I got some RL-15 to try in my 308 X-bolt. It doesn't work anywhere as well as the IMR 3031 or I-4895. So now I have this stuff and need a place to use it, or I'll sell it at the gun club. I looked its speed up and it's a bit faster than IMR4320 that I use in my 7X57 Ruger M77 with a 140 gr bullet. (46.0 gr: upper-28's) I can find SCANT info on a load of RL-15 in a 7X57. I was thinking about using it with an old, unused, un-touched box of 130 gr Speer Hot-cores and/or my 140 grains. WHAT, if any reloading information with this combination, can you give me? Otherwise, I'll just be guess-timating and extrapolating with crude, linear mass&energy conversions and Kinetic Energy&pressure calculations. I think the RL-15 should be a really good powder for the 130 grain and maybe the 140 grain. Its burn rate falls between I-4320 and I-4064, which are good powders for lighter 7x57 bullets. Help!

My Lyman 48th book has load data on as does Alliants web site http://www.alliantpowder.com/r...llid=69&bulletid=120

Your correct it is very close to IMR 4064. In my 7x57 it works very well with 130's and 140's. I will have to look at my notes tonight to give you exact numbers but as I remember it was 43 grains under a 140 grain bullet. It also works well in .308 and 30-06 as well as others I am sure.

I know my Sierra book has info on it also. Here is a link to another that I googled.

http://www.nosler.com/index.php?p=15&b=7mm

Hell use it in a .223, .375, 9.3x62, .338 light bullets, .338-06, .220 Swift/ .22-250, .243. If you can't use it up in one of these, send it to me. It should work with lighter bullets in a 7x57, but won't be slow enough for top velocity.

quote:

Originally posted by MyNameIsEarl:
My Lyman 48th book has load data on as does Alliants web site http://www.alliantpowder.com/r...llid=69&bulletid=120

Your correct it is very close to IMR 4064. In my 7x57 it works very well with 130's and 140's. I will have to look at my notes tonight to give you exact numbers but as I remember it was 43 grains under a 140 grain bullet. It also works well in .308 and 30-06 as well as others I am sure.

THanks for the help. I was estimating that 44 gr. of RL-15 pushing a 140 gr. bullet might be about a max load, but I didn't see any such info. The 130 grain data is good. With my other main rifle being a 308 shooting a 150 gr bullet, a 130 gr in the 7x57 would give me a more different shooting option. More of a 2 way, woodchuck/deer round.
Thanks again.

I am toting a 7 x 57 while out hunting right now..

I am using a load with 139 grain Hornady SPs.. and a charge of 44 grains of RL 15...

very accurate load in my Model 70...

got that one a while ago out of one of my manuals..

I am thinking it was Hodgdon's Number 26...

work up..but this was not the max load listed according to my notes on it.....