7mm Remington Magnum bullet choice and weight?

I see almost as many 7mm RM rifles out elk hunting as 30-06,more than 300 mags,and 7mm RM performance matches/exceeds 30-06 in most loads. Best advantage with 7mm is the great Sectional Density and Ballistic Coefficients the .284" bullets in 150-170 grain provide,they usually start with/retain more velocity than 30-06 in similar weights. The weights do impact what game you might be hunting,as John says light 140-150 would be good for deer, probably not what I would recommend for moose. I like the idea of one load for a rifle to get best accuracy and not have to re-zero when swapping weights so I recommend a controlled expansion bullet in 160 grain for deer/moose,something like the Hornady GMX.Nosler E-Tip,Barnes TSX (all similar) or the Barnes MRX,Winchester XP-3 hybrid bullets;these controlled expansion types will retain weight for penetration with positive set-up,and if you do get "over-penetration" the vast majority of energy is still dumped into the animal. The other option is to use a bonded core bullet like Nosler Accu-Bonds,Federal Fusion or Trophy Bonded,Swift Sirracco,Hornady Inter-Bond,etc. For moose the Ballistic Tip style bullets are too frangible to provide consistent penetration/performance. I hear mixed reviews on the VLDs for performance;since they aren't really designed as a "game" bullet I hesitate to recommend,especially on heavy animals (the Swifts ARE a VDL game bullet). I'm using Barnes TSX and Nosler Accu-Bonds in my 300 WSM and 30-06 (best accuracy in my hand loads) and have no problems at all with terminal performance,and I've friends who have used the Barnes products in Africa with 100% first shot effectiveness. So, with that sort of background and experience, I advocate using a "premium" bullet as cheap hunting insurance.

139 or 140 grain bullets are the traditional choice for deer. Even in 7x57 Mauser or 7mm08, I've always preferred something a little heavier. And it's always been a mystery to me why the Mauser cartridge got its reputation with very heavy bullets (around 175 grains) but they're seldom offered in factory loads for 7mm Remington Magnum. Sure, a 160 grain premium bullet is a pretty good compromise, but you need to understand that you'll have a few punch through deer on a broadside without setting up, and you'll have one not penetrate adequately if you have bad luck on a quartering shot on a heavy moose. That's what compromise is all about.

i prefer to use a bullet design/weight that shoots most accurate. 150ish gr typically perform best. i like hornady sst 154gr. i used a hornady gmx on elk last year performed excellent down on the spot. barnes bullets perform very well also, used tsx on bull moose didn't take more than 5 steps. for factory ammo i prefer hornady. burger vld i've used not in 7mm i found them to be longer either have to be seated deeper than other brands or need to make sure magazine has room to seat without having compressed loads. feds never use.

Regarding the 7mm Rem. Mag. Berger VLD 168 grain hunting bullet, I have taken 11 bull elk with it and my wife has taken three (eight in New Mexico and six in Utah). You hit the animal with this bullet and they do not go anywhere. One of the people I hunt with cals it the hamBerger bullet. It liquifies lungs and heart. An unbelievable bullet.

Savage 111 7mm Rem Mag

Savage 111 7mm