I never used or saw this powder. Yup, I am from the backwoods. My question is what does it look like? I have found info on the powder but none describing its appearence. Is it ball, flake, granular, I would like to know. Thank you
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I never used or saw this powder. Yup, I am from the backwoods. My question is what does it look like? I have found info on the powder but none describing its appearence. Is it ball, flake, granular, I would like to know. Thank you
Here's Reloder 7
https://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sam...hp?powder_id=7
Main page
https://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/search.php
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Note; The Old Reloader7 had Red Flecks in it....New??? IDK
I've only had two jugs of Reloader7. I bought the first in 1987 and second about 2012. The powder in both of them was dark gray, not gold, as shown at the first link above. I just had a thorough eye exam yesterday and my color vision is excellent. (Perhaps the current product is gold colored.)
I have used this powder in my .222 with very good results. Lots of dead woodchucks.
Thanks so much this answers most of my question. I have a friend drop off some powder from his late father. It is flakes with some red particles in it. The flakes look kinda like Imr 700x.
Nice charts on the various Alliant propellants. I have been using Reloader No.7 since it was introduced in the late 1980's. My guns are much older than I am. 45-70 and 50-70 Springfield Trapdoors as well as original Sharps 50-70's have always kept me reloading and shooting my cast boolits. Shooting an original 50-70 Sharps I have noticed how much protrusion occurs of the primer and extraction of fired cased. Now this is just my observations. The greater the chamber pressure the greater the fired primer obturates into the large firing pin hole in the Sharps breech block. The force required to open the sliding breech block increases as the chamber pressure increases. I always observe the fired primer. Black powder pushes the primers into the firing pin hole also but not as much as when loading smokeless/ cast lead boolits. Have tried many, many smokeless propellants: IMR 4227, 4198, SR4759, 2400, WIN 680, 5744, Unique, & Reloader No. 7 Out of all of them, the comparable velocities achieved using Reloader No.7 resulted in lower lever/opening force required to open the breech block of my Sharps rifles. Newer Shiloh Sharps 1874 cannot be used as their breech blocks have a small firing pin and breech block hole. My heavy hunting loads for bustin' Bambi that resulted in fine accuracy and low pressure was with Reloader No.7 It is my favorite go-to propellant.
I keep a couple of lbs of Rx7 for a wide variety of calibers from 300blk/277wlv to larger rifles.
Very versatile & cleaner too, kinda pricy nowadays though
I have a pound that I intend to work up in 7.62x39, in which it seems to work just fine. Two friends who shoot .45-70 absolutely swear by it for loads of all power levels. Since I still have not opened the bottle I bought, I can't comment on the propellant's appearance. Sorry.
nekshot, My, recently made and consumed, can of RE-7 had dark gray powder sans any colorants other than the powder itself. Moreover, I would describe it as a short cut extruded powder, something like broken mechanical pencil leads in appearance.
I relooked at this powder and it looks as you said short broken pieces of pencil lead. The flecks of red are very remote but occasionally you see one. I wander what I was looking at last that I could have sworn was flakes!!!
I use it in 32-20 and 44-40 - a favorite in both.
Alliant reloder 7 doesn't have markers.
Hercules reloder 7 has brown markers...that probably look somewhat red to old eyes.
Hercules RL-7, is this Hercules reloder 7?
Two versions, one appears to have red and green, one just red.
https://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sea...splay_image=20
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been using it for decades [ both Hercules + Alliant ] + never had any with colored dots - personally i would err on side of caution + not use it for anything but fertilizer -
In the 1970s, Hercules Reloader 7, 11, and 21 were double based powders with colored bits mixed in with the grey- black bits. They came in a square metal can with a pop off lid.
Re 7 was the only one reintroduced in later years.
At least that’s how I remember it.
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just checked 2 sealed cardboard 1 lb. containers by Hercules + 1 sealed 1 lb. plastic container of Alliant RL7 - none had any colored taggants at all - jmho imagine the severe legal jeopardy the manufacturer would face if someone loaded red dot pistol powder into any rifle cartridges using RL7 specs -
So, I posted this because of a recent discussion on another forum. I commented I had some older canisters of Reloder 7 (Hercules) recently, but am using from a more recent lot (Alliant) that's less than 10 years old. Someone posted to be sure to work up new loads if/when I start using the older powder, they also commented there is differing amounts of nitroglycerin and there would be Brown markers. So I open a old can of Hercules, sure enough brown markers.
.
Well, it appears that was just a happy coincidence. Because after the differences of opinion in this thread, I did some searching and found a interesting thread. It seems that Hercules would "adjust" Lot to Lot of Reloder 7 and then add various colored markers to reflect what they did. I guess it's even documented in some Lyman reloading manuals.
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...655-Reloader-7
i personally have been reloading rifle, pistol. + shotshells since 1965 with never an accident - but i do acknowledge the facts + reality of current times - jmho - legal jeopardy is a regular established fact in this day + age + should never be ignored - manufacturers spend million of dollars per year in insurance premiums + legal advice to protect their business from it -
this past summer I came across about 20 pounds of various powders, most of it 20 to 30 years old. included was a cardboard pound of Hercules 7 reloder. they all work perfectly fine. just work your load up and shouldn't have any problem with old powder unless it is rancid. reloder 7/rl7 is just about as useful for cast bullet loads as 4198 it works excellent in an awful lot of different calibers and is the go to powder for many including all of the straight wall rifle calibers I have ever reloaded.
I didn't notice any, it's kind of a silvery grey. little round, like spaghetti, bits about twice or 3x as long as they are wide. but my eyesight is not all that good and lighting is poor where I reload.
I have an old cardboard can of it with maybe 200 grains left, I will post a picture of it. The old power is different in appearance as compared to the new RL 7 powder.
The older RL7 has very small ID flakes. I may not be able to see them anymore even with cheeters.
Attachment 322174 Some Red and Blueish green ID grains in the old RL 7.
Attachment 322175 Relative to my income when I bought this powder compared to today's income the current $60 / lb is a wash, but sure doesn't' feel like it when I see the prices.
Recent RL 7
Attachment 322176
Attachment 322177
Reloder 7 is a faster burning rifle powder, used for Varmint cartridges, light rifles or smaller caliber rifles...and old black powder types like the 45-70.
fwiw - I am not a lawyer, why would you even ask that? -
fyi - i emailed alliant + here is their response -
Alliant Reloading Alliant.Reloading at VistaOutdoor.com <Alliant.Reloading.VistaOutdoor.com@email.federalp remium.com>
You
Robert-
RL7 does not have color indicators in the powder.
Perry L. /Technical Service Rep.
CCI/Speer/Alliant
2299 Snake River Ave.
Lewiston, ID 83501
(866)286-7436
Question:
on going discussion on a forum - to your knowledge did RL7 powder come with red or other color taggants in the mixture for sale to the public - thanks in advance
From: cs@email.alliantpowder.com <cs@email.alliantpowder.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2024 11:15 AM
To: Alliant Reloading <Alliant.Reloading@VistaOutdoor.com>
Subject: Alliant Powder - Ask the Expert Form
Thanks, schutzen-jager
Well, that answers that, all the Reloder 7 that Alliant made, sold in Alliant containers, does not have color indicators in the powder.
I have a container of Hercules Reloder 7 that does have colored granules. They don’t stand out like raisins in rice, but they are there. If I knew how to post pictures with IPhone I could prove it.
I have an unopened 5 pound container of Alliant RL7 which I hadn’t planned to open until I used all the Hercules, but I just might go look.
FWIW, my Hercules looks just like what is posted above.
flakes with small red flakes sounds like red dot to me
may have been placed in different container
I would not use as RL-7