My freshly rebarreled 7mm wsm is on its way ! :D

[Sam Millard]

Sam , that's what I thought. Really slow. I'm going to find all new powder to try and some 250 cci primers. If it weren't for the fact that my 7-08 came in about where I thought it would I would suspect the Magnetospeed . A 3 groove lilja has the reputation of being a fast barrel so it's even more puzzling. All the Retumbo I've tried has been open for a while. I threw the 1/4 lb I had out but got a half pound from a friend but he didn't know how long it had been open. The H1000 is about a year old also and I'd opened it last year and looked at it and put it away so it could be degraded also. I'm grasping at straws at this point because none of the powder smells or looks bad. Chamber is a tight minimum chamber so I don't have a clue at this point.

If you are going to buy fresh powder, you might try H4831sc. I'm running it for fall bear season under the 168 HVLD. With a WLR (not M) igniting 64.0 grains, I get right at 2900 w/single digit ES. Very accurate and consistent. My COAL is about 3.00 @ .010" off the lands.

Trust the MagnetoSpeed, but make sure the connectors are seated fully. If they aren't, you will get very slow speeds! Plug them in all the way...

 

[Shrek]

I'll triple check the magnetospeed plugs and change the battery for good measure. Any feelings about imr 7828 ? I have a pound of it.

 

[Sam Millard]

I'll triple check the magnetospeed plugs and change the battery for good measure. Any feelings about imr 7828 ? I have a pound of it.

I have used it in a 300 Wthby long ago, but I simply refuse to play with anything but Hodgdon's Extreme powders anymore. I will give up some speed for reliable consistency in all temps. There has always been a flavor that worked in every chambering I shoot!

 

[Shrek]

That's how I've always felt about the extreme powders also. It's in the mid to high 90's while I'm building these loads so the drop to hunting conditions is going to be significant. It could easily be 80 degrees colder when I'm hunting.

 

[rayporter]

people store powder for a long time and dont have trouble. i shoot with a guy from florida that uses powder that was from 1970 or so. quite a few guys shoot old powder. bunch of guys have 44lb kegs made of cardboard and get a pound when they need it. the cardborard kegs were stopped after 9-11. if you have got a powder problem i would be surprised. it is not impossible as i have seen red powder that would only fizzle.

lube on necks or some such might cause a problem. might. i fireform with a lot of lube on cases inside the neck. some sit for a weekend before i shoot them. they still shoot. i dont expect them to group but most will shoot a 15 shot group of a half inch.
primers are about the same. lube could degrade them but it takes a lot to do it. spray some with water and what ever you can think of and shoot them.

keep shooting till you find it. luck-ray

 

[Shrek]

I'm hoping it's just a low battery or not quite tight plug on the magnetospeed . Since I probably will not get any new powder this week I'm going to build ten more and repeat the last test with a new battery and checking cords.

 

[Shrek]

Just built another 10 with Retumbo and H1000 but with cci 250 primers. Got a fresh battery in the magnetospeed. Sure hope things pick up.

 

[Shrek]

The cci 250 primers really helped the H1000. 70.3 gr @ 2957. Retumbo topped out at 72.5 gr @ 2986. There was no pressure signs with either so I'm going higher with both on the next round. I've got them cleaning in the new ss media tumbler now and then it's time to bite the bullet and anneal the whole lot as they are now all on their 4th firing. Ss media tumbling is the way to go imo. Very happy not needing to clean primer pockets anymore.

 

[mtnclimber]

The cci 250 primers really helped the H1000. 70.3 gr @ 2957. Retumbo topped out at 72.5 gr @ 2986. There was no pressure signs with either so I'm going higher with both on the next round. I've got them cleaning in the new ss media tumbler now and then it's time to bite the bullet and anneal the whole lot as they are now all on their 4th firing. Ss media tumbling is the way to go imo. Very happy not needing to clean primer pockets anymore.

Mucho better!

It'll be interesting to see your ES between the H1000 and retumbo.

 

[Shrek]

I've also solved my bullet seating dept issue from last seasons loads. A suggestion from a Redding customer service rep to start the bullet then lift the seater and rotate the cartridge 180º and finish the seating did the trick. I cut it in thirds and turn it 180º twice. Runout right at the ogive is just a vibrating needle and the depth is a half of a thousandth total variation. If I didn't have a really good calipers I don't think I could find the depth variations at all. Very happy

 

[mtswampfox]

glad its coming together. would be nice if you had more time to test various primers. like winchester large rifle magnum against the others. my guru, chuck hawks, rates winchester hotter than others.although, had an experience years ago during a primer shortage when had to use cci instead of winchester on a couple thousand 223 loaded for a pd shoot. no time to test so loaded them up and headed out. they were way to hot resulting in many blowing holes in primer at firing pin. threw a towel over the receiver,as could feel puffs of air on eyeball, and kept shooting as only had that week for vacation. later found could have backed off two full grains of powder with those hot primers.tend to agree if you find a lot number that works wether primer or powder ,buy a bunch . also when getting new brass i always trim the inside burr off the primer hole. read one time in rifleman mag that it does help and they did tests to prove it. makes some sense as shower of sparks from primer gets distributed more evenly in the case.
good luck on upcoming hunt........

 

[Shrek]

I annealed them all and 40 came out perfect when sized. Eight did not and caved at the shoulder some. Can they be saved by blowing them out ? There's no new brass to be had so I'm desperate to save all I can. Looking for experienced annealing advice.

 

[Shrek]

First , saved 6 out of 8 pieces of over annealed brass . I then shot ten more today and took more velocity measurements. I crept up the weights on both H1000 and Retumbo. 91ºF and not a breath of wind. At 73.1 gr of Retumbo I haven't gotten a bit of pressure signs and 3002 fps. H1000 topped out at 71.3 and 2968fps with no real pressure sign either. I deprimed all of them and checked the primers. All came out easily and looked good with no anviled tops . Still had rounded edges. Loaded up another batch and finally crunched a little Retumbo at 74.6 gr and stopped 74.9 gr. Loaded H1000 to 72.8gr. Kind of zeroed it in at 100 yards so once I find a powder and weight range I can print some groups and find a load. Annealing helped with everything. Sized easier , seated easier , and no sticky bolt at all.

 

[Cahunter805]

Shrek
Good to see its coming along!! I like h1000 a lot and use it in my wsm and will load it in my 243 also. Burns very clean and stable.

 

[Shrek]

Thanks , I shot some more today. H1000 was first . I had forgot where I was at with H1000 and charged the first load at 70.5gr @ 2940 , 71.5 @ 2964 , 72.0 @ 2976 , 72.4 @ 3003 , 72.8 @ 3049. The 72.8gr load might have had a tiny bit of bolt lift resistance or not ? Going to stop there as the primer is starting to loose its round edge. The Retumbo was as erratic as it's reputation. 73.5 @ 2957 , 74.0 @ 3060 , 74.3 @ 3015 ? , 74.6 @ 3037 ? , 74.9 @ 3100. All the primers looked good with the 74.9gr primer starting to loose its rounded edge but not really tight. The Retumbo definitely builds more velocity with less pressure. I'm well aware that thick wsm brass doesn't show pressure easily so I'm creeping up very slowly. It was 90º again today so my hottest loads should be tame in the cold Montana weather. Probably at least 40º cooler than now and easily 70º + cooler. Going to build 5 each of the two hottest loads and see if I get lucky with a load that groups well. Really want to do the rest of the development in the next twenty shots. I'll be going on my fith or sixth loading and it needs to stop as there is no fresh brass coming in time unless I buy loaded ammo and pull it down.
Does anybody have any data on the average velocity loss for H1000 and Retumbo per degree of temperature drop ? They are both Hodgdon Extreme powders so velocity shouldn't fall of the chart but 50º drop in temp is going to have some effects.

 

[Shrek]

Oh , and there was a bottle of water on the top of the 225 yard target board. I had sighted the rifle in an inch high at 90 yards last time out and I used the bbottle as an aim point for the first shot today. Bam ! Hit it ! That's a full grain different load and a very casual rough sight in to just be on paper. Kind of encouraging that the rifle might not be finicky and shoot all kinds of similar loads to the same spot. I can only hope .

 

[Shrek]

Shot for groups today at 225 yards. I haven't been shooting much so I'm not seeing my shots well. There is a flyer in each group and I'm not sure if it is me or a genuine flyer I really wish I had more brass and powder so I could go to town and have a long shooting session but it is what it is. The Retumbo is .555 MOA without the flyer and the H1000 is .422 MOA without the flyer. I think I'll drop a couple tenths on each and shoot another round.

 

[7stw]

Both of the 225yd groups show some real promise. Nice work ! Glad it's coming together for you.

 

[Shrek]

Thanks 7stw , I'd have been ecstatic if there hadn't been any flyers. It's a 50 mile round trip to where I shoot or I'd have gone again today. I've loaded two groups of five at 72.5gr H1000 and 74.5gr Retumbo. I'll see how they group and then narrow down the one I think is most promising. I'm running out of Retumbo fast and can't find any in town. Lack of brass and powder is crippling me. I just can't stomach paying $40 a box for loaded ammo to pull down when I know they are about to make a batch.

 

[tstowater]

Everytime i am somewhere where there is brass, I keep looking for the 7wsm brass. None yet, but lots of 270wsm. When are you going hunting.?