New to me rifle. Have the above bullets and powders along with Rem brass and Tula magnum primers.
I looked at the Hodgdon data to get an idea as to where to start, but does anyone have any favorite loads with those components?

Do you think I can safely get 3000 fps with a 24" inch barrel?

Also, I'm new to this cartridge. Why are the pressures so low on the Hodgdon site?

Thanks

The modern loading manuals have completely emasculated the grand old 7RM.
My 26" .280AI got a comfortable 3050 with that bullet.
The 7RM with greater case capacity is surely capable of better than that.

I'll run your components through QL and see what I come up with.

As I suspected H1000 seems too slow. You run out of capacity before you get good pressure.
H4350 is a bit better but a little on the fast side.

GL also shows that Magpro is your huckleberry. I love Magpro.


What is your OAL?

I just got the bullets this afternoon and haven't put anything together yet, so I don't know how long they will end up.

The mag box gives me 3.4".

I don't have any 4350. H4831 and H1000. That's too bad about the 1000, I just bought it and it set me back $25 plus tax. Oops. I thought I'd read here that Retumbo and H1000 and the go-to powders with this catridge and bullet and that the H1000 did a little better temp. swings.I have to run but will check back later. Thanks for running the QL for me.
I should be able to make it out the end of the week with trial loads and the chrono.

Sorry about the 4350.

4831 is better and at 100% load density you'll be knocking on the door of 3000.

Thanks!

H1000 is a good powder with 162gn bullets in a 7mm Rem Mag,although RL25 is better. In my 700CDL 7mm Rem Mag 26"bbl I get 2990fps with a max load of H1000 and a 160gn Nosler Accubond.

Like I said, the grand old 7RM has been utterly emasculated by SAAMI and the loading manual publishers.

I had 10 grains less case capacity in my .280AI and using published book loads I easily reached 3050 with the 162 Amax and 3000 with the 168 VLD out of a 26" barrel. Those speeds were in line with the predicted speeds as well so I wasn't running over pressure.

Not saying it isn't an effective cartridge just that it isn't performing as it should given it's capacity.

IDMilton,

I have reloaded more than a few 7MM Rem Mag rounds. I use IMR 4350 almost exclusively. I've had excellent luck with it. Using my Sako Classic, I can easily get 3100+ FPS using 160 Partitions out of a 24" barrel. I can easily get better than 3200 FPS with 150 Ballistic Tips using the same powder. Neither of these loads showed signs of excessive pressure. Both are extremely accurate.

I have tried R22 with 160 Speer Hot Core bullets. I did manage to get better than 3200 FPS, but this load was nowhere as accurate as the Partition load. And it was a little too hot for my liking.

I reload primarily for accuracy. I am convinced game does not know a couple hundred FPS one way or the other.

I had a friend who used 63.5 grains of H4831 with 154 grain Hornady spire point bullets. It was a light 7MM Mag load. It did drop mule deer in their tracks.


Best of Luck,

R

Thanks for the advice. If I can't get the 1000 or the 4831 to work, I'll try one of the other powders.

If the H1K and or 4831 doesn't perk then I'd be all over 7828 and R25

Dober

I get 3050fps out of my Rem 700 24" bbl with re-22 and 162gr A-max, IMR-7828 does about the same.

Retumbo.

I like RL25 these days with the 7Rem Mag and 160+ gr bullets.Over 3000 with a 162 should not be an issue.

I've had great accuracy with H1000 and 168 Bergers. I'd try it with the Amax. I haven't chronoed anything with H1000 but book velocities aren't slower than other powders in that burn rate. It's a very insensitive powder too. Great stuff.

Have you considered trying RE25???

Am I the only one that thinks that Retumbo is a tad too slow for the 7mm Rem? I've damned near burnt out a barrel trying to make it work right with the 168 VLD.

My best results with the 162 A-Max were at around 60 grains of RL-22, but the velocity was uninspiring. And so it goes for me with the 7mm Rem and heavy bullets. Good velocities yield marginal accuracy or excessive pressure, and good accuracy comes at low velocities.

This is a Sendero/Swarovski/Jewel combo that is capable of, and has demonstrated, absurd accuracy with 139 grain bullets.

Can you share some specifics? I'm about to do a workup with H1000.

I would think so. I used 60 grains of RL-22 behind that bullet and the 168VLD in my .280AI and was comfortably over 3000 with each.

168Berger Hunting/67.0 H1000/Fed 215match/Fed Cases and .005" off lands. This load cut the size of my groups in half in my Sendero SFII that I've tried a lot of different loads in. These are pretty consistently under .5" groups for me. I've sinced tried the same load in Win brass with same results.

Work up to 67gr of IMR7828ssc and check accuracy/velocity.

Retumbo works great in the 7mm RM with any bullet from 160 grains up, with very good velocities and excellent accuracy. It's also one of Hodgdon's Extremes, so velocity is consistent in normal or cold weather.

Magpro can get a little more velocity, but isn't very temp-resistant.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I'll try to make it out this week to try the two powders I have. I'll check back in and report how it went.If they don't look good, I'll go pick up a pound of something else.

I loaded up some rounds. To hit the lands, I'm at 3.460. To fit the mag, I'm at 3.4. That's a big jump. Oh well, I'll see how it goes. My Kimber 308 jumps more than that and does well.

Today is beautiful,and with light wind. (Rare for here.) I can't drive because of eye problems and can't get a ride out to the range today. Having a new (to me)rifle and not being able to shoot it yet makes me feel like a carrot is being dangled right in front of me!

This is the OP.

I shot the rifle today. I loaded ladders of h4831 and H1000. I know you are supposed to shoot ladders at several hundred yards, but I didn't have time and the wind was gusting over 20 (6-7:00)so I just shot at 100 yards. (I didn't want to wait any loner to shoot.)

First I shot two of HK at 68 grains to settle the rifle in the stock and get on paper. They landed 8 inches high and 9 inches left, but only .5 apart. I thought that was lucky for the first two shots. I clicked the scope and started shooting. (I let the rifle cool three minutes between shots once I started.)

My first shot with H1000 at 69 grains was 2734. Way slow. So I jumped to 71 grains. 2830 and about an inch high and right. Shot 71.3 grains and it landed a hair higher and a little to the right. It was 2859. 71.6 (last one for HK) was 2899. It key-holed the previous shot and the three holes were a little under .6.
That makes me happy! Bolt lift was fine and the primers look fine, too, so I think I'll go up another 1-1.5 and see what happens.

H4831 was not as good in this rifle. Shot number 1 was 62 grains. 2730. So I skipped down to 64 and 64.3. 2744 and 2754. The three bullet holes were 1.3 inches apart.

Anyway, I'm really happy with the rifle and H1000 so far. I'll head back out next week and hope that group wasn't a fluke.

The rifle is a 1995 boat paddle Ruger in 7 Mag. It hasn't been floated or bedded. The trigger is seven pounds one ounce and long. It is going to the gunsmith to get the trigger done and I'll put a Pachmayr pad on and switch it to normal swivels.

Thanks again for the help with the load.

Sounds like a nice rifle...You'll notice a difference in recoil after the decelerator is on...As long as you are happy with those velocities, that's all that is important...My winchester model 70 likes RE25 and 3,100 fps is attainable but my groups start falling apart. I back it down to around 2,950 to 3,000 fps and all is well and sub moa again...Get that trigger worked on and you'll sure have a sweet shooting Ruger there......

The velocity is way low. My classic stainless 7mm WSM exceeds that and I bet my new, EW 7mm WSM would as well.

Yeah, that's what I thought, too.

I plan on working up to 73 grains. I'd like to get to 3000 fps, but would be happy with 2950 if it is accurate.

I was also worried if the Ruger twist would stabilize the Amax, but if my 100 yard test is an indicator, it seems fine.

He's working with a 7mm rem mag and they can be very tempermental in the velocity dept........Your wizzum is much more effiecient so of course you'll get better velocities without even trying......Just something we have to live with......Like we hear and say, "the critters will never notice 100 fps difference" and I doubt the average hunter will either.......

I kind of lean toward IMR 7828 and H 870

It's the OP again.

I went out this afternoon again.
72 grains of H 1000 was giving me 2920-2940 and great accuracy.
I shot 3 at 72.5. 2978, 2999, and 3018. (I don't like that spread, but the sun came out for the last shot and that may have made the chrono read high. Or, my barrel was hot. Or, I have an F1 chrony. Or...I don't know. Maybe I just don't have a consistent load!) The first two were.4, the third round opened the group to .8. (The barrel was really hot by then.)

I am really happy with the way the gun was shooting and I'm good with those speeds.

The primers look fine and the bolt opened easily. The only thing that concerns me is that I fired two of that load from a friend's rifle, and had bright ejector marks. (Mid 1980s Rem 700.) The bolt opened easily and the primers looked fine, but the marks mean he'd be over pressure with that load, right? What's weird is that he had the exact same speed on the chrony I did. I thought more pressure always equates to more velocity.

Any ideas as to the difference? My rifle is a Ruger, so maybe it is over pressure too and I just can't see the ejector mark like on the Remington? The load shoots so well, I'd like to settle on it. (It was 84 degrees when I was shooting and we were at 5100 feet.)