7mm Rem Mag Reloading

[tbrice23]

I'm on the 9th firing on some Winchester 300wm brass that has been full length sized using regular Lee dies and only bumping the shoulder .001 to .002" .
I've been cutting one open every firing lately just to physically look for separation. I do the pick/ paper clip thing too but this verifies the integrity of my brass.

 

[WildRose]

I do have a question in regards to case prep.
I have been full length resizing as I was told if I hunt with the gun (I do ) it may be best to full length to eliminate any issues with chambering. I do not necessarily consider my gun dirty, but it doesn't shoot on a bench.

What are your thoughts? Also what kind of brass life are you getting from FL resizing? I have remington and hornady brass.

I will neck size only for 2-3 firings and then on the next firing partially FL size but not all the way down unless I start seeing problems chambering a round.

Each time you fire a round the brass swells and stretches to perfectly match your chamber. If there's any rough spots or ridges sometimes this can cause cases to want to stick that are not full length resized.

Every chamber is unique, even if you did identical barrels one after the other on the same machine using the same tools there will be slight differences between the two.

You get the best concentricity out of rounds that fit perfectly to your chamber which lends to greater accuracy.

What that boils down to is that you have to kind of feel your way through it and decide when you need to FL size your brass.

 

[65WSM]

I am just starting to reload for a 7mm Remington Mag after not having one for 25 years. I will follow your exploits with interest.

I was around when the late Bruce Hodgdon brought out H-1000. By personal communication, H-1000 was designed to provide the best powder for 160 gr bullets in the 7mm Remington Rem Mag. The original Hodgdon data was hot for what was shipped leading to that conversation. I settled on 68.0gr with 160 Partitions. The game bullet of that day. It was the best we could get to make the 7mm Remington Mag elk medicine. Several shooters and rifles were involved with this development.

IMR-7977 was designed to parallel H-1000. General Dynamics bought the old CIL plant and rebuilt it from the ground up (the original Canadian Industries Limited dates to the Canadian entry into WWI and their need to provide for their troops in the trenches of Europe several years before the Yanks). Of course General Dynamics built a new plant with "state of the art" ideas and should be the equal of the powder produced by the Australian factory which is owned by a French investment group.

 

[IRISHMADMAN7RM]

Thank you , that was in the back of a truck with a rear sandbag, we haven't finished our shooting bench yet. My buddy I shoot with shoots his 50bmg off the top of his bronco at 1400yrds ( farthest shot we have), yes I know that's pretty redneck haha gun)

It may sound redneck, but I would rather shoot in bad weather, (rain,cold,windy)than perfect weather and in awkward positions. The more factors affecting your shot, the more experience you will have. Practice for the real shot. Whether it is for competition, hunting, or for protection.When put on the spot, you will usually react like you have practiced.

 

[aaronw06]

It may sound redneck, but I would rather shoot in bad weather, (rain,cold,windy)than perfect weather and in awkward positions. The more factors affecting your shot, the more experience you will have. Practice for the real shot. Whether it is for competition, hunting, or for protection.When put on the spot, you will usually react like you have practiced.

I agree. We shot the other day at 500 yards with a 4-7mph wind coming from about the 11 o'clock direction. I enjoyed the challenge. I need to check zero on my scope I believe my wind-age was a little off from my zero.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Taking a curved o-ring pick will work, too.

Also, this is where most of your separations are going to happen... Right where the web meets the wall.

you will usually get a very bright brass ring there a firing or two before she lets go too. I usually watch for this line and cull the brass when I get that rather than have a separation in the chamber when I fire it...

 

[MudRunner2005]

you will usually get a very bright brass ring there a firing or two before she lets go too. I usually watch for this line and cull the brass when I get that rather than have a separation in the chamber when I fire it...

That was a crap Federal brass I was using a LONG time ago, like 2012. That stuff was junk. I chunked the broke ones, and threw the rest in a bag and stuffed them somewhere for absolute emergency, but now I've got 300-400 Nosler STW brass (200 new, 50 once-fired, the rest 3+ firings), so I don't really need that old Federal brass. Might go digging for it, and chunk it in the trash if I find it. I'm sure it's stuffed somewhere here or in a box of misc reloading crap in the storage unit since I moved.

 

[WildRose]

It may sound redneck, but I would rather shoot in bad weather, (rain,cold,windy)than perfect weather and in awkward positions. The more factors affecting your shot, the more experience you will have. Practice for the real shot. Whether it is for competition, hunting, or for protection.When put on the spot, you will usually react like you have practiced.

No that's not "Redneck" at all. The closer your practice is to the same conditions you'll deal with in the field the better prepared you'll be.

I don't even like the idea of using a lead sled for load development because how you drive the rifle is a part of the total picture.

 

[aaronw06]

I hope to finalize my load data soon and shoot consistently at 1000yrds on my 12" gong.

 

[Crowe284]

"I know my gun loved the off the shelf precision hunter 162."

Dissect and reconstruct the factory load. I have done this many times in the past. Take all important measurements from a loaded factory round (oal @ ogive, headspace, neck tension, case length, etc.)

Shoot the loaded rounds over a chronograph and load up to that velocity node while watching for pressure signs as you may/probably are using a different powder/primer combo.

This method has worked for me to get same results or better with factory ammo that shot lights out in a particular rifle. Most of the time my "duplicated" loads proved to be better in terms of accuracy, es and sd due to the quality control factor you will have by loading your own.

Taking measurents from good shooting factory fodder is a heck of a running start in my book.

 

[Brad615]

Both my 7 Rem Mag & 300 RUM love berger VLD's into the lans by .5 thou, they also love Retumbo, fed primers, & Nosler brass. Also both are bedded, free floated.