I just picked up some 154 Hornady's last week and
some H-870 powder. Anyone have any experience with
this combination in 7mm rem mag? I've loaded up a
test load from 75.0 to 78.0 grains in 0.5gr increments (win brass/CCI250 primers).
My reloading manual doesn't show the 154 gr. bullet so I am starting at mid range for 150 gr
bullets. Has anyone tried this combination?
77.0 grains is 100% compressed load! appreciate
any help here! BLR7

i havent used H-870 but 56.5gr. of IMR 4831 in a rem case and 215 primer. accuracy out of my tikka is very good about .6 for 3 shot.

I took a look in Hornady's Fifth and they have the 154 but don't list it with H-870.

My 7mmrem mag Ruger likes the 154. I shot a lucky 3/8" one day and have killed several deer and a goat with them. Mine likes Rl22 and IMR4831 best.

In the manual it shows H870 burning quite a bit slower then the rest of the powders they suggest for the 154. The closest I could in their suggestions was RL 25(71.4gr max) with H1000(68.4 max) being the next.

I hope this is some help.

7828 is very good with the 154gr and heavier bullets.70 grs is about max

H870 is pretty slow for the 154's. I've loaded a lot of them with 69 gr H4831 of 70 gr RL22, both go about 3100 in my Sako. Work up to these and if you're not using Win. cases, drop them down a bit, Rem. cases will be at least a grain smaller. I can only pack 80 gr of H870 in a Win. case and you can load this behind a 175 Nosler for 2925 in my rifle, but it doesn't shoot very special. If you are using a different case, trim a Win. and Rem., fill with water and weigh it, this will give you a percentage to adjust your load. If the Rem holds 97%, just load 67.9 gr, and it should work.

Gentlemen, thanks for the suggestions as I have not used this powder previously but have heard
good things about it and I like the way it meters
smoothly because of it's fine granulation. I have the RSI shooting lab and it calculates the % compression or fullness of this powder with any
case or bullet combination. 90-100% full should produce a optimal load combination somewhere in
between. My Browning A-bolt seems to be short throated and prefers the slower burning powders
such as H-1000 and RL-19. I haven't had much luck
with IMR7828, IMR4350 or IMR4831 accept in the lower bullet wieghts for caliber such as 139-145gr. H-1000 has shown the best accuracy so far
at 93 - 98% loads. I'm trying to develop a hunting
load that will be good at all ranges for deer and
wild hogs. So far the Speer 160 BTSP with 70.0gr
of H-1000 is 0.5 MOA consistantly but I want the
flat based 154 rather than the boat tail for hunting. I like the way these crimp into the cannalure at just the right OAL and don't have to worry about bullet creep if compressed. I'll try
these out and post results later, if I can ever
get to the range! Being married sure gets in the way of shooting time. Thanks again! BLR7

I use a 162 gr. hornady spbt in a rem case with rem 9 1/2 primer and 60 grains of accurate 2700, of which I cant find any more. I will try some of your guys loads, and go back to IMR 4831. I want to try some of the short extruded stuff to see if it will feed through charger.

For years, the accuracy load in my Sako has been 62 grains of IMR 4831 behind a 162-grain Hornady bullet. This is not a fast load by any stretch of the imagination -- it really only averages a little under 2900 feet per second in my rifle -- but it is very consistent. Whenever I test a rifle in 7mm Remington Magnum, that is the "standard" load that I use and it really seems to work.

A couple of days ago, on a lark, I tried some 175-grain Hornady Spire Points I had kicking around and experienced fantastic results with 66 grains of IMR 7828 and 59 grains of IMR 4350, with both loads giving me three shots in slightly less than 3/4 inch at 200 metres. I'd rate that 7828 load as an excellent all-around choice and I plan to use it in the future, possibly switching to a 175-grain Nosler Partition for hunting.

Regarding your choice of 150-grain Hornadys, I recall that in an article in "Rifle" magazine in 1997, Ken Waters found that the most accurate load of all in the 7mm Remington Magnum used a 150-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip and somewhere between 66 and 67 grains of IMR 7828 for about 3100 feet per second. A close second in accuracy was about the same charge of Reloder 22 with the same bullet for about the same velocity.

However I've heard a rumor that Sakos generally prefer the heavier bullets in 7mm Rem. Mag. and my rifle is a case in point.

I chronographed the 154gr Hornady with 76.5 gr. of
H-870 at 3,097 fps. this past week, but unfortunately pressure signs (stiff bolt) showed
up in 3 out of 5 rounds. I had several more rounds
loaded at 77.0, 77.5, and 78.0 gr. but I brought them back home and pulled the bullets. I have now dropped down to 74.0 gr and worked up to 76.0 gr
and will try again this weekend. I also plan to
work up some H-1000 and IMR-7828 to try with the
154gr bullets. Even at high pressures this bullet
was grouping sub MOA. It seems that H-870 is a
temperature sensitive powder and it had warmed up
into the 80's the day I tested these. I still think the 154 will be a good choice for deer and
wild hogs and I'll try different powder combin-
ations till one works best. Everybody seems to be
out of RL-22 in my area but I would like to try
that powder too. I'll post my results on here if
weather permits this weekend! BLR7

I found a winner and a total surprise to me. I've
tried several of the above powders and just couldn't get the kind of accuracy and velocity I
was looking for in the 154 Hornadys and I only had
one powder on the shelf that I hadn't tried since last year and it was Win. WXR and wah-lah!! The
magic came back!
65.0 gr WXR
CCI250 primer
Win cases
ave. vel.: 3,014 fps / sub 1" groups at 100 yds
and sub 2" groups at 250 yds. Recoil is smooth
and not sharp. This should be perfect for deer
and hogs around these parts. I had used this powder in my BLR 7mag with 160 Speer BT at 67.5
grains with only fair groups around 2" at 100 yds
and killed two does at about 140 yds last year.
Both deer fell to the shot with lung and heart
destruction and no slug recovered, about 1.5"
exit wound. I hope the 154gr Hornady will do as
good. My A-Bolt really likes this powder. Anybody
else tried this yet? BLR7!

I WAS VERY SUPRISED THAT YOU RAN INTO PRESSURE TROUBLE WITH 76.5 GRAINS OF H870 AND A 154GR BULLET. I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THAT YOU COULD HAVE GONE TO 79 O 80 GRAINS WITH THIS LOAD. EVERY GUN IS DIFFERENT THOU. I BOUGHT 6 O 8 LB OR H870 AT A GUN SHOW SEVERAL YEARS AND I HAVE TRIED IT IN A NUMBER OR DIFFERENT CALIBERS, INCLUDING 7 OR 8 7MM MAGS. USUALLY THE PROBLEM IS NOT BEING ABLE TO GET ENOUGH POWDER INTO THE CASE TO GET PRESSURES HIGH ENOUGH WITH MODERATE WT. BULLETS. I DID BRIEFLY HAVE A SAVAGE 7MM MAG THAT THAT I HAD TO BACK THE LOAD OFF A COUPLE OF GRAINS. I WOULDN'T GIVE UP ON THE POWDER COMPLETELY. I DOES A BETTER JOB ON 160 AND 168GR. BULLETS. GOOD SHOOTING JIM.