Newbie Here Again

[GameHauler]

 One of my Customers is leaving on his annual trip back to his home state to visit Family and restock his loading supplies.
He tells me he buys everything at a much reduced price and offered to pick up what I want.
My problem is I do not know what I want since I am not that far along in My loading.

I realize each gun likes different loads but I am hoping that I can get some direction on powder and primers for the calibers I will be loading for and buy some quantity of Items that will get used and not just sit on the shelf.

Here are the Calibers I will be loading for.
7MM Rem Mag, Rem700 Bdl, up to 600yds
7MM-08 Rem Mod.7, up to 400yds
7-30 Waters T. Contender 15" custom shop, up to 200yds
223 TC 16", 100yds Javelina, Target 200?

Thank you and I realize this is a wide range of rounds but if I can pick up powder and primers at about a 25% discount and not pay hazmat fees and tax I need to jump on this.

BTW he is leaving in a couple day

[charles p]

Have him pick you up a few reloading manuals or better yet some reloading software.

[GameHauler]

Ok
I blew off the last one.
I know I am not ready to throw a charge.
I have a chance to buy some supplies at a good savings and want to take advantage of it.
There has to be some standard powders and primers that will help me get started.
You HANDLOADERS seem to have a chip on your shoulder about helping someone getting started.
I am NOT looking for loads, just want to BUY what I CAN  at a opportune time and price.

Me Thinking Maybe Gray Beard Not For Me
Mike

[Kurt L]

MIke.
Don't take things the wrong way !
You are starting on a VERY DANGEROUS hobby if not done right.
to start dale has a post  on a must see reloading video I would recommend you get it and you will learn a ton on reloading
and step by step how to do it.

I have no idea if you are just shootin paper or deer or?
but to pick up some things cheap you could get reloader 19 and 15 and you could use that in all your 7mm guns listed.
Bullets you could get some 110 grain hp bullets up to say 150 grain and use them in all three also.
Speer 110 grain Hp TNT bullets would be fun and not bad priced to play with in the 7-30 and 7-08 and maybe your 7mag also.you can get these in bulk box. i use these TNT's in 125 grain TNT in a 30-30 encore and love them .
I would not worry about nosler,barnes etc high dollar bullets at this time just get some remington,winchester,speer hornady,sierra etc and have fun.
I always had good luck with remington primers,but they was out and I loaded up some 30-30 loads with cci that shoot one hole groups so I would say cci 200 or rem 9˝ large rifle primers will work fine for you and you would or should get some mag primers for the 7mag like cci250,rem 9˝mag.
or even winchester or federal primers.
hope this is of some help.
kurt

[jhalcott]

  well you CERTAINLY need some 7mm bullets. Get a variety as you don't KNOW what your gun likes yet. Any thing it doesn't like can be used for practice. I have used about every primer on the market, they ALL worked. Some better than others. CCi and Federal have never let me down. What brands of powders are normally available where you live.? This could be the difference in getting powder today or having to wait a week or more for the UPS man. WW 748 will work in the 7-30, and 7-08 . A slow powder like 4350 or one of the newer slow powders is what you'll need for the 7mag. If you have been making 600 yard shots with factory ammo. you MIGHT reconsider reloading.

[LaOtto222]

First off I do not know if I am too late to help you here. It is very difficult to give someone an answer to a general question - What do I need? My gosh, you need lots of things. You did not mention where you are at in hand loading. You said you have got started, but you are not very far along if you do not know what bullets, primers and powder you want. My preference is not what yours may be. I prefer Remington 7 1/2 primers for small rifle, because I have always had good luck with them. I do not have much experience with large rifle primers, but my opinion is that it really does not make a whole lot of difference which one you get. Get the shiniest, cheapest, prettiest ones you can get. I have used Winchester primers for that duty. Powder wise maybe WW748 or H335 for the 7-Waters and 223. IMR 4350 for the 7-08 and RL-22 for medium bullets in the 7 Mag and RL-25 for your same rifle with heavier bullets. If you do not know what you want. it is all a crap shoot. You may spend $200 on supplies and find out you do not get satisfactory results with any of them. How much money will you save then? There is no short cut. I am not flaming you at all. Reloading to me is a very good hobby that I take seriously. I started out to save money, but I really have not saved money in the long run. I keep buying more and more equipment/gadgets and the price of reloading items keep going up, same as factory loaded ammo. Then I shoot a lot more, developing loads for each rifle/handgun. If I shot factory loads, I would buy 4 of 5 different kinds and find the best one, and let it go at that, only shooting them at live game a few times a year each. I get satisfaction from the development of the load. Once I find the magic combination, the interest in that particular gun wanes and I am off doing another one. Part of the fun of it is load development. If you really look around this site, you will find that the folks who frequent this site are very helpful, but they are most helpful when a specific question is asked, like I have been having trouble with groups at 100 yards, this is what I have done so far and nothing seems to help. Then you have some where to start to give advise to. When someone asks a general question What powder do I buy, there are so many different answers no one with any knowledge wants to point someone in the wrong direction, so you do not get many answers. You always get a few that say they like such and such powder, but that does not mean it will work for you. You have do some of the work yourself. Do not blame the the people for not answering a question where there is no answer. I try to keep a large variety on hand to try out. I buy 2 or 3, 1 pound canisters of likely powders at a time until I know which one I want. I keep a large variety of bullets on hand, but I buy 100 at a time until I find exactly what I want, then buy in 500 lots. I presently have 15 different kinds of .224 bullets on hand.  I hope I made some sense of this to you. It is only a bargain if you get what you need, if it is something that does not work out for you, then that is money down the drain, you did not save a thing. Develop your loads, find out what you want, then next year when he goes, buy a large quantity of what you want. Just my 2 cents. Good Luck and Good Shooting.

[buck460XVR]

Have him pick you up a few reloading manuals or better yet some reloading software.

GameHauler......I don't think this is meant to be a sarcastic remark and the info given to me here(at GBO) on reloading has been invaluable. I think what  was  meant is that after reading a manual or two you will know what you need and that in general you need to pick a bullet and a type of load that fits you, before you know what you need for supplies. Getting $2 off a pound of powder is no bargain if you can't/don't use it.

[Grumulkin]

I can only tell you what I use and like for a couple of the cartridges you'll be loading for.

For my 7mm/08 handgun, I like Varget the best.  Actually, I like Varget best for loading a number of cartridges.  For bullets, I use 140 grainers of the Berger, Hornady, Sierra or Nosler varieties.

The powder I use for my 7mm Rem. Mag. is RL 22.  I use 140 to 160 grain bullets.  If I remember correctly, the Hornady A-Max has the very best ballistic coefficient so should be great for long range shooting.

When available, I use match primers.  Right now, I doubt you'll find Federal match primers.  For small rifle primers, I think Remington Benchrest primers are the best; they should do for your 223.  For both the 7mm/08 and 7mm Rem. Mag. I use large rifle match primers (not magnum primers).  My preference is for Federal 210M but CCI BR2 primers (large rifle) are OK.  If the Remington Benchrest primers aren't available I use CCI BR4 primers.

I have a bunch of reloading manuals but a lot of information of powders, loads and bullets is available on the web.  Even if you don't buy anything, if you do a search on MidwayUSA.com you can get a LOT of information on reloading products and components.

In my opinion, both RL 22 and Varget are worth buying in 5 lb. quantities if you'll do a lot of reloading.  Investing in several thousand primers isn't a bad idea either.

For bullets, I usually use a match bullet in working up a load and then, if needed for hunting, use about the same powder charge with my hunting bullet of choice.  Using a match bullet takes out the variable of wondering if inadequate accuracy is the fault of the bullet or the load.

[GameHauler]

First off I want to apologize for barking last night,
I had just found out a friend went down in his plane
Neither him or his dog made it.

I understand my question is very wide open and there is not a good answer.
I am only looking at him getting primers and powder for me because of the shipping issues.
I am  Hunter and will be developing loads for that purpose.

Here is a real quick list of what I am trying to do with my rounds, when it is time.
7MM Rem mag- Elk, Deer out to 600yds (if I need to.)
Plan is Berger VLD 168gr.

7MM-08- Deer, Antelope, Javelina. 3 maybe 400yds
Nosler PT ? 120-140gr

7-30 waters- Contender, Deer, Javelina, - maybe 200yds

[SharonAnne]

Berger VLD 168 is a match bullet, yes?  There are hunting bullets that will group well at 600 yd and are better elk medicine than a match bullet

[GameHauler]

Berger VLD 168 is a match bullet, yes?  There are hunting bullets that will group well at 600 yd and are better elk medicine than a match bullet

Thanks everyone.
SharonAnne the VLD is quickly becoming a Very popular bullet for hunting.
It really shines at longer ranges
Mike

[SharonAnne]

GameHauler, please explain "shines". How so? Does it expand? Hold together? Or are you referring to accuracy only? I have never heard of match bullets being good as hunting bullets for big game.

[GameHauler]

The Berger has great expansion and retained energy
This energy is creating hugh amounts of trauma and shock
to the vitals dropping critters in their tracks most of the time.
I have some really good reads on my computer at home.
I'll be glad to post some links when I get home.

The people who do not like them, like bullets that
do not expand much because they want a pass threw
So they have a blood trail to follow.
I for one would rather slam one to the ground than have all
the energy expended in the dirt behind the animal
and have to try and track.

Mike

[GameHauler]

SharonAnne
I could not find what I was looking for but I added a link
(Hope this allowed) to another site about the Bergers.
Also do a search on that site for Berger and you will find
many threads about them.

Walt Berger designed this bullet for match but to everyones surprise
It turned out to be a great hunting bullet.

If you have time try some surfing to find a article about a cull hunt
he and his wife (others) did somewhere in south America.
They did this for the chance to really test the bullets.
Thats what I was looking for to post.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/7mm-berger-bullet-groups-24926/


Mike