I have 3 rifles in calibers 7mm rem mag, 30-06 and 7mm 08. Which 1 powder would cover all 3 calibers.

Reloder 23

H-4350

H-4350, RL 17, RL19. Personally, I’m using RL 17 for several different cartridges..... 6.5/284, 270 Win., 30-06, 375 AI. And probably could use it on several others! memtb

I’ve used H4350 and RL19 on all three of those cartridges. I didn’t end up using them in either 7mm cartridge listed compared to other options.

Why ?

That doesn’t sound like much fun.

Go 4895 and you can load darn near anything you would use.

But, it will be upstaged buy others at almost every application.

Varget/4895, 4350 and H 4831 load a pile of different rounds for me.
The 4831 doesn't buy me much of anything.


Starting over, without the baggage of stock, old loads and loaded rounds,
I would use ball powders. Probably.

Depending on bullet weights it could be RE 15, RE 19, or RE 22,23

R26 would be best for the 7Rem Mag. and R16 but in the 7 mag it would be better for the lighter bullets. 7977 looks good too. I would be sure to pick a temperature stable powder and anti copper agents would be nice too, almost all the newer powders have this. IMR 4955 is another but not the best for heavies in the 7 mag. Problem is availability all the popular choices are in short supply it seems.R23 could be the best all around for those calibers.

I use IMR 4350 in those

Lord Black can fuel anything.

-snork-

No one mentioned StaBALL.

I have a couple of cans, have not used it in the listed rounds.

Agree with posters who suggested that would be so boring, one powder for all three...

I currently use Big Game in my '06 and 7-08, RL-26 in my 7RM...

That's just two powders...

DF

IMR 4451

^^^^ This and IMR 4350 are so close you can find one OR the other.

Also IMR 4350 has NOT been bad for me in our cold WX. Only occasionally do we
have temp lower than 20F during season.

Now OTOH, you are going to need & shoot X no. of pounds powder so....
what diff is it if there is MORE than 1 brand & kind of powder?

Here in Alaska I only hunt with a 30-06 and a .338 Winny, but I do carry a 45-70 often when out and about in the "off season" when hiking, camping, fishing, ATV riding, etc. For a long time I ran 250 grain bullets in the .338 and 200 or 180's in the 30-06 and Reloader 19 worked very well. Then a few years back I joined the 24 Hour Camp Fire. Now it is Hunter for the .338 and H4350 for the 30-06 and lighter weight Barnes TTSX bullets. I recently bought a can of WW StaBall, what the heck do I need that for?.

Don't even bring scopes up, what a confusing goat rope, used to be so simple, just zero scope and shoot critter.

I don't think the moose and caribou and occasional bear give a hoot. So RL19 or H4350 could easily do all I need doing, even with the 6.5 Creedmoor I picked up just to see what all the fuss is about. Oh ya, my Mod. 71 iWinny in .348 Ackley Improved might be done this week. Going o hunt moose and bear with a peep sighted lever gun this year. The 250 grain AWB bullet and a heavy charge of H4350. If I do my part.......

[quote=hanco]I use IMR 4350 in those[/quote243. '06, 7 mag, 300 mag and 375 mag all use IMR 4350- Not perfect for any (fastest, etc) but, like a glock, it just works. Makes storing and stocking powder easy too.
BTW I only use magnum primers, so, on some loads, I back off 1.5 grains from MAX. I've had excellent results with it.

+1 on H4895.

I've used it on chamberings from 223 Rem to 35 Whelen.

The only time it didn't do a good job was 25-06. It shot. It shot accurately, but the velocities were down around a 257 Rob.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I've used IMR 4831 in 2 of your listed chamberings with better than satisfactory results. I have also seen it used in a 7-08. I don't have a 7-08 but have used it in its big brother, the 280 Remington. It's my go to powder there. However, some of that would depend on bullet weight used too. In my 06 I used it with both 180 and 200 grain bullets, in the 7 Mag with a 140-150 grain bullet and in my .280 I use it with complete satisfaction with a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip.

However, if I had a 7-08 I'd be tempted to use some of the Reloader powders. I've had good luck with 17 in that size case and I see a couple other RL powders listed here. But I don't think I would limit any cartridge loading to one powder for simplicity sake or to save money. You can give up a lot of performance doing that. It's kinda like a compromise to me. That's why I started reloading so that I could make tailor made cartridges to get the most velocity with the best accuracy. Otherwise I would just buy a good factory cartridge and be happy.

Actually, everything I've ever killed with hand loads could have been killed equally well with both Winchester Power Points or Remington Core Lokts or a half dozen other factory loads just fine. But I get a crap load of satisfaction and a good bit more better accuracy on average with my hand loads. Also, if you are hand loading to save money, good luck with that. By the time you invest in the equipment you need to make decent rounds, you would have to shoot a lot of them to realize any real savings. Don't forget too that reloading components aren't cheap anymore if they've ever been.

N/A here in Canada as well as a long list of other powders.

Good luck with that notion! Even if there was a good candidate, it's probably out of stock. Even if available, chances are it's not going to shine in one or more of your rifles, or you won't find enough to go around. Might want to choose the best for each cartridge, a backup choice or two, and then start looking. You never know where something may suddenly pop up (!), so keep looking on a regular basis. A big jug of one of the 4350s or 4451 might do you, if you can find it.

StaBall looks really good in the 7-08 and '06, but there's no data from Hodgdon for the 7RM, either in the book or on their website. I found a pound locally, then a couple more online, as well as my preferred powder for 120s in the Grendel. While you're looking, check for primers if you need some. They can ship both in the same box and save you some money.

Powder Valley has both IMR4350 and H4350 in stock. Don't dawdle.

Canada gets the leftovers after the US get 1st dibbs. Hoarding is the only way to avoid running out.

I can vouch for IMR 4350 in ALL three of those 'cartridges'.


Jerry

From my experience I'd say IMR or H 4350, and believe IMR 4451 would fill the role as well.

Once upon a time I handloaded for all the centerfire rifles I owned with IMR4895, IMR4350 and H4831. They worked fine for everything from the .223 Remington to the .338 Winchester Magnum. (The only reason for both IMR4350 and H4831 was one usually resulted in a little better accuracy. Probably wouldn't bother today--but mil-surp H4831 was still cheap back then!)

Would much rather do something like that than use one powder.

With what and how I load today I could do well with a Unique class, a 4895 class and a 4350 class powder.

Another vote for I 4350. Or H4350

H4350. 'Nuff said.

Back when I only used IMR4895, IMR4350 and H4831 for rifle reloading, also kept Red Dot on hand for loading shotshells. Eventually started using it for reduced rifle loads as well, especially after reading "The Load" by C.E. Harris in Handloader's Digest.

I am not an advocate for just 1 powder for multiple rifles/cartridges.
My inventory has many diff brands and burning rates of powder.

I practice what I wrote on P 2

Yeah, as others have said, something in the 4350 burn range would likely work best for all three, given the right bullet selection. That isn't how I do it, but I can see the desire to do it that way. Stockpiling a bunch of different powders has drawbacks as well, and there's a lot to be said for simplification.

DING DING!!! We have a winner!! IMR-4350 is a great choice.

I've loaded it for several 7RM and 30-06 rifles with great success. I'm sure that it would be great in the 7-08 as well!

It may not give the fastest velocities in those calibers, but for a one powder to do it all, it would be hard to beat. RL19 may be the next best choice.

elkcountry,

Apparently you missed all the posts that already stated the same thing.

Personally, I would choose H4350, for two reasons:

First, because it's "short-cut" granules are enough smaller than IMR4350's that more powder can fit into the 7mm-08 case. I have played considerably with both powders in the 7mm-08, and found the edge goes to H4350 for that very reason. (As an alternate would go with IMR4451, which is very similar in burn-rate to H4350 (and IMR4350), but is double-based so usually results in a little more velocity.

Second, because H4350 (and IMR4451) are more temperature-stable than IMR4350. This doesn't make a lot of difference in the 7mm-08, but does in the .30-06 and, especially, the 7mm Remington Magnum. Any powder becomes more temp-stable (resulting in better accuracy overall) when the case is filled with powder, or especially slightly compressed.

I like RL 17 can't find it plenty of H4350 and IMR 4451. Thanks for info.

Old stand by IMR-3031.

Might not be the fastest in one but it should work to send bullets down range.

I’d have to look at the data.
But look up Hunter by ram shot
http://www.ramshot.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/WPHandloading-Guide-7.0-Web-REV.pdf

Have never had great luck with Hunter in the 7mm-08. It's a little too slow with bullets lighter than around 150 grains--and Hunter (like TAC, Big Game and Magnum) likes to be pushed near max before results become consistent. That's not the case with H4350 or IMR4451.

Would love to hear where you're finding 7mm Remington Magnum data for IMR3031. I have several bookshelves full of old loading manuals, and even the first manuals published after the cartridge appeared in 1962 don't include any 3031 data for ANY bullet weight.

I have some in an old IMR PDF I downloaded from the web. Looks to be from 2003. Data using 3031 for both 120 and 175gr bullets.

http://pdf.textfiles.com/manuals/FIREARMS/imr_reloading.pdf

HuntnShoot,

Good find! I actually have a paper copy of that data, but didn't check it.

It is a good reference for a lot of stuff, but especially reduced loads. Though I doubt many 7mm Remington Magnum handloaders are going to be satisfied with 3180 fps with 120-grain bullets or 2555 with 175's, either of which can be easily accomplished in the 7mm-08.

I use big game in my 06 and 6.5CM.
But not sure how big game would do in the 7mm magnum.
He wants one and done. So He’ll just have to shoot the heavies in 708 and 06 with hunter.

MD i have several old load books from IMR that have loads for almost all of their powders.

Sometime the free stuff pays off,I save all of the older load books because one never knows.

Great--but again, I doubt many 7mm Remington Magnum handloaders are going to be satisfied with 3180 fps with 120-grain bullets or 2555 with 175's, either of which can be easily accomplished in the 7mm-08.

I still have about 8 pounds of IMR4350, but am trying H4350 and IMR4451 in rifles. It seems that accuracy is very similar. I forget which is the most dense, but if I’m loading 100% fill, the weight is different between the three.
My 257 liked IMR4350 behind 85 grain Combined Technology bullets.
But with the same accuracy and higher velocity RE15 Is looking pretty good.

I pick Varget. It covers about every cartidge from 30-30 to 7mm Rem Mag. The limitations are that it doesn't work with all different bullet weights in every caliber but it has data for more cartridges than any other powder. Hodgdon lists data for 90 different cartridges from .17 Rem to .50-140 Sharps.

Just wish I could find it more often. Usually out of stock. Always buy some when available.

Edit: Hybrid 100V is almost always available and appears to be a good performer in all three of the OP's chosen cartridges in bullet weights that are typical. Supposed to be in between 4350 and 4831. I have been thinking about this one as an alternative to all the more popular powders that can't be found when you need them.

UncleAlps,

I just looked up Hodgdon's load data for Varget. The heaviest bullet they list Varget for is 130 grains, with a maximum velocity of just about 3000 fps.

This is just about what can be obtained with 130s in the 7mm-08--which once again (as with the guy who suggested IMR3031 as one powder for all three rounds) begs the question: Why would somebody looking for one powder to use in the 7mm-08, .30-06 and 7mm Remington Magnum use a powder that turns his 7mm Remington Magnum into a 7mm-08?

Mule Deer,

I agree that making all three rounds work well with the same powder is constrained with compromises. If I were to buy one 8# jug to keep on the shelf in case nothing else was to be found for a long time it would be Varget for me.

The Hybrid 100V data looked somewhat better than Varget for the 7mm RM though. What are your thoughts on it?

I would choose this.

H4350 or W760