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New to the reloading game

Hey everyone. First off, I’m an avid big game hunting guy with many custom rifles, I shoot a lot to keep myself ready behind the trigger and I’ve taken a few long range shooting classes. I know a lot about bullets, velocity, ballistics etc. What I don’t know a ton about is reloading.

I’ve decided to jump in feet first on this reloading gig. I have a custom built 7 WSM that I love for out west hunting but obviously there is not any factory ammo available. I got lucky and scored 400 pieces of brand new Hornady brass and I’ve invested in a Forster press, dies, trimmer, new RCBS auto scale etc. I’ve watched YouTube videos out the ying yang. Bought a couple hand loading reference books. Also have a Labradar setup. I know what to do as far as loading the shell.

I’m ashamed to admit I’m a bit nervous about loading my first cartridges. I see so much info about starting low and working up, and then there’s so many different powders to chose from. Hornadys book gives the “best” load and bullet grain for the 7 WSM….so my question is, how many grains do I start under a confirmed load out of a Hornady/Nosler/ XYZ reference manual and how many cartridges do I need to try out before moving to the listed charge?

I don’t shoot competition, but I strive to shoot 1/4-1/2 MOA for longe range hunting purposes. How do I find the best powder for my gun accuracy without going thru 20 pounds of different powders? Or is that just part of reloading?

I’m sorry for the dumb questions and I’m sure lots of pros here are like “oh no another beginner” but I wouldn’t ask if I understood everything completely.

I thank everyone in advance for any tips!
 
There are no dumb questions when getting started reloading. We were all beginners, yet many didn't have the benefit of You tube or this forum. It is much easier now, with all the resources available. Stick to the reloading manuals as you get started in respect to recommended powders and amounts - and always start at the bottom of the shown range. While the manuals show a wide range of propellants that will work for that given caliber, some are far better than others in most rifles when it comes to accuracy. I don't have a rifle in that caliber, but I'm sure others could point you to what works well in theirs. I'd not settle on what one guy says, but rather take a consensus from several. If a lot of guys say "try brand A", that might be something to look at, etc.. If you don't already have a Hornady Lock "N' Load shoulder measurement tool (other brands are available - but this one is good and reasonably priced) for aid in getting your sizing die set up properly to the right shoulder bump, get one. If you can get your sizing die set up properly, start your powder levels as at the recommended start levels and seat your bullets to depths as specified in the manuals, you will be off to a good, safe start. Don't become disappointed if your rifle shoots groups larger than what you want the first time. Sometimes one or more powder changes are necessary to get what you want. For that reason, it is not a good idea to buy 8-lb jugs of powder because someone or some book said it was good. These are the things you need to sort through with your own rifle. Some of the reloading manuals go into much more depth than others on accuracy reloading. Berger is one of the better ones in that respect. Another very valuable resource is the book written by Tony Boyer "The Book Of Rifle Accuracy". He probably goes into much detail about minute things more than you need as a beginner, but if you want to know how a pro does things - the book is very insightful.

I'd start at the bottom of the recommended powder range, doing 5-shot groups, perhaps increasing in 1/2 grain increments until you get about 95% to the top of the recommended range. If you got poor groups on all, I'd stop and switch to another powder. I have always had better luck finding a powder that shot well before trying to find the ideal seating depth. You will shoot probably no more than around 30-40 shots with a given powder. Sometimes, I cut that to three or four shot groups until I see a powder that looks good. If the powder is giving groups close to what you want, I might re-shoot groups, starting with the powder charge that looked good, loading it about 1/2 grain lower, then increasing the charge only 3/10 grain for each subsequent 5-shot groups and repeat this till you have elevated the powder charge maybe 2 grains (but not to exceed the maximum charge shown in the manual). If the only good groups come at very low velocity, I might change powders to seek something better in that regard. If things are looking good with at least three of the loads in a row, I usually pick the middle load, then work on seating depth adjustments. If you ask ten guys how they do this - you will probably get ten different answers. This approximate method has worked best for me. Sometimes, you get unlucky in that the bullet you choose just will not shoot well with any powder in your rifle. But one has to try them to find out. Good luck and welcome.
 
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There are no dumb questions when getting started reloading. We were all beginners, yet many didn't have the benefit of You tube or this forum. It is much easier now, with all the resources available. Stick to the reloading manuals as you get started in respect to recommended powders and amounts - and always start at the bottom of the shown range. While the manuals show a wide range of propellants that will work for that given caliber, some are far better than others in most rifles when it comes to accuracy. I don't have a rifle in that caliber, but I'm sure others could point you to what works well in theirs. I'd not settle on what one guy says, but rather take a consensus from several. If a lot of guys say "try brand A", that might be something to look at, etc.. If you don't already have a Hornady Lock "N' Load shoulder measurement tool (other brands are available - but this one is good and reasonably priced) for aid in getting your sizing die set up properly to the right shoulder bump, get one. If you can get your sizing die set up properly, start your powder levels as at the recommended start levels and seat your bullets to depths as specified in the manuals, you will be off to a good, safe start. Don't become disappointed if your rifle shoots groups larger than what you want the first time. Sometimes one or more powder changes are necessary to get what you want. For that reason, it is not a good idea to buy 8-lb jugs of powder because someone or some book said it was good. These are the things you need to sort through with your own rifle. Good luck and welcome.
Searcher thanks so much for the detailed reply and warm welcome. So basically, I pick a powder and simply go with the lowest charge (which is also normally the lowest in FPS) and go from there. That seems easy enough.

I also will grab one of the Hornady shoulder tools you referenced. Sounds like right out of the gate I need to stick with 1 pound containers of powder until I dial in what I want.
 
If you have a preferred bullet or bullets that you like for hunting start with them (one bullet style weight at a time) . Then on to the next one.
KEEP LOTS OF NOTES and keep your targets with them (weather, wind, humidity, sunny/cloudy etc.
 
Yes - I'd stick to one-pounders till you find what your rifle likes - then buy either a jug or a number on 1-lb's of the same lot number. I collect so many unused 1-lb containers of powders that "were supposed" to work in my rifles, I have to give them away periodically. Check with your friends, if any of them reload, to see if they have any of the powders you want to try. It doesn't take much to load 30 rounds or so - maybe 1/4 pound or so.
 
Hey everyone. First off, I’m an avid big game hunting guy with many custom rifles, I shoot a lot to keep myself ready behind the trigger and I’ve taken a few long range shooting classes. I know a lot about bullets, velocity, ballistics etc. What I don’t know a ton about is reloading.

I’ve decided to jump in feet first on this reloading gig. I have a custom built 7 WSM that I love for out west hunting but obviously there is not any factory ammo available. I got lucky and scored 400 pieces of brand new Hornady brass and I’ve invested in a Forster press, dies, trimmer, new RCBS auto scale etc. I’ve watched YouTube videos out the ying yang. Bought a couple hand loading reference books. Also have a Labradar setup. I know what to do as far as loading the shell.

I’m ashamed to admit I’m a bit nervous about loading my first cartridges. I see so much info about starting low and working up, and then there’s so many different powders to chose from. Hornadys book gives the “best” load and bullet grain for the 7 WSM….so my question is, how many grains do I start under a confirmed load out of a Hornady/Nosler/ XYZ reference manual and how many cartridges do I need to try out before moving to the listed charge?

I don’t shoot competition, but I strive to shoot 1/4-1/2 MOA for longe range hunting purposes. How do I find the best powder for my gun accuracy without going thru 20 pounds of different powders? Or is that just part of reloading?

I’m sorry for the dumb questions and I’m sure lots of pros here are like “oh no another beginner” but I wouldn’t ask if I understood everything completely.

I thank everyone in advance for any tips!
If you know a reloader in your area, a mentor would be a great asset when getting started to overcome some initial jitters. Where are you located at? Any where near Louisville, KY?
Tim
Edit, go slow, the learning curve should not be rushed.
 
Looking through my manuals, and at that cartridge, it seems IMR4350 and Mag Pro are a few of the powders that cover a wide range of bullet weights in that caliber. I'd also try Reloader 22, though that powder is quite hard to find recently. Varget might do well with the lighter bullets.
 
I would say pick a stick powder that provides high (or even the highest) velocity for your bullet weight. This to me indicates a pretty good fit for your cartridge. Ball powders tend to have a lot of temp variability. Start at the minimum recommended load and work up. In my experience bullet choice is the biggest deal for accuracy. A quarter MOA is very hard to do. Just my $.02
 
The are no dumb questions, or dumb answers.

It's been a very long time since I had to develop a load for a new to me caliber, but I'll share my process for precision hunting rifle reloads. I have about 50+ years of successful hunting experience with big game, varmints and predators which only means I made my fair share of mistakes, but I learned a few things along the way.

1. I check a number of loading manuals. Some have listed "most accurate powder tested", for example, Sierra, Nosler and Lyman. I have always found that this is a good place to start with one exception and this only applies to me, I do not use ball powder for hunting reloads. I won't get into the reasons here.

2. In my experience, the most important consideration is the bullet selection especially for a hunting reload. While accuracy is important, equally important and maybe more so, is terminal performance. Today you are fortunate, there are a lot of outstanding hunting bullets on the market. For serious big game hunting the Nosler Accubond and Partition bullets are ones I would consider.

3. While your goal of 1/4 to 1/2 moa is noble, this if very difficult to achieve with a hunting rifle and in my opinion is not necessary. Spending hours and dollars on the bench in load development and testing is not the approach I would take since most big game has a large vital area. A 1 moa hunting rifle should be able to harvest most big game with accuracy to spare.

I would move off the bench as soon as possible and start shooting in field positions using whatever field shooting aids you intend to employ. This will pay huge dividends in the field. I know guys that can shoot their hunting rifles / reloads into sub 1 moa groups all day long but take them off the bench and, well let's just say it isn't pretty.

Also, reliable in terms of functionality should also be a key goal for hunting reloads. Sizing and seating depth should emphasize reliability.

Equipment does matter. In my opinion, even for a hunting rifle, proper bedding is important with a free floated barrel. Today, some come from the factory with factory bedding or stocks designed with bedding blocks. I have no idea why Tikka's shoot so darn good with their floating recoil lug and factory stocks so there are exceptions.

Good luck on your journey and do not hesitate to ask questions. There are a lot of knowledgeable members on this site.
 
I'm going to ignore the other responses and give you my personal opinions for what they are worth. Not because they lack validity but there's a lot to cover and I don't want to get off-track.
- It sounds like you're trying to load (if not now, in the long run) for multiple cartridges in multiple rifles.
- It sounds, very reasonably, that you don't want to have a dozen powders on hand that get tested briefly and not really used. I'm totally with you there.
- It sounds like your rifles are serious calibers and not for plinking. So the amount of rounds you send for load development is a consideration for your shoulder, your barrels, and your wallet.

Here's my personal recommendations:
The load manuals give you the start low number. I do start there and build up to their max load, usually in 5 or 6 increments. It can get complicated when multiple manuals have basically the same powder/cartridge/bullet and have different min and max loads. In that case I tend to split the difference.
For maximum accuracy, it's worth trying at least two powders. I would survey all of your cartridges, list the top five available powders for each one, and buy the powders that make more than one list.
I find that with non-competition rifles, the best accuracy comes from trying a range of 5-8 bullet seating depths, up to three bullets, two-three powders, and a range of powder charges. Yes, this can be a lot especially if they're expensive hunting bullets or a heavy hitting cartridge.

There is a constant give-and-take between reasonable round count and statistical significance of your load development testing. So when I'm working with 'rapid' load development I never pick the one 'best' outcome from a load development session, I continue developing at least the best two. So if I've run a ladder of seating depths I might go out next time with a range of powder charges for each of the two best seating depths. Load development and reloading is practically a hobby unto itself. Be aware that every shooter and every cartridge they own may use between 50 and 500 rounds to consider their load to be fully developed.

Note that CF barrels take 100 rounds approximately to break in and shoot consistent velocities. For a lot of hunting guns that's the life of the rifle. So while you can and should develop loads within the first 100 rounds, be aware that the barrel may not settle in until the round count exceeds 100.

Temperature, altitude, and humidity do affect load performance. A great load developed in winter may be dangerously hot in summer. A load that shoots great in summer may not perform in winter. It's just part of the game. Temperature-insensitive powders help but sadly there's more to it than that.

I'm not a fan of chronograph-selecting loads. Collect the data but I'd focus on vertical on target as my selection criteria.
The idea of 'charge nodes' where the velocity seems to change little for a range of powder charge is highly debatable. The ardent proponents seem to also use very limited test data (as little as one shot per charge weight) which has almost zero statistical significance. For long range I'd lean toward shooting a few at each charge weight and selecting the powder charge with the least vertical spread. If you can find a couple of adjacent powder charges that have minimal vertical - great - that's even better. But shooting 8 shots with each one at a different charge weight will typically give a different result each time your run a trial.

There can be better accuracy setting your dies to bump the shoulder to just barely fit within your rifle chamber. I like to do this, myself. It does require some extra measurement methods and setup time and once you get your die set for it, you won't want to change it. Getting the right shoulder bump is a whole topic. I do recommend you at least get a shoulder bump gauge for your calipers and make sure your reloads are no shorter than the virgin brass.

Some will tell you Hornady brass is soft and not any good. At competition loads that is definitely true. At book values you should get a few firings out of them. Lapua, ADG, Alpha, and Peterson do make tough brass that handles multiple firings and reloads better than Remington, Winchester, Hornady, and Nosler brass. For what that's worth.

Good luck!
 
There is no bragging here, but I just want everyone to understand what I expect, and achieve with my hunting rifles. This particular shot was achieved with my custom 6.5 Creedmoor assembled by TS Customs and bedded by me in house. Ammo was factory Hornady Superformance 129 grain SST at 300 yards.

I typically tend to be very OCD and strive for perfection in my hobbies. If I can get close to this with reloading I’ll be a very happy guy.

IMG_9760.jpeg
 
Thank you for all the responses so far. What fantastic info and I have already taken notes on just about every post/reply so far.

Just to touch on a few comments, as of right now I’m only focusing on reloading for the 7 WSM. I have many different calibers that seem to like factory ammo for the most part so reloading for hunting purposes wouldn’t serve any purpose as far as accuracy.

I’m a huge WSM fan, and my 300 WSM has taken several large elk, a Nilgai and a buffalo all with factory Winchester ammo. I guess the 7 just never excited enough shooters to keep the ammo churning out.
 
If you have kept data/information from your factory ammo shooting, use that to your advantage. You will have a bullet,velocity and overall cartridge length that shot well. Use load data and your chronograph to closely duplicate factory ammo. That factory ammo can also provide you with cartridge base to ogive/datum (if you have comparators) and a helpful measurements for properly setting sizing/seating die for YOUR rifle chamber. Your scale will allow better control(uniformity) of powder charges than factory rds. Learning the case lubing/resizing (setting die correctly) is critical for functionality, safety and case life.
 
I was exactly like you. Its scary to pull the trigger the first time, but its going to be fine.

For every cartridge, powder, bullet combo, you should first do a pressure test. Start at or near book min and load a series of rounds with progressively more powder. Load some beyond book max. If its a long drive to the range load higher than you think you will need. If you hit pressure before you shoot them all, you can always pull the bullets and salvage the components for some sighters.

For .223 size case go in 0.2 or 0.3 gr increments. For creedmoor or larger case go 0.5. write the charge on the case with a sharpie or put 1 case per 1 ziplock with a sticky note.

Using .223 as an example.

Book min 22.3gr to max 24.0 grains. I would figure it out by knowing i want a charge at exactly 24.0 when im done so start subtracting 0.3 till i get near the min.

24
23.7
23.4
23.1
22.8
22.5

Add a couple beyond book max 24.3, 24.6, 24.9.

I then write them down from low to high and cross the list off as I load each round. Mark the book max round with MAX so you know to start being super careful even if you haven't seen any pressure signs yet.

Fire each round and carefully examine for pressure. Also pay close attention to the bolt lift.

Pressure is progressive. It is something like primers start to flatten > primers start to crater > faint ejector mark > increasing ejector mark and maybe increasing bolt lift (stop now and back off. Never load this again!) > heavy bolt lift , blown primers, pounding action open with a hammer > blow your face or hand off trip to hospital.

It may not go exactly like this, but it will not just go from perfectly safe to blowing up the gun. You will see pressure signs first. STOP when you see pressure and back off! Primal rights i believe it is has a video or maybe its on their website.

Take notes and maybe photos. Examine the brass carefully at home too.

Now begin load development at about a mid book charge and stop safely below where it got too spicey. Remember of you are close too pressure on a perfect 70 degree day you might be way over pressure if its 100 or the ammo was in a hot car. Or if water\ice\mud\debris get in the chamber or on ammo. Thats why we back off.

It is also possible you will find pressure well below book max. Thats why we start low!
 
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Thank you for all the responses so far. What fantastic info and I have already taken notes on just about every post/reply so far.

Just to touch on a few comments, as of right now I’m only focusing on reloading for the 7 WSM. I have many different calibers that seem to like factory ammo for the most part so reloading for hunting purposes wouldn’t serve any purpose as far as accuracy.

I’m a huge WSM fan, and my 300 WSM has taken several large elk, a Nilgai and a buffalo all with factory Winchester ammo. I guess the 7 just never excited enough shooters to keep the ammo churning out.
FWIW Lapua is now making 300 WSM brass and I believe you can neck that down into 7WSM. Others might make brass as good as Lapua, but nobody makes better brass. If you have any inclination to try a better brass, Lapua availability can be quite spotty and I find its better to buy a box and not use it than be paying scalpers prices later when you do.

If you stick to that cartridge you'll certainly simplify your life a bit. No offense, but I doubt you'll stick to that plan because nobody does.

I learned handloading without a mentor, but I have a technical background, I invested a little bit heavily in measuring tools for a beginner, I read a lot of content, and I was in no rush for my first trigger pull. I also spoke regularly with some short range BR guys at my club and asked them a lot of questions. If you have good attention to detail and you consult a few references, I think you'll be fine on your own. But that said, I think a good mentor is absolutely worth the effort to find and align with. Most everyone who loads has been on a journey and almost everyone has some interest in sharing what they know and having another shooter around to talk shop with. So yeah, finding a mentor isn't too hard if you put out feelers.
 
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