GJgo
Member
I've been working up a load for a friend's Remington 788 in 7-08 w/ the 18" tube, thought I'd share the results. It's been shooting factory Federal 140gr TSX well, I'm looking to duplicate that. The factory rounds go over the chrony at 2750 and show just a hint of pressure on the headstamp & primer.
I've read that you don't want to hot-rod the 788 action so I decided to use Federal primers, also got some Win brass. I decided to start with .050" off the lands as I always do with TSX. (as it turns out this beats .030" & .070" here)
First I tried Varget. By the time I got to 2750 at 42g the primers were a little flat for my taste, and the accuracy was poor. It was also very "blasty". Next I tried H4895. I never quite got to 2750 & the accuracy also wasn't very good.
Then I decided to give RL17 a try- I thought the pressure curve of this powder might be a good match for this action. Well, it likes it. I easily made 2750 FPS & good accuracy with 46.5gr in 90° heat. I ran it up a bit more just to prove that there's some headroom in the charge for safety. No issues at all visible in the headstamp or primer. Right now I'm very happy with the load, however I'm considering loading 47gr for hunting since it'll be between 10-20° out & I know the Reloder powders are more temp sensative. (In the heat 47gr ran 2785.)
I've read that you don't want to hot-rod the 788 action so I decided to use Federal primers, also got some Win brass. I decided to start with .050" off the lands as I always do with TSX. (as it turns out this beats .030" & .070" here)
First I tried Varget. By the time I got to 2750 at 42g the primers were a little flat for my taste, and the accuracy was poor. It was also very "blasty". Next I tried H4895. I never quite got to 2750 & the accuracy also wasn't very good.
Then I decided to give RL17 a try- I thought the pressure curve of this powder might be a good match for this action. Well, it likes it. I easily made 2750 FPS & good accuracy with 46.5gr in 90° heat. I ran it up a bit more just to prove that there's some headroom in the charge for safety. No issues at all visible in the headstamp or primer. Right now I'm very happy with the load, however I'm considering loading 47gr for hunting since it'll be between 10-20° out & I know the Reloder powders are more temp sensative. (In the heat 47gr ran 2785.)
