What is Accurate #7 good for?

[DaveInPA]

I bought a pound of Accurate #7 at my local gunshop last week. I think I meant to buy #5, as there is hardly any #7 load data for the calibers/bullets I load. I currently load 9mm and .45 ACP. I will shortly start loading .40 S&W as well. So, what was #7 designed for, and would #5 be a better choice for my loads? I haven't opened the #7 yet so I'm sure I can still exchange it for #5.

[2sigs]

As can be found on AA's wb page
http://www.accuratepowder.com/reloading.htm

9mm Luger
Barrel: 4", Twist: 1-10" Primer: WIN WSP Bullet Dia.: .355"
No.2 115 LC RN(L) 4.6 1,008 5.2 1,146 32,900 1.100
No.2 124 LC RN(L) 4.0 895 4.6 1,017 31,100 1.095
No.2 145 MCB SWCBB(L) 3.9 845 4.3 956 31,000 1.140
No.2 115 NOS JHP 4.7 1,038 5.2 1,145 29,900 1.095
No.2 125 SIE FMJ 4.2 930 4.7 1,057 29,500 1.095
No.2 147 HDY XTP 3.6 781 4.0 888 29,200 1.095
No.5 115 LC RN(L) 5.7 1,040 6.3 1,182 33,000 1.100
No.5 124 LC RN(L) 5.4 1,018 6.0 1,157 33,000 1.095
No.5 145 LC RN(L) 4.6 866 5.1 984 26,800 1.140
No.5 115 SIE JHP 6.3 1,049 7.0 1,192 31,400 1.095
No.5 125 SIE JHP 5.8 1,069 6.4 1,200 33,000 1.095
No.5 147 HDY XTP 4.8 872 5.3 991 30,900 1.095
No.7 115 LC RN(L) 7.8 1,078 8.7 1,225 33,000 1.100
No.7 124 LC RN(L) 7.4 1,030 8.2 1,170 33,000 1.095
No.7 145 MCB RNBB(L) 6.5 926 7.2 1,052 29,500 1.140
No.7 115 NOS FMJ 7.9 1,052 8.8 1,196 29,700 1.095
No.7 124 HDY FMJ 7.2 1,026 8.0 1,166 29,800 1.095
No.7 147 HDY XTP 6.5 921 7.2 1,047 31,900 1.095

.45 Auto (ACP)
Barrel: 5", Twist: 1-16" Primer: FED 150 Bullet Dia.: .451"
N100 155 LC SWC(L) 5.0 956 5.5 1,087 16,000 1.240
N100 170 MCB SWCBB(L) 5.0 952 5.6 1,082 19,900 1.130
N100 200 LC SWC(L) 4.4 825 4.9 938 18,200 1.190
N100 230 LC RN(L) 4.1 733 4.5 834 18,600 1.230
N100 185 NOS JHP 4.8 842 5.3 957 16,900 1.210
N100 200 HDY XTP 4.3 768 4.8 873 16,500 1.225
N100 230 SIE FMJ 4.1 726 4.5 825 19,100 1.250
S1000 155 LC SWC(L) 5.9 1,029 6.5 1,170 19,100 1.240
S1000 170 MCB SWC(L) 5.3 931 5.9 1,059 17,800 1.130
S1000 200 LC SWC(L) 4.8 838 5.3 952 18,300 1.190
S1000 230 LC RN(L) 4.6 790 5.1 898 18,300 1.230
S1000 185 SIE JHC 5.5 862 6.1 980 19,400 1.210
S1000 200 HDY XTP 5.2 804 5.8 914 18,800 1.225
S1000 230 NOS FMJ 4.9 746 5.5 848 18,900 1.250
No.2 155 LC SWC(L) 6.8 1,060 7.5 1,204 20,600 1.240
No.2 170 MCB SWC(L) 5.9 950 6.5 1,079 19,400 1.130
No.2 200 LC SWC(L) 5.2 826 5.8 939 17,400 1.190
No.2 230 LC RN(L) 5.0 766 5.6 870 17,200 1.230
No.2 185 NOS JHP 5.7 948 6.7 1,106 20,750 1.210
No.2 200 HDY XTP 5.1 855 5.8 970 19,900 1.225
No.2 230 SIE FMJ 4.6 769 5.4 881 20,800 1.250
No.5 155 LC SWC(L) 9.0 1,046 10.0 1,189 18,500 1.240
No.5 170 MCB SWC(L) 8.1 945 9.0 1,074 17,800 1.130
No.5 200 LC SWC(L) 7.8 902 8.7 1,025 19,400 1.190
No.5 230 MCB RNBB(L) 7.7 852 8.5 968 19,800 1.230
No.5 185 HDY XTP 9.2 970 10.2 1,102 19,900 1.210
No.5 200 SIE FPJ 8.7 924 9.7 1,050 20,600 1.225
No.5 230 NOS FMJ 7.8 816 8.7 927 19,300 1.250
No.7 155 LC SWC(L) 12.0 1,076 13.3 1,223 20,200 1.240
No.7 170 MCB SWC(L) 11.3 1,031 12.5 1,172 20,800 1.130
No.7 200 LC RN(L) 10.4 899 11.5 1,022 18,700 1.190
No.7 230 LC RN(L) 9.9 862 11.0 979 19,400 1.230
No.7 185 SIE JHP 11.7 962 13.0 1,093 18,000 1.210
No.7 200 HDY XTP 10.8 912 12.0 1,036 19,200 1.225

should make some nice 200G XTP's at over 1,000 fps

-2sigs

[Sevens]

Accurate #7 was designed for high horsepower rounds like 10mm, .40 S&W and .357 Sig. Can also be used for medium loads in .44 Mag, and likely some loads in .357 Mag and .41 Mag. It's a great metering powder but tends to use a heavier charge, so you'll use more powder per round than some other brands if you are the very frugal type.

Depending on how much the guys at the gun shop know and like you, you may or may not be able to exchange it. Lots of folks are a little funny about powder, and with good reason.

[DaveInPA]

Maybe I'll keep the #7 for the .40 S&W and I'll eventually be getting a .357 magnum as well. I'll go pick up some #5 for my .45 ACP and 9mm. The more the merrier!

[Dave P]

I use it with success for:
357 sig
44 mag (medium power)
45acp (sometimes)

I like it.

[Crimp]

I think AA#7 was originally formulated for the 9 X 19. It's a great powder for 9mm performance ammo, in the same ballpark with VV 3N37, Longshot and Ramshot's True Blue.

In Accurate's data, the 115gr bullet lists 29,700 CUP for an 8.8gr max of #7. That's well under SAAMI's old 33, 000 CUP for regular pressure 9mm. You also get a low flash to go with it.

[scsov509]

I've used #7 in .40 and .357 with good results. It meters really well and produces good velocity as a slower burning powder, but I ultimately stopped using it because it had too much flash for my taste.

[zxcvbob]

#7 is on my short list of powders to try in .357 Magnum and in .30 Carbine pistol loads. It should work great in top end .40-S&W.

So many powders, so little time...

[ForneyRider]

When I was researching semi-auto powders, #7 showed up for a lot of hot loads in 45ACP. But I went with Power Pistol.

[Toolman]

I use it for .357 mag, .357 SIG and .45 cal pistol loads.

[DaveInPA]

I just loaded up some 200gr JHP's with 10.5gr of AA#7. We'll see how those do at the range this weekend.

[Bruce Layne]

I saw "low flash" and "high flash" in consecutive comments. Anyone care to cast the tie breaking vote?

The fact that everyone said it meters well is a big plus for me. I want to use it in a volumetric measure on a progressive press.

I like the performance I get with similar burn rate powders. In fact, I used a light 90 gr JHP with a lot of LongShot powder to get Mach 2 (actually 2020 fps average) out of a 9mm carbine in a +P load.

One reason I didn't buy AA#7 was because of the economy. It uses about 30-50% more powder in many loads than the faster powders I use for plinking loads, and I didn't want to spend another half a penny per round. Yep, I'm cheap. On the plus side, more powder in the case makes it less likely to double charge, makes it easier to verify powder charge visually, makes the powder less position sensitive, and is probably more accurate.

Another reason I have bought other brands of powder was because I started many years ago with some Accurate Arms powder and seem to remember it was sooty and cleaning was a chore. Is AA#7 a reasonably clean burning powder?

There's a reason for my questions. I smell a gun ban in 2009 and I'm paranoid enough to think that reloading components may be targeted too. Not eliminated, but possibly regulated and taxed to the point that shooting is no longer affordable for most people. Prices of all reloading components have been going up a lot lately because reloaders are competing with Uncle Sam who's buying ammo for Iraq and Afghanistan, and that's combined with a lot more real inflation than the government has admitted to making everything cost more. The recent changes in the ammo decommissioning contract requires that all surplus military ammo be melted in an oven rather than disassembling it and selling it to reloaders. Your tax dollars at work! Anyway, it looks like a good time to stock up. I just bought a lot of primers, and I'm looking to buy some powder. I've seen 8 pound jugs of military surplus powder that crosses with AA#7, and I think it may actually be AA#7. It's cheap enough that I can use half again as much as I'd use with a faster powder and still be significantly cheaper. Should I buy 48 pounds of mil-surp AA#7 for $7 a pound?

[scsov509]

I saw "low flash" and "high flash" in consecutive comments. Anyone care to cast the tie breaking vote?

All powders have flash, and the amount of flash depends upon a variety of variables including barrel length, caliber, charge, and others. #7 is a slower burning powder, and generally you're going to find that large charges of slow burning powder are going to produce decent flash. In my case I found that #7 was giving me pretty brilliant orange flame in my .357 and .44, which was problematic in my hunting rounds where I might be shooting in lower light conditions and need to make a follow up shot. I found that in these applications a little faster powder like #5 or Unique gave me less flash and still met my needs for velocity. But you've really got to try the powder and charge you're wanting to see how much flash you're going to get. Some powders like Power Pistol are going to flash no matter what. But most others are going to depend on the weapon, charge, caliber, and other factors so that flash becomes somewhat subjective.

[DaveInPA]

10.5gr of #7 under a 200gr Hornady JHP was an awesome load at the range last weekend. Just an update

[ShootingNut]

10.5gr of #7 under a 200gr Hornady JHP was an awesome load at the range last weekend. Just an update

As you didn't note, I'm assuming your 10.5 load was in your .45 ACP, and not in a .40 or that would really have been awesome!
Regards
SN

[DaveInPA]

Yeah it was in .45 ACP

[ShootingNut]

Good, otherwise you wouldn't be using your keyboard yet.
I have been loading .40 for some time, started out with Acc5 and have stayed with it, seems to work very well for me. Use that for both .40 and .45 loads. For my 9's and .357 I have used Hodgdon Titegroup, haven't really experimented with other powders (yet).
Regards,
SN

[zxcvbob]

Should I buy 48 pounds of mil-surp AA#7 for $7 a pound?

Yes, that's an extrordinary price. (would you mind sharing your source?)

[joeshmo]

My 45 ACP is a pretty rugged gun(Ruger P90) but it always seems to get REALLY nasty after firing 20-30 rounds loaded with AA No. 7. And after 60 or so rounds pulling the slide feels really gritty and Ive never had this problem before

I just recently started doing my own reloading and bought the No. 7 because theres quite a bit of leeway between the Min and Max amounts of powder to use. And since 9.9gr fills up the cartridge pretty well it would be impossible to double charge and not notice.

But yah, next time im going to try either the IMR 800x or Win 231

Joe

[armoredman]

My PO1 loves AA#7, with either cast or factory bullets. Good stuff.

[zxcvbob]

I bought 16 pounds of military surplus NATO #7 powder. It was less than $9 per pound, delivered. (that includes the hazmat fee as well as the shipping.) I probably should have bought 32 pounds so I'd get a price break, but I'm pushing the limit already with how much gunpowder I can store legally.

The jugs say it is 5% to 10% faster than AA #7. I'm not sure *exactly* what that means, but that should make it very similar to Blue Dot. I'm gonna load a few .357 Magnums with it using 10 grains of powder (and 158 grain cast bullet) to get a set point.

[Linear Thinker]

AA#7 was the 1st powder I was able to make USPSA Major power factor with in 38 Super, ~17 years ago. It was Israeli-made at the time, and very filthy.
The flash was very substantial, with a small comp I was using on a 1911 at the time.
The later versions of #7 were made in Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic (not sure if before or after their partition) by Lovex, or so I recall. It was somewhat cleaner than the old IMI stuff, but still flashy.

I agree with the above comments re. the economy - but when you have to make a certain velocity in order to be competitive, it's a small price.

To answer the original question - it's a slow powder, designed for competition use.
It's suitable for high-pressure loads in 9mm, 38S, 357 and 40, and for slightly reduced loads in 44 Mag.
LT

[Peter M. Eick]

I use it heavily in 10mm, a bit in 357 Sig, a lot in 38 super and pretty much nothing else.

Mostly it is my go to powder of 165 and 180 grn blaster loads out of 10mm.

[Mike Irwin]

I use No. 7 for .41 Magnum and, when I had it, 10mm.

[azredhawk44]

AA #7 is my standard go-to powder for the bulk of my 44 magnum shooting. It meters well and has a better feel when shooting than the faster powders like Titegroup or Unique, but has better economy than H110 while having less fireball also than the bigger magnum powders.

I've used it with good results in 9mm. Try it there too... you won't be disappointed unless you reload purely to save money.

I'd imagine it would do well in .357magnum and 10mm also, but I only have a snubby in .357 and I use faster powders as a result of that.

I didn't care for it in a government .45acp pistol. Dirty and a bit too abusive on the action. I don't remember the load, but I never start near max published loads, and the AA #7 load I cooked up just felt too hot. Maybe it was just some freak anomaly of powder burn rate... I dunno. I like faster powders for .45acp as a result though.