your home range, and you're not already certified,
you're gonna be shooting some kind of ammo through some kind of scoped rifle for the exam.

Maybe you can use the exam to get onto paper.
But if you're concerned about the price of boolits for a big game hunt,
factor some rounds for certification into your ammo budget.

Also, the range officer may not be happy
if the very first thing you do after passing the test is change ammo
and expect the point of impact to shift (how far?).
Our range doesn't have this process, so I don't know.
Maybe someone else can comment on this scenario -
is it the sort of thing an RSO won't like seeing?

 

[BrianWilson]

Shoot it. There will/ might be some measurable amount of difference POI in different loads @ 200 with 7mm Mag, but I doubt you can buy "bad" ammo for it. It's not like you can get steel case surplus or anything. Better off to shoot more, and more ammo, from various hunting positions affordably, while realizing at some point you will have to switch to the spendy stuff to get your true zero.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Study up on what "Point blank range" REALLY means, check the ballistic tables and make some sketches. You'll see where the bullet crosses the line of sight twice and where it stays within a certain size kill zone at the different ranges. Jack.

 

[white feather]

Point blank range is more for hiting anything from here to there within a maximum diameter defined by the size of your target. Think like hunting in the Maine woods.
If you are primarily going to encounter game at a longer range, it doesn't make much sense... probably better to zero at 300 and learn hold over/under for other ranges. If you don't have access to 300, shoot at 100 and dial your zero to be the correct height above poa to be on at 300. Refine your zero at 300 when you arrive as elevation, slope, air density, etc will vary. If it were me, I would bring a few extra boxes of the hunting ammo in case something loosens up in travel or it is not available locally.
Sorry, but I have to say this... I am surprised that you ask if you can practice with other (I read cheaper) ammo. Sounds like massive skinflintery if you ask me. You are spending a bunch of money on the trip and you want to save a few bucks on practice ammo? You want as much practice with your hunting ammo so that you know your hold when you get a shot.
That said, Good luck. Sounds like fun.

 

[SS1]

So with this practice ammo
Do you get a mulligan on the first couple of rounds

 

[PappyM3]

I would normally say zero with your hunting/duty ammo. Then learn what the offset is for your training ammo and just accept that offset during training (don’t aim different, just know groups may be off).

However, if you’re hunting out in Colorado, zero roughly here with either your training or hunting ammo. Then confirm your zero in Colorado with your hunting ammo. Your point of impact is likely to shift with the elevation/pressure change.

For distance of zero, my default is 100 yards when using a magnified optic. It gives me the flattest trajectory out to 100, and then I just make sure I know my dope. If you can’t actually check your points of impact at 300+ ranges, then at least get your muzzle velocity out in Colorado and check your estimated drops with a ballistic calculator.

Zero distance changes if I have a BDC reticle instead of a MIL or MOA reticle. I may need to adjust my zero distance slightly(or be hitting 1-2” high/low at 100) to accommodate the BDC hash marks.

With non-magnified optics, I usually pick a zero distance that maximizes my “point blank” range with POA/POI within acceptable parameters. For 5.56, this is 50 yards. For 7mm, I have no idea.

 

[Fixxah]

Practice like you play. No skinflinting. It will cost you dearly having to track a wounded animal and the whole time question bad choices. You owe it to yourself and the beast you hunt so do it right.

 

[BrianWilson]

Obviously different loads will print different groups out of different guns, and totally agree on the need to recheck zero at your destination with the ammo you intend to hunt with.
I think however the major performance advantage of the super premium ammo is not how it flies, in fact the major manufacturers listed ballistics tables show the drop from 2-300 is within tenths of an inch across the board for same weights and muzzle velocities. Again, not that you don't need to check your own set up.
The difference in the pricey stuff is what happens to the bullet after it hits.
If going to range with 3 @30/box vs 2@55/box allows you shoot that extra box off hand at 100 before you go home, I'd say your ahead of the game.

 

[AMERICANS FIRST]

Appreciate all of the comments everyone. I have always been a believer in shooting what you are bringing no matter what the expense. I was just curious what most of you are doing. The Colorado trip is once a year, and although I have a place to stay and hunt for free( friend owns a nice hunting cabin in Hayden with 1500 acres) it still is a trip that only comes once a year and I have tremendous respect for the animals I hunt there. Hence the reason I would not take a shot passed 400 yards MAX in the right conditions. Elevation, wind, humidity etc all will have an effect of course and I am aware but in the end, I want to be prepared as possible. Just want to get myself close and practice around here before I go as there is a stand alone range that is public with no ranger anyone can shoot at out there with distances of 100 out to 1000 yards. They do things differently out there for sure and everyone knows the rules, and is very responsible. Craziest thing I ever saw but like I said out there it is a way of life. Would never happen here for sure. I have a few rounds I am going to try out to see which one the Tikka likes but ultimately going to stick with what works best, tune it in here and fine tune it once we arrive. Here is a pic of the Muley I took last year. My first one at 349 yards ridge to ridge. He was bedded down and facing directly at me. I hit him dead center chest right through the heart, he got up and dropped on the spot. Probably couldn't replicate that shot again if I had 5 more tries but my buddies gun was dialed in perfectly for the distance, dead calm wind at 6900 ft.

 

[Mesatchornug]

Obviously different loads will print different groups out of different guns, and totally agree on the need to recheck zero at your destination with the ammo you intend to hunt with.
I think however the major performance advantage of the super premium ammo is not how it flies, in fact the major manufacturers listed ballistics tables show the drop from 2-300 is within tenths of an inch across the board for same weights and muzzle velocities. Again, not that you don't need to check your own set up.
The difference in the pricey stuff is what happens to the bullet after it hits.
If going to range with 3 @30/box vs 2@55/box allows you shoot that extra box off hand at 100 before you go home, I'd say your ahead of the game.

I was going to say, don't many of the big brands offer practice ammo that's designed to have similar external ballistics to their hunting rounds for exactly this reason?

 

[mac1911]

Point blank range is more for hiting anything from here to there within a maximum diameter defined by the size of your target. Think like hunting in the Maine woods.
If you are primarily going to encounter game at a longer range, it doesn't make much sense... probably better to zero at 300 and learn hold over/under for other ranges. If you don't have access to 300, shoot at 100 and dial your zero to be the correct height above poa to be on at 300. Refine your zero at 300 when you arrive as elevation, slope, air density, etc will vary. If it were me, I would bring a few extra boxes of the hunting ammo in case something loosens up in travel or it is not available locally.
Sorry, but I have to say this... I am surprised that you ask if you can practice with other (I read cheaper) ammo. Sounds like massive skinflintery if you ask me. You are spending a bunch of money on the trip and you want to save a few bucks on practice ammo? You want as much practice with your hunting ammo so that you know your hold when you get a shot.
That said, Good luck. Sounds like fun.

He has already said 350 yards is his max comfort zone?
His friend guided him to a kill using his buddies gear.
OP get close on paper here at 100 yards , zero when you get there.