I got a notice Midway has ammo in stock but their shipping is high.

David, does the 7mmBC compare with the 7mmPRC?

I think velocity wise it’s closer to 28 Nosler the big question after seeing how the cartridge is put together is how accurate can it be. The 7PRC is very accurate but is about 150fps slower.
Not sure how accurate these reloads are going to be just because it’s hard to control neck interference with something that has a Rockwell hardness of 38! That’s harder than the Bolt face of your rifle.
I tried to champher the case mouths and all it does is polish the mouth.

Sounds like sizing is going to be a joy. How ironic would it be that Federal makes both the softest and hardest cases on the market

Hey they are listening to feedback

Exactly, I guess they like extremes

Very interesting results reloading 7mm BC. I used 280AI data and started 3gr over max….
Not .3gr 3.0 gr over. Then worked up to 5.0gr over max.
My first shot was slightly faster than book at 2953fps. Next load .5gr higher went exactly same .1 ES . Then worked up until I was 5 gr over and only sped up to 2990.
Barrel was shooting quite a fireball as well with unburnt powder embers flying ( indoor range I had onlookers watching)
I know the factory has Ball powder but not how much because to remove the bullet Horizon had to drill it out.
These results were puzzling as usually you see a big jump in velocity in a two grain powder increase especially when you are running this high of pressures.
Going to try a slightly faster burn rate powder to see if I can get better speeds.

That’s pretty wild. I wonder how tight the factory neck tension was compared to your reloads? I assumed tighter but not drill it out tight.

Would it need that hard crimp for proper ignition like H110 to reach the correct pressure before the bullet is out the door? I know H110 will act as you described if it doesn’t have a serious crimp.

.280 A.I. I like H-4831 SC

What powder were you loading with?

H-4350 in a long action .473" (or a short mag) is a snappy recoil. As I'm sure you know.

I was using 4000MR but now I am thinking it’s going to be a faster burn than that.
Maybe way faster.

Im so impressed by some of yall of this kinda stuff. I read this stuff like I was reading a foreign language, but if I read long enough, maybe I’ll learn to speak it.
What was the Star Trek or Star Wars saying about going where no one else has gone? Keep going guys.

To boldly go where no man has gone before?

It's all physics. And then some chemistry has to be sprinkled in. Here is on example of a powder burn rate chart.

https://loaddata.com/Article/BurnRateCharts/Powder-Burn-Rate-Chart-NEW/159

Yeah, not like those burn rate charts, from fastest to slowest, haven't been around for a looooong time and are constantly updated.

Yes they are updated and don’t take a burn rate chart as gospel just like reloading data in the books is not always the same from one to another.
Here is latest Hodgdon and I can give example’s.

https://hodgdonpowderco.com/wp-cont...ess-Relative-Burn-Rate-Chart-WEBSITE.pdf

This one shows 4000MR way faster than it is BUT it’s in its correct position on the chart JG posted above.
But on the other hand look at N550 on the Hodgdon chart. It’s about right but on JG’s chart it’s showing much slower than it really is. It is slightly faster than H4350 no doubt because I use it all the time.
While burn rate charts can be helpful you need to use them along with a reloading manual to keep yourself safe….. no not really safe because I doubt using them as gospel would cause any catastrophic problems but you might be pulling some bullets.
When you load wildcats or “ boldly go where no man has gone” your gonna be pulling some bullets.

Agreed. Same caution should be used if you use Quick Load. It's an estimate, not gospel.

I used to have to pull bullets, because you are correct. Now that I'm shooting the rifle 20 feet away from the loading bench, when I see pressure I stop climbing in powder charge. It sure does make things efficient. And having my own documents, as I'm sure you do as well, I know what real maximum are. I prefer to do new load development in summer. If it's safe in 95° weather, it's probably always safe. There are published maximum that are way too conservative. And there are some published maximums that are telling the truth.

Here here are velocity’s of 175gr Factory loads from a 22 inch barrel.

[img]http://[/img]

And this is the 5 shots. 3 on left first then made adjustment shot two in same hole
This was 100 on indoor range. The target had a bunch of 223 holes in it and I tryed to not get them in the photo if you’re wondering why it’s not centered. I was supposed to ask for a new target but forgot and didn’t want to walk back ask since I knew my 7mm holes would be easy to see.



I did make a few more reloads and this time I used 6.5 StaBall and was able to get 3033fps so almost same as factory. I am taking gun back after I run it out to distance tomorrow so probably won’t reload anymore until there is real data if there ever is?

should be a great 20" suppressed critter killa

Is all the 7mm BC ammo steel cased?

It’s Peak alloy so not sure steel cased but yes I would assume. Otherwise it’s just a 280Ackley with a 35 degree shoulder.
Also one thing I noticed was the Federal Fusion tipped bullet were all slightly deformed by the bullet seater they used. It’s obvious the bullets are very difficult to seat and once you do there is no pulling them out.

All the info coming out just seems better and better

I believe a 20" 28 Nosler would best those numbers or be real close to it. I bet some day I'll eat these words but right now...there isn't any way I'd jump on this experiment when there are other options.

I’ve read that the military is now looking into using this technology for 223 and 308 for use in existing weapons. Supposedly this is a proprietary metal that will contain the 80k psi so that the weapon chamber doesn’t have to. Ammo prices are said to be only 15 to 20% higher than brass cased ammo, but I don’t believe it, and I wonder if it can be reloaded. If not, count me out.

Not to be insufferably cynical, but 90% of big game hunters shoot whitetail at 75-80 yards, so this “breakthrough” is of no real benefit, especially considering the cost. At best, it’s for the Ricky Bobby crowd, or maybe for that guy who wants a suppressor friendly short barrel and maximum velocity. This is marketing hype at its finest.

175's out of a 20" 28 Nosler? Yeah, it would best those numbers.

My 28 Nosler is 20". The barrel has 30 rounds down it. 195's are 2900 fps.

Since you've got blinders on.

Whitetail are not "Big Game".

And there's a whole, large segment of the population that hunt everything else beside Whitetail deer. They actually hunt Big Game. And they do, do it at extended ranges.

But, I do agree there is a whole lot of marketing hype affiliated with this cartridge. It's a Federal creation. Had it been a Hornady creation, it might have a better chance. Not because of just their marketing. But because they do support whatever it is they create. The Creedmoors have been the most successful family cartridges since the .308 Win.

.308 Win, circa 1952. Look at the wildcats created, that became SAAMI spec from it.

6.5 Creedmoor, circa 2007. Look at the wildcats created, that became SAAMI spec from it.