7mm 08 help

[ShootnMathews]

there is a pretty good chance that the lapua brass will hold less water than some others not sure about hornady or the lapua but I have seen it with win vs ,ppu and, fed, rem vs norma ect.... you could be over pressure going from one too another with top charges same with the cci to the fed primers ect... why I like ccis for the 7-08s I load for I cant get the same vel from fed in mine before pressure signs it is always best to always work it back up when changing anything for safety

Yeah I'm very careful when changing anything in a load to be sure to stay within certain parameters. I've worked up loads for a lot of guns but this s my first 7-08. I don't push any of my guns that hard. I find most of my guns with factory barrels shoot best at the middle node which is usually a couple grains below max. I use only fed 210 match primers for hunting loads. I may or may not get the highest velocity but in thousands of them fired I've only had one not go off. With rem and cci I've had a few of both not fire. So I only use those in plinking loads. My buddy and I split a brick of new cci large rifle and he's actually had several out of it that were bad. I still have most of mine after finding 2 bad I set them aside. I just bought a new brick of 210M yesterday so thats what I'll use.

 

[den]

understand , the main reason I use cci in my 7-08 is because they were what I originaly developed a good reliable load with @ 2.5gr under book max for 139s .5gr under same book for 140s Lee modern Reloading , but I ran out of cci and couldn't find any but I did get some fed 210m and I could not get back to the same charge weight or the velocity without occasional pressure signs where I had none with the cci lr and i really like the interbonds at 2900 fps area, earlier this year as a backup plan I worked a load with 140 bt and ab 210m with rl 17 a little slower in velocity but with real solid accuracy , I think you will be real happy

 

[ShootnMathews]

Well I shot my test loads. Results were not what I had hoped for. I loaded 2 each at 48, 47.5, 47, 46.5 grains. All with .015" jump and with some Remington LR primers that I have. These loads were mostly for checking for pressure signs but also to give me a ballpark area to look for an accurate charge.

First shot, click, but no bang. Waited a minute. Recocked it and click again. Loaded the second round and it fired. Very light ejector mark. Easy bolt lift.

On to 47 grains. First one bang, slight ejector mark, easy bolt lift. Primer ok. Second 47 grain case, click and no bang. So now I'm remembering why I don't use Remington primers much.

47.5 grains both fired and no ejector mark or any other pressure signs. Group .97"

48 grains both went off, no pressure signs and group of .53".

So even with the 2 misfires I still feel like I've got a decent place to start working from.

And for those that are going to ask, I don't wet tumble, and I don't use spray lube. The cases were never wet at any time with anything, and the primers are stored in a dry, climate controlled area. I think Remington primers just suck.

The rest of my load development will be done with federal 210M and lapua brass. .015" jump is just a jump that has worked well for me in the past with Nosler BT bullets. After I fine tune the charge I'll prob move the depth around some to tune a little more

 

[ShootnMathews]

I'm not sure of the speed I'm getting because I don't own a chrono. But it seems like the 4350 is going to work out well for accuracy. I loaded a 3 shot group at 48 grains in the lapua brass with 210 M primers. This gun has a 20" pencil thin barrel and I didn't really allow any cool time. I did stand up and wait maybe 45 seconds before laying down and shooting #3. Shots 1&2 were cutting holes and the 3rd made the group .70". It could have partially been the 15 mph full value wind for shots 1&2 and 0 wind for shot 3. No pressure signs at all on any shots today.

 

[rodneymoncrief]

Quickload shows 48gr. being over pressure, but my brass doesn't show it. I think Quickload is very conservative, because all my loads are over pressure according to it's calculations but my rifles and brass don't show it.

 

[ShootnMathews]

Quickload shows 48gr. being over pressure, but my brass doesn't show it. I think Quickload is very conservative, because all my loads are over pressure according to it's calculations but my rifles and brass don't show it.

Mine showed no pressure signs at 48.2 grains. 48 seems to be the right spot though. I just need to get the seating depth tuned in.

 

[ShootnMathews]

I'm still working with this gun in my spare time. Which hasn't been much. I think I have the powder charge narrowed down and am trying to tune the seating depth. I thought I had it pretty narrowed down and loaded a 3 shot group to try right before dark this evening. And here is why I'm even posting, I loaded them up went out and shot. Group was 1-1/8". Not what I expected and the recoil was pretty stout. I pack all my stuff in and am studying the puzzle of the poor grouping when it dawns on me, I used the wrong powder. In my tired and dazed state I grabbed the powder that I use in my 6.5-284, I suppose just because I loaded some for it last week and had that powder (H4831sc) stuck in my mind.

So I mostly posted this to say, be careful, especially when you are tired. I am not a novice loader. This is the first time I have ever done this and am lucky that it's a powder that can be switched without catastrophe. I should have had lower pressures than the compressed load of H4350 I'm using. The brass and bolt lift showed no signs of high pressure. My load book shows a compressed load with H4831sc also, only a much slower FPS

I'll update some more later as I get my load refined.