Powder recommendations for 7mm rem mag

[Lefty35]

Hey guys, I’m looking for powder recommendations for a 7mm rem mag, I’m from canada and you cannot find H1000 or H4831 in store or online up here so I’m wondering what other powders would work well in my setup. I have seen some VV N165 and N560 around, does anyone have experience with either of these in 7mm rem mag?
I’ll be shooting 150 grain ELD-X out of a tikka t3x (24.5” barrel).

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Str8shtr]

N560 would be great. Really similar to h4831...maybe a little slower.

 

[E in CO]

Old school IMR 7828 still works if it is available.

 

[Lefty35]

N560 would be great. Really similar to h4831...maybe a little slower.

My only concern with it is temp stability, do you have any experience with it in very low temps?

 

[packer58]

Retumbo......but good luck finding some...

 

[Fatcamp]

H4350

 

[WeiserBucks]

My only concern with it is temp stability, do you have any experience with it in very low temps?

VV560 and 570 work great with heavier bullets and have been really temperature stable for me.

 

[menhaden_man]

IMR 4350... old reliable and not hard to find.

 

[35WhelenAI]

My only concern with it is temp stability, do you have any experience with it in very low temps?

Does N560 have a reputation for temp instability? Asking because I don't know.

Overall, if that powder is what you can get, I don't see a reason not to try it.

Do you have a chronograph to use for load development?

Years ago I did an informal test of a Winchester WMR ball powder loading for my 300 Winchester Magnum. Put five in the freezer that was around 5°F overnight (in a ziplock bag), packed them on ice from the same freezer and 30 minutes later was shooting them over the chronograph at the range. Lost about 100 FPS vs ambient temperature of about 70°F.

If you're really into it, you could do a similar test and find exactly how temperature sensitive or insensitive the powder is.

 

[MHWASH]

My favorite when I had a 7RM & 300 WM was Ramshot Magnum. Usually easier to find than the more popular magnum powders.

 

[Rob5589]

R22 has always performed for my various 7RM's.

 

[Lefty35]

Does N560 have a reputation for temp instability? Asking because I don't know.

Overall, if that powder is what you can get, I don't see a reason not to try it.

Do you have a chronograph to use for load development?

Years ago I did an informal test of a Winchester WMR ball powder loading for my 300 Winchester Magnum. Put five in the freezer that was around 5°F overnight (in a ziplock bag), packed them on ice from the same freezer and 30 minutes later was shooting them over the chronograph at the range. Lost about 100 FPS vs ambient temperature of about 70°F.

If you're really into it, you could do a similar test and find exactly how temperature sensitive or insensitive the powder is.

My buddy has a chrono that I will be using doing load developement.

To be honey with you I don’t know either, I have no experience with it and from the various things I’ve read some people say it’s similar to H1000 as far a temp sensitivity and some people say it’s worse.

 

[actionshooter]

Retumbo and RL26 are my go too for 7mag, but very hard to find at the moment.

 

[35WhelenAI]

N560 is a double based powder and typically those tend to be more temperature sensitive, all else equal, than single based powder such as N165 or H1000.

The "1" in Vihtavouri powders indicates single based, those starting with a "5" are double based.

If you're able, get some N165 and N560, work up the loads, see where they're at for velocity and accuracy. If you get where you want to be then dedicate 165 for your hunting loads and use the 560 for practice in the off-season to lessen potential issues in the field with temperature sensitivity. $.02

 

[7wssm]

Fastest i would try would be in the ballpark of H4350 burn rate up to Retumbo for heavier bullets.

Some powders I’ve tried that have shot very well are imr4831, h4831, h1000 and retumbo but seeing as you can’t get those Ramshot magnum, rl23 and imr7977 are also good choices. Haven’t loaded any Vv powders so can’t comment in those. Magnum primers are a must as well.

 

[Roksliding]

I tried RL26 in my 7mag a few years back, it was the clear winner for me, I bought all I could find.

 

[Blinddog]

RL26 is my go to for 7Mag with 160 Partitions.

 

[Lefty35]

Thanks for the info guys, I’ll keep my eyes out for some RL26, in the mean time I’ll see what the VV powders can do for me.

 

[HuntInWild88]

I'm watching this thread as I'm going to start loading for a 7mag also. Mine is a 20"barrel and I'm planning on shooting 140gr ttsx or 139gr lrx's. I was luckily enough to find some IMR 4831 this weekend but also have Imr 4350. I know the basics of reloading but I finally got chrono this year now I just need to learn to use it!

 

[Centralcoastca]

My friend is working on a Barnes 145gr lrx load, wanted to use rl22 but couldn’t find it other than ridiculous gunbroker scalpers so he’s trying some rl23 I happened to have which is very similar so he worked up with that. He’s was very happy with his starting load velocity and pressure and is going to try shooting groups this weekend. If you can find either it might be a good option.