Reloader 7??

[waco]

My Lyman manual says that Reloader 7 should have red, yellow, and blue flakes in it. I just bought a pound for the first time. I've never used it before. There is no colered flakes in it. Is this normal now? Just checking.

[Frozone]

Before the ObamaScare my RL7 did have yellow in it.
The newest batches do not.

[RU shooter]

The can I bought this spring wasn't multi colored just the plain old gunpowder color.

[felix]

Consider strongly the lot is different. The lots over the years have varied in speed between 4198 and 3031 and have changed in the amount of nitroglycerin between 5 and 10 percent over that same time. This newer lot might have something new included as for temperature sensitivity and/or cleaner burn. It seems the newer formulations from every plant are going into this direction. ... felix

[waco]

Thanks again guys. Hope to get some good loads in the .45-70 and .221 fireball.

[unique]

When Reloder 7 was made by Hercules it had the colored grains which were mixed in ratio to maintain burn consistency across lots.
It is now made by Bofors for Alliant it is basic double based stick powder meaning nothing unusual about its looks.

[JLDickmon]

it looks like gunpowder

[geargnasher]

I burn a lot of it, and it's super-clean at ridiculously low pressures. It has changed a bit over the years and doesn't have the colored flakes in it now, but it will light with a standard pistol primer and burn clean at 20K psi, so I don't care.

The powder evolution really got weird when Hodgdon bought the Winchester powder line, BLC (2), Win 748, and H335 all get wonky from lot to lot, I suspect they get in a trainload and test the burn rate and which ever it's closest too gets that label stuck on the container.

Gear

[**oneshot**]

no multicolors here.

[1Shirt]

No multi colors here! Agree with Gear!
1Shirt!

[jlchucker]

My can of Reloder 7 is pretty old--a few years old, in fact. No colored flakes in mine. I don't use it much but when I do, using data from my various reloading manuals (mostly Lyman) it works OK. Maybe I need to buy a new can of it with colored flakes????

[unique]

Here are couple pictures of 'colored' reloder 7 and Hercules container it came in. I read along time ago Hercules Reloder powders were adjusted by mixing in higher energy grains so the colored grains might be there for that reason.

You can't buy this anymore. Look at price tag on can.



55660

55659

[1bluehorse]

I burn a lot of it, and it's super-clean at ridiculously low pressures. It has changed a bit over the years and doesn't have the colored flakes in it now, but it will light with a standard pistol primer and burn clean at 20K psi, so I don't care.

The powder evolution really got weird when Hodgdon bought the Winchester powder line, BLC (2), Win 748, and H335 all get wonky from lot to lot, I suspect they get in a trainload and test the burn rate and which ever it's closest too gets that label stuck on the container.

Gear

Gear, what are you shooting it in using pistol primer? The only thing I've ever used it for was 45-70

[isaias_1]

I was trying to find out myself why two old 1lb can I bought had the green and red specs in there. Thanks for the clarification. Now I can load it and use it in my .223. using 19.0 grains and 55 fmjb. Thanks

[midnight]

Reloader 7 os my go to powder in the 50 Beowulf. Should work well in the 500 S&W too.

Bob

[Shuz]

Saw Rel 7 at Cabelas today and it was $28.00/lb plus sales tax!

[geargnasher]

Gear, what are you shooting it in using pistol primer? The only thing I've ever used it for was 45-70

Essentially a wildcat, a .457" .45 Colt +P with 340-grain boolits, compensating for a horribly oversized chamber, throat, and groove.

Gear

[tenx]

i have an older lot and there are yellow flakes in it. great powder for the 35 remington, just wish it wern't so expensive.

[Marlin Junky]

I have 3 pounds from a lot dated during '98 under the Alliant label and all have red granules.

MJ

[blikseme300]

I use Re7 in my 300blk. 10 single pounders and all are short grey sticks.

[XWrench3]

i do not ever remember seeing colored flakes in any of it. but then i have only been doing this since the mid eighties. so i am not a real veteran of reloading. my late uncle was a real veteran. i remember some of his stuff back in the early 1970's. he had been doing it a long time at that point. in any case, reloder 7 is one of the most versatile powders around. it is one of the few powders that i really should be buying in 8 pound containers.

[upr45]

Been using it for + 20 yrs, burnt it up without caring about color. I thought it was gray extruded powder and looks shorter than 4064, but seemed a bit thicker. Really like it in 45-70. Never had any go bad/smell strange so no reason to closely examine. Metered well in my powder dispenser.