what's the best bullet and powder combo for reloading

[bwheat1]

I am wanting to start reloading my own amo for my .7mm stw. I have bought several boxes of factory amo and it has blown the primers out of the shell on a few rounds they were 150 gr Winchester Supreme rounds. So im thinking i should reload my own and see if it will work better.

My question is what is the most stable and accurate combonation of powder and bullet?

 

[257ackleyhunter]

what you want to do is start with buying a few reloading manuals and look at the specifications for that round. EVERY barrel of every gun is different even if its the same gun same barrel manufacturer. youll want to aquire the neccessary tools for reloading. For alot of first timers a bundle pack is a good place to start. For primers i recommend either Federal or CCI their large rifle and magnum rifle primers. As far as powder goes use the manuals as a reference and start with the recommended loads and go from there. Its alot of fun to reload then shoot and see how things go. i have a custom TC Encore with a 257 Roberts ackley improved barrel that i shoot and my results have been different from what my manuals say so you kind of have to tailor your load to your specific gun

 

[FearNoWind]

Might want to read this:

Problems with Primers | Shooting Illustrated

 

[thekyrifleman]

If I read your post correctly, these were factory rounds that popped the primers......Might want to analyze the situation to learn why that happened....IMO, the factory loadings are going to be on the conservative side, and The problem will not necessarily be solved by reloading........However, by all means, learn to reload, the satisfaction is immense!!

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

If I read your post correctly, these were factory rounds that popped the primers......Might want to analyze the situation to learn why that happened....IMO, the factory loadings are going to be on the conservative side, and The problem will not necessarily be solved by reloading........However, by all means, learn to reload, the satisfaction is immense!!

I had a strain gauge on my old stw... even my stoutest stuff was lower pressure than the Winchester factory ammo. I won't push to ejector marks or hard bolt lift though...

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f28/4000-fps-7mm-stw-w-140-bullet-109862/index7.html

 

[Black67]

The factory Winchester loads were stout. They were well above what they claimed and people had troubles with them. The 150 gr loads were rated around 3200-3300 fps, with claims around 3500 fps.

I believe it went to the point that Winchester will not make anything for the STW again. Their brass is really good, which is sad.

Now, the best load for you gun can be different from what other guns like. What gun do you have, do you know your barrel twist rate?

The 160 gr Nosler Accubonds are a good start, and the powder is what you can find near you.

Also, what do you plan to hunt with the rifle?

 

[thekyrifleman]

Lefty,

Thanks for the correction. Shows that once again generalizing provides an incorrect answer!!. Glad for the info....fact is my STW has never had a factory round through it. When I had it built in '92, as you know, one had to roll their own. In several of your posts I see reference to H5010. Never had much luck with it. Worked up one load using as I remember, 90gr with 160 Barnes X. So heavily compressed, OAL changed significantly. MV just shy of 3100. Finally threw the powder out when the red brown vapors started coming out of the jug....

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

that's what I had to do with my 5010 also. Different lots of the stuff seem to have had different densities. You could exceed 86 gr. on a 175 with some with room, the next lot was heavily compressed and tough to get in the case before 86 gr..
to the o.p....
I've gone to rl25 in my stw for mid weight bullets. I may go to rl26... I have some but haven't worked with it yet. I'm seeing good results with rl50 and retumbo in my 7rum with heavies. Some guys like powders like rl22 and 7828 also... You just need to stay slow enough to keep the case relatively full and use a hotter primer like the wlrm or 215 to light the fire.