New Member/Loader

TakDriver · Thursday at 4:34 PM

Hey gang,

New loader here. (Edit: I'm a retired professional. I wanted to include this simply to provide an age reference) Been lurking for awhile now and have been mostly observing all the helpful threads and information available - there's a never ending shortage thankfully.

The last few months I've been teaching myself the how to's, the what not's, and what not to do's, along with watching a plethora of video tutorials and literature, forum posts. Also, I have a friend who's been reloading for over 40 years and he's been a bit of a mentor and helping me smooth out the learning curve along this journey I'm on. I'm super excited to begin my own reloading process, but will continue the learning process until I'm confident enough to heat up the press.

I've been buying my "kit" carefully choosing each addition to suit my needs. I literally have every component necessary to begin, including two presses - Lee Challenger (for de-priming only) and a Frankford F1 for everyhting else. I'll be reloading for 7RM and 7mm08 only. I figured the same bullet size but different case size so as to reduce any confusion, yet take advantage of the one size fits all mentality to begin.

I'm sure I'll have some questions along the way so bare with me, I typically dig into topics with two shovels so not to waste anyone's time or band width. But be prepared for odd no brainer...I apologize in advance.

My goals are to produce the most accurate hunting rifle out to 350 ish yards. I fully understand the procedure to acheive this using some of the well known methods and available tools which I have. I also fully understand the jouney and am patient and will take my time through trial and error (not excessive pressure errors) Short of a lathe and my own private range I'm gtg. I have a Sako 75 7RM. I like it, and it likes me. It shoots around 1.25" @ 100yds, occasionally 1MOA, with certain factory ammunition. My goal is is to produce sub moa consistantly. Not too much to ask for, really. And I'm confident after following proper procedures along with some powder charge and bullet seating trials, I should be able to reach this reasonable goal. The projectiles I have on hand are all Nosler ranging from 120g BT to 160g AB and PT's.

And without further adieu, my very first question is this; I have an oportunity to puchase some IMR 3031, Superformance, and Benchmark powder at a very very good price. I'm only familiar with some of the most common powders like IMR4350, 4831, and 4895. Are any of the aformentioned worth buying? The seller also has about 1000 Dominion LR primers. Again not familar with the Dominion brand, only the CCI, Federal, and WLR.

Thanks for any help or direction.

RL338 · Thursday at 4:46 PM

Welcome aboard.
The 3 powders you list Benchmark , 3031 and Superformance will work in the 7-08 but not for the 7mm RM.
H4350 or IMR 4350 would work better in each of those 2.
Get a couple of reloading manuals , most have great info listed in the front for beginners.

TakDriver · Thursday at 4:53 PM

Thanks. Out of the three powders, do you recommend one overall?

hunter24605 · Thursday at 5:35 PM

which 4350? IMR or Hodgdon? H4350 would "work" in both, and certainly IMR 4350 in the 7RM. but I wouldn't consider any of them optimum for either. 3031 and benchmark will work in your 7-08, but velocity is going to be slow. You may be better off grabbing a pound of one of the more "bread and butter" powders for each. I'm afraid you'll burn up a lot of the others trying to get where you want to be, costing you more in the long run. Superformance is definitely a niche powder with a very narrow band of appropriate applications in certain cartridges, but I have found great success with it cartridges/bullet combos that fall in that narrow band. That aside, welcome and you'll find the fellas here welcoming, knowledgeable and willing to assist you without flaming you for asking questions.

TackDriver284 · Thursday at 5:44 PM

Welcome aboard, you will gain a wealth of information from this forum. As for powders for the 7 08, Varget would be my first pick, as for the 7 RM, IMR 4350, IMR 4831 and RL 22 is a good pick. I had a 7 RM Sako M995, had this rifle for 30 plus years, just retired it after 3 barrels.

RL338 · Thursday at 5:57 PM

TakDriver said:
Thanks. Out of the three powders, do you recommend one overall?

No ,3031 and Benchmark are too fast of a burn rate for the 7mm RM.
There is no published data for Superformance for the 7mm RM , would not advise for a beginner to start with.
I can see that a single powder use for starters would be beneficial but your 2 cartridges are too far apart to do it safely with your listed powders.

Joec7651 · Thursday at 6:22 PM

Welcome to the group! There are great people here, and they have a wealth of knowledge to draw upon. I’d also recommend getting a couple manuals to start with, and read them. They will give you techniques to help you avoid dangerous situations, and show you the best powders that compliment your two cartridges. Nosler, Hodgdon, and Speer have load data and some pointers to get you started. The powders you mentioned are fine in their respective burn rates but won’t be ideal for your needs. Welcome.

Blkram · Thursday at 6:28 PM

We all are beginners at some point, and having a handloading mentor to help you is a definite plus! I have benefited greatly from my two mentors, and the many helpful members on this site over the years.

And even for those if us who have been handloading for years, continue to learn from others. Whether that be a simple practice, or a more advanced technique that will help us achieve that next level of accuracy in our chosen cartridge/component combination.

While I have limited experience in handloading for the 7mm-08 and 7mm Rem Mag, I do own both. IMR4350 is working in the 7mm-08 and the 140 gr Sierra Pro Hunter. MagPro is supposed to be the powder in the 7mm Rem Mag. I have it listed as one of the powders I need to try in my new-to-me LH Browning X Bolt All Weather in this cartridge, along with Magnum and H4350, for the 150 gr AccuBond.
I have not used Dominion primers...as I have pretty much stuck to Winchester and Federal primers over the past 35 years of handloading.

In the end, if it is safe, and produces acceptable accuracy for you, in your firearm, then that is all the truly matters.
Welcome aboard and best of luck in your handloading journey!

TakDriver · Thursday at 7:02 PM

Appreciate the welcome and feedback, fellas. Exactly what I was looking for. I currently have 2lbs of IMR 4350 and 1lb of H4350, plenty to get started. But this one fella was selling all his powders very cheap and was uncertain of the IMR 3031 and the primers. I'll certainly try out other powders down the road, but for now I think I'm set. Thanks again for the responses and suggestions.

sako2 · Thursday at 11:13 PM

Welcome aboard. As for your Sako keep a eye on your action screws. I have a model 75 in 300 win mag and the rear screw kept coming loose cracking the stock. Ended up getting a longer screw.

salmonchaser · Friday at 5:43 AM

Welcome aboard. Last time I used 3031 was about 30 years ago. The case capacity differences between your two cartridges would indicate different powders for each application. I would look for something in the RL 22 burn rate for the seven mag. I have one pound left that I’m saving just for that. There are some universal powders that work across a broad spectrum of cartidges in acceptable fashion. When powder got tight during covid H4350 was available in our area. I developed loads that were at 1moa and produced acceptable velocity in most of my rifles from .22-250 up to 375HH.
A deal on primers and powder doesn’t mean much if it sits on the shelf. A 7mm mag needs magnum primers the 7.08 doesn’t.
I would bet a few will add their pet loads for you shortly. I’m away from home so don’t want to give you bad data.

Slimfinn · Friday at 7:30 AM

Welcome aboard, always nice to welcome a Sako fan.
What's your 7-08? The Benchmark could work well in that, you can look at the load data at Hodgdon and see if it will get to the velocity you want.
Another question is what are you planning to hunt?
I know there are some 7RM fans that will be around to give you some great advice on potential loads
welcome again

hunter24605 · Friday at 7:34 AM

My favorite hunting load is 46.8 gr of RL 17 and the 140 Partition. Pretty speedy and very accurate.
Also found great results with RS Big Game, Varget, and RL15

grry10 · Friday at 12:04 PM

Welcome and look forward to hearing more from you.

JD338 · Friday at 12:10 PM

Welcome to the forum. I've had great success with RL22 in the 7mm Rem Mag. I about to start loading for my wife's 7-08 Rem. Going to use Ramshot Big Game and Varget with 140 gr BT's.

JD338

wvbuckbuster · Friday at 5:01 PM

Welcome to the forum. Good folks who share their wealth of knowledge and experience. My two cents. 7mmRM I used IMR4831 and RL22. On my third 7mm08 I have used Big Game, IMR4350,H4350,H414 and yet to try Varget. All good.

TakDriver · Friday at 6:34 PM

Thanks again for the replies and suggestions. Good shootin' there, Hunter60425, that's a fine group. My 7mm08 is a simple and inexpensive buy effective Savage 110 with the 20" bbl. It has the polymer stock, detach magazine, and wears an older Leupold scope. It's my "mud" gun. It's no trip to Hollywood, but it gets the job done efficiently. My goal is to see what kind of accuracy I can squeeze out of it for distances out to 300 yards. I'm using both the Sako 7RM and the 7mm08 to hunt white tail and moose. I use the 7RM mostly for our moose population up here north of 49th parallel.

DrMike · Friday at 8:59 PM

The 7RM will definitely "git 'er done." I've used the cartridge to tag quite a few moose, elk, mule deer, black bear, whitetail and assorted other critters over the years. The old rifle I use is one of my oldest. I'd be hard-pressed to divest myself of the rifle. One of my hunting partners was partial to the 7mm-08. Loaded with 145 grain Speer MagTips, he tipped over moose and mule deer with stupefying regularity. I always used 175 grain MagTip or Partition pills in my 7RM, with the occasional 160 grain Scirocco. Excellent cartridges. Good to see your post. I'm way behind on catching up on posting, and I'll likely get farther behind this weekend. Welcome aboard.

RiverRider · Saturday at 7:11 AM

If you are committed to the idea of using only a single powder for 7 Rem Mag and 7mm-08, you're making a compromise BUT you might still be able to get near full performance out of both by selecting a powder that will work in the 7-08 and using lighter monometal bullets for the 7 Mag. Monos can be incredibly accurate, and typically need to be driven very fast for best terminal performance anyway. Because of their monolithic construction they tend to hold together really well, so they can be reliable.

I have never loaded for either cartridge but I have loaded for plenty of others and I would suggest Re16---if you can find it. I have obtained outstanding results using Re16 in cartridges like .260 Rem, .25-06, 6mm-284, and .30-06 if that helps illustrate its adaptability. There may be something that would work even better for your goals...I sure have not tried them all.

TakDriver · Saturday at 8:45 PM

Hey fellas, do any of you recall the thread about a Sako extractor spring I was searching for? It seems that thread has disappeared. Did any of you comment in it or "like" a post in it? If so can you post the link here because I seriously cannot locate in post content in my profile. I also had a message from a well known member here and its gone too. Very strange. I'm using a brand new laptop (I buy a new one every year) not a phone, so no issues there.