Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Ramshot Hunter for 7 mag

Has anyone tried Ramshot Hunter in 7mm mag with 160gr bullets? Thanks, Mark

None of my manuals list Hunter as a load for the 7mm mag. They do list Ramshot Magnum though.

hodgdonreloading.com

Hodgdon website list 166 gr bullet with Hunter

Hunter 3.290" 57.2 2,751 49,500 PSI 61.4 2,947 59,500 PSI

I've run Ramshot Magnum with 139 grain Hornady, excellent combination in my Remington 700. No experience with Hunter in 7mag

I haven't found any data either. I have read that Hunter was as good as RL19. Not sure if this is true or not. I will e-mail Hodgdon or call and ask them.

I like IMR 4350, has worked well for 45 years in 15 plus 7 mags. I’m too old to change.

These are near or at max in my rifles.With 160gr,I've found a good loads with IMR4350 @ 63.0grs.Hunter is very close to IMR4831,both those are slower on the burnrate scale than IMR4350.I'd start @ 63.0grs and work up from there.I'd bet 64.0 or 64.5grs would be a good load with Hunter.I load 66.0grs with Reloader22 and 67.5grs with reloader26.If you look at published load data,you will notice the loads are at a conservative max around 58,000psi.If your rifle is in good condition I see no reason you cannot go into the low 60,000psi range.You should be able to get 3000fps with a 24" barrel,a little over that with a 26" barrel.If you don't have a chronograph,get one.

IMR 4831 has always been my go to powder for my 1885 in 7Mag. Pushes the 145 Speer Grand Slam at 3150 FPS and flat out numbs critters. The same with the 160 Grand Slam. I don't remember the velocity of the 160's, but it's my favorite west Texas muley load. Next is IMR 4350. As long as I've got those powders, I'll never need anything else.

The 8th version of the Western powders reloading manual is still available online. It only gives Hunter data for 120 grain bullets.

Thanks for all the replies. I had originally asked because I am almost out of RL22 and haven't seen any for quite sometime, & have an 8# jug of "Hunter". I finally got in contact with Hodgdon today. Thier data showed 57.2 - 61.4 grains using 166 grain bullets. They said that 160grain bullets would be no problem with these powder charges. I figured they are probably on the lighter side. I feel there is room to adjust said charge while watching for pressure signs. I am going to try some VV165 from a buddy of mine as well. Thanks

Hunter is a bit slower than 4350, so a bit of interpolation should give you a starting load.

Tested vv165 today with 160 grain speers. Did a ladder test and at book max 68.1 I belive we were getting 3002 fps avg on 3 rounds. Went 1 grain past max book and those went 3060avg and bolt got a bit sticky. Gonna back it off a bit and play with seating depth now. Big fan of the vv165 so far for 7mag