Reloading for a belted mag

[burntmuch]

Gonna start loading for my remington 700 7mm remington mag. Anything different with the belted mag I need to know about. Im gonna be starting with 160gr nosler partions, 140 & 120grain Nosler BT & some Hornady162SSTs. With IMR 4350. MY 700 shoots the Federal premium 160gr NPs real good, so that will be my go to load, The others will be for paper mostly. Any tips would be appreciated.  Jay

[corbanzo]

The only think you really have to watch out for with belted mags is running the cartridge all the way into dies.  Some dies will hit the belt causing damage to the casing.  Just take a look at the dies you have, and read any manufacturer recommendations. 

[TXSPIKE]

Looks like your off to a good start.My 7mag loves IMR4350 and Nosler bullets.I get really high velocities and really tight groups with them.The 140gr Accubonds have been working real well for me on deer and hogs.As for reloading,seems to be about like reloading any other cartridge,just watch what your doing.

[gwindrider1]

Set you sizing die to headspace the cartridge on the shoulder, rather than the belt, like any other non-belted cartridge.  You will get better accuracy, and longer case life/less stretch. 

[beemanbeme]

Just ignore the belt. Reload as you would with any bottleneck cartridge. The die is cut to take the belt into consideration so I've never heard of messing up the belt even when F/L resizing.  As posted, set your die up so the cartridge will head space on the shoulder. 
A healthy charge of 4350 (pick your brand) and one of the good 160gr bullets has always worked well for me.  Antelope to elk.

[yooper77]

I full length size my buddies 257 Weatherby Magnum brass and he doesn't have any problems, and yes the belt is designed into all dies.  I use Hornady Custom Grade New Dimension full length die.  I neck size his brass with the Hornady Custom Grade New Dimension die as well after he shoots the new reloads.

I have hear some people have problem of a bulge forming above the belt, reducing the number of reloads per case, so see the item link below.
I don't have the need for it, but maybe in the future.

yooper77

Innovative Technologies Belted Magnum Collet Resizer Die
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=499831

[Catfish]

If you have a problem getting your bolt to close with your reloads the first thing to do is make sure that your cases are not over size right in frount of the belt. If so you`ll have to readjust your die to size farther down.

[Lone Star]

If your cases are over-expanding in front of the belt, the first thing I'd check would be the powder charge.  It is likely too high for your rifle and components.  It is possible to have overly soft brass or an oversize chamber, but usually the cause is too much greed in the area of muzzle velocity.  This is why the problem is relatively rare - it is usually user-caused.

Most FL dies will not reduce the diameter of the thicker portion of the case right in front of the belt very far.  Adjusting the sizing die further down into the press will not solve this problem - but it will cause case life problems in most chambers.  This is why the "special" sizing dies referenced above were made.  But with the price of that die and the ability of the handloader to moderate his pressures, it is usually cheaper to just buy new brass when you ruin what you have.





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[burntmuch]

Sounds like nothing to worry about, Just full length size first time around, Then neck size after that. Ive got a box of new remington brass on the way. I was thinking about smoking up th case then adjusting the sizer die till it just touches the belt. Im fairly new to reloading, so Ive saved the 7 mag til last. but Ive been missing my 7mag range days. Its always been my best shooter, just aint been able to afford to shoot it lately . Thanks for the input guys.

[millwright]

reloaded a 7mm mag for almost 20 years.  Fl when you have to and neck size the rest of the  time and you will have no problems with any load within reason.  lol

[Tom W.]

Yooper, I can vouch for that die from http://www.larrywillis.com/

My son bought one and the whole family uses it. Works great!