7mm-08 Heavy Bullet Powder

[grizz99]

Long time lurker finally getting into reloading. Wanted to get some thoughts on what powders to look for to shoot heavy (180-195gr) bullets out of a 7mm-08. Putting together a short barrel hunting rig and mid range plinker. I understand the 7mm-08 lacks the capacity for pushing these bullets to their max performance but for a short range hunting gun and the occasional longer range target shooting I think these bullet weights will work great for what I envision. Loading data for this combination is harder to find so was looking for some insight on what powders might be most efficient.

 

[FuhQ]

Varget, BL(C)-2, CFE-223, H4350, RL19, Rl22, 7828 SSC... All can be used.

I have a phenomenal load for my .308 Win using Berger 215 Hybrids and Varget. Great velocities, too.

 

[grizz99]

I have some Varget and CFE223 but from a few places I found some data seemed like those powders were a little fast but maybe not. I’ll definitely give those a try though especially since I don’t have to try and find any in stock! Thanks

 

[jeffreybehr]

Long time lurker finally getting into reloading. Wanted to get some thoughts on what powders to look for to shoot heavy (180-195gr) bullets out of a 7mm-08. Putting together a short barrel hunting rig and mid range plinker. I understand the 7mm-08 lacks the capacity for pushing these bullets to their max performance but for a short range hunting gun and the occasional longer range target shooting I think these bullet weights will work great for what I envision. Loading data for this combination is harder to find so was looking for some insight on what powders might be most efficient.

The 2020 Hodgdon manual lists 21 powders with the 7mm/08 and the 175g. Nosler Partition, the heaviest bullet they tested. StaBall65 achieved by far the highest velocity at the maximum permitted pressures, 2669FPS from a 24" barrel.

I recommend you first buy one of these manuals--surely the 2021 version is now available--and then buy some StaBALL65.. If you're a reloadist, you NEED more than one reloading manual; I can see eight on my shelves.. And they all don't have the SAME loads in them; for instance, only ONE of them has loads for my 6XC.

 

[glock63]

Reloader 17

 

[mcfred]

I've got a couple datapoints for 7-08 and Super:

28" Brux 1:9
LC 2004 308 brass
162 hornady HPBT match 2.935" OAL
49gr superformance
WLRM primer
2950fps

180gr berger VLD
47gr superformance
CCI34 CCI200
2684 2719
2698 2744
2679 2736
2705 2722
2708 2717
2695 2728fps avg

 

[grizz99]

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like both those would be good options to test. What have y’all seen as far as temp sensitivity with those powders? I’m thinking of going with either an 18-20 in barrel. Do y’all think 2500 FPS would be achievable without being on the edge with a 180-190 Berger?

 

[mcfred]

The F-Class guys, who like to hotrod their 7mms, think Re17 is too temp sensitive to use for competition. 30-40˚F temp spread within a day's competition will push already excessive pressure even higher. Superformance's not too bad, in my experience, I tested a freezing/ambient/warmed set of ammo, but misplaced the data somewhere. In 7-08 you don't have to worry about it hitting excessive pressure as it's pretty slow, and you'll likely run out of case capacity before you hit pressure.

I can't speak to the rest of MudRunner's suggested powders. I believe, in the SH dedicated Win 6.5 Staball thread, people have tested Staball's temp stability. I'd go look there if you don't want to just go test it for yourself.

 

[grizz99]

Ok I’ll find that thread and do some reading. Thanks for the assistance!