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Old May 5, 2012, 03:42 PM   #1
jwrowland77
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Best Powder for 7mm Rem Mag...?

I'm getting ready to make an order to start loading for my 7mm Rem Mag and I am trying to figure out the best powder that would give the best bang for the buck (pun intended).

Most my manuals have Retumbo for accuracy and that's kind of what I was looking at.

What's a good powder that I can use in several rifles but also works great in the 7mm Rem Mag?

Currently the only powder I have that I have used in rifles is H4895. Other powders on hand are: Unique, Titegroup and Autocomp.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
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Old May 5, 2012, 04:19 PM   #2
89blazin
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I like WXR the best for 7mm RM, but it is rarely available any more. My favorite for 7mm RM that I also use for 30-06 and 270 Win is IMR 4350. I get very good results in all 3 calibers. It works for 100-175gr. bullets in 7mm RM reloads. The lightest bullet I load for 7mm RM is a 140gr. I can't justify loading anything lighter, especially a 100gr. bullet w/ around 70grs. of powder in this caliber.
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Old May 5, 2012, 04:25 PM   #3
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My son loads IMR 7828 with 150 Noslers and I use IMR 4350 with 140 gr Noslers both work well.
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Old May 5, 2012, 05:08 PM   #4
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Both IMR 4350 & Reloader 19 work well for me.
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Old May 5, 2012, 05:15 PM   #5
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Tried several powders and I'm sold on Retumbo with 160 grain and heavier bullets. Retumbo is excellent in the 7RM with 175 grain bullets.
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Old May 5, 2012, 05:37 PM   #6
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IMR7828.

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Old May 5, 2012, 05:43 PM   #7
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IMR 7828 or RL22 is what you need.
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Old May 5, 2012, 07:02 PM   #8
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When the 7mm Rem Mag was used in prone long range matches (and good bullets were available), best accuracy was with IMR4350 or IMR4831. While slower powders typically pushed bullets out the barrel a bit faster for the same peak pressure, they didn't land on target as close together as these powders made them do so.

So your choice might be between accuracy and velocity. But that's normal with virtually all centerfire rifle cartridges.
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Old May 6, 2012, 08:06 AM   #9
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If you don't mind doing the load workup, WC867 and WC872 are still available for around 40 bucks per 8 pounds. These powders are suitable for the 7mm Rem Mag if you plan on using 168~175gr bullets. If not I've had good luck with IMR7828.

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Old May 6, 2012, 08:29 AM   #10
old roper
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One problem with powders like Retumbo your going to use more of it vs other powders. If you look at max loads from Hodgdon manual max load using 175gr Partition and Retumbo is 68gr @ 2800fps if you used IMR-7828 they list 61gr max @ 2707fps.

Not knowing what your other rifle calibers are be best for you to check several manual and see what powders are listed for those then look at powders for the 7mag.

I've retire my 7mag but I used H-4831 and I use H-4831 in a 270 also 280AI,30-338mg.

Well good luck
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Old May 6, 2012, 09:09 AM   #11
hooligan1
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Good powders vs. Bad--s powders.

Okay fellas this is the thread I been waiting for... someone looking at powders for the beloved magnificent 7.
These loads are what I have had success with, but start at 10% lower and work up and me and the Forum have no liability using these loads.

Here's what I have come up with:
1. 140 grn Accubond, 61.4 grains of IMR 4831, Winchester brass, CCI 250 primer, COAL 2.807.
2.150 grn Nosler Partition, 61 grns IMR 4350, Hornady brass, CCI 250 primer, COAL 2.718.
3. 160 grn Accubond, 61.6 grns of IMR 7828, Winchester brass, CCI 250 primer, COAL 2.800.

Haven't handloaded lighter bullets than these nor heavier, These loads don't recoil bad, and are extremely accurate shot from my Weatherby Vanguard, 24 inch barrel with 1 in 9.5 twist. When I say accurate I mean right at 1/2 MOA.
I have tried these other powders, H 1000, H 4350, H 4831 sc, but had no real accuracy with these, I had "hard bolt lift with just the starting load with H4831 sc, so I didn't go further with it, I have test shot maybe 200 rnds to find my data.

Also the May/June issue of Successful Hunter has a great article about New loads of the 7mm Remington Magnum, by John Haviland.
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Last edited by hooligan1; May 6, 2012 at 09:19 AM.
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Old May 6, 2012, 02:29 PM   #12
jwrowland77
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Awesome thanks. I'll probably be using 150 grain bullet, but I will have 200 free Hornady 139 BTSP that I will have to use. Darn the luck of free bullets.
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Old May 6, 2012, 04:27 PM   #13
William T. Watts
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Jeremy the original factory loading by Remington was an uncanistered lot of 7828, I used the canistered lot of IMR7828 (that which is available to the handloader) with Nosler 150gr SP's that shot 1/2"--3/4" groups often enough that I grew to expect that kind of accuracy!! Looks like there are four of us who agree on 7828 as a number to at least try!! William
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Old May 6, 2012, 05:19 PM   #14
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Well jwrowland77, those 139 grn Hornady BTSP bullets are good too. I used this factory loaded bullet to not only break in my rifle, but zero my scope, and kill the first deer taken with my 7mmrem mag.
Check the Hornady manual for the powders suggested for those 200 139er's,, or just mail them to me.
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Old May 6, 2012, 06:23 PM   #15
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66.0 of either RL22 or IMR 7828 will push those Hornadys at the right speed to shoot like a laser beam.
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Old May 6, 2012, 06:32 PM   #16
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I use exactly one powder for the 7mmRem Mag. IMR 4831. I worked up a load using 140 Nosler BT's several years ago and haven't seen any reason to change. We fire that load out of a rifle Savage catalogued just exactly one year, the 111 FV, and it's a tackdriver load from that rifle. I've never seen any reason to change.
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Old May 8, 2012, 09:16 PM   #17
PhilGarn
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IMR4350 is my choice of powder for all my rifles. I load 7mm Rem Mag, .270, .30/06 and .25/06 with this powder and it performs great in all of them.
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Old May 9, 2012, 01:14 PM   #18
jwrowland77
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Well I think I have decided to try out the IMR4350 for the first powder in my 7mm. Thanks everyone for the replys. I will definitely be referring back to this thread in case I'm not happy with the powder I've chosen.
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Old May 9, 2012, 04:06 PM   #19
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Can't go wrong with IMR4350. I've been using it a while and couldn't be happier.
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Old May 10, 2012, 10:58 AM   #20
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I like 4350 and 4831 in the big 7s. I like the heavier bullets for a given caliber and those powders work fine for the 160 - 175 gr bullets.
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Old May 10, 2012, 11:30 AM   #21
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Good choice on the IMR4350. It works very nice in my BDL with 140 gr bullets.
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Old May 10, 2012, 12:25 PM   #22
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I have been loading the 7mm ever since it first came out and used 4350 and 4831. However I agree with Crowbeaner that you can't go wrong with either 7828 or RL22 which give top velocity and excellent accuracy. A favorite load is 65.0 gr. of RL22 behind a 160 gr. Nosler Accubond.
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Old May 16, 2012, 10:05 AM   #23
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Paw Paw, I also like the IMR 4831 with 140 Accubonds. Man they're accurate!!
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