7mm Wby Mag Reloading Question

[IDHUNTER]

I have a 1967 Wby Mark V in 7mm Wby Mag. I have about 200 rounds of empty brass that I've saved over the years (this is all the rounds that have been fired through this gun). I would like to do some reloading due to the $80/box ammo but I have a few questions before I get started.

I have been reading and I see people talking about adjusting their powder charge or changing powder or changing bullets or bullet seating depth to find the best accuracy in their particular rifle. I don't want to have to buy multiple powders and bullets and I'm going to be reloading at a friends house who has all of the equipment but lives a couple hours away so I don't have all the time in the world to play with multiple configurations.

- I'm not a competitive target shooter. Can I get reasonable hunting accuracy just by going off of load data in a reloading manual and maybe playing with a couple different charges of the same powder?

 

[micus]

I have a 1967 Wby Mark V in 7mm Wby Mag. I have about 200 rounds of empty brass that I've saved over the years (this is all the rounds that have been fired through this gun). I would like to do some reloading due to the $80/box ammo but I have a few questions before I get started.

I have been reading and I see people talking about adjusting their powder charge or changing powder or changing bullets or bullet seating depth to find the best accuracy in their particular rifle. I don't want to have to buy multiple powders and bullets and I'm going to be reloading at a friends house who has all of the equipment but lives a couple hours away so I don't have all the time in the world to play with multiple configurations.

- I'm not a competitive target shooter. Can I get reasonable hunting accuracy just by going off of load data in a reloading manual and maybe playing with a couple different charges of the same powder?

How does your rifle perform with your factory WBY rounds?

Some guys will recommend against it, BUT, what I have done in the past is measure the factory COAL if they shoot well.

From there buy an inertia puller, whack the bullet out of the factory brass and weigh the powder charge. Most powder companies will list a "most accurate" charge of W/E the powder may be. For the 7 WBY Retumbo or H1000 would be a good place to start.

Copy the COAL from the factory cartridge, pick the same bullet if you like its performance, then copy the powder charge of the factory cartridge or what usually works better, use the listed most accurate charge weight. Double check your charge weights are within the "do not exceed" weight. then load away.

I have done this a couple times and had great luck.

 

[belly-deep]

From there buy an inertia puller, whack the bullet out of the factory brass and weigh the powder charge. Most powder companies will list a "most accurate" charge of W/E the powder may be. For the 7 WBY Retumbo or H1000 would be a good place to start.

Copy the COAL from the factory cartridge, pick the same bullet if you like its performance, then copy the powder charge of the factory cartridge or what usually works better, use the listed most accurate charge weight. Double check your charge weights are within the "do not exceed" weight. then load away.

Ok, first off, do NOT do this ^^^^^^

For a few reasons. First, you have NO idea what powder was used in the factory load. Burn rates vary, and putting charge weight of fast burning powder equal to that of a slow burner could result in a trip to the ER and/or gunsmith.


The first step is picking a bullet. I think that for all-around use in a fast 7mm, the 160 grain Nosler Accubond is very tough to beat. It offers a BC that is only bested by the match/target type bullets. It is bonded and penetrates very well. And it is generally accurate.

Second, pick your powder. As a general rule, it usually takes 2-3 powders for load development. Based off my experience with the 7mm Rem Mag and 7mm STW (which flank the WBY in terms of powder capacity and velocity), you're probably going to hit pay dirt with 150-160 grain bullets with one of the following: RL-22, IMR 7828, or RL-25. I'd try RL-22 first, probably. RL-26 is new and getting good reports on various shooting forums, but due to its popularity can be hard to find (also limited reloading data available for it). I haven't tried it yet. RL-25 is a good one too, as is 7828. So its kind of a toss-up. You'll probably just have to pick one and see what happens. Retumbo, as mentioned by micus, is another good one too, as is Ramshot Magnum.

As far as seating depth goes, Weatherby rifles are freebored, which means that the throat is cut really, really long to enhance velocity. That means you're probably not going to be able to reach the rifling with the bullet. So just go with the OAL in your reloading book.

If your gun doesn't like the 160 Accubonds with what ever powder you try, either change the powder or the bullet. Second choice bullet for me would be a 150 Barnes TTSX. Barnes will often shoot better when backed off the rifling a little bit, so they come in handy for rifles that have long throats. The same powders as mentioned above will work for the 150's.

If you try those two bullets and a couple of the powders mentioned above with unsatisfactory results, you're probably best off going back to factory ammo (unless you want to go all-out and get your own reloading equipment). Some rifles are easy to get to shoot, others can require a lot of load development, and no two are the same.

 

[IDHUNTER]

Ok, first off, do NOT do this ^^^^^^

For a few reasons. First, you have NO idea what powder was used in the factory load. Burn rates vary, and putting charge weight of fast burning powder equal to that of a slow burner could result in a trip to the ER and/or gunsmith.


The first step is picking a bullet. I think that for all-around use in a fast 7mm, the 160 grain Nosler Accubond is very tough to beat. It offers a BC that is only bested by the match/target type bullets. It is bonded and penetrates very well. And it is generally accurate.

Second, pick your powder. As a general rule, it usually takes 2-3 powders for load development. Based off my experience with the 7mm Rem Mag and 7mm STW (which flank the WBY in terms of powder capacity and velocity), you're probably going to hit pay dirt with 150-160 grain bullets with one of the following: RL-22, IMR 7828, or RL-25. I'd try RL-22 first, probably. RL-26 is new and getting good reports on various shooting forums, but due to its popularity can be hard to find (also limited reloading data available for it). I haven't tried it yet. RL-25 is a good one too, as is 7828. So its kind of a toss-up. You'll probably just have to pick one and see what happens. Retumbo, as mentioned by micus, is another good one too, as is Ramshot Magnum.

As far as seating depth goes, Weatherby rifles are freebored, which means that the throat is cut really, really long to enhance velocity. That means you're probably not going to be able to reach the rifling with the bullet. So just go with the OAL in your reloading book.

If your gun doesn't like the 160 Accubonds with what ever powder you try, either change the powder or the bullet. Second choice bullet for me would be a 150 Barnes TTSX. Barnes will often shoot better when backed off the rifling a little bit, so they come in handy for rifles that have long throats. The same powders as mentioned above will work for the 150's.

If you try those two bullets and a couple of the powders mentioned above with unsatisfactory results, you're probably best off going back to factory ammo (unless you want to go all-out and get your own reloading equipment). Some rifles are easy to get to shoot, others can require a lot of load development, and no two are the same.

Great information, thank you! I was wanting to shoot 150 grn Barnes TTSX and according to the Barnes manual H4350 was the most accurate. any reason I should go with something else?

 

[belly-deep]

Great information, thank you! I was wanting to shoot 150 grn Barnes TTSX and according to the Barnes manual H4350 was the most accurate. any reason I should go with something else?

No reason not to. John Barsness (gunwriter) says he usually tests new 7mm Rem Mags with a 150 Nosler Ballistic Tip and H4350 because it’s a very accurate load in most 7mms. I’ve tried that load in the 1 7mm Rem Mag I still own and it turned out to be the best shooting reload I’ve tried for that rifle.

However, if you’re after maximum velocity, you’ll probably find it lacking a bit. It’s toward the fast burning side of suitable powders for your rifle, and in my experience that usually means it won’t get the absolute highest velocities your rifle is capable of. You’ll probably give up 100 FPS or so.

 

[CAhunter]

I have the same caliber and actually started reloading because of that gun. Weatherby ammo is outrageously expensive and my accuracy was only mediocre until I started reloading. By far the best load I came up with has been the 150 gr Barnes TTSX and a mid range load of H1000. I believe my final COAL for my rifle was 3.300”.