165 grain SP bullets in 7mm available?

[SPU]

A friend asked me to work up a load for his 7mm REM MAG elk rifle for him. He was happy with the sub-MOA loads I made up for him last year in his .243WIN deer rifle. I asked what kind of bullet he wanted to use, and he said a 165 grain soft point. He specifically asked not to use an HP or polymer tipped hunting bullet.

So, I know nothing about .284 bullets and had a hell of a time finding one in 165 grains in my online research that is a soft point. I see 160 grain, 175 grain and even a 162 grain Hornady. I did find Federal Premium factory cartridges in 7mm Rem Mag with a 165 grain Speer SP bullet. I emailed Speer but they only said the 160 & 175 grain bullets were for sale (ignoring my explicit question about 165 grains in the Federal cartridges).

So, I would like to confirm from folks that (assuming I can find them in stock somewhere) I should tell my friend 160, 162 and 175 grains are his choices, short of pulling 165 grain bullets from brand new factory loads. I'm not worried about brand.

Thoughts?

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[Steve M]

I'm not seeing any 165 grain offerings either and no loads listed in any of my manuals. That tells me that even if you could find a 165 grain bullet it may not be a reliable source, better to stick with a known manufacturer and a popular bullet weight.

Specifying 165 grain SP isn't much to go on when you consider bonded versus non-bonded and partition techniques like the Swift A-Frame and Nosler Partition. You might go back to him with a few suggestions and see which he'd prefer to use. If it were me I'd offer the 160 grain Nosler Partition as my top suggestion.

 

[SPU]

Specifying 165 grain SP isn't much to go on when you consider bonded versus non-bonded and partition techniques like the Swift A-Frame and Nosler Partition. You might go back to him with a few suggestions and see which he'd prefer to use. If it were me I'd offer the 160 grain Nosler Partition as my top suggestion.

I agree Steve. I appreciate your looking. I like the Nosler and Speer offerings myself ,but from what I read, if you keep the Hornady under 2950 fps you have good performance and no jacket separation as well. Some of the choice will come down to availability.

I'm going to recommend a bonded 160 grain bullet and assuming I get the go-ahead, see what I can actually buy.