Need help with 7mm load

[astring]

I have Remington 700 in 7mm Rem Mag with a 26" barrel and a 1:9.25 twist, this gun is all factory stock except lapping of the bolt lugs.

I have been doing some reading on here and trying to decide what I should use to get my first load going.

I have narrowed it down to Primers; #210 or #215, Bullets; Berger 168gn, Seirra 168 gn. Now here is the trouble I do not know which powder to use with these heavier bullets.

Should I use Retumbo or H1000 or is there something else that is better than those two. Any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[4xforfun]

I have been a big fan of H1000. It was my go to powder, but I had mainly stuck with 150 grain bullets, or the guys who i was developing loads for wanted 150 grain class bullets. But, now I am on 168 - 180 class bullets...JLK and Bergers. I would say go to RL 25. I have been getting very good velocity, sometimes silly good velocitys with great accuracy.
I ALWAYS test these two powders, and the RL25 has been comming out on top.

Stay with the 215 primer.

 

[Derek M.]

Should I use Retumbo or H1000 or is there something else that is better than those two. Any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Both will work well. Prior to Retumbo, H1000 was and still is one of if not, the best powders in 2 calibers: 300 WM, and 7mm RemMag.

Retumbo has been stated to be THE most consistent and temp stable powder on the market and with 75 grains of it behind a 168 bullet, you can get 3000+ fps.

Re22 and 25 have been among my favorites as well.

VV N165 is yet another great 7mag powder but only if you are rich. You are looking at from 25 to 32 dollars/pound!! EFF THAT!!

 

[7stw]

I have a 700p in 7mag,that I bought solely for the purpose of shooting 168 Berger VLD,s. I quickly ended up settling on H1000. My load is 67.7- H1000, and a winchester WLR primer, not the mag primer. Velocity is 2970+- and is extremely consistent. OAL is 3.336. I don't think you can go wrong with H1000. That stuff is pretty awesome. Good luck and enjoy those 168's. They are awesome too! AIM SMALL,MISS SMALLgun) 7STW.
!

 

[astring]

Thanks guys for all the help I really appreciate it! I think I am going to pick up some H1000 and RL 25 and go from there.

I have a 700p in 7mag,that I bought solely for the purpose of shooting 168 Berger VLD,s. I quickly ended up settling on H1000. My load is 67.7- H1000, and a winchester WLR primer, not the mag primer.
!

What brass are you using?

 

[rscott5028]

Norma brass is my hands down preference for 7RM

 

[Skyking]

Cant go wrong with H1000 or Retumbo. Both are very temp stable. Factory Savage. 168 vld's Berger's, Rem brass, Retumbo, CCI-BR2 primers.

 

[rscott5028]

Skyking,
Nice shooting!
Beautiful country.
I don't want to hijack the thread.
But, I'd love to know more about your camera setup.
Perhaps you could pm me or start a thread?
thanks!!
richard

 

[7stw]

Thanks guys for all the help I really appreciate it! I think I am going to pick up some H1000 and RL 25 and go from there.



What brass are you using?

Until recently, I was and have been having good luck and great case life with win and fed. I now have 8 boxes of Norma brass. It is awesome and VERY consistent . Winchester brass used to be the best overall, but nowadays the culling rate is higher but it lasts pretty well and the pockets stay tight longer. Also very forgiving. I bought some Fed brass last spring, mostly junk, called the company, nobody called me back .Remington brass is good, though softer, but again the cull rate is high. You know the old saying. Winchester is probably your best bet IMHO. AIM SMALL,MISS SMALLlightbulb 7 STW

 

[astring]

What kind of case life are you getting with your Norma brass? I have heard that WIN cases usually do not last nearly as long and there is a lot more work involved with them.

 

[Nimrod]

Retumbo has been stated to be THE most consistent and temp stable powder on the market and with 75 grains of it behind a 168 bullet, you can get 3000+ fps.

I don't think my 7MM magnum cases will hold 75 grains of Retumbo without serious compression. I was loading 71 grains yesterday and the powder level was half way up the shoulder. Hodgon lists 69.5 as a compressed charge but that isn't the case with my brass, at least with 160 grain Accubonds seated to fit the magazine box.

Bob

 

[roninflag]

astring- you shooting a t targets? deer? h-1000 and h4831 is what i use.

 

[astring]

astring- you shooting a t targets? deer? h-1000 and h4831 is what i use.

Mostly targets but I will hunt with this gun as well.

 

[7stw]

What kind of case life are you getting with your Norma brass? I have heard that WIN cases usually do not last nearly as long and there is a lot more work involved with them.

About ten years ago I could get as many as 10 loadings with win. Brass out of my sendero. Since that time, the brass quality is crap, and does not last as long. If you neck size frequently, or about every other time, you can about double the life of any given brass. The Norma brass is incredible. I have fired some of that stuff as many as twelve times and only had to trim it once or twice. Neck tension stays consistent and pockets stay tight. Those two things are the most important to me.Some of the new brass I bought in the spring,( federal) was junk after 3 firings. The Norma brass even feels different when you resize it. It has that nice little "pop" after it comes out off the expander. Hope this helps, AIM SMALL, MISS SMALLlightbulbgun) 7STW