7mm STW Brotherhood - For those who shoot the 7mm Shooting Times Westerner

[Dijon]

Originally Posted by 7stw

Dijon, I have been following you post, and have been trying to find info on the burn rate of you powder, versus the powder that is used here. Someone recently told me of a conversion chart that shows similar burn rates, but I can not locate him.
Anyway, as I stated earlier, you rifle is beast of beauty, and I know you are approaching your load data cautiously, which is a good thing.
You are on the right track with the bullets that that are wanting to shoot if I am gathering that the powder you are using has the burn rate of h 4831. That being being said, I would probably stick to the 150 class, if that is the burn rate. I hope I am not confusing you, but it is I that is confused, as to the burn rate.
I love this caliber, and have several in this caliber, and am willing to help on any way I can, as will the rest of the gang here. I will do a search, and try to find a comparable burn rate to your powders and get back with you! Dano1 will be a big help to you here as you probably all ready know. Take care, and take baby steps in your load development. It will pay HUGE dividends in the end!!!!
P/ S, you are not being a " num nut" by asking GOOD questions to those with more experience, but NOT asking ?'s would be in the " num nut " category!!!!!!!

Cheers, thnx a mill. Yes, according to my charts, S361 is on par with H4831 with burn rate.
I would however like to use the most stable bullet as possible and between 150gr and 168gr, I will use whatever works best with the powders

Chat soon

[ButterBean]

Originally Posted by Dijon

Dan,

I have done some homework this side and came up with the following...

It is SOMCHEM powders and the company is now called Rheinmetall-DENEL Munitions.
I can get my hands on alot of S361 which is even slower on the burn rate than the S385. I think you will agree to this powder/propellant.
I have also had a look and found that I can readily get Sierra Matchking 150gr and 168gr. I follow what you say on the heavier bullets and like you stated, my barrel can handle the 168gr. The BC on this bullet is except for the 175gr, the best I can find in SA and will most probarbly settle for it. Is this a wise decision, taking into account that I will be hunting and not just shooting at paper. Will this bullet do the work andnot just be accurate? If need be, I will also look into bullets from Hornady, like the V-Max or A-max etc etc... as long as the BC is very high and comparable with Match bullets!

I also got a little manual today which can tell me what Somchem powder to use if I have powder manufacturers from abroad. It can compare the following:
Du Pont, Hodgdon, AA, Hercules, Olin(W/W), Norma, RWS, Vihta and ADI. I hope this can make ita bit easier.

Thanks again and we will chat soon.

Dijon compare the somchem powder against Hodgdon H-4831,H-1000 and and Retumbo and see if its close to any of those and we will go from there ........just hang tight .....with the Braintrust we have here we will have you going in no time

[ButterBean]

Hey Everybody ......I got the convesion rates for Dijons sochem powders and here is what I have......... The S361 is in line wth RL15 and H380,Sochem s365 has a burn rate that falls in between RL 19 and RL 22 and Sochem 385 falls between RL22 and RL 25,and Sochem B12.7 is right in line with Retumbo ..........There its is fellars .........off we go

[lizardsinep]

Has anyone used RL25 with a 160gr ? I was wondering what its like for temp sensitivity, I test loads in 60dg but hunt in 0-, -10

or what have u used in a similar situation

[7stw]

Originally Posted by ButterBean

Hey Everybody ......I got the convesion rates for Dijons sochem powders and here is what I have......... The S361 is in line wth RL15 and H380,Sochem s365 has a burn rate that falls in between RL 19 and RL 22 and Sochem 385 falls between RL22 and RL 25,and Sochem B12.7 is right in line with Retumbo ..........There its is fellars .........off we go

This comment is actually for Dijon, reading the above quote from my pal " butterbean" , the " Sochem" s365 I would think would be good with bullet weights in the 140-150 weight class. Additionally, from what I can see, the 385 should be the deal with 150-168 weight class, and finally, for anything heavier than than that, the B12.7 will do the heavy weights!! I trust that the above burn rates are accurate. I would stay away from the s361. It is TOO fast burning. Keep in mind that you can use a slow burning powder with any weight bullet, but you can not use a heavy bullet with faster burn rate due to pressure spikes. The best overall powder that I see from the burn chart would be the S-385. it's burn rate is perfect for bullet weights from 140-180. If that powder is avail to you, that is the one that I would recommend.that puts your " target weight" bullets right in the wheel house. You should be able to get good velocity, and low pressure across the board. All else being equal, and the burn rates correct, that should put you on the road to a good , SAFE, and FAST load. Experiment with primers. Good luck, and take care.

[7stw]

Originally Posted by lizardsinep

Has anyone used RL25 with a 160gr ? I was wondering what its like for temp sensitivity, I test loads in 60dg but hunt in 0-, -10

or what have u used in a similar situation

I just did some preliminary work with that combo. The weather was hot,( 86 degrees). I have not shot RL25 in my STW's until now, but so far I like it. I have no chrono data as of yet, but like I say, I was just burning some powder, and firing bullets to get a idea what the gun likes, and RL 25 came out on top. I am going to be using more now, because my new build is intended for 180 bullets, and I believe that the rl25 will be the ticket. I don't have any " cold " data at this point.

[Dijon]

Originally Posted by 7stw

This comment is actually for Dijon, reading the above quote from my pal " butterbean" , the " Sochem" s365 I would think would be good with bullet weights in the 140-150 weight class. Additionally, from what I can see, the 385 should be the deal with 150-168 weight class, and finally, for anything heavier than than that, the B12.7 will do the heavy weights!! I trust that the above burn rates are accurate. I would stay away from the s361. It is TOO fast burning. Keep in mind that you can use a slow burning powder with any weight bullet, but you can not use a heavy bullet with faster burn rate due to pressure spikes. The best overall powder that I see from the burn chart would be the S-385. it's burn rate is perfect for bullet weights from 140-180. If that powder is avail to you, that is the one that I would recommend.that puts your " target weight" bullets right in the wheel house. You should be able to get good velocity, and low pressure across the board. All else being equal, and the burn rates correct, that should put you on the road to a good , SAFE, and FAST load. Experiment with primers. Good luck, and take care.

Hi,

Thank you very much and not only you, everybody, Dan, Butterbean etc.
S385 is easily available to me from almost all the gunshops here.

Do you think that I should go directly for benchrest primers and get it over and done with, if so, if I am correct, here is what I gathered sofar from my new buddies in the USA (i am previledged)

S385 powder
Sierra Matchking 150gr or 168gr- try both and seewhich performs the best?
Benchrest primers (CCI)
Norma cartridges

If this is all ok with you guys, where would bea safe load to start with?